Read, Write And Read Some More

US Cover Reveal: Ruin and Rising By Leigh Bardugo

noreply@blogger.com (Read Write Reviews) — Fri, 14 Feb 2014 17:55:00 +0000

I have to break my hiatus to bring to you the Ruin and Rising Cover Reveal. It seemed only fitting to do so after revealing the previous two covers here on the blog. This is the final cover of the Grisha trilogy, and I'm pretty sad that there will be no more beautiful covers in the future. But as the cover for Ruin and Rising is so good, I can say they have gone out with a bang! So without further ado:

Ruin and Rising

Series: The Grisha #3

Release Date: 17th June 2014

Publisher: US - Henry Holt. UK - Gollancz

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 432

Synopsis: The capital has fallen. The Darkling rules Ravka from his shadow throne.

Now the nation's fate rests with a broken Sun Summoner, a disgraced tracker, and the shattered remnants of a once-great magical army.

Deep in an ancient network of tunnels and caverns, a weakened Alina must submit to the dubious protection of the Apparat and the zealots who worship her as a Saint. Yet her plans lie elsewhere, with the hunt for the elusive firebird and the hope that an outlaw prince still survives.

Alina will have to forge new alliances and put aside old rivalries as she and Mal race to find the last of Morozova's amplifiers. But as she begins to unravel the Darkling's secrets, she reveals a past that will forever alter her understanding of the bond they share and the power she wields. The firebird is the one thing that stands between Ravka and destruction—and claiming it could cost Alina the very future she’s fighting for.

Ooh isn't it lovely? I love the firebird so much! It just goes so well with the others, I love it! The progression of these covers when put together is amazing! These have to be the best series of covers ever! Well done to the design team and congrats to Leigh for the amazing covers! I can't blooming wait to read this!

Here are all the covers or comparison:

If you haven't read this books yet, I seriously recommend them! They are amazing! You can find my reviews here:

Shadow and Bone By Leigh Bardugo

Siege and Storm By Leigh Bardugo

What are your thoughts on the final cover of the Grisha series? Let me know in the comments.

The End.

noreply@blogger.com (Read Write Reviews) — Thu, 03 Oct 2013 12:42:00 +0000

Well hello again. It's been such a long time since I've written a post and in that time I've done a lot of thinking. In the past two years, blogging has been a key part of my life and it was one of the main things I spent my time doing. At that time in my life it fitted perfectly due to being out of education with not much else to do but now I've just started my last year of college and I'm already applying for university's. Time has flown by and I have loved blogging and interacting with all readers, but things must come to an end. I'm sad to say that I will no longer be blogging. Yes I know I've been pretty much inactive the past few months but its really given me time to do other things in my life and allowed me to plan my future. In that future there is no blogging and reviewing. At the current moment in my life I want to focus on my education as it is so important to me. It is also very time consuming but it's totally worth it when you get the qualifications in the end. I will have no time for blogging and hardly any time for reading, so the decision comes at the correct time and just feels right. So this is a farewell post. For the time being I will leave the blog up and online but in the future I may take it down.

Lastly I want to thank all of the publishers, authors, readers and fellow bloggers who have made this such an amazing experience and one I've learnt so much from. It's goodbye from me! I will still be online on twitter, pinterest etc but just not here. Once again thank you all!

Blog Tour and Guest Post: Undeniable By Liz Bankes

noreply@blogger.com (Read Write Reviews) — Thu, 29 Aug 2013 13:52:00 +0000

Welcome to this stop on the Undeniable Blog Tour! Today I have a guest post from the author of Undeniable, Liz Bankes. For the guest post she has chosen her top five teen dramas. Here it is:

My Top Five Teen Dramas By Liz Bankes

In UNDENIABLE Gabi gets a rather awesome summer job - she is a runner on her favourite TV show ever, The Halls. I love a good teen drama. They give you people to fancy and couples to get obsessed with, as well as many moments of heart-leaping, weeping and hilarousness - some of it unintentional (Dawson Leery's crying face). So here are some of my faves:

1. Skins

I have a bit of an odd thing with Skins. On one hand I love the drama, craziness and the heartbreak, on the other I am very aware that my teen years were no way near as cool as Skins and far more like the Inbetweeners. Nevertheless, Skins gave me plenty of couples to love - Sid and Cassie, Emily and Naomi, Mini and Alo, Chris and Jal, Cook and Effie (shhh I know I was meant to say Freddie). And with actual teenagers, rather than 25-year-olds playing 15-year-olds. (See no.2)

Best moment: a tie between Emily and Naomi in Freddie's shed (series 4) and fireworks for Chris (series 2)

Worst moment: Series 7. HOW COULD THEY DO THAT TO ME.

2. Dawson's Creek

The original. DC went out on T4 on Sundays when I was in year 9 and so Monday morning at school began with Dawson’s Creek breakdown. Which mainly consisted of: will Joey pick Dawson or Pacey? and I WISH PACEY WAS REAL. It featured the oldest looking 15-year-olds the world has ever seen, saying things like ‘psychoanalyse’ and ‘non seqitur’ like it was normal, but Dawson’s was still undeniably awesome.

Best moment: Dawson’s crying face and Pacey and Joey aboard the True Love can be merged into one, as they happen within moments of each other. No one knew whether to cry or hysterically laugh.

Worst moment: I always wonder who thought it would be a good idea for Dawson’s dad to die because he lent down to pick up an ice cream off the floor of his car. I was supposed to be all sad and shocked, but instead I was thinking, ‘did he think he could still eat it??’

3. As If

Before Skins came along, the British version of Dawson’s Creek was As If, with its set of six students and their tangled relationships. And with an added 90s catchphrase as a title. Cheeky Jamie was, for me, the British Pacey and he was part of the fans’ favourite couple, Jamie and Sooz. It also starred Lost in Austen’s Jemima Rooper, adding to my feeling that I LOVE EVERYTHING SHE DOES.

Best moment: Jamie and Sooz finally get together. In a shopping trolley.

Worst moment: Jamie and Sooz get untogether when she has a stupid affair with a stupid artist man.

4. The O.C.

At the beginning this seemed like it might fall into the unintentionally hilarious category, when bad-boy-actual-criminal Ryan pitched up in posh OC land and said ‘I stole a car’ in a voice so deep it was mostly just vibrations. Luckily the show lightened up after that and became an addictive mix of love dramas, family secrets, comedy and people getting shot. There were also plenty of people to fancy, if we ignore the season of Ryan’s bowl haircut.

Best moment: Seth and Summer’s spider man kiss.

Worst moment: ‘I stole a car’.

5. Sugar Rush

I loved this book and was very excited when it was made into a TV show starring Girls in Love girl. It was the story of Kim (Girls in Love girl) who was secretly in love with her bit mad, bit bad best friend Sugar. Kim followed Sugar round Brighton, getting into dodgy scrapes and being in love with her, but gradually becoming more confident about who she was.

Best moment: Sugar is in loads of trouble and Kim has to finally decide whether to keep getting involved in her friend’s mistakes. The conclusion involves a chase, a hotel room and some car stealing that would make Ryan from the OC proud.

Worst moment: Saint, with her cool hair and clothes and general coolness, was lovely and probably a better girlfriend for Kim, but I was always a Kim and Sugar fan, so I quite wanted her to go away.

Thank you Liz for the great guest post!

About Undeniable:

Undeniable

Release Date: 1st August 2013

Publisher: Picadilly Press

Format: Paperback

Pages: 192

Synopsis: Frank, funny and fabulous – the new romantic novel from Liz Bankes

Gabi is so excited – she's spending the summer working as a runner on her favourite TV show. It's a dream come true! Plus it's perfect for for distracting her from The Break-Up – especially with all those gorgeous actors around.

And then there's Spencer Black: student, extra, expert flirt. Everything with him is fun, intoxicating – and uncertain. Things between them are hotting up when he lands a minor role on the show. So is it make or break for them? Is Spencer undeniably the one for Gabi?

About the Author:

Liz Bankes grew up in Sevenoaks (or One-oak as it should be called since six of the oaks fell down).

As a child she was passionate about books, the Beano and Ryan Giggs.

She has been writing since she was little, drawing plenty of cartoons and comic strips, giving them to her family to read and then waiting patiently (staring at them intensely) until they laughed. In year 6 she co-wrote, with a friend, The Sealyham Story (like the Iliad, but in Wales), which was scandalously ignored by all the major literary prizes. Then at secondary school she wrote a story about a woman who killed people and turned them into pies. Instead of a referral to a psychologist the school gave her a creative writing prize and sent her on her way.

Since then she’s been writing book reviews and blog posts (find out more on her blog site) and, secretly, more stories.

Facebook / Twitter

Thank you to Liz for stopping by and to Piccadilly Press for inviting me to be a host on the blog tour.

Blog Tour and Author Interview: The Wild Girl By Kate Forsyth

noreply@blogger.com (Read Write Reviews) — Tue, 20 Aug 2013 11:51:00 +0000

Welcome to this stop on The Wild Girl Blog Tour. Today I have an interview with Kate Forsyth, the talented author of The Wild Girl. The Wild Girl is a enchanting novel which I highly recommend, you can find a link to my review further down the post. But first lets hear more from Kate Forsyth.

Author Interview with Kate Forsyth:

What inspired you to write The Wild Girl?

I was researching the origins of the Grimm fairy tales for another book I was writing and just stumbled across the story of Dortchen Wild, the young woman who told Wilhelm Grimm many of the brothers’ most compelling fairy tales and – in the end – married him. I was struck at once by the fact that she was utterly unknown, and yet she told all this marvelous tales that everyone knows nowadays. I knew at once I wanted to tell her story. It was absolutely electrifying.

How much research did you have to do for The Wild Girl? From the Grimm brothers themselves to the French occupation, the book is steeped in history that you manage to pull together so well but at first it must have been hard to find all of this information?

It was an enormous lot of research, primarily because I was coming from such a place of ignorance. I knew nothing about Napoleon, or about life in Germany in the early 1800s. I am, however, undertaking my doctorate in fairy tales and so I knew quite a lot both about the Grimm brothers and also about how to undertake research. It took quite a long time, but I really loved every moment of it. Such a fascinating period of history and such an interesting topic.

Ok then out of all your research you have done, what has been your favourite fact or discovery?

I loved all the research I did into the fairy tales and their sources, and into daily life in a small Hessian town – that was fascinating. Dortchen, for example, would have had to make her own soap from the ashes of her kitchen fire. She would also have collected the urine from all the chamber-pots and used it to spot-clean dirty linens. Yes, pee is a great, natural bleach. She would also have saved all the potato peels to starch her father’s cravats. I also loved reading up on 19th century apothecaries – I could whip you up some laudanum for you if you brought me some brandy and a lump of raw opium. And I found out that Napoleon was born with teeth! Apparently the old wives’ tale is that any baby born with teeth wants to devour the world alive and he certainly wanted to do that.

Both the Wild Girl and Bitter Greens are fairy tale retellings combined with real history, what draws you to write this type of story?

I’ve always loved historical fiction and I’ve always loved fairy tales, and so it felt natural to put them together. As a storyteller myself, finding out the life stories of the women who first told these wonderful tales was utterly intriguing and moving. Their lives are like fairy tales themselves – filled with romance, drama, tragedy and ultimate triumph.

Dortchen is a strong female character and in your previous book Bitter Greens, the novel was told from three female points of views all of whom were strong in their own ways. Do you aim to write the characters this way or do they just take control?

Dortchen and Charlotte-Rose and my other heroines are all their own people and all I do is run after them writing down what they do and say. I am, however, naturally drawn to stories about strong women with something to say.

As we are talking about characters can you tell us which ones are your favourite? And to make it slightly harder can you pick your favourite Grimm and then your favourite Wild?

Well, that’s easy! Dortchen Wild is absolutely my favourite character in The Wild Girl. I lived inside her skin for months and months, I feel like she’s a sister of the soul for me. Wilhelm Grimm wins hands down too – I think of him as the quintessential romantic hero – dark, brooding, intense, poetic, passionate ….

How long did the Wild Girl take to write? Where there many challenges on the way?

So many challenges! Far too many to list. I had to teach myself to read German, for example, and not modern German either – I had to learn the High German of the early 19th century. I had to compile a list of all the Grimm fairy tales and find out where and when each one was told. That took ages! All up the research took about a year and the writing and editing took another.

What is your favourite Brothers Grimm fairy tale?

I love many of them, but particular favourites are ‘Six Swans’, ‘’The Singing, Springing Lark’ which is a Beauty-and-the-Beast-type tale, ‘Sweetheart Roland’, ‘Dornroschen’, which we know as ‘Sleeping Beauty’ and ‘Aschenputtel’, a Cinderella-type tale.

In the synopsis for The Wild Girl it says, “Once there were six sisters, The pretty one, the musical one, the clever one, the helpful one, the young one... And then there was the wild one.” Which one would you say you are?

Oh I’m the wild one too! Just ask my sister.

Can readers look forward to another fairy tale retelling from you in the future?

I’m just about to start work on a retelling of one of Dortchen’s tales, ‘The Singing, Springing Lark’ (a Beauty and the Beast variant) set in Nazi Germany. I’m so looking forward to that!

Thank you Kate for taking your time to answer my questions!

About the Book:

The Wild Girl

Release Date: 22nd July 2013

Publisher: Allison and Busby

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 350

Synopsis: Once there were six sisters. The pretty one, the musical one, the clever one, the helpful one, the young one...And then there was the wild one.

Dortchen Wild has loved Wilhelm Grimm since she was a young girl. Under the forbidding shadow of her father, the pair meet secretly to piece together a magical fairy tale collection. The story behind the stories of the Brothers Grimm.

About the Author:

Kate Forsyth is the award-winning and bestselling author of more than 20 books for adults and children , translated into 13 languages. She was recently named in the Top 25 of Australia's Favourite Novelists. Since The Witches of Eileanan was named a Best First Novel by Locus Magazine, Kate has won or been nominated for many awards, including a CYBIL Award in the US. She’s also the only author to win five Aurealis awards in a single year, for her Gypsy Crown series of children's historical novels. Kate’s latest novel, Bitter Greens, interweaves a retelling of the Rapunzel fairytale with the scandalous life story of the woman who first told the tale, the 17th century French writer Charlotte-Rose de la Force. It has been called ‘the best fairy tale retelling since Angela Carter’ and ‘an imaginative weaving of magic, fairy tale and history’. A direct descendant of Charlotte Waring, the author of the first book for children ever published in Australia, Kate is currently studying a doctorate in fairy tales at the University of Technology in Sydney, where she lives by the sea, with her husband, three children, and many thousands of books.

Please visit Kate Forsyth's WEBSITE and BLOG for more information. You can also find her on FACEBOOK and follow her on TWITTER.

Huge thanks to Kate Forsyth for answering my questions. Thank you to Amy at Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours for allowing me to take part and host Kate and The Wild Girl. You can find my 5 star review of The Wild Girl here. Also be sure to check out the rest of the blog tour, you can find the schedule here. Thank you all for stopping by!

Blog Tour and Review: The Wild Girl By Kate Forsyth

noreply@blogger.com (Read Write Reviews) — Mon, 19 Aug 2013 15:30:00 +0000

Welcome to this stop on The Wild Girl Blog Tour! Today I have a review of the enthralling novel that is The Wild Girl. Tomorrow I will have an interview with the author Kate Forsyth so be sure to check back then. So without further ado:

The Wild Girl

Release Date: 22nd July 2013

Publisher: Allison and Busby

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 350

Source: Received from publisher as part of the blog tour.

Synopsis: Once there were six sisters. The pretty one, the musical one, the clever one, the helpful one, the young one...And then there was the wild one.

Review: After reading the flawlessly written Bitter Greens By Kate Forsyth I was incredibly excited to see what she produced next. To find out it was another fairy tale retelling filled me with joy. That novel is The Wild Girl and just like before Forsyth has written an enchanting novel that many readers will love. The novel itself is full of detail and is written so beautifully that you can't help but always read more than you originally set out to do. The world in which the novel is set has been clearly described and painted in the readers mind that it makes the story that much better. The readers are really drawn deep into the story and they will feel attached to the characters and the world around them. I only have good words about The Wild Girl, once again Kate Forsyth has successfully woven real lives and fairy tales set amongst a background steeped in history.

The Wild Girl tells the story of a girl called Dortchen Wild. She is the wild girl, not only by name but by nature. Dortchen lives in a German town called Cassel during the Napoleonic Wars. The Wilds live next door to the Grimm family and play a key part in the success of the Brothers Grimm. Dortchen and her five sisters tell the Grimm brothers many fairy tales which would go on to be included in their story collection. The novel begins when Dortchen is a young girl and she firsts meets Wilhelm Grimm. As the story progresses we see the relationship between the two grow and expand, sometimes even stretching to its limits. All of this takes place while their town is in chaos and uproar due to the Napoleonic wars. Cassel is continuously being invaded and both families have to fight to survive when food and money is scarce. We see both face many problems but the thing that keeps them going is the fairy tales they both love. This is the story behind the stories themselves.

We see a lot of character growth with Dortchen, so much happens and so much changes but the love for the character remains steady throughout the whole novel. Dortchen is a fully detailed character and one whose journey you will love to share despite some darkness and hard truths. At first we see Dortchen as a reckless wild young girl, who always breaks the rules even though she will be punished later. She is carefree and reckless and has a strength about her. She is also one of the kindest characters you will ever read about, she will always try and help those in need even when she herself is troubled. But soon she has to grow up, at first she remains wild but then her father begins to enforce more rules and she gets beaten when she disobeys. This breaks the wildness slightly, it's still there but now there is caution and even a level of maturity about her. Throughout the novel we see Dortchen grow and change. Times become extremely hard for her, not only is the country at war, there is also some problems at home. Some dark and inexcusable things happen and it changes Dortchen forever. It begins to crack the wild girl and soon it all weeps away leaving a dull mannequin in the place of the previously joyous girl. Will Dortchen be able to overcome the terrible things that have happened to her and begin to trust people again? Well you'll have to read and find out. I can guarantee that the detail and realness to the character will blow you away.

There are many strong supporting characters in The Wild Girl, from the Wild Girls to the Grimms, all of them are great, flawed and real like they should be. Wilhelm is my personal favourite, historical romance fans will find him extremely swoon worthy. He is such a gentleman with a soft heart. He always looks out for his family first and will do anything to ensure that they are safe and are cared for, even if that means sacrificing his health and well-being. His love of literature and the written word is so profound and detailed you can tell the author has done so much research to get things so precise.

Although I have already touched upon it, I would like to talk about the detailed backdrop of the story. It is set in Cassel, a German town during the Napoleonic Wars. Many times it is invaded and thrown into chaos, while other times the whole town is celebrating. In a way the town was a character in its own right, always changing and developing as things happened to it. It really changed throughout the novel and it will never be the same again, I think this greatly resembles the growth we have in characters. You can tell just by reading a small part of the novel that Kate Forsyth has spent a lot of time researching the place and the history that takes place in the novel. It is wonderfully described and flawless. As a reader you can imagine walking down the streets greeting the Wild Girls and saying good morning to the Brothers Grimm among many others. It really blew me away, the true extent of it all and it really adds to the novel.

The last things I'm going to talk about is the fairy tales that are told during the course of the novel. I was incredibly surprised to realise that in reality I only knew a few of the fairy tales told by the Brothers Grimm and was very happy to learn more old fairy tales and the hidden meanings and lessons in each. They truly are stories woven into the story and it just works so well. At times Dortchen uses these stories to express her feelings and even events of her life that she would otherwise not say out-loud. It shows the raw power that fairy tales have and how they can give people strength, no matter their age, gender or class, and are very important in times of need.

The Wild Girl is one of those rare stories in which everything works. The characters, the plot, the setting, the themes and even the truths within the stories. History is woven with fairy tales in this extraordinary novel. The Wild Girl is a book that will stay in the readers mind long after reading. It is a powerful book, one that is easy to read while taking in so much detail and depth. It is simply flawless. Kate Forsyth has well and truly done it again.

About the Author:

Please visit Kate Forsyth's WEBSITE and BLOG for more information. You can also find her on FACEBOOK and follow her on TWITTER.

#MurderOnTheBeach Blog Tour! Turning Paradise Into Hell - Guest Post By Kate Harrison

noreply@blogger.com (Read Write Reviews) — Sat, 10 Aug 2013 07:37:00 +0000

Welcome to this stop on the #MurderOnTheBeach blog tour! The tour is bringing exclusive excerpts, interviews and guest posts from Cruel Summer By James Dawson and Soul Storm By Kate Harrison. Today I have a guest post from Kate Harrison in which she explains why she chose to turn paradise into hell. So without further ado here it is:

Turning paradise into hell – why setting the darkest of stories on the beach is irresistible for Soul Beach author Kate Harrison...

I’m a beach babe who doesn’t own a bikini.

I love the sun, but I also love the shadier side of coastal life… and after five years living by the seaside, I see the flaws the tourists miss…

It’s one of the biggest inspirations for Soul Beach – the reality behind the glamour of beach life. Because there’s always a dark side.

I moved to Barcelona when the idea for Soul Beach was beginning to form in my head. It wasn’t even a beach back then. I had seen the tribute pages on Facebook for young people who’d died unexpectedly, and began to imagine a kind of Facebook for the dead, where they could carry on living their lives and communicate with their loved ones left behind.

As me and my boyfriend took our first walks on Barcelona’s long, sandy beaches that summer, I was fascinated by the life there. Beautiful people were everywhere: hanging out, running, playing volleyball or football on the sand, doing martial arts, or simply eyeing up the talent. In contrast, the London we’d left behind seemed drab and ugly.

But gradually I noticed the other side: petty criminals ready to pounce when tourists take a dip. Drunks and addicts drawn to the shores by some elemental force. And then there were my own fears – could I go swimming when I felt self-conscious about my body? And what did those slim people have to go through to stay looking like that?

Pretty soon, the idea of Soul Beach – a paradise on the surface, with trauma below –began to crystallise in my imagination. I thought it was the perfect place to explore the difference between what we see, and what’s really going on beneath. So, my dead ‘Guests’ could resume the lives that had been tragically cut short, but in Paradise. I gave them perfect bodies and non-stop fun – sunshine, beach games, a bar with food and drink on tap.

And yet, it’s never quite enough to make them forget their pasts.

The Spanish name for the coast surrounding Barcelona is the Costa Brava – literally, the wild coast. Now I think that all coasts are wild, and that’s their fascination – the way the weather can change in a moment, the craziness that makes people push themselves further, whether it’s swimming against the tide or chatting up someone you’d never dare approach any other time.

Now we’ve moved back to the UK, but to Brighton, where the beach is pebbly and sunshine is not guaranteed, but the contrast between light and shade is even sharper here. Seaside living brings out and best and the worst in people. And in winter, the strangeness is magnified even more, as the ghost of the burned out old pier emerges from the sea. But I could never go back to being land-locked.

And I still don’t own a bikini…

Thank you to Kate Harrison for the guest post! Also thank you to Indigo Fierce Fiction for having me as a host on the tour! Both Cruel Summer and Soul Storm are out now! Be sure to check out the rest of the tour!

Siege and Storm By Leigh Bardugo

noreply@blogger.com (Read Write Reviews) — Thu, 04 Jul 2013 13:24:00 +0000

Siege and Storm

Series: Grisha #2

Release Date: 6th June 2013

Publisher: Indigo

Format: Paperback

Pages: 400

Source: Received from Publisher.

Synopsis: Darkness never dies.

Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land. She finds starting new is not easy while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. She can’t outrun her past or her destiny for long.

The Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a terrifying new power and a dangerous plan that will test the very boundaries of the natural world. With the help of a notorious privateer, Alina returns to the country she abandoned, determined to fight the forces gathering against Ravka. But as her power grows, Alina slips deeper into the Darkling’s game of forbidden magic, and farther away from Mal. Somehow, she will have to choose between her country, her power, and the love she always thought would guide her–or risk losing everything to the oncoming storm.

Review: Last year when I read Shadow and Bone I was so eager and excited to see what would happen in the sequel. I requested a proof copy of Siege and Storm and received a special ARC that had one of my quotes in it. I read it straight away and it was just as amazing as the first. It was fast paced and introduced us to many new characters that would go on to play a big role in the novel, while also bringing back past characters and showing us how they have developed after the devastating events on the shadow fold. I loved the development of characters in this book and the change of the theme which just aided with the progress of the plot, and kept the novel as a whole, fast paced with the reader continuously engaged.

Siege and Storm begins with Alina and Mal sailing across the True Sea in an attempt to escape the Darkling. When they reach land they try and remain hidden while they earn some money to continue their journey. Alina is being hunted by the Darkling’s army and it isn’t long until trouble arises. With the help of captain Sturmhond, she sets sail again. But it isn’t long until the Darkling finds Alina and a reunion reveals some horrifying things. The Darkling has managed to create a new type of monster, one that only he can summon. With this new revelation, it really hits Alina that she is the only one who can stop him; after all she may have been the cause of this new power.

One of my favourite things about this novel was Alina’s character growth and development. I don’t think I have ever felt closer to a character throughout the course of a novel as I did with this. From the first novel we knew that Alina was a very strong character and one who wasn’t afraid to break a few rules now and again, while she also had an intelligent mind and would use this wisely. In Siege and Storm Alina is still as realistic as ever but now she is put through some internal conflict. We see her struggle with the extent and weight of her power and the realisation that people now see her as a god. This puts a lot of pressure on her and strains many of her relationships with others. Alina is forced to change so quickly in a short amount of time. At the beginning of Shadow and Bone she was a map maker, now she is the Sun Summoner and people are following her as if she is a god and their only salvation. That has to be both physically and mentally draining and we see how Alina copes with it all in Siege and Storm. She begins to develop her power in the hope to save her people but this only adds fear to her mind, as she find this power addictive and she knows the line between the light and shadows is very thin and she could easily fall. Sometimes it seems the best option would be for her to fall across this line and let things finish easily, but she knows that this isn’t the right option and she will rise to conquer the darkling. She knows how the power has changed the darkling and therefore she is scared to use her power so much in fright that she may also fall from grace. Throughout the course of the novel we see her come to terms with how people are now following her and how with their help and uniting everyone there may be a chance to win. She still struggles with her power but we see her trying and adapting to using it in the right way. The development is amazing and so realistically done, Alina gets so confused with things that it becomes a strain she knows she must fight and conquer.

Now onto Mal and the Darkling. Mal first then, well I have to be honest I was not a Mal fan girl in Shadow and Bone and after reading Siege and Storm my dislike for him has grown so much. I just don’t like the way he disrespects Alina all the damn time, and when she says no to him he goes and drowns himself in drink and fights. To me that does not show a strong man, instead it shows a pain in the ass who isn’t worth Alina’s time. Both of them have changed from when they were in the orphanage and I think it’s time that they both move on. There isn’t a place for Mal in Alina’s new life, he knows it and she knows it but they just haven’t acted upon it yet.

Now the Darkling, I love him and his darkly seductive ways. He is still power hungry but we see that the events on the Shadow fold have had an effect on him and also the rest of the Grisha. His hold on them has been slightly impacted. In Siege and Storm we see him more vulnerable, he is slightly weaker due to the events of the Shadow Fold but this has left him with a new power that is greater than what he had before and even more terrifying. The thing is this new power drains on him and is not to be used too often. But as the Darkling is addicted to power he does not see the extent of weakness that has begun to show due to overusing this new power.

I’m just going to talk a little about Sturmhond but not too much as I want you all to discover him and his secrets yourselves when you read the novel. All I have to say is that he is a great addition to the cast of characters and one that will leave an impression on the reader. Let’s just say that an alliance with him would give Alina even more power.

The main part of this book is of course about Alina coming to terms with her power while the threat of the Darkling looms closer but what I also loved was the sub plot of the amplifiers and how they tie in to Alina’s story. I honestly did not see this new connection and addition coming, I love the mystery and enchantment that comes with the tales of the amplifiers and I cannot wait to see what Bardugo does in the final book with them all. Also I loved the Ice Dragon, it’s a shame there wasn’t more focus and time spent on this but never mind I’m still a very happy reader and I am eager to see what happens next.

And with the plot there comes the development of the themes throughout the trilogy. Many trilogies get caught up and jump from themes without a smooth passage between but in the Grisha series it has been done so perfectly, that I can’t help but admire the talent Leigh Bardugo has and how effectively she uses it. In Shadow and Bone we were introduced to the enchanting and epic world of the Grisha and some of its backstory. In Siege and Storm the main focus seems to be the growth of Alina's power and how it has had an effect on the whole of Ravka and its people. From the ending of Siege and Storm we can see that the theme will need to change again due to the final events of the novel. I have every faith that it will flow and work just as well as the previous two novels.

Ooh and the ending of the novel made me literally full of emotions, my heart was pounding and I was so excited but also curious to see what the hell would happen! All I will say is Alina you go girl! And also to the Darkling, I will hug you and comfort you! I won’t say any more but the rest of the ending, oh my god, shows we still have a lot to come in Alina’s story and I am so eager and excited to read it.

Well there you go, Leigh Bardugo, you sure know how to involve your readers and make them an emotional wreck. Siege and Storm is an enthralling sequel that seriously ups the game and expectations of the reader. It is written so beautifully that is flows flawlessly while keeping the magic alive in the readers mind. If you want to read a fantasy series that has a truly unique world then read this series. If you loved the first book then there is no doubt that Siege and Storm will reignite the magic that you found before while also leaving you crying out for the final instalment of the Grisha series. I loved everything about this novel, the strength of Alina and her development, the world building that is still superb, the progress and twists in the plot that will keep the reader enchanted and of course the Darkling who is still waiting for you. Don’t make him wait any longer.

Hiatus Update

noreply@blogger.com (Read Write Reviews) — Fri, 24 May 2013 14:04:00 +0000

Hey guys, long time no see. I'm just popping back online to let you all know that I'm extending this hiatus for another two weeks. This is mainly due to having a full work load right now as term begins to come to an end. I hope you all understand and I thank you all again for sticking around. So far it's been a lovely relaxing break and I've read a few books, not as many as I would have liked, but some good ones at least. I shall see you all soon! Thank you guys for understanding!

Submerged Blog Tour: Guest Post By Nicole Sobon

noreply@blogger.com (Read Write Reviews) — Fri, 17 May 2013 19:26:00 +0000

Welcome to this stop on the Submerged Blog Tour hosted by Itching for Books. Today I have a guest post from the author of the novel. First of all I will introduce you to the novel, Submerged.

Submerged

Series: Outbreak #1

Release Date: 14th February 2013

Format: Paperback / ebook

Pages: 384

Synopsis: After a mysterious virus makes its way into the United States, the government demands that states seal themselves off from one another and do their best to protect their surviving residents. When the state of Florida is bordered off from the surrounding states, Taylen Fincher, a seventeen-year-old girl with a yearning for her former life finds herself wondering how much of what they’ve been told is true.

When Troum took control of the state, he told the residents that the other states had fallen to the virus and that he wouldn’t allow the same thing to happen to them. But Taylen doesn’t believe it. She insists that there is still life outside of the state, and she is going to do whatever it takes to prove it… but her actions will cost her more than she ever expected.

Troum kidnaps Taylen’s sister, Penelope, in hopes of coaxing her into behaving – into being a submissive resident, much like the others. But Taylen isn’t one to give in that easily.

Eager to rescue her sister, Taylen will set out on an adventure that’ll force her to open her heart to the unexpected and to uncover secrets that will change everything.

Guest Post

My Writing Process By Nicole Sobon

Before I even start an outline, I usually start jotting down scenes/ideas as they come to me. I need to make sure that there is enough of a story behind the idea before I commit to it. Once I’m comfortable enough with continuing, I begin the dreaded outline process. (I don’t always outline, sometimes I just allow the story to tell itself.)

This is also when I’d begin doing my research if the book requires it.

Sometimes I can knock out an outline fairly quickly, other times, it can take weeks (which is usually the case with any outline I draft for the Emile Reed Chronicles). I’ll be honest, I don’t like outlining, at all. I only do it when I have to. With the Emile Reed Chronicles, I have to outline because I have to know where I’m going with the story in advance. I’m currently working on Deprogrammed, the second novel and fourth installment in this series, and I’m carefully following my outline. One little mistake could easily ruin the final outcome for Emile’s story, so I have to be incredibly careful. But with a book like Submerged, I didn’t outline. I tried, but the story kept moving away from where I intended it to go (the outline is a completely different book than the final product). Sometimes, I just have to allow the story to tell itself.

If it is part of a series that I am working on, I keep a print out of the prior book next to me. I’ve read all of my books at least twenty times. Program 13 I have read close to fifty times. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to remember every single detail. So I try to jot down the basics (eye color, hair color, style, etc.) on a sheet of paper and attach it to my outline, if there is one. I also keep the print outs next to me in case I have to go back and re-read anything (when you’re connecting three novels and four novelettes together, you have to be incredibly careful that the story lines up correctly).

Once I feel comfortable, I open up Word and start typing.

I know people say not to edit while you write, but I do. I actually double check each chapter with the help of Grammarly after I have finished writing it. This is probably why it takes me so long to write a book, but I want the first draft to be as clean as possible.

After I finish the first draft, which is usually around 60k words, I send it off the beta readers. I let them mark it up and tell me what needs to be changed while I take some time away from the story, this way, when I come back to it later on I have refreshed eyes.

After I go through their edits, I let it sit again for a bit before I start my own edits.

I usually send it off to the betas again at this point so that I can do one final round of edits. Once I receive it back from them, I go over it again with Grammarly and my red pen, and I clean it up as best as possible. This is usually when the manuscript goes from 60k words to 70k words.

After I’m satisfied with the final product, I either prepare for the query process or I format the manuscript for publication.

Random facts:

· I listen to a lot of music while writing – mainly White Lies.

· I usually go through an entire notebook per manuscript full of jumbled ideas.

· Capture is the only book that I’ve written in parts, meaning that I jumped around while writing … it was also my first novel, so I wasn’t entirely sure how to go about writing it.

· When I traveled to Seattle, I took a lot of photographs that later became my inspiration for the settings in Program 13. (I do try to familiarize myself with the setting if the story takes place in a real location.)

Thank you to Nicole for the great guest post!

About the Author:

Nicole Sobon is a YA author of several novels, including Program 13, The Emile Reed Chronicles, Capture, No Place Like Home, and the latest Submerged. This is the first in her dystopian duology.

Find Nicole here:

Website / Twitter / Goodreads

Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you all for stopping by. Be sure to check out the rest of the tour, the schedule can be found here. Thank you Nicole for the awesome guest post!

UK Cover Reveal: Siege and Storm By Leigh Bardugo

noreply@blogger.com (Read Write Reviews) — Fri, 10 May 2013 09:37:00 +0000

Hey, I'm still on hiatus right now but I had to break it to share the UK Siege and Storm cover with you all. I love all things Grisha and Shadow and Bone and I want to share the excitement. Yesterday the UK Cover for the second book in the Grisha series was revealed and here it is:

Siege and Storm

Series: The Grisha #2

Release Date: 4th June 2013

Publisher: Henry Holt-US, Gollancz-UK

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 448

Synopsis: Darkness never dies.

Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land, all while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. But she can't outrun her past or her destiny for long.

The Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a terrifying new power and a dangerous plan that will test the very boundaries of the natural world. With the help of a notorious privateer, Alina returns to the country she abandoned, determined to fight the forces gathering against Ravka. But as her power grows, Alina slips deeper into the Darkling's game of forbidden magic, and farther away from Mal. Somehow, she will have to choose between her country, her power, and the love she always thought would guide her--or risk losing everything to the oncoming storm.

Ooh I really like the vividness of the blue and how it contrasts with the rest of the cover. I love it so much and I can't wait to get my hands on a finished copy! Well done Gollancz for topping the first cover. I have so much love for it, it really would make me pick it up in a bookstore!

Here's the US Cover for Comparison:

What are your thoughts on the UK Cover? Which one do you prefer? Let me know in the comments!

Blog Tour + Author Interview: The Last Academy By Anne Applegate

noreply@blogger.com (Read Write Reviews) — Mon, 06 May 2013 06:38:00 +0000

Welcome to this stop on The Last Academy Blog Tour! Today I have an interview with the author Anne Applegate and also a giveaway, so be sure to enter that. First here's some info about the book:

The Last Academy

Release Date: 1st May 2013

Publisher: Point

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 320

Synopsis: Curtis Sittenfeld's PREP meets THE SIXTH SENSE in this spine-tingling, unforgettable debut.

Camden Fisher arrives at boarding school haunted by a falling-out with her best friend back home. But the manicured grounds of Lethe Academy are like nothing Cam has ever known. There are gorgeous, preppy boys wielding tennis rackets, and circles of girls with secrets to spare. Only . . . something is not quite right. One of Cam's new friends mysteriously disappears, but the teachers don't seem too concerned. Cam wakes up to strangers in her room, who then melt into the night. She is suddenly plagued by odd memories, and senses there might be something dark and terrible brewing. But what? The answer will leave Cam--and readers--stunned and breathless, in this thrilling debut novel.

Author Interview:

First of all Welcome to Read Write and Read Some More, we are very pleased to host you!

Hi Annabelle, thanks for hosting! Great questions – I had fun answering them.

First of all can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

Sure! I have a pretty good case of social dorkwardness in real life, so I’m well-suited to a job in which most of my coworkers are imaginary.

When did you start writing and when did you begin to take writing seriously?

I’ve always loved to write, but I’ve also had the writer’s equivalent of stage fright. Up until my thirties, being afraid was more important to me than being a writer. Finally, I realized I wasn’t a kid any more – if I kept putting off my dreams until I was braver, I might end up dead before I ended up a writer. There were lots of baby steps to getting here, and even now, my delete key takes a lot of abuse.

The Last Academy is your debut novel, can you tell us a bit about how it started from an idea in your mind to becoming a published novel? What was the whole process like?

I had an unusual path to publishing. As part of getting over my stage fright, I kept an anonymous blog (now defunct). It was a place where I could try any goofy thing without anyone I knew looking. That space felt like the very best possible version of being Tom Cruise circa RISKY BUSINESS in the underwear dancing scene. One day, a literary scout/ film producer named Cori Stern emailed me. She’d stumbled across my blog, liked my writing, and wanted to see more. It was one of those fluky, one-in-a-million kind of things. All I could do was laugh. That’s what you get for dancing around like no one’s watching, I guess.

I’d just finished THE LAST ACADEMY and was getting up the nerve to send it out to agents, so I sent the manuscript to Cori too. She got it into the hands of the producer who optioned the movie rights. Shortly after, I lucked out again when Scholastic’s fantastic senior editor, Aimee Friedman, decided to take THE LAST ACADEMY on. She and the publication team at Scholastic have been incredible. Basically, it feels like this book fell out of the lucky tree and hit every branch.

Where did the idea for The Last Academy come from?

I met Barnaby Charon on an airplane when I was fifteen. You can read more about that on a hidden page on my website: anneapplegate.com/secret

I’m really intrigued that the novel is set in a boarding school. What made you decide to choose this setting?

I went to boarding school, so Lethe Academy felt familiar to me. Most of my high school memories are wrapped up with Pacific Ocean views, red tiled roofs, and an absence of family.

What was your favourite part about writing The Last Academy?

My favorite part was about three quarters through the rough draft, when I finally believed I’d finish a whole book. Up until that point, I wasn’t sure I could pull it off. Once I could see how the end would fall together, I knew I could keep revising until the story made some kind of sense. That transition from a place of insecurity to a place of surety? Amazing.

You have one gorgeous cover! What were you first thoughts when viewing the final concept? How well does it fit the story?

Thank you! I think so, too. I was completely in awe when I first saw the cover. Yaffa Jaskoll created an image that beautifully conveys the book’s emotional tenor and storyline.

Which authors and novels have influenced you and your writing?

Oh man, that is a tough question to answer, for fear of leaving out the dearly adored. Growing up, I loved THE YELLOW WALLPAPER, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS by Thomas Harris, and anything by Stephen King.

As I’ve gotten older, I’m more influenced by bits and pieces of books. For example, in HOUSE OF LEAVES by Mark Z. Danielewski, the story included a coded note from one character to another. The reader was required to count lines and mark letters to reveal the true message. When I glanced at my transcription and saw this CREEPY letter, written in my own penmanship, I had to stop reading for a day or two while I got over my heebie-jeebies. That’s the sort of thing I love – when a story is so unnerving you throw the book across the room, but so intriguing you are forced to pick it up again, desperately curious to read a little further.

Do you write your novels by hand or straight away on the computer?

Computer! I’ve heard writing by hand is a good technique – it makes you slow down and think about what you’re saying. But for me, I like to fly via typing. Sometimes, I can go so fast, I am almost actually there, in the story. It’s like breaking the time-space continuum for make-believe.

Thank you so much Anne for answering my questions! It's been great hosting you!

About the Author:

Photo credit: Brittany App

Anne Applegate was born in Chico, California. Most of her childhood was spent moving across America with her family, nomad style.

When Anne was fourteen, her parents sent her to boarding school so she could spend four years in a single educational system. As it turned out, her family then promptly settled into a small mid-western town and lived there for the next sixteen years. Anne still hasn’t figured out if this means something.

After graduation, she went on to Tufts University in Medford, MA, where she had a wicked good time. Eventually, she wound up back on the west coast, where she married a fantastic Californian guy. Together, they have three children.

For the last twelve years, Anne has lived in San Luis Obispo County. This is by far the longest time she has stayed in any one place her whole life. She immensely enjoys living where 1) the sun always shines and 2) she isn’t the weirdest person in town.

Find Anne here:

Website / Twitter

Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Huge thanks to Anne Applegate for answering my questions and for stopping by. Also thanks to Shane at Itching for Books for hosting the tour. You can find the rest of the tour schedule here.

Blog Tour + Author Interview: Zenn Scarlett By Christian Schoon

noreply@blogger.com (Read Write Reviews) — Fri, 03 May 2013 04:38:00 +0000

Hey guys, I'm super excited to host the sci-fi debut that is Zenn Scarlett and the great author Christian Schoon today! I have an interview with the author for you guys but first I'll let you know more about the book.

Zenn Scarlett

Release Date: 7th May 2013

Publisher: Strange Chemistry

Format: Paperback

Pages: 304

Synopsis: Zenn Scarlett is a bright and occasionally a-little-too-smart-for-her-own-good 17-year-old girl training hard to become an exoveterinarian. She specializes in the treatment of exotic alien life forms, mostly large and generally dangerous. Her novice year of training at the Ciscan Cloister Exovet Clinic on Mars was going well - until there are a series of inexplicable animal escapes from the school that Zenn finds herself blamed for. As if this isn't enough to be dealing with, her father vanishes under strange circumstances, and Zenn is worried that she has started hearing the thoughts of the creatures around her...

With the help of Liam, a towner boy, and Hamish, an alien bug also training at the clinic, Zenn must try to find her father, rescue the animals and unravel the mystery of who is behind the attacks on the school. And all without failing her first year.

Author Interview:

1. First of all can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

Let’s see…I was born in glamorous downtown Sioux Falls, South Dakota. My first cat was a Siamese named Phurtadateedah. During junior high, I was shot at by the police (mistaken identity. Honest.). I spent my senior year of high school as an exchange student in Djursholm, Sweden. My four college minors were English, astronomy, anthropology and the Lakota Sioux language. (I cannot, however, speak this language now). I’m a major sci fi geek, a fanatical animal person and a Capricorn but seriously, Saturn or any other planet or star has absolutely no influence over my life. Other lives? That's anybody’s guess. Planetary influence over my fiction is another matter entirely.

2. Before Zenn Scarlett you were a scriptwriter, what made you change

to writing novels and ultimately becoming an author?

Yes, I wrote TV scripts for live and animated shows during my years in Los Angeles. But after we moved back to my Midwestern stomping grounds and bought a farm, my interests shifted, for several reasons. One: it’s tough to keep your oar in the water, scriptwriting-wise, when you don’t live in LA or New York. TV and film are collaborative enterprises, and the people running these things want your body and mind there to collaborate with. There are exceptions to this rule, but they’re rare and didn’t apply to me. Novels, on the other hand, are the ultimate one-person-show. I’m the writer, director, cinematographer, set designer, lighting director, best boy, gaffer and craft services person all in one. Plus, no commute. I kinda like that.

3. Zenn Scarlett is your debut novel, where did the idea come from?

After our move to the back of beyond in gorgeous rural America, my wife and I began accumulating animals on our farm and volunteering with animal welfare groups. Before long, I was hanging out with veterinarians who specialized in exotic animal medicine and found myself interacting with bears, cougars, big snakes, horses, etc. Along with my fondness for sci fi, this new arena of interest lead to the idea for a novice exovet working with alien animals.

4. Can you tell us a bit about how it started from an idea in your

mind to becoming a published novel? What was the whole process like?

The real lightbulb-popping-on-over-my-head moment was the simple concept of an alien animal vet. I couldn’t recall ever reading, or even hearing about, a similar character/situation in either books or films. From there, the rest of the story rapidly fell into place. Then, I worked and re-worked the story in my spare time over several years while I continued to work my day gig full time. I submitted to my list of chosen genre-specific agents. Got politely rejected. Main comment: “Awesome concept. Not ready for prime time.” And I quickly caught on to the fact this was all too true. So, I polished. Then, as I was about to submit to my next round of agents, an agent contacted me. He’d come across the manuscript at his former company and had pushed it, but his bosses passed. Now, he was at a new agency and wondered if I’d been signed. No, I had not. He signed me, we worked to streamline the story, split my one long book into two and a few months later he sold the books as a series to Strange Chemistry, who by the by are awesome as they come. The whole process was both educational for me as a noob novelist – I knew scriptwriting, but novels are a whole ‘nother animal… and it was angst-making during the submission process, but euphoric when the books sold.

5. In the novel Zenn is training to become an exoveterinarian. How

much research did you have to do into the world of animal medicine and

animal welfare? As an animal management student myself, I’m very

intrigued.

My research for the vet science part of Zenn Scarlett really grew out of my “on the job” experiences as a volunteer with several animal welfare groups. One is the Iowa Equine Rescue and Awareness League. This group works exclusively through law enforcement agencies and steps in after horses, donkeys or burros are confiscated due to neglect or abuse. The equines come to our farm, and other foster sites, where we tend to any outstanding medical issues, then get them back to a healthy, stable weight, work with them on handling issues, and adopt them out to qualified owners. Another group is called Witty Kitties, Inc., but the name is a little misguiding. In addition to providing housing and life-long care for felines with special medical needs (FIV, Feline leukemia, etc.) Witty Kitties is also licensed to rescue and rehab exotic animals like bears, cougars, coyotes, emus, Burmese pythons, American alligators, iguanas, tortoises and other critters.

6. You have wide variety of pet’s yourself, did they inspire you in any way?

I’d say my affection and admiration for my horses, cats, dogs and ferrets is a direct inspiration for Zenn’s similar attachment to the unearthly animals residing at the Ciscan Cloister Exovet Clinic where she's undergoing her novice year of training.

7. I’ve just got to throw this one in there, you have 30 cats? I love

the kitties but how do you have enough space for them all? Are they

generally outside cats?

Good question! Most of them are outside barn cats. But we provide heat lamps and hay bales in the “cat barn” for these outdoor guests here on the farm, and they’re almost as pampered as the felines living indoors. More than a few of our barn cat contingent are now in their second decade, which as you probably know, is well beyond old age for a cat living outdoors. And, as outdoor cats show signs of being true “seniors,” we move them indoors to live. Iowa winters can be pretty gnarly.

8. The main setting for Zenn Scarlett is Mars, what made you set the

novel in outer space? Did this entitle much research on your part?

The desire to incorporate a Martian setting probably arose from my early reading of the Edgar Rice Burrough’s Barsoom books. Plus, I’ve watched the various NASA Mars rovers with great interest; the reports on Mars’ environment seem to get more life-friendly all the time (even if that life turns out to be "simple" microbes and lived there long ago). And yes, I did need to brush up on my Mars facts as I wrote, so I now have a fairly full shelf of books on the subject.

9. What was your favourite part about writing Zenn Scarlett?

Some of the most fun scenes to write were Zenn’s interactions with her alien patients. She’s very good at what she does, and it’s always enjoyable to be around someone who’s competent at their job!

10. What are your current writing projects and what can we expect from

you next? One of the most important questions, Will there be a sequel?

Next up from me is, in fact, the sequel to Zenn Scarlett, where we’ll follow Zenn off Mars and into thrilling encounters with outlandish new creatures, fascinating alien races and mind-boggling interplanetary intrigue! It’s due out about a year from now so… I’ll be in touch!

11. Which authors and novels have influenced you and your writing?

The above-noted Burroughs, as well as Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series, William Gibson’s Neuromancer, T.H.White’s The Once and Future King, and too many more to even get into here!

12. Describe Zenn Scarlett in 5 or less words?

Compassionate, empathetic, fearless, determined, way-cool!

13: What’s your favourite Animal?

Rikkasets are pretty fabulous. But, here on earth, I really love the grace and inscrutability of cats.

Bonus Question: I’m guessing you’ve been bitten by an animal with all

the ones you have, what’s been the worst one though? I was bitten by a

ferret last week and damn it hurt!

Yeah, I’ve still got tiny teeth marks sprinkled across one arm from one of my own ferrets. Have been nipped by several kinds of snake (nothing serious), chomped pretty good by horses (leaves nasty teeth-mark-bruises) but I have to say the worst bites of all are from those graceful, inscrutable felines. Especially if they get you in a finger joint; almost certain to get infected. But, still not bad enough to dull my fondness for the little varmints.

About the Author:

Born in the American Midwest, Christian started his writing career in earnest as an in-house writer at the Walt Disney Company in Burbank, California. He then became a freelance writer working for various film, home video and animation studios in Los Angeles. After moving from LA to a farmstead in Iowa several years ago, he continues to freelance and also now helps re-hab wildlife and foster abused/neglected horses. He acquired his amateur-vet knowledge, and much of his inspiration for the Zenn Scarlett series of novels, as he learned about - and received an education from - these remarkable animals.

Pre-order Zenn Scarlett:

Amazon

Find Christian here:

Goodreads / Blog / Twitter / Publisher

Huge thanks to Christian for answering my questions and thank you to Amanda at Strange Chemistry for allowing me to participate in the Zenn Scarlett Tour! Thank you for stopping by and Happy Reading!

Blog Tour: The S-word By Chelsea Pitcher

noreply@blogger.com (Read Write Reviews) — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 05:08:00 +0000

Welcome to this stop on The S-word Blog Tour, today I was meant to have a review for you all but I haven't had time to read the book just yet, sincere apologies. You can see why on my brief hiatus post. Anyway onto the book, I have read the first few chapters though and you guys are in for an amazing debut. Without further ado lets hear about the book:

The s-word

Release Date: 7th May 2013

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Format: Paperback

Pages: 320

Synopsis: First it was SLUT scribbled all over Lizzie Hart’s locker.

But one week after Lizzie kills herself, SUICIDE SLUT replaces it—in Lizzie's looping scrawl.

Lizzie’s reputation is destroyed when she's caught in bed with her best friend’s boyfriend on prom night. With the whole school turned against her, and Angie not speaking to her, Lizzie takes her own life. But someone isn’t letting her go quietly. As graffiti and photocopies of Lizzie’s diary plaster the school, Angie begins a relentless investigation into who, exactly, made Lizzie feel she didn’t deserve to keep living. And while she claims she simply wants to punish Lizzie’s tormentors, Angie's own anguish over abandoning her best friend will drive her deep into the dark, twisted side of Verity High—and she might not be able to pull herself back out.

Debut author Chelsea Pitcher daringly depicts the harsh reality of modern high schools, where one bad decision can ruin a reputation, and one cruel word can ruin a life. Angie’s quest for the truth behind Lizzie’s suicide is addictive and thrilling, and her razor-sharp wit and fierce sleuthing skills makes her impossible not to root for—even when it becomes clear that both avenging Lizzie and avoiding self-destruction might not be possible.

About the Author:

Chelsea Pitcher is a native of Portland, OR where she received her BA in English Literature. Fascinated by all things literary, she began gobbling up stories as soon as she could read, and especially enjoys delving into the darker places to see if she can draw out some light.

Find her here:

Website / Twitter

Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you for stopping by and thank you to Shane for hosting the whole blog tour. You can find the rest of the Tour schedule here.

Brief Hiatus

noreply@blogger.com (Read Write Reviews) — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 14:05:00 +0000

Hello guys! After much thought the past week and today, I’ve decided to go on a brief hiatus. The past week I’ve been in a reading slump and haven’t read any new books and I’ve had no motivation or time to do blog posts. So it’s left me with a clouded mind and I’ve decided to take a step back and refresh for a while. Don’t get me wrong, I have so much love for blogging but there’s so much going on right now, from college work, to looking at university’s and planning my future, I kinda need to focus on that right now. I would like to get ahead with a few college things too and just generally start getting ready for the end of term and exams. This will also allow me to catch up on reading without demands on deadline and review dates. I hope you all understand and thank you all so much for sticking around. I’m planning to be gone for two weeks but if this changes I will let you all know. If you need me in the meantime I will still be on twitter all the time, so tweet me. Also a few planned blog tour posts will go up during the hiatus but they’re already planned and ready to go. Thank you again, I hope to see you all when I get back!

The Bone Dragon By Alexia Casale

noreply@blogger.com (Read Write Reviews) — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 06:08:00 +0000

The Bone Dragon

Release Date: 2nd May 2013

Publisher: Faber and Faber

Format: Paperback

Pages: 304

Source: From Publisher.

Synopsis: Evie's shattered ribs have been a secret for the last four years. Now she has found the strength to tell her adoptive parents, and the physical traces of her past are fixed - the only remaining signs a scar on her side and a fragment of bone taken home from the hospital, which her uncle Ben helps her to carve into a dragon as a sign of her strength.

Soon this ivory talisman begins to come to life at night, offering wisdom and encouragement in roaming dreams of smoke and moonlight that come to feel ever more real.

As Evie grows stronger there remains one problem her new parents can't fix for her: a revenge that must be taken. And it seems that the Dragon is the one to take it.

This subtly unsettling novel is told from the viewpoint of a fourteen-year-old girl damaged by a past she can't talk about, in a hypnotic narrative that, while giving increasing insight, also becomes increasingly unreliable.

A blend of psychological thriller and fairytale, The Bone Dragon explores the fragile boundaries between real life and fantasy, and the darkest corners of the human mind.

Review: The Bone Dragon is such a powerful debut novel. I’ve wanted to read this novel for a while, the synopsis intrigued me straight away and then the cover fully hooked me, after all it’s gorgeous. To be honest I’m not really sure what I was expecting when I picked up this novel. I wasn’t expecting such a raw and powerful story with such a strong main character. Alexia Casale has shown that she is a talented writer who can pack such an emotional punch in her prose. The Bone Dragon left me wanting more, I couldn’t believe when it ended, I wanted the novel to continue so I could learn so much more about Evie. It’s an emotional ride that’s mixed with mystic and magic, set against the vivid backdrop of the fens.

The novel begins when Evie wakes up in hospital after her operation. The only thing left over from the terrible past is a piece of rib bone that she carves into a dragon with her Uncle Ben. Evie is in a lot of pain after the operation and one night she wishes on this dragon. She soon begins to have dragon dreams where the dragon comes alive and helps Evie gain back her strength. It’s there to protect her and the dragon has a plan. In her dragon dreams, it takes her out into the fens to explore as he plots the steps of this plan, but he doesn’t let Evie know the ultimate goal. Evie’s life has been tough and things finally begin to look up, except there is one thing that will never go away and it’s that she’s most scared of.

Poor Evie has been through a hell of a lot. She is a damaged child and that of course has affected her mind and well being. She’s very cautious about things and will never tell anyone the truth about her injuries, except her adoptive parents. She’s fragile but she has the life of a normal teenager. She still goes to school and has best friends who have girly days out together. She has some very caring protective parents and an awesome uncle. These people have welcomed her into their home and for once she feels like she belongs and can trust them with the harsh truth of her past. I loved the way Casale has dealt with such a troubled character and made her so interesting and engaging to the reader. She has many past problems and it was interesting to see how it was dealt with in the novel and seeing small snippets of her past coming back to her. Evie cannot remember everything from her past as it was so disturbing and even now she wishes she could forget. Despite this there is some strength to the character, she is determined to go on and fit in with her new family. The Dragon seems to symbolise the inner strength that Evie has even if it is buried deep inside under all the hurt and pain. It is and will always be there if you dig hard enough. In a way it shows hope too, hope that in the future things will get better. I am still surprised at the sheer depth to the character and how real she felt. It really feels like I know Evie after reading this book. She is an unforgettable character and one that will stay with me for a while yet.

Weaving into Evie’s story is that of her adoptive parents and their dead son. I also found it really interesting learning about their loss and how Evie has helped them not to combat it, but to accept it. She isn’t a replacement; she’s another addition to the family. I liked the contrast between the two different types of pain and loss, with Evie’s past and Amy and Paul’s loss. Alexia has shown that there is a variety of pain in the world and neither will be the same. There’s this underlining hope that together they can heal, it’s touching and very emotional to watch.

The Bone Dragon is… There are so many ways I can start this sentence but none of them seem to fully fit the emotion and power this novel has hidden in its pages. You have some incredible characters that are all so realistic, each with their own little flaw. I particularly liked how Evie could tell by certain things that her adoptive parents were lying. It’s these small details that add to the depth of the storytelling and make it even better. If you’re looking for a promising new writer, then Alexia Casale is the one you want. The Bone Dragon has the correct mix of mystery, pain, adventure, happiness and of course an enchanted dragon. It’s a book that, not only will you enjoy, but it will also stay with you for a long while. So there you have it, I don’t even want to say goodbye but this review is already long. The Bone Dragon is simply a book that you should all read.

Waiting On Wednesday (#17)

noreply@blogger.com (Read Write Reviews) — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 01:38:00 +0000

"Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

My chosen upcoming release is:

The S-Word

Release Date: 7th May 2013

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Format: Paperback

Pages: 304

Synopsis: First it was SLUT scribbled all over Lizzie Hart’s locker.

But one week after Lizzie kills herself, SUICIDE SLUT replaces it—in Lizzie's looping scrawl.

This sounds really good, and I'm interested in seeing how well this relates to the real high school experience. It sounds like a really good even if slightly harsh contemporary novel. I can't wait!

What's your "Waiting on Wednesday" pick this week?

Want to participate? Grab the logo, post your own WoW entry on your blog, and leave your link over at Breaking the Spine!

Top Ten Tuesday (#6)

noreply@blogger.com (Read Write Reviews) — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 04:08:00 +0000

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week they decide upon a bookish subject that we then have to choose our top ten. This weeks topic is: Top Ten Books I Thought I'd Like MORE/LESS Than I Did.

Hmm this is a rather hard topic to choose from. I've managed to come up with ten though she here we go. I have had many books I liked better that I thought and some I didn't like as much, but when trying to remember them all it's so hard. Anyway here they are:

Five books that disappointed me:

1. Fever By Lauren DeStefano

I loved Wither so much but Fever was such a let down. It was so disappointing and pretty rubbish compared to book one.

2. Zenn Scarlett By Christian Schoon

I was expecting such an original Sci-Fi novel but instead there was a bland story and boring characters. The only thing that saved it for me was the setting.

3. Sister Assassin By Kiersten White

This has such a cool cover and intriguing synopsis but the story itself was rubbish and angered me so much.

4. Nightshade By Andrea Cremer

I wanted YA werewolves and this showed up, but it was terrible in my opinion.

5. City Of Fallen Angels By Cassandra Clare

I enjoyed the TMI novels but this one was a complete slap in the face, it was so terrible compared to them. It has to be Clare's worst book.

Five books that surprised me and I loved:

1. Shiverton Hall By Emerald Fennell

I honestly wasn't expecting this to be such a brilliant horror novel. I mean it's aimed at Children but it still scared me so much. It was a promising debut that I loved.

2. Poison Study By Maria V. Snyder

I knew this was meant to be a good fantasy novel but it blew my mind. It is now one of my favorite books ever!

3. A Long Long Sleep By Anna Sheehan

This was an incredible dystopian novel, I wasn't expecting much though as it didn't have much publicity but it was great.

4. Earth Girl By Janet Edwards

This is the best sci-fi/dystopian novel I have read. It was so unique and perfectly written.

5. Howl's Moving Castle By Diana Wynne Jones

This has been recommended to me a lot but I wasn't expecting the overwhelming greatness and uniqueness of this novel. It completely blew my away. I just want to keep re-reading it.

There you go, my Top Ten Books I Thought I'd Like MORE/LESS Than I Did. I would love to see your picks, if you leave a link in the comments I will pop over to see your post. Thank you for stopping by!

With All My Soul By Rachel Vincent

noreply@blogger.com (Read Write Reviews) — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 06:38:00 +0000

With All My Soul

Series: Soul Screamers #7

Release Date: 5th April 2013

Publisher: Mira Ink

Format: Paperback

Pages: 377

Source: Received from Publisher.

Synopsis: After spending the last year undead, Kaylee Cavanaugh has had enough of the paranormal creatures who have plagued her ever since she came into her banshee powers. Now she's ready to take her school back from the evil hellions, once and forever.

To protect her friends, Kaylee will need to find a way to turn the living incarnations of Avarice, Envy and Vanity against one another.

Yet when one more person close to her is taken, Kaylee realises she can't save everyone she loves without making some powerful sacrifices...

Review: I caught up with this series last year and I was devastated to realise that it would all end in 2013 with, With All My Soul. I really love this series and I was worried about saying goodbye to my favourite characters but after reading, I can assure you that this is a great ending to the series. This book made me feel so many emotions while reading. I knew this was the end but I wanted to savour every sentence and each individual word Rachel Vincent had placed in the final book of the Soul Screamers series. With All My Soul, is a remarkable ending and one all fans will love and cherish.

With All My Soul begins at Emma’s funeral, together the group watch the burial of their friend who isn’t actually dead. It’s while watching that Kaylee realises that she must put an end to Avery’s evil plans once and for all, especially before anyone gets killed. She will be in charge of the plan to end the hellions rein over her school but she needs her friends to help her carry it out. Kaylee begins to realise how much her friends are willing to sacrifice to help her and it makes a lot of thinking necessary on Kaylee’s part. Time is ticking and when her dad is taken she gets angrier than ever. It doesn’t help that her anger just draws a whole new hellion to her. It’s time for Kaylee to make the ultimate and final sacrifice.

Through the course of these books I have watched Kaylee grow and develop as a character and she does even more so in this final novel. Kaylee has watched her friends sacrifice themselves for her, her family have suffered because of her, some relationships have become strained and others have developed, and it all revolves around Kaylee and Avery’s need to have her soul. If Kaylee wasn’t there they would be safe. Kaylee makes a plan but she knows it’s a long shot if it’s to be successful and when her father is taken she realises that more and more people are going to get hurt because of her. Kaylee learns a lot in this book, we see her become very independent and sometimes reckless but she does things on her own without input from any of the others. Kaylee has grown so much and now is an individual woman who knows she doesn’t need to rely on others. She has the power to stop this and only her. She comes to terms with a sacrifice she needs to make and it is heart-breaking to see her carry it out. Its here we see Kaylee as the courageous heroine she is, willing to make sacrifices to save those around her. I really enjoyed how this novel mainly centred on Kaylee. Yes the others are there but she does things independently and I think that’s a big step for someone who only found out they were a bean sidhe a year ago. Kaylee has grown up tremendously and learnt a lot, it’s with this realisation that the reader knows that Kaylee will be ok, even when there are no more books about her.

The others are as quirky as ever. My favourite of course will always be Tod. Sigh, he’s so right for Kaylee and he knows she has to do things on her own and he lets her even if he doesn’t like it. We see Kaylee keep things from him in this book and their relationship becomes stronger and more developed because of it. Vincent, when can I get my Tod? Nash finally comes to terms with a few things in this book, yes he still has some episodes of outrage but he makes some mature decisions. It really is like watching a child grow up before your eyes, it’s happened so quickly and you try to savour the final moments before they go off into the world. Sabine is still her loud and confident self but she’s a friend to Kaylee when she needs it. I liked the better view on both Sophie and Emma in this book as it allowed the reader to connect with them before the end. I’ve said before and I will say it again, the characters Rachel Vincent creates are always so fleshed out and you receive a wide variety of personalities and this just makes the journey more fun and enjoyable.

I also really enjoyed the introduction of Ira, the demon of wrath and how he proved to be a valuable asset despite the risk of his involvement and of course the payment. I didn’t see the ending of this book coming at all, Vincent kept the ball rolling from the first page and even later on in the novel we don’t know what Kaylee’s going to do until she says some goodbyes. Oh my I was heartbroken reading one particular scene, I still can’t fathom it, it was so right but so wrong at the same time. It hurt my heart. With All My Soul is full of action and adventure and there are some tough decisions being made by Kaylee. The results will shock the reader but the ending was so good. It really wrapped things up for me and showed us that no matter what happens life will go on.

With All My Soul is a magnificent ending to a strong and original series. The novel wraps up all loose ends and leaves the reader satisfied, also slightly emotional. Yes it may be the end of Kaylee and the gang but the journey has been worthwhile and one I recommend to all new readers. Rachel Vincent has written a very satisfying conclusion to her YA series.

Isabella Rockwell's War By Hannah Parry

noreply@blogger.com (Read Write Reviews) — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 05:38:00 +0000

Isabella Rockwell's War

Release Date: 23rd August 2012

Publisher: Hannah Parry

Format: Paperback

Pages: 288

Source: Received from Author.

Synopsis: Raised in 1820’s India, twelve year old Isabella Rockwell can ride and shoot as well as any of the soldiers in her father’s regiment. These skills, however, are of no use to her when she finds herself on the frozen streets of London, orphaned and alone.

Tormented by guilt over the deaths of those who loved her, she vows never to be responsible for anyone’s life again. If she can scrape together enough money, she will return to India. But Isabella cannot shake the creeping feeling that something is not right; that something threatens not only her new best friend, but the throne of England itself.

Having survived this far on her wits alone, will Isabella escape back home to India? Or will she stay with Alix, a girl whose fate seems to be tied up with Isabella’s own? A fate which will have consequences far beyond those Isabella could ever have imagined.

Review: Isabella Rockwell’s War is a novel that was submitted to me for review from the author and it was a very surprising and fun read. The characters were all solid and real, Sophie is an inspirational heroine, who I would indeed love to meet. The most important thing about this novel is the strong message about survival and the motivation that even in the harshest of times you can go on and turn your life around. For a children’s novel this is spectacular and very enjoyable. Even adults will adore reading this fresh historical novel.

Isabella Rockwell’s War begins with Isabella running off in search of her missing father who is believed to be dead. He was one of two soldiers sent out on a mission and neither returned. Desperate, Isabella runs away to find him but gets lost in the Indian desert and starts to dehydrate. Luckily some soldiers find her and take her back to base. It’s here she learns that her nanny has also died and the only thing the army can do is send her back to England until she is of age. In England she discovers that things aren’t as they seem so she escapes to live on the streets but things are really tough out there. She knows she needs to find shelter and food or it will all be too late and she will never return to her beloved India. On the streets she meets a gang of homeless children who are kind to her but somehow she gets mixed up with the royal family and her dreams seem further away than ever. Time is running out and Isabella knows something isn’t right.

I really loved the character of Isabella. She was strong and determined and had the will power to go on even when things were severely tough and hard. She was rather inspirational in the way she wouldn’t give up. She was a very strong character and one that should inspire all young girls. Isabella was a smart girl with knowledge of herbs and medicine and also the ability to protect herself. She had a great survival instinct; she thinks about things so far in advance that even the reader must keep up with her quick intellect and wit. In the novel she’s not just a girl trying to survive, she’s a girl who tries to help her friends and even becomes a protector to one and saves her life. She is a force to be reckoned with and I was pleasantly surprised at the strong fleshed out character that is Isabella Rockwell. I will miss reading about her and the troubles that follow her every step.

We have many secondary characters throughout the novel and even they were very well fleshed out, none of them were flat which is great. The author must have put a lot of time into shaping these characters to be what they are in the finished product. My particular favourites being: Midge, another homeless boy who was particularly attached to Isabella. Zachariah who I wanted Isabella to end up with but alas it didn’t. He was the leader of the group and was very protective of his little sister. It was great seeing the soft and sensitive side to his character. You could easily see that she was his whole world. And of course there is Alix. The royal Princess who Isabella saves from severe injury. It’s her kindness that brings Isabella back into the world and together they are the best of friends. She’s a very strong character too. She may seem childish and spoilt at first but you soon see that she is indeed fit to be a queen.

The historical aspects to the novel were really interesting, I loved the whole look into the royal family and the way Alix’s mother would use her to get money. This was indeed the case back then and it was great to see the author pick up on these things. You can easily tell that she has done her research. There’s action and adventure throughout the novel as Isabella battles to survive and then saves Alix’s life. While Isabella also plays detective in such a professional fashion, you can’t help but root for her from the very start. There are so many little things in this novel that make the overall book so good.

I’m really surprised at how much I loved this book and really enjoyed reading it. Isabella Rockwell’s War is a really powerful novel with an inspirational young heroine. It is definitely a book I recommend for young girls as Isabella is very inspiring. Nevertheless adults can and will enjoy it just as much. I would like to thank the author, Hannah Parry for offering me the chance to review her book in exchange for an honest review.

Waiting on Wednesday (#16)

noreply@blogger.com (Read Write Reviews) — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 04:38:00 +0000

"Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

My chosen upcoming release is:

The Oathbreaker's Shadow

Series: The Knots Sequence #1

Release Date: 6th June 2013

Publisher: Random House Childrens

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 416

Synopsis: Fifteen-year-old Raim lives in a world where you tie a knot for every promise that you make. Break that promise and you are scarred for life, and cast out into the desert.

Raim has worn a simple knot around his wrist for as long as he can remember. No one knows where it came from, and which promise of his it symbolises, but he barely thinks about it at all - not since becoming the most promising young fighter ever to train for the elite Yun guard. But on the most important day of his life, when he binds his life to his best friend (and future king) Khareh, the string bursts into flames and sears a dark mark into his skin.

Scarred now as an oath-breaker, Raim has two options: run, or be killed.

A gripping YA action-adventure fantasy, the first part of a planned duology.

I cannot wait to read this novel! I've been eagerly anticipating it for at least a year. It just sounds so good! I'm hoping to get my hands on a proof copy soon! It just sounds so good, doesn't it? The whole idea is so unique and I'm so excited for it!

What's your "Waiting on Wednesday" pick this week?

Want to participate? Grab the logo, post your own WoW entry on your blog, and leave your link over at Breaking the Spine!

Top Ten Tuesday (#5)

noreply@blogger.com (Read Write Reviews) — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 01:38:00 +0000

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week they decide upon a bookish subject that we then have to choose our top ten. This weeks topic is: Top Ten Tuesday Rewind so i have chosen to do is: Top Ten Favourite Book Quotes.

Right I love quotes, a lot and hence I have a rather large list so I'm going to share my favourites with you. Most of these are ones that mean something to me personally, I only really save the quotes that I connect with. They echo parts of my life and memories of the years gone by. Some though are just one's I generally love from some of my favourite books. So here they are in no particular order :

1. “You forget, darling. I am the local psychopath.”

Bitten By Kelley Armstrong

2. “Even when we're apart, we'll be looking at the same sky!”

Daugthers of Darkness By L. J. Smith

3. “If I shot an arrow and thought about an ass, would it surprise you that I hit Erik?' Stark asked me in a pleasant, nonchalant voice.”

Tempted By P.C and Kristen Cast

4. “In the end, it only comes down to one thing: choosing the one you can’t live without.”

Alpha By Rachel Vincent

5. “You're a prefect? Oh Ronnie! That's everyone in the family!"

"What are Fred and I? Next door neighbors?”

Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix By J. K. Rowling

6. “Not all those who wander are lost.”

The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien

7. “Are you crazy? It's a common phrase, I know. But it means something particular to me: the tunnels, the security screens, the plastic forks, the shimmering, ever-shifting borderline that like all boundaries beckons and asks to be crossed. I do not want to cross it again.”

Girl, Interrupted By Susanna Kaysen

8. “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies, said Jojen. The man who never reads lives only one.”

Dance with Dragons By George R. R. Martin

9. “Things change. And friends leave. Life doesn't stop for anybody.”

The Perks of Being a Wallflower By Stephen Chobsky

10. “Life is a book and there are a thousand pages I have not yet read.”

Clockwork Princess By Cassandra Clare

Well there you go my top ten quotes! You cannot believe how giddy I was when choosing them. I think i have a slight obsession with powerful quotes that are so important to me.

I would love to see your Top Ten Tuesday Rewind posts so leave a link in the comments and I'll check them out. Thank you for stopping by! Happy Reading!

The Goddess Test By Aimee Carter

noreply@blogger.com (Read Write Reviews) — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 07:08:00 +0000

The Goddess Test

Series: Goddess Test #1

Release Date: September 2011

Publisher: Mira Ink

Format: Kindle edition

Pages: 295

Synopsis: Every girl who had taken the test has died.

Now it's Kate's turn.

It's always been just Kate and her mom - and her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate's going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear that her mother won't live past the fall.

Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld - and if she accepts his bargain, he'll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests.

Kate is sure he's crazy - until she sees him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems crazily possible. If she succeeds, she'll become Henry's future bride and a goddess.

If she fails...

Review: I’ve been meaning to read this novel for a long while as I love all things that include mythology. I only got to it when I received the next two novels for review. The Goddess Test is a very interesting book where mythology is mixed into the modern world, but not in the way you would expect. I really liked the unique twists this book presented, most of which the reader wouldn’t identify. The plot was compelling and the wide variety of characters proved fresh and realistic.

The Goddess Test begins when Kate takes her mother back to Eden, the town she grew up in so she can die where it all began. Despite her pleas, her mother forces her to enroll at the local high school, where she meets some key players in the story. Kate tries to remain anonymous but the popular crowd won’t allow that. When queen bee Ava, invites her to a party, her mother insists she goes to get out for a while. So she does and things don’t go very well, there’s an accident that will begin twisting Kate’s life path with the Greek gods. A mysterious stranger shows up to save the day but there’s a price but is it one Kate can pay?

I actually really liked Kate’s character and how passionate she is about her mother’s survival. She sacrifices her own time to take care of her mother even when a carer could do that. She doesn’t trust anyone with her mother’s precious life. She has never had any normal teenage moments and she’s been forced to grow up before her time. Once we see her move into Eden she begins to slowly get accustomed to life without her mother by her side. Instead she has to open up to strangers and begin to live her life independently while in a strange environment. This is hard on Kate especially as everyone treats her with caution and doesn’t tell her the truth. She knows Henry’s fate rests on her shoulders and one wrong step could be the end to them both.

Now Henry, aka Hades ruler of the underworld, is the other main character in the novel. He’s the love interest and the one who offers Kate her mother’s survival. He knows that he only has one more chance left to find a Queen of the Underworld; if he fails he will fade and be forgotten. Kate is his last chance and he will protect her from anything even if that includes himself. We get to watch him go from a cold character to slowly beginning to open up to Kate and showing his true self. This was really interesting and I know some people have complained about Henry being too innocent but I like it and how it puts him into a whole new light. He isn’t the darkly seductive hades we have all come to know and I think that’s very clever of Carter.

I’ve also read so many reviews which complain about the Gods and Goddesses being wrong or not like the classics. I thought they were all great, I personally loved how the remained hidden until the end of the novel and then we saw who they truly were. It allowed the reader to get a closer insight to each of the Gods and I loved how it worked so well. Each god signified one test that remained anonymous until the end. The setting was also really interesting, how it was in Eden but was hidden from the rest of the world. Oh and how they all wore old dresses like proper ladies and gentlemen. Sigh, there were so many great things about this book, slight things that would sometimes go overlooked but they really add to the story and setting.

The Goddess Test is promising debut novel that combines mythology with some real life issues. It’s a great beginning of a series and I cannot wait to get to the next two books. Aimee Carter has added a unique twist to Greek mythology and has written one of the best mythology based YA novels I have read!

Blog Tour and Author Interview: Stung By Bethany Wiggins

noreply@blogger.com (Read Write Reviews) — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 05:38:00 +0000

Welcome to this stop on the Stung Blog Tour. Read Write and Read Some More is pleased to host Bethany Wiggins and her brilliant novel Stung. At this stop you will find an author interview with Bethany Wiggins and my review of Stung. First I'll post the book review and then the author interview below. Be sure to enter the giveaway at the end too!

Stung

Series: Stung #1

Release Date: 2nd April 2013

Publisher: Walker

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 304

Synopsis: There is no cure for being stung.

Fiona doesn’t remember going to sleep. But when she opens her eyes, she discovers her entire world has been altered—her house is abandoned and broken, and the entire neighborhood is barren and dead. Even stranger is the tattoo on her right hand—a black oval with five marks on either side—that she doesn’t remember getting but somehow knows she must cover at any cost. She’s right.

Those bearing the tattoo have turned into mindless, violent beasts that roam the streets and sewers, preying upon the unbranded while a select few live protected inside a fortress-like wall, their lives devoted to rebuilding society and killing all who bear the mark.

Now Fiona has awakened branded, alone—and on the wrong side of the wall.

Review: After reading Bethany Wiggin’s first novel Shifting last year, I was excited to see what she would produce next and that result is Stung. First impressions then, the cover is brilliant, it’s simple, interesting and lethal. It doesn’t give any part of the story away but it does intrigue the reader. Then the synopsis introduced us to the basic idea of the novel and by this time I was sold on reading it anyway. I love dystopian and post-apocalyptic novels and this one sounded very unique. Fast forward a few months and I received a review copy and dug straight into it. Stung is a very original novel based on a problem with bees. That problem is so realistic. I mean it could happen in today’s world. That in itself is scary but Wiggins has taken it to the next level and produced a fast-paced novel.

Stung begins when Fiona Tarsis wakes up in her home, with no memory of the past four years. Her home is in tatters and she is alone. It seems her parents left a long while ago. Looking in the mirror, Fiona notices her body has changed drastically and she doesn’t remember growing up at all. The next thing she notices is a tattoo on the back of her hand of a ten legged bug. It marks her as a level ten and a possible beast. Leaving her already desolate house she realises the world is not the same. Caught up with the militia, Fiona is treated with severe caution, everyone around her is waiting for her to turn into a beast, after all it’s inevitable. She has to survive a few days and wait for the wall to open and then she will be passed on to the lab that will use her for experiments. Only with the help of Bowen will she survive in this new world, where everybody is after her.

Fiona wakes up with no memory of the past four years; we get to see her shock and disbelief at what’s happened to the world around her. It was really interesting to watch the main character learn about this world at the same time and pace as the reader. We both got to witness it together and in a way I believe that really helped connect the reader to the main character. Fiona was lost at the start and hence she was stepping out into a completely dangerous world with no knowledge of the harm that could come to her. She’s scared and alone, and she has to trust the first person she meets. How scary would that be, just thrust back into the world with no idea at all? When she is taken by the Militia we begin to see her survival instincts kick in and her strength appear. She is strong when she needs to be and she knows that she has to survive and will do what it takes to keep her heart beating. Even when faced with danger, she’s scared yes, but she doesn’t scream and run like a little girl, instead she holds her ground. I really enjoyed reading Fiona’s journey and character growth. I become very attached to her along the way as she really came into her own.

The other main character is Bowen. He’s Fiona’s captor and rescuer. He’s also the love interest and is totally swoon worthy! Bowen is part of the militia and he’s in charge of looking after Fiona before she goes to the lab. The thing is Fiona knows Bowen from the past and he can’t bring himself to hate her like the others as he knew her before. He realises that she isn’t a beast and is more relaxed around her. Bowen has come to terms with a lot of loss during the four years of change and this has changed him. Bowen sacrifices himself and his life to protect Fiona, knowing that she is different. I loved the connection between the two and I was falling for him from the start. He was perfect and I hope there’s more of him in the future.

Now onto the world Bethany Wiggins has created. It’s scary how realistic the problem featured in the novel is and how it could happen one day. The whole world created has been well thought out, with the wall and city inside being for all uninfected people up to the age of 55. Then there’s outside the wall where the true danger lurks, with fecs hiding in the dried up sewers, beasts living in abandoned buildings and some survivors just hanging on to life there too. You have a whole new currency system of honey, a new government and a new military. There must have been so much planning to get this perfect but the final result is amazing. It’s scary and harsh but also so realistic.

Stung is a very promising start to a series, and once again it shows the talent Wiggin’s possesses. I can easily say this is one of my top reads this year. It’s a fast-paced, compelling novel that will keep the reader hooked from the very first page. From a unique idea this brilliant book has developed into a fantastic novel, which is sure to be a favourite with readers. Wiggins’ you are a very talented writer and I cannot wait to read the second novel.

Author Interview:

1. First of all can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I'm a mother of four, a wife, an avid reader, like to bake and garden, I thought magic was real until I was about 25 years old, and I like to dance while I wash the dishes (though I am a terrible dancer!).

2. When did you start writing and when did you begin to take writing seriously?

I started writing about ten years ago, on a dare, and realized I loved it. The first book I wrote was garbage (I never let anyone read it because I could tell my writing was terrible!). The second book I wrote was decent. It was at that point that I decided I wanted to be an author. The fifth book I wrote was finally good enough to get published! That was about seven years after I started writing!

3. Stung is your second novel, can you tell us a bit about how it started from an idea in your mind to becoming a published novel? What was the whole process like and how did it differ from the process of Shifting?

STUNG all started because of a nightmare (see question #4). It took me about a year to write, while SHIFTING took six weeks (I only had two kids when I wrote SHIFTING. I was pregnant with #4 when I wrote STUNG). Shifting took a very long time to get an agent and publisher. With STUNG, I sent the finished manuscript to my agent. She read it in three days and sent in directly to my publisher. I knew within a week that they wanted to publish it, so STUNG was much slower to write, MUCH faster to be accepted by my publisher!

4. Where did the idea for Stung come from?

A few things inspired STUNG. The first was an early morning nightmare that woke me from a dead sleep. This nightmare was so vivid and riveting, I wrote it down and it became chapter one of STUNG.

Also, I started writing this book at the time the swine flu scare was running rampant through the USA. I watched these crazy people on the news who were swarming the health departments, frantic to the point of violent to get the swine flu vaccine for their kids, and it made me wonder, "What if the government told us there is this huge flu to scare us into taking a vaccine that is really going to harm us?"

Lastly, I remember getting a Discovery Magazine that talked about the decline of bees. And all of sudden, it was like a puzzle clicking into place. I had everything I needed to write a book. And that is the recipe for STUNG!

5. Shifting was a paranormal novel and Stung is a dystopian, was it difficult switching between the genres?

Not at all. I just wrote the story that was inside my head.

6. What made you choose to write a dystopian novel?

Actually, I thought I was writing a Science Fiction novel! And I didn't decide to write it, it sort of decided to be written by me.

7. What was your favourite part about writing Stung?

The romance, and the ending. They are both bright spots in an otherwise intense book.

8. You have one very unique cover! What were you first thoughts when viewing the final concept? How well does it fit the story?

First thought: Yay! There's not a pretty girl on the cover! Not that there's anything wrong with pretty girl covers, they're just sort of being overused at this point. The cover fits the book so well that it gave me chills the first time I saw it.

9. Which authors and novels have influenced you and your writing?

Robert Jordan, Patricia McKillip's The Changeling Sea, Robin McKinley's Hero and the Crown and Blue Sword, Frank Herbert's Dune, Catherine Paterson's Jacob Have I Loved.

10. Do you write your novels by hand or straight away on the computer?

Straight away on the computer! I don't have the hand muscles to write 300 pages by hand! Plus, I type really fast.

11. What are your current writing projects and what can we expect from you next?

STUNG 3! Stung 2 aka CURED, comes out this January.

Totally bonus question: If you could have dinner with one person, dead or alive, who would it be and why?

Jane Austen! I'd ask her how she wrote such amazing novels without being able to edit them on a computer! Her first drafts must have been pretty near perfect.

About the Author:

Bethany Wiggins has always been an avid reader, but not an avid student. Seriously!!! She failed ninth grade English because she read novels instead of doing her homework. In high school, she sat alone at lunch and read massive hardback fantasy novels (Tad Williams and Robert Jordan anyone?). It wasn't until the end of her senior year that the other students realized she was reading fiction--not the Bible

Seven years ago, Bethany's sister dared her to start writing an hour a day until she completed a novel. Bethany wrote a seven-hundred page fantasy novel that she wisely let no one read--but it taught her how to write. Since then she has completed six more novels, each one a little better than the one before.

The fifth book she wrote, "SHIFTING," is represented by Marlene Stringer of the Stringer Literary Agency, and was published by Walker Books September 27 2011!!!

Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Trailer:

Thank you Bethany for participating in the interview. You can find the blog tour schedule here. Thanks to Book Paparazzi for hosting the tour and choosing me as a tour host. Be sure to enter the giveaway and Thanks for stopping by!

The Madman's Daughter By Megan Shepherd

noreply@blogger.com (Read Write Reviews) — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 06:38:00 +0000

The Madman's Daughter

Series: The Madman's Daughter #1

Release Date: 11th April 2013

Publisher: Harper Voyager

Format: Paperback

Pages: 368

Source: ARC provided by Harper Voyager.

Synopsis: In the darkest places, even love is deadly.

Sixteen-year-old Juliet Moreau has built a life for herself in London—working as a maid, attending church on Sundays, and trying not to think about the scandal that ruined her life. After all, no one ever proved the rumors about her father's gruesome experiments. But when she learns he is alive and continuing his work on a remote tropical island, she is determined to find out if the accusations are true.

Accompanied by her father's handsome young assistant, Montgomery, and an enigmatic castaway, Edward—both of whom she is deeply drawn to—Juliet travels to the island, only to discover the depths of her father's madness: He has experimented on animals so that they resemble, speak, and behave as humans. And worse, one of the creatures has turned violent and is killing the island's inhabitants. Torn between horror and scientific curiosity, Juliet knows she must end her father's dangerous experiments and escape her jungle prison before it's too late. Yet as the island falls into chaos, she discovers the extent of her father's genius—and madness—in her own blood.

Inspired by H. G. Wells's classic The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Madman's Daughter is a dark and breathless Gothic thriller about the secrets we'll do anything to know and the truths we'll go to any lengths to protect.

Review: Ah, this was one of my most anticipated novels of 2013 and my expectations were truly blown out of the water. This novel is not only written in such a professional and talented way but it also scared the life out of me. Upon reading the first few chapters I was shocked at the harsh description of a vivisection but that was only the beginning. The whole novel revolves around one man’s madness as he tries to play god. There are many disturbing scenes in the novel but they were written so well and weren’t overdone or dumbed down. Megan Shepherd really found the correct writing style and description that allowed the reader to be disturbed but also curious to read on. It takes a certain level of talent in which this can be done correctly but most importantly well and I honestly don’t normally expect that in debut novels but The Madman’s Daughter is simply incredible and blown all regular expectations.

Juliet is daughter of the famous surgeon Dr Moreau, who Juliet believes is dead after their family fell into scandal because of him. He was accused of attempting harsh and inhumane operations on animals that were against the law. His whole family were ruined and he left them. Juliet’s mother passed away and she’s left to fend for herself in 1894 London. She works as a cleaner at the Royal College. One night when tailing along with her friend Lucy and some medical students, she discovers some form of vivisection is taking place where she works. The diagram they are using belongs to her dead father. Appalled Juliet does the only thing to put the animal out of its suffering. She then goes in search of the man who gave the students the diagram so she can get the truth out of him. It’s upon meeting this person that things shatter around her and she learns that not only is her father alive but he’s also still performing some experiments on a deserted island. She demands to be taken to him but she’s not prepared for what awaits.

Juliet is a clever woman who has the talent of her father but being women she is denied the right to learn and practice science. Left in ruin she has to learn things by overhearing lessons taught to medical students while she cleans. She’s a lonely girl and has only one friend, who was incredibly annoying. Juliet is a strong character who doesn’t usually let people get in her way; she will do anything to protect herself, even if this means doing the most unladylike of things. She was also cautious though when it came to knowledge as she was aware her father’s blood and madness ran in her veins and she didn’t want to become like him. Her father had already fallen over the line into insanity and she doesn’t know how easy it will be for her to follow. Juliet has to come to terms with a lot throughout the novel, such as harsh truths and realities while also learning some nightmarish things about herself and her father. It’s hard to see how she didn’t break down while learning it all but she managed to keep calm.

We also have two love interests. Montgomery, her father’s servant and her old play mate. He has now grown into an impressive man who has knowledge of science that rivals her fathers. He has always been affectionate towards Juliet but we see his feelings have developed incredibly during their parting. I personally didn’t like Montgomery, after all he had done, some of which were similar to her father, and Juliet still forgave him. I wouldn’t be able to let that pass so easily. I just felt their relationship was inevitable and there was no growth to it, it was rather instant for my liking. Then we have Edward Prince, the stranger they found half dead in the sea. He is an upper-class gentleman, one who her father wishes her to marry when they meet. He has many secrets of his own and we see him fight them and try to relax around these strangers on a deserted island. Edward of course likes Juliet and she is drawn to him too, and I think they were much better suited. Something’s I can mention others I can’t as I don’t want to spoil the novel. Both knew how to survive and had fathers who disapproved of them. Oh and that ending, I really liked how no matter what he would protect her.

Now onto Dr Moreau, he is the perfect evil villain. I don’t think there have been many others who scared me as much as he did. He was a very cold harsh character who had no morals. He knew from the start what he was doing was wrong but he never stopped, didn’t care about the pain and suffering he put animals through; he only wanted the final result. The scenes in which he is doing his experiments truly disturbed me. It doesn’t help that I’m an animal management student who understands some of the toughest welfare issues but this was something horrifying in my eyes. I was so shocked at the vivid descriptions of the vivisection's and then the suspense of the thing that was killing all the islanders. This book scared me deeply, I didn’t want to walk down my dark hallway while reading this book, and I got the chills and flinched while reading those dark scenes. It was so vividly real and it’s horrifying to know that this used to happen and in some places still happens. I can’t get over the sick and horrified feeling that comes over me when thinking about it. Megan you really have written a powerful horror novel.

The Madman’s Daughter isn’t a novel I would recommend to the light hearted, it is full of some harsh and horrifying things, but that’s what makes the novel for me. It has everything the perfect horror novel needs and here it is in all its slightly unsettling glory. The writing itself was so clever and flowed so well. It had the quality of a talented writer and exceeded all expectations of mine. It flowed so well and was so fluently connected from start until finish. Megan Shepherd is a very gifted writer, who has mastered the horror genre with her debut. The future looks very promising for this author and I cannot wait to read what happens next to Juliet and co, but I do think I need time to recover from the horror this novel beholds. The Madman’s Daughter was one of my anticipated reads and now I can say it is one of the best and completely blows all expectations the reader will have prior to reading.

Cover Reveal: Crown Of Midnight By Sarah J. Maas

noreply@blogger.com (Read Write Reviews) — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 11:13:00 +0000

Right, I'm guessing you guys all know of the brilliant Throne of Glass By Sarah J. Maas? If not click here for my review. Well this morning the cover for the sequel was revealed and holy batman, it is amazing! I didn't think they could top the first cover but they have! It is so badass and gorgeous, I couldn't wait to share it with you, I have both the UK and US Cover, so I will post them together first then separately below.

Oh my! Aren't they just gorgeous! They are so powerful in my opinion. They really have topped the Throne of Glass cover but I'm really not sure how they will be able to top this. I personally prefer the UK cover as the colors just look so more bold and eye-catching The US cover does fit in with the US cover of Throne of Glass, nevertheless I love it as well.

UK Cover:

Series: Throne of Glass #2

Release Date: UK - 20th August US - 27th August

Publisher: Bloomsbury Childrens

Format: UK Paperback US Hardcover

Pages: 336

UK Synopsis: Eighteen-year-old Celaena Sardothien is bold, daring and beautiful – the perfect seductress and the greatest assassin her world has ever known. But though she won the King’s contest and became his champion, Celaena has been granted neither her liberty nor the freedom to follow her heart. The slavery of the suffocating salt mines of Endovier that scarred her past is nothing compared to a life bound to her darkest enemy, a king whose rule is so dark and evil it is near impossible to defy. Celaena faces a choice that is tearing her heart to pieces: kill in cold blood for a man she hates, or risk sentencing those she loves to death. Celaena must decide what she will fight for: survival, love or the future of a kingdom. Because an assassin cannot have it all . . . And trying to may just destroy her.

Love or loathe Celaena, she will slice open your heart with her dagger and leave you bleeding long after the last page of the highly anticipated sequel in what is undeniably THE hottest new fantasy series.

US Cover:

US Synopsis: An assassin’s loyalties are always in doubt. But her heart never wavers.

After a year of hard labor in the Salt Mines of Endovier, eighteen-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien has won the king's contest to become the new royal assassin. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown – a secret she hides from even her most intimate confidantes.

Keeping up the deadly charade—while pretending to do the king's bidding—will test her in frightening new ways, especially when she's given a task that could jeopardize everything she's come to care for. And there are far more dangerous forces gathering on the horizon -- forces that threaten to destroy her entire world, and will surely force Celaena to make a choice.

Where do the assassin’s loyalties lie, and who is she most willing to fight for?

Here are the Throne of Glass Covers for comparison:

UK Cover / US Cover

Well there you are! The kick-ass cover to Crown Of Midnight, the hotly anticipated sequel to Throne of Glass!

I would love to know what you think of the cover, let me know in the comments!