Stories of my life

Fire and Ice Hop

2013-02-13T06:00:00.000+01:00

This is the month for romance! For defying the cold nights and curling up with a good novel on your lap, and to revel in the power of love.

Okay, that might have sounded slightly tacky, but it is true: romance is not only hot, it's also vital and when its official holiday comes up, then it's time to give it some thought. And to celebrate with a gift! What am I going to give you, I wonder....

I know! A copy of a book of your choice in the Soul Screamers series! And yes, that includes the omnibus volumes or a preorder of With All My Soul. As long as Book Depository ships to your country, you can win. To enter, just leave me a comment with the answer to this question:

What makes romance perfect for you?

My answer is, of course, related to the series I picked (And from this point on, there are spoilers up to book 5, so if you're not there, feel free to not read on!)
Most times, when we find romance in a book, it's intense and wild and shocking and everlasting. I love that, because usually real life love is complicated and twisted and hard to keep. I think we all need a world colored in pink from time to time! And that's exactly why I admire so much what Rachel Vincent did with this series:

She gave us a perfect hero, she threw her heroine in and let her fall head over heels with the image of the perfect jock, the handsome star. And then... she threw that perfect boy down from the pedestal, showed us he was human and perhaps not quite so perfect. That was eye-opening!

Behind this loss of ideals, though, Vincent developped something else: she allowed an acquitance to grow into camaraderie and then into friendship, almost in the background, the development overarching three books. She let that friendship take roots, slowly, and grow. And suddenly, when one icon falls, we find that, lo and behold, we're left with a real relationship in its place. A relationship based on knowing another person, and liking what you see; based on trust and fun and hard times in equal parts.

I think it was a hue gamble, to give us one hero and then dethrone him in favour of another character, but, though daring, I find it appropiate and, above all, honest with the meaning of love and relationships.

What do you think? I look forward to your answers!

VBT Review: The Hands of Tarot, by SM Blooding

2012-12-11T10:00:00.000+01:00

Author: S.M. Blooding

Title: The Hands of Tarot

Series: The Hands of Tarot

ISBN: 9781477600290

Publisher: Blooding Books (July 3^rd 2012)

Disclaimer: Copy received for review

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

    “She killed his father.

    She imprisoned and beat him.

    And now she thinks he’s her trophy.

    Synn El’Asim will do almost anything to prove her wrong. But he’s only proving her right.

    Queen Nix awakened his Mark of power and inducted him into the House of Wands. She knew what she was doing. The son of the two most powerful Families standing against her is the ultimate prize.

    What she didn’t take into consideration was that maybe he was too strong for her.

    Maybe.

    But the Families aren’t. They’ve been weakened and it’ll take a lot more than one young man with a powerful Mark to take on the Hands of Tarot.”GoodReads’ blurb

I had two chances to pick up this title for review and so I thought some higher being might be trying to tell me something (I don’t usually get repeat request from several fronts!). So, I dug in for a little more information, because the blurb felt slightly confusing to me, and then I thought: “Well, if this doesn’t look like the kind of stuff I could love!”

So I gave in and became part of the review tour. I’m really, really glad I did, though I have to say one thing before going any further: The Hands of Tarot is one of those books that get a rating because of gut feeling (more on this later) and a different person, or even myself at a different moment, might not have enjoyed it as much.

Okay, on to the details.

The worldbuilding was really intriguing. It was perhaps the most confusing part, or at least the part that took me the longest to fully grasp, but it wasn’t because it was vague or anything: it was just that complex. Plus, I kept trying to see the Tarot relationship and coming up short, but... The thing is that this dark, rotten, twisted steampunk-ish world is very well thought out and very original. I enjoyed that aspect, if only because it stepped away from most of what I’ve read to date.

The characters, I think, were introduced. Laid out for the reader to meet, so to speak. I think there were a lot of aspects to pay attention to—the world, the magic system, the action...—and the characterization suffered a little because of that. Still, we do have the grounds for good development and potential, we’ll just have to wait and see where it goes.

The relationships between the cast is perhaps the aspect where the potential of the characters is more pronounced, and the fact that they need more work more obvious. I’m not talking about the (barest) hints of romance, or about the friendship between the survivors, but about the very violent, very abusive relationship between our hero and our villainess. The stuff that happens there is harsh, and it’ll make many people frown upon teens reading this story because it’s the kind of material nightmares are made of. I enjoyed it because I was in the right mood to read about the depravity humans can fall to and because sometimes I’m a bit of a sadist and enjoy the characters truly suffering, not just sugar-coating it (this is the gut-feeling part) but it’s true that the level of torture you can find in these pages probably should have deeper consequences in the character’s psyche. That said, I was willing to suspend disbelief and go along, and still enjoy the story so there.

This is a planned series, I understand, so the full-out action happening here will surely have repercussions that I’m quite curious to see. The ending was quite open, too... But beyond a warning to avid back-to-back readers, what I mean to say is that there’s still a lot of potential for this series: it can go great, or it can fall into something less that spectacular along the following volumes. The beginning sure is promising, but there’s much to see about the characters, about the way the violence is handled, about the solutions to the conflict. That’s why I said this is a gut-rating: I enjoyed it, personal preference.

Also, a fair warning to you, grammar lovers: there were a few issues here and there. Didn’t keep me from reading, but I did note them.

This review is part of a book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions and, as part of the tour, there's a prize: SM will be awarding a Tarot Doll of their choice to a randomly drawn commenter (US/Canada Only) during the tour. For more information, visit this link

Eve Hallows Book Blast (Plus Giveaway)

2012-12-11T00:30:00.000+01:00

EVE HALLOWS AND THE BOOK OF SHRIEKS (BOOK 1)

For fourteen-year-old Eve Hallows, life can be summed up in one word—horrible. She has the most horrible friends. She lives in a horrible old castle. Even her family is a bunch of horrible monsters.

However, in the monster-inhabited world of Gravesville—a world where messages are sent through Ouija boards, jack-o’-lanterns get facials to suit their moods, and the worst thing Eve has to deal with are those annoying zombie tourists who overrun her favorite graveyard during the Halloween season—horrible means wonderful. And everything for Eve is perfectly horrible.

But her life is about to go head over heels when a mysterious group known as The Source starts terrorizing Gravesville. Now she must move to the human world—where everything is opposite ... and for Eve, that's absolutely adorable!

Praise for Eve Hallows and the Book of Shrieks:

"Move over, Neil Gaiman’s CORALINE and THE GRAVEYARD BOOK … make room, Lemony Snicket’s A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS … you’ve got company and competition for shelf space!" -- THE HORROR FICTION REVIEW

"WOW! What an absolutely horrible book (horrible meaning fantastic!) ... This book was laugh out loud funny. I loved when Mom accidentally turned people to stone. Dad's crazy attempts at running a pizza store were just hysterical." -- KIDS 'N' BOOKS

"This is the perfect book to be read aloud, read at night under the covers or simply devoured in one sitting. Robert Gray’s Eve Hallows and the Book of Shrieks simply shines with all of its fun creepiness, compelling characters and stellar writing. A MUST read for any MG fan!" -- WORD SPELUNKING

"Eve Hallows is highly imaginative without being too complex for its target audience. Fall in love with Eve, her friends and her family of adorable monsters. Lose yourself in a light read that will remind you of those days when your English teacher just want you to read something, anything. This book is it. The one that you wish you read when you were in grade school." -- JOYOUS READS

"Overall, this book was fantastic. It presents an admirable role model as well as a strong family unit which will benefit young readers. When so many books right now have presented teens in a not-so-flattering light, it is so wonderful to find a book like this one." -- BOOK COVER JUSTICE

Purchase

Kindle * Amazon

EVE HALLOWS AND THE BOOK OF SHADOWS (BOOK 2)

Ever since encountering The Source and its minions on Halloween, Eve Hallows has found life surprisingly quiet … not to mention adorably boring! So when Dad receives a Ouija message that she must return to Gravesville, Eve couldn't be happier—at least until she discovers the Director of URNS, also known as the Grim Reaper, has a special job for Eve … one that will lead her to New York City and to the true identity of The Source.

With The Book of Shrieks offering zero help and a new URNS agent driving the school boys—and Eve!—crazy, Eve's beginning to realize this whole saving-the-world nonsense isn't what it's cracked up to be.

All this and she still has to find The Book of Shadows....

Praise for Eve Hallows and the Book of Shadows:

"This book was perfectly horrible! Horrible meaning amazingly awesome, of course. Eve's world once again sucked me in and would not let go until this part of Eve's story was finished" -- LILI LOST IN A BOOK

"This is a perfect combination of YA, Horror, Paranormal and Fun!" -- BOOK LOVERS PARADISE

Purchase

Kindle * Amazon

Blog Tour: December 10th to 23rd

Tour Schedule

Author Robert Gray

Robert Gray is a writer. If that job description doesn't impress you, how about fantasy writer? Too general? Well, he doesn't get insulted if you call him a horror writer. If horror's not your thing, then scratch out horror and replace it with suspense. And for the kiddies, you can slap on a YA or MG in front of that title.

Gray lives in Bushkill, Pennsylvania with his wife and two children.

Twitter * Facebook * Goodreads

Book Blast $50 Giveaway

Ends 12/23/12

*You need not enter your twitter name for each entry. Simply enter it when you follow Robert and leave the others blank.

Open to anyone who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent's permission. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

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