Cover reveal - Fire & Flood by Victoria Scott

I am sooo excited to be sharing with you today the cover of Fire & Flood by Victoria Scott! the first book in the Fire & Flood trilogy.

Fire & Flood

Author: Victoria Scott
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Release Date: 25^th February 2014

Paperback/e-book
Pages: 320 pages

Add to GOODREADS 

Synopsis (Goodreads)

A modern day thrill ride, where a teen girl and her animal companion must participate in a breathtaking race to save her brother's life—and her own. 

Tella Holloway is losing it. Her brother is sick, and when a dozen doctors can't determine what's wrong, her parents decide to move to the middle of nowhere for the fresh air. She's lost her friends, her parents are driving her crazy, her brother is dying—and she's helpless to change anything.

Until she receives mysterious instructions on how to become a Contender in the Brimstone Bleed. It's an epic race across jungle, desert, ocean, and mountain that could win her the prize she desperately desires: the Cure for her brother's illness. But all the Contenders are after the Cure for people they love, and there's no guarantee that Tella (or any of them) will survive the race.

The jungle is terrifying, the clock is ticking, and Tella knows she can't trust the allies she makes. And one big question emerges: Why have so many fallen sick in the first place?

Victoria Scott's breathtaking novel grabs readers by the throat and doesn't let go.

What do you think??

About the author: (from Victoria Scotts website)

I’m a teen fiction writer with a die-hard affection for dark and humorous books. My work is represented by Sara Crowe of Harvey Klinger literary agency. I have a master’s degree in marketing, and currently live in Dallas with my husband, Ryan.

My first book series started with THE COLLECTOR, and was published by Entangled Teen in April 2013. The second book in the trilogy, THE LIBERATOR, will release August 2013. My next series kicks off with FIRE & FLOOD and is being published by Scholastic, March 2014.

Blog – Website – Twitter - Facebook - Goodreads - YouTube

Waiting on Wednesday - Sea of Shadows (Age of Legends #1) by Kelley Armstrong

Hi everyone, thank-you so much for stopping by my WoW!

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine which spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

My WoW for this week is Sea of Shadows by Kelley Armstrong, the first book in her Young Adult Age of Legends series.

 Author: Kelley Armstrong

Series: Age of Legends

Pages: 400

Genre: Young Adult

Publisher: Harper Teen

Amazon pre-order
Release date: 1st April 2014

Synopsis. (Goodreads)

They hear the spirits.They must obey.

In the Forest of the Dead, where the empire's worst criminals are exiled, twin sisters Moria and Ashyn are charged with a dangerous task. For they are the Keeper and the Seeker, and each year they must quiet the enraged souls of the damned.

Only this year, the souls will not be quieted.

Ambushed and separated by an ancient evil, the sisters' journey to find each other sends them far from the only home they've ever known. Accompanied by a stubborn imperial guard and a dashing condemned thief, the girls cross a once-empty wasteland, now filled with reawakened monsters of legend, as they travel to warn the emperor. But a terrible secret awaits them at court--one that will alter the balance of their world forever.

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong comes a captivating new series that blends elements of fantasy and horror with the pulse-pounding action and romance that have earned her a devoted readership worldwide.

What are you eagerly awaiting this week?

Review: The Accident by Kate Hendrick

The Accident

Author: Kate Hendrick

Series: -

Pages: 272

Publisher: Text Publishing

Genre: Young Adult

Amazon – TBD

Synopsis (Goodreads)

A rainy night. 

A car crash.

After the accident Sarah moves to a new school. A new place where no one knows what happened to her or her brother—where she doesn't have to deal with the history that's pulling the rest of her family apart. 

Will is keeping his head down at home, just trying to get by. Then his sister Lauren comes back—as caustic as always but somehow changed. Will doesn't know what upheaval brought her home. But it's sparking some serious change in his life too.

Eliat's got no mother of her own, and she's way too young to be one. Looking after a two-year-old, trying to finish school—sometimes all that keeps her sane is partying as hard and fast as she can. Now the pressure's building and Eliat just wants to get away.

Just get into a car and drive.

In this impressive and beautifully written debut, Kate Hendrick sets the butterfly effect in motion. The moving stories of three teenagers going through crucial changes—before, after and around the accident—show how random actions acquire significance. How one pivotal moment could transform your life and you might never know; how what you do matters.

Review: 3 ½ out of 5 stars

The Accident is the story of Sarah Starke, Will McAlpine and Eliat Singleton whose lives are in some form connected. With the backdrop of Sydney, Australia it is an engaging and thought provoking read.

The characters: I enjoyed quiet, introverted Sarah the most, she has just started a new school and is trying to adapt to the recent changes in her family life as well as recover from the accident which happened a year prior; Will’s family life is difficult and I found his love of reading quite endearing but he came across as an unfeeling character and Eliat is in the foster system raising her two year-old daughter Tash but still living her wild lifestyle, she is the character I connected with the least because I didn’t feel she truly appreciated what she had and seemed oblivious to her own situation, as tough as it was.

The plot: Was interesting with three very different characters trying to decide the directions they will take with their lives, the changes they needed to make and their purpose; I was intrigued by each of their differing situations and struggles and felt each grew as the book progressed despite the problems they faced. It showed that all actions have some form of consequence and I liked the underlying message.

I felt the overall feel of The Accident was quite morose; I had to stop at one stage for a breather and a bit of light reading, the pacing of the first few chapters were quite slow and took me a while to get into but once I did, I was riveted. The characters show vulnerability and emotions true to their age which I appreciated, the story is told in time perspectives of Before, After and Later and it was all tied together in the end nicely.

My biggest gripe with this book was trying to work out whose point of view each chapter was coming from, Sarah, Will or Eliat’s, it was especially difficult in the initial stages where we were still working out who is who but I came to get accustomed to each characters unique voice as I read along.

The Accident was written extremely well, I enjoyed Ms. Hendrick’s style of writing and her characterisations. It is a book which evokes a lot of emotions and curiosity; it is a wonderful debut for Kate Hendrick and the Sydney setting I always find appealing.

Thank-you kindly to Text Publishing for providing me with a copy of The Accident to read and review.

About the author: Kate Hendrick is a high school teacher and creative jack-of-all trades, with interests in art, design, photography, writing and anything DIY, especially if it involved power tools. She and her husband live in Sydney with their young daughter. 

The Accident is her first novel.  

Review: Chosen at Nightfall (Shadowfalls #5) by C.C. Hunter

Chosen at Nightfall

Author: C.C. Hunter

Series: Shadow Falls

Genre: Young Adult - Paranormal

Pages: 400

Publisher: St. Martins

Amazon – TBD

Synopsis (Goodreads)

Don’t miss this magnificent final chapter in the breathtaking Shadow Falls series! Kylie’s epic journey is about to lead her exactly where she belongs...

When Kylie Galen entered Shadow Falls Camp, she left her old life behind forever and discovered a world more magical than she ever imagined. A place where you’re two best friends can be a witch and a vampire... and where love doesn’t happen the way you’d expect.

When Kylie’s most powerful enemy returns to destroy her once and for all, there’s only one way to stop him—to step into her full powers and make a stunning transformation that will amaze everyone around her. But her journey won’t be complete until she makes one final choice…which guy to love. Should she choose to the werewolf who broke her heart but will give anything to win her back, or the half-fae who ran from their attraction before they had a chance? Everything she’s learned at Shadow Falls has been preparing her for this moment - when her fate will be revealed and her heart claimed forever.

Review: 5 out of 5 stars

I was hesitant about starting Chosen at Nightfall, not because I wasn’t eager to dive into the final book in the Shadow Falls series but because I had come across a review not in spoiler tags which explained what had happened in great detail which unfortunately made me lose all interest in reading it; but over the weekend my curiosity got the better of me and I finally picked it up and loved it!

This is a series which needs to be read in order to unravel the mystery that is our MC sixteen year-old Kylie Galen, she has been through a great deal over the past four books emotionally, physically, mentally and also with her family, friendships and relationships which I have always been fully invested in.

Chosen at Nightfall gives us great closure on everything, including her relationship status which has played a big part in all of the books – she finally choses between fae Derek and shifter Lucas, I was so pleased with how this aspect played out, there is always going to be someone left hurting at the end of a love triangle but this was written in a way which was worked out really well and I was pleased with the outcome.

Kylie has gone through great character growth, she is still trying to work out her Chameleon abilities, her role as a protector and communicating with the dead and in this installment someone of great importance has paid her a visit to help out with a part of her quest; but it doesn’t come without a lot of pain and confusion. The action scenes in this book weren’t as detailed or as often which was disappointing and the final scene between Kylie and the villain was a tad anti-climatic but it didn’t take away from my overall enjoyment.

The secondary characters are amazing! I have always loved Kylie’s friendship with Della the vampire and Miranda the witch, camp leaders Burnett and Holiday are awesome and are great parental role models since her own parents seem to be all over the place, they all played an important role in the overall series and I have come to appreciate all of them.

The boys ~ There have been many highs and lows with Derek and Lucas; both have adored Kylie but also broken her heart; I have been up and down with who she should chose but there definitely was a clear winner in this one and despite his actions in the previous books I feel he has redeemed himself.

Chosen at Nightfall did not disappoint and was an amazing conclusion to the series, C.C. Hunter’s writing is delightfully engaging and her detailed supernatural world one which has left me satisfied.

Overall, this is one of my favourite series, I have loved unravelling all of the Shadow Falls secrets and getting to know and love the wonderful characters with their amazing abilities and characteristics – it was as story of self discovery. I am sad to see the series come to an end but relieved to know there will be a spin-off series with feisty vampire Della Tsang.

About the author: C.C. Hunter grew up in Alabama, where she caught lightning bugs, ran barefoot, and regularly rescued potential princes, in the form of Alabama bullfrogs, from her brothers. Today, she's still fascinated with lightning bugs, mostly wears shoes, but has turned her focus to rescuing mammals. She now lives in Texas with her four rescued cats, one dog, and a prince of a husband, who for the record, is so not a frog. When she's not writing, she's reading, spending time with her family, or is shooting things-with a camera, not a gun.

C.C. Hunter is a pseudonym. Her real name is Christie Craig and she also writes humorous romantic suspense romance novels for Grand Central. www.christie-craig.com

C.C. would love to hear from you. Because of deadlines, it may take her a day or so to get back with you, but she will reply. cc@cchunterbooks.com

Books in order:

    

  

Review: INK (Paper Gods #1) by Amanda Sun

Ink

Author: Amanda Sun

Series: Paper Gods

Pages: 377

Genre: Young Adult

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Amazon – The Book Depository
Australian Release Date: 25th June 2013

Synopsis:

On the heels of a family tragedy, the last thing Katie Greene wants to do is move halfway across the world. Stuck with her aunt in Shizuoka, Japan, Katie feels lost. Alone. She doesn’t know the language, she can barely hold a pair of chopsticks, and she can’t seem to get the hang of taking her shoes off whenever she enters a building.

Then there’s gorgeous but aloof Tomohiro, star of the school’s kendo team. How did he really get the scar on his arm? Katie isn’t prepared for the answer. But when she sees the things he draws start moving, there’s no denying the truth: Tomo has a connection to the ancient gods of Japan, and being near Katie is causing his abilities to spiral out of control. If the wrong people notice, they'll both be targets.

Katie never wanted to move to Japan—now she may not make it out of the country alive.

Review: 3 ½ out of 5 stars

The beautiful cover of Ink is what initially attracted me to this fantasy novel; the mythology and Japanese setting were also quite appealing so I was more than eager to delve into Amanda Sun’s intriguing world.

Sixteen year-old Katie Greene has had to move to Shizuoka, Japan to live with her aunt Diane after the death of her mother; things are tough and the transition hasn’t been too easy on her with many cultural and language barriers in the way.

Katie’s actions at time were predictable and quite unbelievable; she rushed in to things without thinking, her curiosity seemed to get the better of her at times and to me in the initial stages she came across as an obsessed stalker. In saying this, I also felt quite sorry for her, she was more or less alone in a strange place and having to adapt and fend for herself, she was trying to find the light in what seems to be a difficult situation and for this I liked her.

The plot was mysterious and evenly paced, from the onset of Ink, you could tell there was something unusual going on; Katie could see printed images move and whenever bad boy, mysterious and broody Yuu Tomohiro was around things became even more strange. Once Katie became a part of his world, she discovered things that were unbelievable and put her life and her heart at risk.

The romance: I feel Katie came on a little too strong in the initial stages, despite not knowing Tomohiro, except of his dangerous reputation, she continually pursued him which I felt was too much, she was drawn to him despite his nastiness and evasiveness but I couldn’t see the reasoning behind wanting to follow someone who had supposedly beaten someone within an inch of their life, supposedly cheated on his girlfriend and made the other girl pregnant and had mafia links – I would have run the opposite way therefor didn’t see the early attraction. As the story progressed, so too did my opinion of Katie and Tomohiro being together; I came to love the dialogue between them and the way in which they supported one another.

For the secondary characters, I quite liked Katie’s new friends, Yuki and Tanaka who were fun and supportive and Aunt Diane was the sort of aunty you would want - hip and cool; I liked the relationship they came to share.

I was immersed in Amanda Sun’s detailed and intricate world, the setting was vibrant and really drew you into her storytelling, the smallest descriptions of the food, places, drawings, characters and even cherry blossoms were vivid and beautifully written; you were drawn into the story. The Japanese mythology was all new for me and I found myself really enjoying it all; it is very different to other YA Fantasy novels I have read which I really appreciated.

What I didn’t like: Unfortunately, we have a number of YA clichés which I was able to overlook because of my overall enjoyment of the book but they were there none the less - bad boy/good girl who can’t be together due to one or the other being in danger, insta-love/attraction, a mysterious unknown power,  perfect best friends and deceased parents. They seem to be typical in YA these days so I think I am becoming immune to them now.

Overall, I enjoyed Amada Sun’s descriptive writing and the details she gave about the Japanese culture; it was a gripping story and despite my few issues one I quite liked.

About the Author: (from Amanda Sun’s website) - I’m a YA author and proud Nerdfighter. I was born in Deep River, Canada, a very small town without traffic lights or buses, and where stranger safety is comprised of what to do if you see a bear—or skunk. I started reading fantasy novels at 4 and writing as soon as I could hold a pencil. Hopefully my work’s improved since then.

​In university I took English, Linguistics, and Asian History, before settling into Archaeology, because I loved learning about the cultures and stories of ancient people. Of course, I didn’t actually become an archaeologist—I have an intense fear of spiders. I prefer unearthing fascinating stories in the safety of my living room.

​The Paper Gods is inspired by my time living in Osaka and travelling throughout Japan. That and watching far too many J-Dramas. I currently live in Toronto with my husband and daughter. When I’m not writing, I’m devouring YA books, knitting nerdy things like Companion Cubes and Triforce mitts, and making elaborate cosplays for anime cons.

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Australian VS US Covers

 

Review: Unknown (The Elements #1) by Melissa Pearl

Unknown

Author: Melissa Pearl

Series: Elements trilogy

Publisher: Self

Genre: Young Adult – Fantasy

Amazon

Synopsis (Goodreads)

Darkness is covering the land. As the city of Mezrah grows with power and greed, the rest of the world can only stand by and wait for their inevitable destruction. The only hope against this growing power is an ancient prophecy that people have stopped believing in.

Then a star begins to fall.

Princess Kyla of Taramon stopped believing in the power of light the day her father died. Trapped in a city she does not care for, under the watchful glare of her mother, the queen, she struggles to accept her fate.

Then a star begins to fall.

Jethro has loved Kyla for as long as he can remember. Learning that she was to marry his cousin drove a wedge between him and the feisty princess. Watching her from a distance is a torture he is unable to free himself from.

Then a star begins to fall, sparking an ember of hope and sending two seekers on a treacherous journey into the unknown.

Review: 4 out of 5 stars

Unknown by Melissa Pearl is the first book in the Elements trilogy and was kindly provided to me by the author in exchange for my honest review.

The story follows sixteen year-old Princess Kyla of Taramon, a character who isn't so keen on following the rules when it comes to her privileged role so is quite the stubborn heroine which I quite liked. She is snarky, strong-minded and kick-butt but she is also fiercely loyal.

When a sign is received hinting of a forbidden prophecy which has shown the possibility of breaking Ashan, the dark rulers reign, two seekers are chosen - Kyla and her former best friend Jethro to embark on a dangerous mission to save the world from looming darkness so they seek to find the missing elements.

Jethro has been in love with Kyla unbeknownst to her for a very long time but she is betrothed to his cousin Athra so he has distanced himself away from her, he was a bit of an ass to her initially but I came to enjoy their interactions, the bond they shared and the small hints that his feelings could possibly be reciprocated, I liked them as a couple but their situation isn’t going to be an easy one.

Each of the characters are developed well, they don’t come across as teenagers which I quite liked and the secondary cast all played a pivotal part in the overall story. I especially liked Adamar and Mya; who were definitely a surprise and both with great knowledge and I respected Queen Elaina's decisions to protect her only daughter, her reactions were believable. of course, we also get the villains who were written extremely well.

Fantasy isn't a genre I read often but I absolutely adored the magic, mystical creatures and secrets within Unknown and with the sweet, budding romance that left me swooning thrown in leaving me wanting more, I was definitely engrossed in Melissa Pearls storytelling.

I enjoyed the world-building and captivating plot from the onset, I was fascinated by the prophecy, differing lands and the reasoning behind why a treaty was required although I’m looking forward to finding out more in the next installment; I was eager to see the outcome of Kyla and Jethro quest and the dangerous trip they had to undertake to find the elements and was surprised by the twist of what they were; it was a page turner that is beautifully written with a vividly detailed setting.

Unknown is very different from Melissa Pearl’s contemporary YA novel, Betwixt; her writing has developed vastly and it shows her ability to write a variety of genres with ease.

My only small gripe was in the initial stages of Unknown, the pacing for me was slow so it took me a little while to get into but once it took off it was one big thrill ride and I was completely absorbed; also it ended quite abruptly so I am definitely keen to read the next book which has a July release date.

Overall, I loved the fantasy world that Melissa Pearl has created with Unknown. It is a book filled with magic, mayhem, action and romance; I can’t wait to get hold of the next book in the series, Unseen.

About the author: Melissa Pearl was born in Auckland, New Zealand, but has spent much of her life abroad, living in countries such as Jordan, Cyprus and Pakistan... not to mention a nine month road trip around North America with her husband. "Best. Year. Ever!!" She now lives in China with her husband and two sons. She is a trained elementary teacher, but writing is her passion. Since becoming a full time mother she has had the opportunity to pursue this dream and her debut novel hit the internet in November, 2011. Since then she has produced three more books with her fifth novel, Betwixt, due out in November 2012.

"I am passionate about writing. It stirs a fire in my soul that I never knew I had. I want to be the best writer I can possibly be and transport my readers into another world where they can laugh, cry and fall in love."

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