Review: The Diabolic by S.J. Kincaid

Book info:
Title:  The Diabolic
Author:  S.J. Kincaid
Genre:  YA Science Fiction
Published:  November 1st, 2016
Source:  ARC from bookstore where I work
My rating:  5 stars

I have been very interested in this book since I first heard about it last May when there were samplers put out at the B-Fest, teen event, that we had at Barnes and Noble.  I was extremely thrilled when an advanced readers copy of this showed up at the bookstore and my manager saved it for me!  I probably did a little dance when I saw it on her desk for me.  I picked it up to read last week and it turned out to be a really good book.  The first part was a little odd.  I felt like we would get a little bit of the story, then it would speed up to another part that we'd spend a little time on, and then it settled into the main time period for the story.  At about a quarter of the way through, it got really good and I was hooked!

The title refers to the main character, a girl named Nemesis.  But she is a Diabolic, so not really a girl.  She is biologic, but she was made to be a killer, and in the end, she was taught, no programmed to have one person that she would protect above everything else.  One person that she would kill for.  For Nemesis, that girl was Sidonia.  Sidonia treats Nemesis as if she is a best friend, or even closer, a sister.  But soon the new leader decides that all the Diabolics must be destroyed. They are considered to be against the new religion.  Sidonia doesn't want to lose Nemesis, and her family also doesn't want to lose the best protection for their daughter.  Since Sidonia's father is a bit of a rebel, and the Senators and Emperor do not like his ideas, it is felt that it is important to keep Sidonia's body guard.  

But then, the Emperor calls for Sidonia to come to the Imperial Court.  Since no one has ever seen her, and they don't trust the Emperor, they send Nemesis instead.  At court, Nemesis must do her best to become Sidonia.  But once there she will have to fight off the people who don't trust her because of the family she comes from.  There is all kinds of intrigue in the court between the people there who may not agree with the Emperor, as well as within the ruling family itself.  The heir to the Emperor is a boy/young man who seems to be a bit mad.  

Soon it seems as if all the children of the families that are considered the rebels have arrived.  And at this point, the Emperor makes a move against the families, thus leading Nemesis to wanting revenge on the Emperor in any way possible.  It is then that she will begin to find an ally in his heir, Tyrus.  It seems maybe he isn't quite as crazy as he lets everyone believe.  If it gets out that Nemesis is really a Diabolic and not Sidonia, things could get really bad.  And Nemesis must depend on the allies of the families that are on the same side as the family she comes from. But along the way she will begin to feel that she may be more similar to the humans that she thought.  Maybe she isn't just a robotic killing machine that cannot care for others.  Maybe she can be Sidonia's friend, maybe she can care for more than just protecting the one person she was programmed to protect.  

I really enjoyed the story.  There were some parts that I was in shock about and unsure how things would happen next.  And that is the way I like a good story!  I liked the characters as well, another big favorite of mine.  I've seen some not so great reviews and some DNFs on this one, but if you can get to about 25%, I think you'll definitely get sucked in to the point you don't want to quit!

 

Review, Author Interview, and Giveaway (US Only): Chasing Merlin by Sarah White

Book info:

Title:  Chasing Merlin  
Author:  Sarah White
Genre:  Fantasy, YA?
Published:  June 29th, 2012
Source:  Purchased myself when I met author

Now, I actually read this book at the beginning of July, but since I had met the author earlier this year, and really liked it, I decided to save it for part of my Blogoversary month and to do a giveaway!  Now I'll be giving away an autographed book that I purchased when she was at the bookstore where I work, so this giveaway will be US only because of shipping.  I really enjoyed listening to the author, Sarah White, when she was at B-Fest at Barnes and Noble.  I feel like she gave lots of great tips for writing, some that I'm getting ready to use this weekend when I have a writing date with my former writing partner!  I'll share some of what she gave me in an interview after my review of the book.

So, at the bookstore where I work, it seems that the publisher has classified this book as YA.  I would say it is more teen or NA, as it is about a girl working on an advanced degree.  At the bookstore, YA is the books that are considered below teen, and I feel this is a bit too old for that.  But anyway, that is an argument I'm still having with my managers at the bookstore.  

The idea behind this book is really unique!  The main character is Dyllan, and she is going to London to work on her Master's degree in Medieval Literature.  Her subject is to learn more about Merlin, not really all the myths exactly, but more about him as a real man.  There are several surprises for her when she arrives.  One is that she has a roommate, which she didn't expect, but soon is very happy to have Gina around.  Another surprise is the guy she bumps into when she first arrives.  His name is Emrys, and there is something about him.  He's cute, and seems to know a lot about her topic of Merlin.  And it isn't just once chance meeting, soon he is showing up other places unexpectedly.  So she gets together with him, finding his information on her topic very helpful, if very much a different aspect than she'd ever thought about.  Gina doesn't know whether Dyllan should trust this guy that keeps just popping up, it's very stalker-like.  And when they find out that Emrys's brother is someone Gina had to deal with in the past that wasn't someone she was really a friend of, it makes it even more of a bad idea in Gina's opinion, to hang out with Emrys.  And Emrys himself doesn't always act like it is a good idea, although he keeps showing up and even needing Dyllan's help at times.  

All of the strange things going on are keeping Dyllan from getting her thesis done, and then, when Emrys takes her back to his home for a tour of the places that are where Merlin lived and was known to be, things really start to change.  She learns just how real Merlin was, or maybe even still is!  Who Arthur was/is, and just what all of it means in the fabric of even today's world.  And the romance isn't a big issue, but it is there, and I don't know if the ending satisfied me, or made me sad.  I feel like I could definitely read another book with these characters, I want to know if Dyllan can get a happily ever after, or if it is just impossible, with Emrys especially.  

While I wish for more, I feel the ending totally worked for the tone of the story, and fit perfectly for what the author was trying to do.  I definitely will recommend it, and that is why at the end of this post, you'll find a giveaway for this book!

Author Interview:
1. What does your writing process look like? Do you know the whole story when you start? Or do you just start writing and go with it (seat of the pants writing)? If you plan it out, how do you do that? Outline, note cards, post-it notes, etc.?

Writing for me is a bit of a wild ride. Sometimes a story comes to me with a plot fully formed and sometimes it’s a single character, or a pair, in a scene, and I have to find the story around that. But when I sit down to actually write, I think about the story in terms of three specific things: Action of the Plot (a “to” statement; in the most basic examples “to get the girl” or “to beat the bad guy”, but can get extremely complex), which then defines the Inciting Moment (what starts the Action of the Plot) and the Climax (where the Action of the Plot is completed or negated). Once those points are in place, forming a plot around them is pretty simple – I write scenes out on notecards and then arrange them into a good arc, before dividing that into a chapter-by-chapter outline. Even though all of that feels super structured, my process is pretty malleable; Scenes change, are added or erased. For example, my current work in progress started as a single novel, now turned six, so the Action of the Plot has changed to envelop 6 different arcs that all fit within the Arc of the Cycle.  

2. How do you come up with your ideas for your stories?

Story ideas come from everywhere. Sometimes it’s something that takes years to build – my current work in progress started fourteen years ago – and sometimes it slaps me in the face in a matter of months, or even days. I recently started working on a side project that I’m calling “Lady Motorcycle Novel” that came to me while I was driving back from a job I did a few states away. The night before I had eaten dinner with a professor of mine from college, and he was talking about his motorcycle, and that little bit of knowledge, combined with a song that came on the radio during my drive incited an image in my mind of a teenage girl biker gang, complete with six characters, all in the span of four minutes time.  

3. How long have you been writing?

How long? Hah! Oh, this is a fun one. As long as I’ve been able – I have a very distinct memory of my first ‘book’. I was seven, maybe, and it was a Care Bears Story, complete with my own new Care Bear, and one for my brother. I have no idea where those fifteen (illustrated too!) pages went, but I won’t ever forget that story.  

4. What tips do you have for aspiring writers?

I think any advice I can give is boiled down into three parts: 1. Read. All the time. Read forever. The more you read the more you understand language and the more you will be able to use it to your advantage. 2. Write. All the time. Write forever. Write on the bus, write when you’re waiting for your food at a restaurant, write before you go to bed. You’ll only get better with practice. 3. Experience other kinds of storytelling. I’m dual trained in writing and theatre, so I have seen a lot of live performance of theatre and opera. Listen to music and pay attention to the way they use words. Look at poets instead of just prose writers. Look at paintings, and think how you’d describe them in words.   

5. How important are names in your books? Do you choose the names based on liking the way it sounds, or the meaning? Do you have any name choosing resources you recommend? 

Names are a huge thing in my writing. I fall somewhere between sound and meaning. My gut is usually what takes final precedence. Sometimes they just come to me, and other times I spend a lot of time researching them before I settle on something. I’ve got a series percolating in my brain right now that’s set on a trio of fictional islands between Scotland and Iceland, so all of the characters names are culturally tied to Old Norse, Scots Gaelic or Icelandic; this series also has a lot to do with tree mythology, so when I found a middle name that meant ‘Oak’ or a last name that meant ‘Dark Woods’, I was like “Of course this is this character’s name!” 

Favorites: 
Favorite Book: Seaward by Susan Cooper – in my opinion it’s the most perfect book ever written. I read if for the first time when I was twelve, and I’ve probably read it once a year since then. It has a fantastic lyrical quality and a powerful character journey for both of the protagonists. 

Favorite Authors: Lloyd Alexander is who I aspire to be as a writer. His works all have a human quality that not all authors can accomplish. His stories are as much about the human condition as their subject matter. I am also a huge fan of Maggie Stiefvater. She has a way of making the tension of character objectives so complex – you want everyone to get what they need, but it’s impossible to have all those things; and yet, her endings are perfect. 

Favorite Genre: Anything YA. I adore YA fantasy, but YA slice of life or science fiction or even YA historical fiction can grab me and get me going. My Creative Writing professor in college said that she holds YA work to a higher standard because it’s the work that people will go back to, either with their own children, or by themselves later in their lives because it’s something that meant something to them. 

Favorite Film: That’s a tough one. I love movies. As a theatre person and a writer. I would say my all-time favorite is probably The Princess Bride, with Somewhere in Time being a close second. 

Favorite TV show: The 100, which is on the CW. There are some problematic things, but overall, my favorite thing about this show is that young people are in charge! Most of the main characters are 18 or younger. It also asks a lot of hard, real questions and doesn’t give you an answer. 

Favorite Music: When writing, I’m all about instrumental music. It’s so helpful to close my eyes and imagine things. But otherwise, you can find me jamming to the Hamilton soundtrack, or Sara Barielles or Noah Gundersen any day. 

Favorite snack: Anything chocolate. I am a sucker for dark chocolate especially. 

Favorite Social Media site: Facebook is both my bane and the joy of my existence. I have a lot of friends from working theatre jobs across the US and several friends who now live in other countries, so it’s great to have such an easy way to keep up with them, but it’s such a distraction when I’m trying to work; there’s a great extension for Google Chrome called Simple Blocker that you can use on a timer to block sites that are distractions to you, which has been invaluable. 

Thanks so much to Sarah for answering my interview questions!  Here I am (I'm on the left) with Sarah at B-Fest earlier this year!

Author Bio:

I'm a roamer who has finally determined (after living in 5 different states and more than 20 locations) that home is a place in my heart where I have grown into myself. It took many years of reading absurd amounts of books, several unfinished manuscripts and very persistent life experiences to realize this.

My first completed novel, Chasing Merlin, was written during NaNoWriMo 2011. I have several other novel-length projects in the works, including a six book cycle that I began writing as a thirteen year old, and have revamped more times than I can count.

I have a Bachelor's degree in English and Theatre from Anderson University and an MFA in Scenic Design at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Scenic Designer and Painter by day (or night, because in the theatre you never know), novelist in the in-betweens.   

Amazon purchase link:  https://smile.amazon.com/Chasing-Merlin-Camelot-Trilogy-Book-ebook/dp/B008OQV7JU/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
Barnes and Noble purchase link:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/chasing-merlin-sarah-white/1111978198?ean=9781475191028

Author Links:    
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/sakuramelting
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/sakuramelting 

 Giveaway:

• 1 autographed paperback copy of Chasing Merlin (US Only)

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: Timely Death Series by Shannon A. Thompson

Book info:

Title:  Minutes Before Sunset, Seconds Before Sunrise,  and Death Before Daylight
Author:  Shannon A. Thompson
Series:  Timely Death
Genre:  YA paranormal romance
Published:  July 28th, 2015;  August 25th, 2015; and September 15th, 2015
Source:  Purchased myself

So, I picked up the first book in this series when I found out the author was going to be appearing at the Barnes and Noble where I work during B-Fest.  Of course as I sped through the page-turning first book, I had to buy the next two books before I finished it, so that I could read right through the series without having to stop.  I finished all three in about a week's time, not quite finishing the last one when I got to meet the author and get them autographed.  In case you missed my post last Sunday, here I am with the author, Shannon A. Thompson, who is standing on my right, the left side of the picture.

Anyway, since I sped through the series, and I'm so behind on reviews, I'm going to do all three as mini-reviews in this post.  I'll just say that I enjoyed them all, and could barely put them down to do anything else.  Including going into the store the day I got to meet the author!

Minutes Before Sunset (Timely Death #1):

There are two main characters in this story, and we get the story from both points of view through alternating chapters.  First is Jessica, who has just moved to town with her adoptive parents.  It turns out that she actually was born in this town, and her parents died in a car accident.  She immediately makes two friends, Crystal and Robb.  But she gets stuck in the only open seat in her homeroom next to the other main character in the book, Eric Welborn.  Eric used to be best friends with Robb and Crystal. But when another car accident caused the death of one of their friends, things changed.  At first Eric is standoffish with Jessica, like he is with everyone else at school.  Until she is tired of having to depend on him to make sure she gets a good grade on a project she was stuck being his partner on.  Soon a friendship develops between them, as much as it can as secretive as Eric continues to be.  You see Eric is a shade, he's not completely human, but during the day he looks like a human, while at night he looks like his shade self.  Eric is kind of the "chosen one" and on the day he turns 18 he is supposed to fight against the "chosen one" of their enemies, the lights.  

Eric has run into an unknown shade at the river nearby.  He keeps her a secret, and trains her, as she didn't even realize she was a shade until she met him and began talking to him.  As the story goes along, we will find out that Jessica's past has a connection to Eric's life, and that both Jessica and Eric have secrets.  I will say, I knew who the unknown shade was.  I'm pretty sure it is easy to figure out as you read.  I won't give it away though, I'll let you read for yourself!  Which you definitely should.  

Seconds Before Sunrise (Timely Death #2):

Of course, if you haven't read the first book, I can't promise I won't slip up and give any spoilers for that one, so STOP RIGHT NOW, if you don't want those.  Jessica and Eric found out from the prophecies that Jessica is actually the third descendant, or "chosen one", something that doesn't always come around.  As a shade, she and Eric fall in love, as the prophecy predicted, but she could be used by the light side to fight against the darks.  So she chooses to have her memory of being a shade and all the prophecy erased, so that she can try to stay safe, and help the dark side to stay with the advantage.  Only it is so hard for Eric to pretend that he isn't in love with her.  And memories seem to keep slipping through, confusing Jessica.  Eric has a horrible car accident during all this stressful time of preparing for his 18th birthday, and Jessica, even though she only remembers Eric as her homeroom partner, races to his side in the hospital to check on him.  But as things start to change, and the memories start to come back to Jessica, it will seem more important to give her memories back to her so that she can help the dark fight.  As the lights start coming to them, as they figure out that Eric is the descendant, it also becomes clear that there is more about the prophecy they don't know, as well as that they must figure out just who is the light descendant as well.  Friends and loved ones will die in the fight, spurring on the search for a way to make sure that Eric defeats the light side, and deciding just how Jessica staying alive may affect them all.

Death Before Daylight (Timely Death #3):

Again, if you haven't read the first two, you'll need to STOP RIGHT NOW to avoid any spoilers.  As more and more details of the prophecy become clear, there are more and more fine lines that are becoming crossed in the fight between the two sides.  There are new types of shades/lights.  Most of the shades seem to be losing their powers, other than Eric and Jessica.  Something that Eric's mother left for him will be come essential in helping Eric and Jessica stay alive in the battle.  Friends will become known who before weren't even known to be anything other than human.  Ghosts from the past, Eric's mother, Jessica's parents, will show just what their deaths or lives contributed to the end game.  Jessica will learn that whether Eric or the other descendant dies, she will then have to become the leader of whichever side has lost.  And this makes her worried that the shades will no longer trust her, knowing that she may be, and even is in the process of getting a light side.  Eric and Jessica will be tortured by the light, both will try to sacrifice in order to save the other's life.  And in the end, it will be their love for each other that will help them to find out just how they can save their own families, as well as maybe save both sides in the end.

As I said, this was a great series.  My only issue is that even with all that we learned in this wonderfully built world, I felt like I was still missing something.  Nothing that kept me from understanding and enjoying the story, but it just seemed like maybe some details were missing?  I don't know.  I loved the stories, and it all made sense to me in the end, so maybe my thoughts here are crazy.  But that little niggling feeling is all that kept me from giving each book 5 stars on Goodreads.  I gave it 4, more like a 4.5 if I could give half stars.  But I highly recommend this series, and I look forward to reading more from this author!  The author is really great, she was so good to talk about writing, along with the other author there, who I will talk about when I get her book read and reviewed, probably next month.  On her website she gives writing advice, and is very much available to talk to!  Here is her website:

www.shannonathompson.com

Sunday Post #61 and Stacking the Shelves June 19th, 2016

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted  @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news ~ A post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme.  Still crazy busy!  But looking forward to my retreat this coming weekend where I will be by myself and hopefully do lots of writing, reading, and maybe some sightseeing.  Anyway, on with this post.

Last week on the blog:

• Blog tours:  My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows (Giveaway), Race Girl (The Go Girl Chronicles #3) by Leigh Hutton (Giveaway), and Mr. Jones and Me by Lindsay Marie Miller 
• Waiting on Wednesday:  Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
•  Cover Characteristic:  Arrows
•  Reviews:  Slammed by Colleen Hoover, and Nine New Adult Free/Cheap E-book Mini-Reviews

 It's been a busy week, with lots of working at the bookstore. And then, on Friday, I had planned to go to the gym right after I got off work at 2 pm at the bookstore. But they didn't have a lunch break scheduled for me, and so after being there 5 hours, I was starving. So I had to eat right after, and then I went home and kind of decided a nap sounded better. So today I did the gym right after work, because I guess my whining about no lunch break yesterday got me one today!  So I guess you could say I'm on track with my exercise goal so far.  Now, I think my reward for the last exercise goal met is going to be the books I've been buying.  I didn't do too bad with actual purchases for myself this week, but I did spend a little bit more than I'd prefer on a planner for next year for  my blog.  It was just so cute, that I couldn't not buy it!  It is Kate Spade, and you'll see the picture down below in the Stacking the Shelves portion of this post.  I was also worried at first that I would only have one review this week,  until I once again decided to put off my discussion post idea till next week, and add the ebook reviews in.  Plus, there were nine of them to share! 

Coming up this week on the blog:

• Reviews:  Timely Death Series #1-3 by Shannon A. Thompson, Half-Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout, and Before Jamaica Lane by Samantha Young (audiobook)
• Waiting on Wednesday
• Cover Characteristic:  Classrooms/schools
• Discussion Post - If you have a blog, do you still post your review on other sites?

Now, as I mentioned, I'll be going out of town on either Thursday, or Friday morning. At the moment it depends what time I can drop my dogs off at the place they're staying while I'm gone.  I'm excited, it's somewhere I've never been. But I'm also a bit nervous about the drive itself.  I live in Kansas City, Missouri, and I'm going to drive to Fort Collins, Colorado.  I've never driven by myself that long of a distance.  The GPS's touchscreen in my car doesn't work, so I can't program in the address.  I can still see the map on it, just can't program it.  But, it should be a pretty straight drive, I-70 until almost Denver, then I'll take a little different route to skip driving right through Denver.  My plan was to just use the time for writing and reading and relaxing. But everyone keeps telling me I need to go to the mountains or do something while I'm there.  So I guess I may try to go do a hiking trail or something one day while I'm there. That will also get my exercise in.  Then on Monday I'm going to drive back to Kansas City.  The other thing I have to do is figure out if I am going to try to subscribe to a service for a week in order to get wifi while I'm there.  I don't want to do a hotspot through my cell phone because I'm on my brother's bill and I don't want to use up all our plan.  But I'm not sure if there is anyway to do it through my home cable/internet.  So that is something I'm going to do some research on this week.

 Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.  It is a way for us to share the new books we have collected.  I did much better with buying physical books this week.  Not so great with downloading the free e-books though.  I did get a package from a friend, Mary at Bookhounds, some books she was not wanting anymore.  I also got the prize from the I Read YA week that I won as well!

Physical books:

I purchased a copy of Nash by Jay Crownover which I just finished listening to the audiobook of last week.  I needed a copy to get signed!  I think Nash might be my favorite of the Marked Men so far!  On the left is the cool new planner/organizer for 2017 that I bought at the Barnes and Noble where I work.  It is a Kate Spade Barnes and Noble exclusive, and I love it!  It wasn't cheap, but with my 30% discount, I went ahead and bought it to be ready for next year!  And, since there are some e-galleys already available for books that are published next January, I can already start using it.

The ARC was a little extra surprise!  And I was so excited to see it because it was one of the samplers at the B-Fest last weekend, and from the little bit I read, I am very excited for it!

   
Mary at Bookhounds emailed and asked me if I wanted any of these books she was going to be cleaning out, and I said yes!  Now, the dachshund book was a little surprise, but a cute one!  One of the books, the Melissa de la Cruz one at the bottom is for my school library, I'm going to take it in for my students, but the rest are for me!  Unfortunately I can't remember if I have the other book in the Earth and Sky series by Megan Crewe, hoping I do, so that I can have a complete set!  I haven't finished the series by Cynthia Hand, so I needed that one. And then I need to read that Sarah Rees Brennan series, and I think now I have all of them!  The Dream Thieves ARC by Maggie Stiefvater may actually be one I end up trading.  We'll see.  

E-galleys:

  All three of these are from Edelweiss.  Before I can read the second one I'll have to hurry up and read my ARC of Wolf by Wolf I guess. And the last one sounds so spooky!

Free or cheap e-books:

All of these are from Amazon. And I'm pretty sure all of them are free, except for Wednesday by E.L. Todd. That one was $4.99, and I bought it because I got a $5 credit on Amazon for downloading their mobile app.  Although the app itself can't be used for downloading digital books.  Weird.  

So, once again too many ebooks, but all were pretty much free, so if I get to them, great, if not, oh well!

How did your shelves change this week?