Showing posts with label YA Supernatural. Show all posts
Showing posts with label YA Supernatural. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 10, 2019

Blog Tour Review with Author Interview and Giveaway: Smoke and Key by Kelsey Sutton

Book info:
TitleSmoke and Key
Author:  Kelsey Sutton
Genre:  YA Supernatural
Release Date:  April 2nd, 2019
Publisher:  Entangled Teen
Source:  Finished copy received from publisher which did not influence my opinion
My rating:  3 stars

Synopsis:
“Full of dark mystery and unexpected twists.” —Meg Kassel, author of Keeper of the Bees

A sound awakens her. There's darkness all around. And then she's falling...

She has no idea who or where she is. Or why she's dead. The only clue to her identity hangs around her neck: a single rusted key. This is how she and the others receive their names—from whatever belongings they had when they fell out of their graves. Under is a place of dirt and secrets, and Key is determined to discover the truth of her past in order to escape it.

She needs help, but who can she trust? Ribbon seems content in Under, uninterested in finding answers. Doll’s silence hints at deep sorrow, which could be why she doesn't utter a word. There's Smoke, the boy with a fierceness that rivals even the living. And Journal, who stays apart from everyone else. Key's instincts tell her there is something remarkable about each of them, even if she can't remember why.

Then the murders start. Bodies that are burned to a crisp. And after being burned, the dead stay dead. Key is running out of time to discover who she was—and what secret someone is willing to kill to keep hidden—before she loses her life for good…


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Purchase links can be found HERE.


 My Review:
So, honestly even though it started with what was supposed to be a pretty exciting or sudden frightening event, I felt as if it started a bit slow for me. It took a bit to get in.  A third of the way through it did pick up, and I became invested in the characters and what was happening.  As I continued to read I started thinking of what might be the twist.  While I thought I knew what it might be, the author definitely kept me guessing till the end with the true motivations.  There was at least one twist I did not see coming, even as who certain characters were fell into place, one or two still were surprises when I found out who they had been in the world before.  While I get who and why all of this happened, I feel like the twists and turns made it harder for me to believe exactly how it all went down.  It was original in how it ended and its overall plot, but I wouldn't put it as a top read of mine for the year.  However it did keep my attention for the most part, and had some good moments and interesting character development, it maybe be more for you than it was for me.



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, notecards, post-it-notes, etc.? 

Whenever I begin a story, I have a general idea of where I want it to go. The big scenes are fairly clear in my head—the beginning, the climax, the final scene. Those are what I write first, so I know what I’m aiming for. Then… yeah, the rest is pretty much winging it! Haha.

2. Do you edit as you go, or wait till you’re finished before you edit?  How many times would you say you go over it yourself before having another set of eyes look it over?

I definitely edit as I go when it comes to sentence structure, word choice, etc. But I save the big stuff—plot, character development, timeline consistency—for later.  

3.  Are you part of a writer’s group that gets together and helps each other with their writing?

I wish; it’s actually been difficult for me to both find a group and also carve a spot out of my insane schedule that matches up with meeting times. NaNoWriMo is about as close as I’ve gotten to a regular, consistent group.

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

It’s different for each one, really, but I always begin with a half-formed concept. For example, with SOME QUIET PLACE, it was emotions as physical beings. I’d typed something totally cliché, like, “Fear rooted me in place.”

I sat back, frowning, and wondered how I could make this utterly unique from other moments consumed by fear. Somehow, that fear became a tall, blonde, snarky creature that roams the earth and instills terror into every human being simply by touch. It became Fear, who is now one of my favorite characters.

So once I had this idea I asked myself questions that lead this concept to becoming a story. Who is the main character? What makes her different from all these people the emotions see every day? What is the main conflict? How do the emotions play into it?

5.  What tips do you have for aspiring writers?

This past year, my biggest piece of advice has been the lesson I only recently learned myself—write your book like it’s never going to be published. Like no one else but you is ever going to read it. There was a long period for me in which my writing was more difficult and felt less sincere to my readers because I was doing exactly that. It added so much pressure to the work, and this is a process that doesn’t need any more pressure. Writers are already hard on themselves. In the beginning, the story should be purely yours and what you want for it.

Thank you so much for having me, Lisa. These are wonderful questions. Happy reading!
 

About the Author:

Kelsey Sutton is a young adult and middle grade author. She lives in Minnesota, where she received a dual bachelor's degree in English and Creative Writing from Bemidji State University. She will soon have a master's degree from Hamline University. Her work has received an Independent Publisher Book Award, an IndieFab Award, and was selected as a Kirkus Reviews Best Teen Book of 2013. When not writing, Kelsey can be found watching too much Netflix, ordering a mocha at the nearest coffee shop, or browsing a bookstore. 

You can visit her online at www.kelseysuttonbooks.com, like her on Facebook, and follow her on Twitter or Instagram.


Author Links: Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook 


 Giveaway:

  a Rafflecopter giveaway


Blog Tour Organized By: 



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Wednesday, April 3, 2019

Blog Tour with Giveaway: The Wings of War Series by Karen Ann Hopkins


About the Books:
Title: EMBERS (The Wings of War #1)
Author: Karen Ann Hopkins
Pub. Date: March 15, 2015
Publisher: Karen Ann Hopkins
Formats: Paperback, audiobook, eBook
Pages: 394

READ FOR FREE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED!

There are descendants of angels walking among us. Ember is one of them.

Embers is an epic paranormal adventure/romance about a seventeen year old girl who discovers that she's immune to fire and any other injury when she’s in a horrific car crash that kills her parents. Following a violent episode with her aunt's boyfriend, Ember flees Ohio to live with an old relative in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. Ember's exuberance at escaping a bad home life soon turns to trepidation when she learns that she's a Watcher, a descendant of angels.

While Ember is instructed about her heritage and the powers that go along with it, she strikes up friendships with two teenagers who live in a frightening walled compound in the forest. Inexplicitly drawn to one of the young men in particular, an impossible romance develops. But it's cut short when Ember discovers that her new friends are fighting on the opposite side of a war that's been raging between two factions of Watchers for thousands of years. When the compound’s inhabitants threaten the townspeople, Ember takes action, sealing her fate in the ancient battle of good versus evil, and the grayness in between. Ember is up to the challenge, until she realizes that she isn’t only fighting for the lives of the locals and the souls of her new friends. She may be one of the few champions willing to make a stand for all of mankind as the rapture approaches and the end of days begin.

Embers is the first novel in the dark and gritty YA paranormal romance series, The Wings of War.


“An impending apocalypse provides a compelling backdrop for romance in this page-turning first installment of a new YA series. Hopkins expertly weaves her plotlines together in this compulsively readable teen romance story…Hopkins delivers many successful elements of young-adult romance—appealing lead characters, high-voltage chemistry, repressed sexuality—which will win her ardent followers." Kirkus Reviews

Embers is the start of an action-packed paranormal YA series. Ms. Hopkins draws the reader immediately in with her richly drawn prologue that introduces the lurking evil in a breath-taking manner. A must read for YA, paranormal, fantasy and suspense fans. Make that a delight for any reader!" Morgan Stamm, Ind'Tale Magazine

Title: GAIA (The Wings of War #2)
Author: Karen Ann Hopkins
Pub. Date: July 26, 2015
Publisher: Karen Ann Hopkins
Formats: Paperback, audiobook, eBook
Pages: 294

READ FOR FREE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED!

Watchers and Angels are at war. Which side will Ember choose?

Humankind is on the precipice of the apocalypse.

As the Demons grow bolder and the walls between the planes of existence weaken, Ember is forced to develop her powers as quickly as possible, and she seeks out a powerful earth Watcher to continue her supernatural lessons. Her glimpse of the future demands she fight the dark forces spreading across the earth.

But her new mentor has his own agenda, making her question everyone and everything she ever trusted.

When Ember is thrust into the world of the Watchers, she learns of their plans—ones that defy the scripture and make them enemies of the Celestial Host. Ridding the world of evil gets complicated when it becomes impossible to take sides.

As Ember struggles with morality, she soon discovers that there’s something more frightening than anything she’s faced before.


Title: TEMPEST (The Wings of War #3)
Author: Karen Ann Hopkins
Pub. Date: January 22, 2016
Publisher: Karen Ann Hopkins
Formats: Paperback, audiobook, eBook
Pages: 268

READ FOR FREE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED!

Ember must stop the apocalypse from happening, but at what cost?

The Angels of destruction have arrived, and only Ember stands in the way of their mission to carry out God's wrath and annihilate His enemies.

When the barrier between celestial creatures and humans beings is broken and Angels descend to Earth, Ember soon learns there's a fine line between good and evil. As she faces a world full of monsters and magic, a terrifying darkness rises and threatens to destroy everything she's fighting for.

In the riveting third installment of The Wings of War series, Ember and her friends embark on an epic journey, where unlikely allies are forged and age-old beliefs crumble to dust. And just when Ember accepts love in her life, it's ripped away from her in the most terrifying way possible.


Title: ETERNITY (The Wings of War #4)
Author: Karen Ann Hopkins
Pub. Date: December 10, 2017
Publisher: Karen Ann Hopkins
Formats: Paperback, eBook
Pages: 264
READ FOR FREE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED!
The final battle has begun, and Sawyer fights for the enemy. Will Ember be able to save him?

Lucifer has broken free from his bonds as the Angels gather their armies for the battle of Armageddon. Ember and her friends must tread carefully as they unravel the truth about the final judgment and the chaos that is coming. Can they stop the apocalypse from happening? The battle between good and evil isn’t as straight forward as Ember had hoped, and now that her lover fights for the enemy, does she even want to take part in the war to come?

Eternity is the breathtaking conclusion of the epic Wings of War Series, where loyalties will be tested, lives shattered, and prophecies fulfilled.

About Karen:
Karen Ann Hopkins resides in northern Kentucky with her family on a farm that boasts a menagerie of horses, goats, peacocks, chickens, ducks, rabbits, dogs, and cats. Karen’s main job is home schooling the kids, but she finds time to give riding lessons, coach a youth equestrian drill team, and of course, write.  She was inspired to create her first book, Temptation, by the Amish community she lived in. The experiential knowledge she gained through her interactions with her neighbors drove the story of the star-crossed lovers, Rose and Noah. Their story continues in Belonging, where their families and cultures threaten to tear them apart, and with Forever and Deception, where we find out once and for all if love is enough for them.

​Lamb to the Slaughter, the first book in Serenity’s Plain Secrets, is Karen’s newest Amish endeavor, opening up the darker, grittier and more secretive lives of Amish society. It’s a story about the intertwining lives of three unlikely people in an Indiana Amish Community and the devastating results when a rebellious teenage girl is found shot to death in a corn field during the harvest. Serenity Adams is the newly elected young sheriff in the rural town of Blood Rock, and besides dealing with the threatening behavior of her predecessor, she now has a dead Amish girl on her plate.  At first glance, the case seems obvious. The poor girl was probably accidently shot during hunting season, but when the elders of the Amish community, and even the girl’s parents, react with uncaring subdued behavior, Serenity becomes suspicious. As she delves deeper into the secretive community that she grew up beside, she discovers a gruesome crime from the past that may very well be related to the Amish girl’s shooting. Serenity enlists the help of the handsome bad-boy building contractor, Daniel Bachman. He left the Amish when he was nineteen and has his own dark reasons to help the spunky sheriff solve the crime that the family and friends who shunned him are trying desperately to cover up.  Serenity’s persistence leads her to a stunning discovery that not only threatens to destroy her blossoming romance with Daniel, but may even take her life in the end.

​Karen’s YA paranormal/urban fantasy series, the Wings of War, is an epic story about Ember, whose normal life ends abruptly when her parents are killed and she discovers she’s a descendent of angels. Still coping with her strange powers, Ember finds herself — and her heart — in the middle of a centuries-old war in this “compulsively readable” novel (Kirkus Reviews).

​Karen grew up about a mile from Lake Ontario in Upstate New York.  She was bitten by the horse bug at the age of five, and after diligently taking riding lessons for several years, was rewarded with her first horse at the age of eleven.  The feisty horse’s name was Lady, a Quarter Horse-Thoroughbred cross, who became Karen’s steadfast companion.  Through the years, the constant force in her life was horses.  Eventually, she found her place as a riding instructor herself.  Before accepting her fate in the barnyard, she worked a short stint as a paralegal, traveled abroad, and guided tourists on horseback riding tours in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee.

Karen is currently working on her bestselling Amish mystery series, Serenity's Plain Secrets, along with the YA paranormal/fantasy series, the Wings of War. Karen is also excited to announce there will be more books in the Temptation series.


 

Giveaway Details:
  • 1 winner will receive one set of signed print copies of the entire 4 book series, open to US, Canada, Australia and Great Britain.

--> a Rafflecopter giveaway


Tour Schedule:
Week One:
4/1/2019- A Dream Within A DreamExcerpt
4/2/2019- Introvert BookloverExcerpt
4/3/2019- Lisa Loves LiteratureSpotlight
4/4/2019- BookHoundsInterview
4/5/2019- Lone Tree ReviewsExcerpt

Week Two:
4/8/2019- Novel NoviceExcerpt
4/9/2019- Books Coffee and RepeatGuest Post
4/10/2019- Reese's ReviewsReview
4/11/2019- Savings in SecondsReview
4/12/2019- Taking It One Book at a timeReview

Week Three:
4/15/2019- Bookroom ReviewsGuest Post
4/16/2019- Book-KeepingReview
4/17/2019- Viviana MacKade- Excerpt
4/18/2019- Kelly P's BlogExcerpt
4/19/2019- Tyto ForestExcerpt

Week Four:
4/23/2019- Smada's Book SmackReview
4/24/2019- D. Books and ReviewsReview
4/25/2019- Treestand Book ReviewsReview
4/26/2019- Novel Nerd FactionReview

Week Five:
4/29/2019- 100 Pages A DayReview
4/30/2019- Lady Amber's ReviewsReview
 

Saturday, January 5, 2019

Review: Slayer by Kiersten White

Book info:
TitleSlayer
Author:  Kiersten White
SeriesSlayer #1
Genre:  YA Supernatural
Release Date:  January 8th, 2019
Publisher:  Simon Pulse
Source:  ARC traded for on Twitter. 
My rating:  5 stars

Synopsis:
Into every generation a Slayer is born…

Nina and her twin sister, Artemis, are far from normal. It’s hard to be when you grow up at the Watcher’s Academy, which is a bit different from your average boarding school. Here teens are trained as guides for Slayers—girls gifted with supernatural strength to fight the forces of darkness. But while Nina’s mother is a prominent member of the Watcher’s Council, Nina has never embraced the violent Watcher lifestyle. Instead she follows her instincts to heal, carving out a place for herself as the school medic.

Until the day Nina’s life changes forever.

Thanks to Buffy, the famous (and infamous) Slayer that Nina’s father died protecting, Nina is not only the newest Chosen One—she’s the last Slayer, ever. Period.

As Nina hones her skills with her Watcher-in-training, Leo, there’s plenty to keep her occupied: a monster fighting ring, a demon who eats happiness, a shadowy figure that keeps popping up in Nina’s dreams…

But it’s not until bodies start turning up that Nina’s new powers will truly be tested—because someone she loves might be next.

One thing is clear: Being Chosen is easy. Making choices is hard.


My Review:
Honestly, I don't even know exactly where to begin this review.  If you know me, you know that I have loved Buffy the Vampire Slayer ever since the show was actually on tv.  I fell in love with it, starting with the movie starring Kristy Swanson and Luke Perry - my crush from Beverly Hills 90210, the original.  Not to mention that it had the actor Paul Reubens, better known as Pee-wee Herman, whose Saturday morning tv show I used to love.  


via GIPHY

I wasn't sure if I would like the TV show when I heard about it, because Sarah Michelle Gellar is not at all like Kristy Swanson.  Swanson was normal, curvy girl, and Gellar was skinny girl.  So I didn't start it right way. But then, on Halloween of 1997, my 2nd year of teaching, when I lived in a small town, and didn't have any kids to hand candy out to, I remember watching the very first Halloween episode of the show. 





Well, I was hooked from that episode on.  My very first email address that I remember making myself was buffywnabe@aol.com.   I've carried that spelling of "Buffy wannabe" through with me all these years.  Including on my Twitter and Instagram names.  I also had to buy every season's DVD as soon as it was available.  They still hold a place of importance on my shelves.



Now, not only did I love the show, I also read every one of the books I could get my hands on.  If I couldn't find them in a store, I ordered them into the bookstore where I worked.  Here is a picture of my Buffy bookshelf, and yes, I've read every one of the books on the shelf.




When the show was over, I thought I'd be able to follow into the new season with the comics that came out.  But no, I soon realized I'm not a fan of graphic novels or comics.  I tried, but they couldn't quite relay the same quirky humor and emotion that the show, and even the regular novels, could convey, that I loved so much.  And so, I quit reading them about the time that I remember something about Dawn getting really big or something like that?   Now, I fear that maybe I there is something I missed at where this story picks up, but the author did a great job of basically filling in what had happened up to the point where this book begins.

What's great about this book is that it pulls on all the Buffy-verse, from the movie, to the tv show, to the comics.  I loved that we got the connection to Buffy's original Watcher, Merrick.


via GIPHY

This world is when all the magic disappears thanks to Buffy destroying something called the Seed of Wonder. All, or almost all of the Watchers have been killed, and those left have hidden themselves in a castle and are working to figure out how to continue to "watch" over the world and keep it safe.  Of course things aren't always as they seem.  While this isn't Buffy's story, she's there.  Instead we follow two girls, Nina, her real name is Athena, and her twin sister Artemis.  Artemis has always been the favorite daughter, the one that their mother saved first from a fire that almost killed them.  The one that was chosen to take the test to be a Watcher, even if she did fail the test, surprising since she was really perfect for it.  Nine has always been the one that Artemis has had to protect, the one her mother has kept out of the Watchers life, helped her to learn first aid.

Nina soon learns that it is possible there is a prophecy about her and her twin sister.  Not only that, but when hellhounds and demons show up near the castle, Nina learns that the strange feelings she's had since right before all the magic disappeared are from the fact that she was the very last Slayer to EVER be chosen.  Nina is a slayer.  And she hates slayers, Buffy especially.  You see, her father was Merrick, Buffy's first Watcher, and so she blames Buffy for his death because he sacrificed his life to save Buffy.  And then Buffy is the one who caused all the potential Slayers to become full-blown Slayers, and also caused all the Watchers to be blown up and have to go into hiding. And of course, there is the whole Seed of Wonder thing, taking away all the magic.

It's not just those reasons that Nina is not happy becoming a Slayer, though.  It is also because she has spent her whole life learning to heal, to help people.  The thought of just killing something because that is her job, it repulses her.  She knows the werewolves are humans during the day, and don't always have a choice what they do when they turn. And then there is the demon that shows up at their friend Cillian's house, he's wearing a Coldplay t-shirt.  Not killing him gives Nina the chance to interview him and find out more about what is going on. Also to learn that maybe she isn't wrong about not just killing all demons or supernatural creatures right away.   It's something that Buffy dealt with.  On the Buffy spinoff, Angel, we especially get that some demons aren't so bad.

I loved all of this story.   Even at first, when Nina hated Buffy, I liked her a lot.  I got her reasons for hating Buffy and the slayers.  This book had the humor and the emotion that I loved about the series.  It had the teen angst with Nina's past crush on the boy Leo.  We also get the family aspect between Nina and her sister.  Cillian, can I just say how much I adored him?  He is totally the Xander of the group, well, smart-alec comment-wise.

via GIPHY


This was one I could have stayed up all night to finish reading.  It was so good.  Like watching several episodes of Buffy.   It has an ending, but it's also left open for a sequel, and let me tell you that I cannot wait for book 2!  I'll be spending the next year figuring out how to get on a list to get an ARC of book 2.  I'm so happy that my favorite world is back, and that it's being done in a way that I love, if not on tv, then as a novel, and not a comic.  This author was the perfect choice for this in my opinion.  I've loved her last four books, all retellings themselves.
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