Review with Author Interview: Analiese Rising by Brenda Drake

Book info:

Title:  Analiese Rising
Author:  Brenda Drake
Genre:  YA Paranormal Romance/Mythology
Release Date:  January 8th, 2019
Publisher:  Entangled Teen
Source:  E-galley from publisher which did not affect my opinion
My rating:  4 stars

Synopsis:

Half-Blood meets Antigoddess, American Gods meets The Da Vinci Code in ANALIESE RISING (Entangled; 01/08/19), a suspense-filled novel by New York Times bestselling author Brenda Drake. This first book in a new fantasy series offers a new take on the paranormal romance genre—with a mythological spin. Gone are vampires and werewolves; in are descendants of the God of Death.

Brenda Drake is known for creating addictive, entertaining series with strong female characters (Library Jumpers and The Fated) and her fans will not be disappointed.

When a stranger gives Analiese Jordan a list of names before he dies, the last thing she expects to see is her own on it. Not. Cool. Her search for answers leads to the man’s grandson, Marek, who has dangerous secrets of his own. Both are determined to unlock the mystery of the list.

But the truth is deadly. Analiese is a descendant of the God of Death, known as a Riser, with the power to raise the dead and control them. Finding out she has hidden powers? Cool. Finding out she turns corpses into killers? No, thank you.

Now the trail plants her and Marek in the middle of a war between gods who apparently want to raise an army of the Risen, and Analiese must figure out how to save the world—from herself.

My Review:
First off, there was a LOT of stuff going on in this book.  So many different gods and goddesses from different mythologies from all over the world.  Some I recognized, some I did not.  But this was really cool!  I love when I hear about things I don't know, and then the story makes me want to go learn more about them.  And that is what this story did.  There was a lot of adventure, a lot of history, a lot of action, and a little romance thrown in, all together these made for a good teenage story.  As I read, I was totally thinking about how I'd love to visit all these places mentioned, the Coliseum, the Louvre, etc.  I'm guessing that if there are more books after this, which it sounds like there will be, we will get to go to even more exciting places.  For one, I'd love to see some time spent in Egypt, or over in Asia with their mythology as well.  Another thing I really liked about the story was how Analiese had been taken in by her uncle, and that she'd grown up with him as her dad.  I think it is nice to once in awhile see a healthy step-parent situation, when so often there is not.  Although I wasn't sure I liked her step-mother, Jane.  By the end of the book I still was unsure about her.  Although I haven't read Antigoddess, all of the other books this is compared to in the summary are exactly right.  Definitely there is the feel of solving a puzzle like in The Da Vinci Code.  You've got all these different gods just wandering around, getting in trouble, or even just being a part of the world, like what little I remember from reading American Gods.  And you get the teen angst and fighting monsters that is a bit similar to one of my favorite series books, Half-Blood.  Definitely a recommended title for anyone who enjoys paranormal romance, or mythology of all kinds.


Author Interview:

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.?

I do a plot graph to get a general idea of where I want the story to go. It’s pretty skeletal, just the bones of the story. While writing, I flesh it out, letting the story unfold as I go.

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’m not one of those fast-drafting writers. I have to edit as I go. I’ll go over it a few times before I let anyone else see it.

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

I have a few author friends that I share work with. I’m not part of a writing group. I do have writer friends where I live that I meet for lunch or coffee. We discuss our writing and about publishing.

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

Ideas come from everywhere for me. Sometimes it a thing, a person, a song, or a movie that inspires a story. The inspiration for the Library Jumpers series came from a coffee table book on the most beautiful libraries in the world. As I scanned the photographs, I wanted to jump into the pages and visit each one, which sparked the idea for Library Jumpers. I imagined battles with knights and creatures fighting among the bookcases. I bought the book, hurried home, and started plotting the first book in the series. I got the idea for the Fated series while getting a tarot card reading in New Orleans. During the reading, I imagined someone being able to change anyone’s fate with a touch of a tarot card. Analiese Rising came to me while watching American Gods on Starz. I wanted to tell a similar story about gods and goddesses among us but without their powers.

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 extremely important to me. It has to fit the character, and I have to like it. I do look at the meaning before I settle on it. I think the meaning should match the character. I search Google for names.

What is your favorite:

Books/authors/genres

My favorite book is The Secret Garden. My favorite author is J.K. Rowling, and my favorite genre is fantasy.

Movies/TV Shows

My favorite movie is Love Actually. We watch it every Christmas. My favorite TV show right now, since I’m binge watching it on Netflix, is Scandal.

Music

My favorite music is anything by Imagine Dragons, Cold Play, and I lean toward Indy, but I love a variety of music.

Food/Writing snack

 I drink too much coffee, and I’m addicted to Goldfish crackers.

-->   About the Author:

Brenda Drake grew up the youngest of three children, an Air Force brat, and the continual new kid at school. Her fondest memories growing up is of her eccentric, Irish grandmother's animated tales, which gave her a strong love for storytelling. So it was only fitting that she would choose to write stories with a bend toward the fantastical. When she's not writing or hanging out with her family, she haunts libraries, bookstores, and coffee shops, or reads someplace quiet and not at all exotic (much to her disappointment).  

Author Links:
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Website
 

Book Blitz with Giveaway: Jewel of the Gods (Beyond the Gods #2) by Mary Bernsen

Book info:
Title:  Jewel of the Gods
Author:  Mary Bernsen
Series:  Beyond the Gods #2
Published by: CTP Pulse
Publication date: December 19th, 2017
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Mythology, Romance

Synopsis:

Sold at the age of seventeen to the king of the realm, Ursula has spent the last four years serving as his submissive concubine. She has grown to love him with a fierce loyalty, but when he orders her to kill a spirited young girl, she simply cannot obey.Her master does not take defiance lightly, so Ursula must find the girl she spared and return her to the king—or lose her own head. Her search leads to the girl’s former employer, a handsome man who introduces Ursula to a world of experiences and freedoms she has never known. Though thrilling and intoxicating, she knows this new lifestyle is only temporary.She must finish her quest and return to her master…before this new, softer kind of love has her questioning everything.

Jewel of the Gods is the second novel in the fiery and passionate Beyond the Gods series by Mary Bernsen.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes and Noble / Kobo

Sequel to:

—

EXCERPT:

Hercules clenched his jaw and balled up his fists. “Do you even hear yourself?” He raised his voice into a mocking tone. “’Poseidon doesn’t allow this. Poseidon prefers that.’ Dear Zeus, Ursula. Have you ever taken a moment to think about what you need? How much longer do you think you will be able to survive under such stifling conditions?”

Suddenly, I was overcome with a sense of shame at myself. I had never taken a step back and thought about what it must seem like to others. There was no way to defend it, either. It was as it seemed. I was my master’s pet. He cared for me, ensured I had my necessities. All he required in return was obedience.

Still, I couldn’t deny Chiron’s earlier claim, either. I had become a stranger to myself in the time I had served Poseidon. There was a time not so long ago when I had harbored fight in my heart. I had to release that independence to save my life, and one way or another Poseidon’s shelter had consumed me until I loved him for it. I hated Hercules for making me question what I had grown so comfortable with. I didn’t want any further complications at the moment.

“It does not matter.” I lifted a chin. “I’m a servant. I have no say in it.”

“You do as long as you are here.” He nodded toward the food in the center of the table. “Eat, or I will starve as well.”

Author Bio:

Mary Bernsen is a southwest Florida native currently living in North Port with her two beautiful children and a third, much larger child that she affectionately calls husband. She is the Amazon Best Selling Author of Healing The Bayou, The Ganga Shift, and Beyond the Gods series.

She also writes young adult romances under her pseudonym, M.E. Rhines.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

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Three End of Series Mini-Reviews

As I keep mentioning, I'm so far behind on reviews!  So, to speed things up, you should continue to expect mini-reviews like what I'm posting today.  I finished up three series finally over the past two months, so let's do a quick reflection on them, and then the blurb from Goodreads. 

Ashes (Seeds of America #3) by Laurie Halse Anderson:

My rating:  5 stars
Okay, this series will go down as being one of my all-time favorite YA historical fictions stories.  It's not really a romance in any way, although there is what needs to be in there in a way.  It's really all about the time and the people of the time and the history, and the side of the history that isn't talked about that much, or written about in history textbooks.  With the huge popularity of the musical Hamilton, this is a series that is perfect for young adults and teens to read that fills in even more blanks and will make them think and ask their own questions about our country's past.  You can read my reviews of the first two books here, Chains and Forge.  And below is the blurb from Goodreads for this third book:

Freedom for one, freedom for all?

That’s the question that burns in Isabel’s mind as she and Curzon forge on through chaos and fear toward the dream that’s kept them alive for so many years: freedom. But her dream of living not as a “runaway” but as a free person with land and a family of her own seems impossibly far away. That dream hinges on one thing: finding her little sister, Ruth. It’s been years since Ruth was stolen from her. Is she even alive? And if Isabel can find her, how will they make it safely through the war between the Patriots and the British that rages on as dangerously as ever, while bounty hunters try to kidnap them at every turn?

In the American Revolution, one must pick a side in order to survive. But how can you care about a nation’s freedom when the very same nation has kept you in chains? 

Sentinel (Covenant #5) by Jennifer L. Armentrout:

My rating:  4 stars
I usually give all of JLA's books 5 stars.  I mean I just love her characters. But this book, and the last one in the series, Apollyon, weren't as great for me.  I think it might be because of the absence of Seth.  While yes, I think that Alex probably belonged with Aiden, it reminds me a bit of the Twilight movies, where I was good with Edward for Bella, but I wanted Jacob.  Here, I loved Seth, and kinda wanted more of him.  He does show back up in this book, and I know that there is a spin-off series for Seth that I will be picking up soon.  Other than that, I really like the way the whole ending went down, the battle was good, the way Armentrout "saved the day" in the end was perfect.  There were definitely some sad losses again in this book of people that we'd grown to  like and care about.  But in a huge battle like this, unfortunately that is to be expected.  You can read my reviews to the other books in the series by clicking on the link earlier in this paragraph, or one of these:   Half-Blood, Pure,  or Deity.  Here is the blurb for this final book from Goodreads:

It's a beautiful day for a war.

As the mortal world slowly slips into chaos of the godly kind, Alexandria Andros must overcome a stunning defeat that has left her shaken and in doubt of their ability to end this war once and for all.

And with all the obstacles between Alex and her happily-ever-after with the swoonworthy Aiden St. Delphi, they must now trust a deadly foe as they travel deep into the Underworld to release one of the most dangerous gods of all time.

In the stunning, action-packed climax to the bestselling Covenant series, Alex must face a terrible choice: the destruction of everything and everyone she holds dear… or the end of herself.

The Countdown (The Taking #3) by Kimberly Derting:

My rating:  5 stars
While it took me a minute to pick this one back up and finally read it, when I did, I was once again blown away and hooked so that I couldn't put it down.  While I had issues with some characters that did irritate me a bit, I know that what they did is something that is always in stories, adds to the drama, even though I'm pretty sure it probably wouldn't really happen that way in real life.  I guess I forgot the fact that I'm a bit of a science nerd, because when the characters didn't know what SETI was, I was shocked that anyone didn't know.  In case you don't know, SETI stands for the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Life.  I have to say that once again, this author did a great job of ending this story in a pretty believable way.  We were able to have a pretty much HEA, but it wasn't without losses and it wasn't done in a way that was just everyone decided at the last minute to "all just get along".  There was one person's change of heart that I loved, even as it led her to do something that was definitely heartbreaking for herself.  You can read my reviews of the first two books in the series here:  The Taking, and The Replaced.  Here is the blurb from Goodreads for this final book in the series:

She may no longer be human…but she’s their only hope.

In the concluding book in the otherworldly Taking trilogy, Kyra struggles to understand who she is as she races to save the world from complete destruction.

Ever since Kyra was abducted by aliens and then returned to earth, she has known there was something different about her. Now she knows the truth: she is an alien too. Her alien captors replaced all her human DNA with their own—gifting her with supernatural powers like incredible healing, enhanced eyesight, and telekinesis. But when she’s captured by an unexpected enemy, Kyra begins to wonder if her abilities are also a curse. And is she, as her enemies believe, meant to play some key role in helping an impending alien invasion? Is it programmed into her, something inescapable? Or can she fight that destiny?

No matter what the truth is, Kyra is sure of one thing: She just rescued the love of her life, Tyler, and she is not going to stand by and let anyone hurt him or her friends. Whatever it takes, Kyra will do everything in her power to save the world…even if it means making the ultimate sacrifice. 

So those are the first three series-enders that I've read this year.  All three were well done and great ways to end a series.  If you haven't started them yet, I highly recommend them all!

Blog Tour: Review and Giveaway - Circle of Jinn (Becoming Jinn #2) by Lori Goldstein

Circle of Jinn (Becoming Jinn #2)
by Lori Goldstein
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Release Date: May 17th 2016

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Mythology
Rate: 3 stars

Synopsis:

Being Jinn is Azra’s new reality. As she grants wishes under the watchful eye of the Afrit council, she remains torn between her two worlds—human and Jinn. Soon, secrets spill. Zars are broken. Humans become pawns. And rumors of an uprising become real as the Afrit’s reach extends beyond the underground world of Janna.

Straddling the line becomes impossible. Aware of her unique abilities, Azra must not just face but embrace her destiny. But when the role she must play and those she must protect expand to include a circle of Jinn greater than her own, Azra will be forced to risk everything. A risk that means there’s everything to lose, and at the same time, everything to gain—for herself and her entire Jinn race.

In this dramatic sequel to Becoming Jinn, Azra’s story comes to a heartfelt and thrilling conclusion.

--> I am lucky enough to get to be on the tour for Circle of Jinn.  I got a copy of the book from the author as part of the tour.  I was excited to read this book since I had been a part of the tour for the first book, Becoming Jinn, and was interested to see where the story would go next.  Now, of course I can't promise no spoilers if you haven't read the first book.  So, in that case, you should just click the link for the first book, and go read that.  I will just say that this second book definitely answered a lot of questions about the Jinn world, as well as wrapping up the story quite nicely!

Where we had left off in the first one, Azra had been trying to complete her first few wishes.  For now she is living with her boyfriend Nate and his younger sister and grandparents, while his mom is in the hospital, and they lost their father in the car accident.  The wishes they want are something that Azra doesn't know how to do. Basically they don't want to feel the pain anymore. Each of them, Nate and his sister, want the other to not feel so much pain over the accident.  But Azra doesn't know how to do this. While the Jinn are able to kind of change memories and keep humans from knowing about things they may see accidentally, mind control isn't something that can be done without consequences, as we saw with Azra's neighbor before.  Azra is also worried about her friend Henry, because he knows about all of the Jinn stuff.  And as a human, that is horribly dangerous, he could be killed if the Afrit, the Jinn in power, find out.

So Azra is trying to figure out how to grant the wish, and one day, a surprise visitor shows up from Janna, her brother.  Soon he is helping her out, but along with his help, she learns more and more about the world he came from, the world he really should not be away from.  She learns that she has a connection to the Afrit that may help her.  She has been somewhat estranged from her Zar sisters, but soon they will connect again when things start to get intense with her brother.  And soon it is not only her brother, but maybe others from Janna that will show up.  Some are there to help, others are not.  And Azra will have to hope that whoever the traitor is, they will not give away the plan her father has put in place to try to get things to be more fair back in Janna.

I can't go into much more detail without giving some major plot points away, so I will try to leave it at that.  Just know that there will be definite dangerous parts, as well as emotional parts, and we will get to see Azra learn her powers as a Jinn with all her triumphs and failures along the way.  As I mentioned, I loved the way it was wrapped up.  I like when an author gives us a look at how things go after the main conclusion of the story.

Follow the Circle of Jinn by Lori Goldstein Blog Tour and don't miss anything! Click on the banner to see the tour schedule.

My debut novel, the Young Adult Contemporary Fantasy Becoming Jinn, is a modern spin on the traditional tale of wish-granting genies. The sequel, Circle of Jinn, releases May 17, 2016 (Feiwel and Friends/Macmillan).

Too much of my day involves chatting books, obsessing over The Vampire Diaries, and perfecting the art of efficient writing through Twitter. Find me at @loriagoldstein and follow my blog at www.lorigoldsteinbooks.com, my Tumblr athttp://lorigoldsteinbooks.tumblr.com, or my Instagram athttp://www.instagram.com/lorigoldstei....

Like my author page on Facebook for fun book-related photos, tidbits, and happenings as well as news on Becoming Jinn.

I am represented by Lucy Carson of The Friedrich Agency.

Prize: Win an infinity necklace and some Circle of Jinn swag (US Only)

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Review: Wildalone by Krassi Zourkova

First, I have to thank the author who sent me a copy of this in exchange for an honest review.  I had entered a giveaway on Goodreads but didn't win.  She emailed me on Goodreads and offered to send me a copy.  I was very excited and of course said yes because I'd been wanting to read this for a long time. 

The main character is Thea, and she is from Bulgaria.  She is a piano prodigy, and has decided to attend Princeton.  Of course she does this on a work-study program and so she will have to work in the cafeteria to go there.  When she first gets to Princeton, her music advisers immediately set her up in a solo concert.  She plays Chopin, and is a hit.  Even though she is very nervous.  And the night of the concert, this very handsome guy shows up in the back of the auditorium, and then leaves.  But then comes back towards the end and leaves flowers for her on the stage.  She gets a mysterious assignment from her Greek Art professor that leads her to a vase that seems to have a connection to her home and a myth that she is familiar with.  It is of a woman who is like a witch or nymph that can captivate a man to the point that he will do anything she says, and eventually she kills him.  They are called samodivi, which means wildalone in English.  While she is in the school's art museum, she runs into this handsome, mysterious man again, but he doesn't really come out of the shadows.  Just says that he will find her again, and when the museum announces it is closing, he disappears.  She runs into him again when she is out on campus on a foggy day.  His name is Rhys, and he is immediately all over her.  Very romantic and suave and kind of possessive.    He wants her to be his, and she is immediately overwhelmed, but in a kind of good way, just being swept away by him.  However she soon comes to find out that he is not the guy who was at her concert, or in the museum.  That was his younger brother Jake.  And now she doesn't know for sure which one she really loves.  But there is something about Rhys that she loves, that she doesn't want to give up on.  However there are things about him that she doesn't like, things he says he can't change, even if he would want to, but that he will always be hers. 

Along with all this romance, there is the mystery of her older sister who also went to Princeton 15 years ago, but died/disappeared. And it seems that she may have been involved with Rhys as well.  And that the myths her Greek Art professor has been teaching and discussing with her, well, they may be real.  Or at least happening in Thea's own world, affecting her life as she is there, following in her sister's footsteps.

I loved the mythology in the story.  I enjoyed reading about Thea's experiences as a foreigner in the US, especially at Princeton.  The past mystery about her sister was also good.  And while I could definitely feel how hot the relationship was with Rhys, it just was almost too insta-love for me.  Not only that, he was so possessive it was kind of hard to like him at first.  For him to come in an assume she would do all the things he tried at the start, well, I didn't have a whole lot of respect for her for putting up with it the way she did.  If people think Edward was bad in Twilight (which I didn't think he was), then they will probably not like Rhys in this book.  I guess we can forgive her because as I mentioned, she was new to the country.  However it definitely kept me reading, and it left off in a way that I can't wait to read on, although I'm not sure when a sequel might be out.  I only know that I'll be waiting to read it!

Wings by Aprilynne Pike

This is the first book by Aprilynne Pike that I have read, and I must say I wasn't disappointed at all!  I got a copy of this at the RT Convention back in May of this year.  I've actually not really been a fan of fairy or fae stories.  Not that I mind when they are in other stories, but I haven't actively sought out those types of stories.  I'm finding more and more that maybe it is time to give them more of a chance.  I gave this book a pretty high rating, 5 stars, on Goodreads because I picked it up this morning, and pretty much barely stopped until I was done late this afternoon.  It was that good.  I read one comment that said it was a very simple story, and I guess it was.  But, as a former science teacher, I loved how this put science into the mythology behind fairies.  Very unique to me, but again, as I haven't read a lot of this type of creature, maybe it's not.
So, the main character is Laurel, and she has just moved to a new town with her mom and dad, actually her adoptive parents.  Up until this year she has been home-schooled by her mother.  But now that she's in high school, her mom doesn't feel like she can teach as much that Laurel needs as if she goes to a real school.  At first Laurel really isn't happy about it.  But what is nice is that she makes a friend right away.  A very nice boy at school named David.  David is in her Biology class, which Laurel can tell from just opening the book and paging through it that she is going to be struggling.  But David doesn't seem to mind her strange habits, the fact that she only eats vegetables and fruits and drinks Sprite.  That she wants to eat outside instead of in the cafeteria because it is too loud and she just feels that she gets refreshed with the time outside.  He even gets his group of friends, some of them at least, to eat outside with her.  Things seem to be going well, she's making friends, kind of fitting in.  Then one day she gets a zit or some kind of bump on her back.  This is weird, as even though her body has developed, hips, etc., she's not really gone through puberty, never had a period, acne, etc.  But she decides this is normal, and decides not to worry about it.  Until it gets bigger.  And then one morning she wakes up, and the bump is gone, but now she has petals, actually a flower, growing out of her back.  Now, here is where I'm not quite sure I'd have done the same, but instead of talking to her parents about it, she talks to David.  And David is pretty intrigued.  The science geek in him wants to look at it under a microscope.  And he does, and it is a plant.  Soon, he begins to wonder other things about Laurel, even as she does herself.  When Laurel and her parents go back to the old house, she runs into a really interesting boy in the forest behind the house, named Tamani.  He tells her some more stuff about herself, tells her she is a plant, that she is a fairy.  When she shares with David, they begin to do more research into it.  You'd think maybe this is the big deal of the story, but no, Laurel also learns that she needs to keep her parents from selling the land, that it needs to remain her property to protect something.  But when her dad gets sick, and the hospital bills begin adding up, her mother has to sell just to get the money.  But this leads to a dangerous situation.  Life and death, and also to Laurel learning even more about her past and what may be in store for the rest of her life.
Like I said, I loved the science and mythology in this story.  It was a quick, easy read.  One that grabbed me and made it hard to put it down.  I know I'm a bit behind on this series, and if you are as well, you need to grab it and check it out!

YA Mythology Giveaway Hop

I don't know about you, but I've been a fan of myths since I was in middle school probably.  And really, I think most people were at that age.  As a teacher, I remember the years when the 7th grade Social Studies teachers did Greek and Roman history, and so the kids always seemed to really enjoy that unit.  In Science class I even pulled it in by having my students write their own myths about different science topics we'd studied that year, or ones we hadn't studied yet so that they didn't know exactly why those things happened. Also as a teacher, I've seen books like The Lightning Thief draw in kids who didn't like to read, and turn them into kids who then begged their parents to buy them an e-reader, and what I loved the most, getting phone calls from their parents, or talking to the parents at conferences, and having them thank me for getting their kid to read.  That's what I love, seeing a kid fall in love with reading, and be so excited to come talk to me about what they'd just read.  That's why I decided to be a librarian, and why I refuse to give up on my dream to finally use the Master's Degree I earned in Library Science and be a School Librarian, even though I get rejection after rejection it seems when I interview.
Anyways, enough about me.  Below I'm going to put some of my favorite mythology books, and you can pick which one you want.  If it is a series, and I only picture one, you may pick any one in the series.  And this is open internationally if The Book Depository ships to your country. (Check here to see if you're unsure.)


All you have to do is fill out the Rafflecopter form below, and then click through the other blogs on the linky below that to find more great giveaways!


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