Review: Goddess Interrupted by Aimée Carter

Goddess Interrupted by Aimée Carter

publisher: Harlequin Teen

release date: March 27th, 2012

paperback, 304 pages

intended audience: Young adult

series: Goddess Test, book 2 (review of book 1)

rating:



source: Netgalley

Spoiler alert! Description and Review may contain spoilers for book one, The Goddess Test. If you haven't read book 1, stop here!

description: Kate Winters has won immortality. But if she wants a life with Henry in the Underworld, she'll have to fight for it.

Becoming immortal wasn't supposed to be the easy part. Though Kate is about to be crowned Queen of the Underworld, she's as isolated as ever. And despite her growing love for Henry, ruler of the Underworld, he's becoming ever more distant and secretive. Then, in the midst of Kate's coronation, Henry is abducted by the only being powerful enough to kill him: the King of the Titans.

As the other gods prepare for a war that could end them all, it is up to Kate to save Henry from the depths of Tartarus. But in order to navigate the endless caverns of the Underworld, Kate must enlist the help of the one person who is the greatest threat to her future.Henry's first wife, Persephone.

Review: In Goddess Interrupted, we find Kate Winters in another emotional roller coaster. She has just returned from her six months in the mortal world, traveling with her best friend, James. She is excited to see her new husband, Henry, again and expects to be welcomed to her new home in the Underworld with kisses and wide open arms. What she comes back to instead is a cold, standoffish Henry who is in the midst of planning for war. One of their own has turned against them, wielding the only power that can kill the immortal Gods and Goddesses---the Titans who created them all.

For about 100 pages in, I had mixed feeling for Kate and her plight. There were times I really felt for her and the lack of love she was feeling from Henry, and times I thought her whining got to be a little much, considering he was a little preoccupied trying to figure out a way to protect them all to make sure she was settling into her new home. But she did have it rough---a new world, and not exactly sure what her role as Queen of the Underworld entails, nothing is being explained to her aside from the little information she can get from James and Ava, a Titan seems to be targeting her specifically, she discovers she has a new disorienting and uncontrollable power, and worst of all, she has to turn to the last person she wants to involve---her sister and Henry's first wife who she thinks he still loves, Persephone. It actually wasn't until they reach Persephone that the story really pulled me in. Up until then, it's the journey there, some exploration of the Underworld, and bit of back story on how the Gods came to be.

Its in the second half that the fight gets more exciting, the danger gets closer to the surface, and the tension between Henry and Kate builds and builds to the breaking point. Kate continues to be an incredibly admirable and relatable character---brave in the face of danger and vulnerable in the face of love. Like I said, there were definitely times she got a bit self-pitying, but there were also times I wanted to punch Henry right in the face for crossing the line between being distant and being downright cruel. Still, I think it says a lot that I got so invested in these characters and their turbulent romance. I won't say too much, but they did eventually get a little swoony heart-flutter out of me...and that always makes for a good read. :)

While I may not have loved this one as much as the first book, I will definitely be sticking with this great series about love, war, and immortality.

Visit Aimée Carter's website: www.aimeecarter.com

Purchase Goddess Interrupted at: Amazon • BN.com • BookDepository • Indiebound

Cover Story + A Peek Inside: The Curiosities by Maggie Stiefvater, Brenna Yovanoff & Tessa Gratton

Over at the Merry Sisters of Fate, a collaborative blog created by Maggie Stiefvater, Brenna Yovanoff, and Tessa Gratton, they have revealed the cover for their new book! The Curiosities looks amazing; it's a collection of the short stories that have been featured at Merry Sisters of Fate, which would be awesome all by itself, but the book also features little scribblings and illustrations by the authors. I just heard about this book for the first time yesterday and I can tell you, I am so excited to get my hands on it Fall 2012!!

The beautiful cover:

Synopsis:

A vampire locked in a cage in the basement, for good luck.

Bad guys, clever girls, and the various reasons why the guys have to stop breathing.

A world where fires never go out (with references to vanilla ice cream).

These are but a few of the curiosities collected in this volume of short stories by three acclaimed practitioners of paranormal fiction.

But The Curiosities is more than the stories. Since 2008, Maggie Stiefvater, Tessa Gratton, and Brenna Yovanoff have posted more than 250 works of short fiction to their website merryfates.com. Their goal was simple: create a space for experimentation and improvisation in their writing—all in public and without a backspace key. In that spirit, The Curiosities includes the stories and each author’s comments, critiques, and kudos in the margins. Think of it as a guided tour of the creative processes of three acclaimed authors.

So, are you curious now?

And a little peek at an annotated page and some of the fun illustrations inside:

And a trailer!

Doesn't this look incredible? Often I would say I don't go in for short story collections, but this looks too fun to pass up and involves three amazing authors! Be sure to stop by the Merry Sisters of Fate site---they are giving away a few ARC copies of The Curiosites this weekend!

Review: The Humming Room by Ellen Potter

The Humming Room by Ellen Potter

publisher: Feiwel & Friends

release date: February 28th, 2012

hardcover, 192 pages

intended audience: Middle Grade

stand-alone

rating:



source: from publisher from honest review

description:
Hiding is Roo Fanshaw's special skill. Living in a frighteningly unstable family, she often needs to disappear at a moment's notice. When her parents are murdered, it's her special hiding place under the trailer that saves her life.

As it turns out, Roo, much to her surprise, has a wealthy if eccentric uncle, who has agreed to take her into his home on Cough Rock Island. Once a tuberculosis sanitarium for children of the rich, the strange house is teeming with ghost stories and secrets. Roo doesn't believe in ghosts or fairy stories, but what are those eerie noises she keeps hearing? And who is that strange wild boy who lives on the river? People are lying to her, and Roo becomes determined to find the truth.

Despite the best efforts of her uncle's assistants, Roo discovers the house's hidden room--a garden with a tragic secret.

Inspired by The Secret Garden, this tale full of unusual characters and mysterious secrets is a story that only Ellen Potter could write.

Review: One of the things I love most about retellings is that lovely feeling of familiarity that you get. A really good retelling tends to feel like an old friend that you are seeing in a new light. I loved Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden when I was little, still do actually, and I really think Ellen Potter did a wonderful job of revisiting this classic tale. The bones of the original story are still there, a feisty heroine, an old gloomy house that holds a hidden secret, a distraught shut-in cousin...but she bumps up the intrigue with a little more of a mystical atmosphere, a few ghostly surprises, and just the tiniest hint of that first discovery of love.

I absolutely loved Roo. Fierce little thing with a bit of a jaded outlook on life, being raised by drug-dealing parents. She is small for her age, and odd but very clever---she's a bit sticky-fingered and loves to hide away for hours, alone in her own head. When her parents are murdered, she is sent to live with an uncle she didn't know existed, in his creepy old house that was once a children's tuberculosis hospital. What I loved the most was that this story accomplished one thing in less than 200 pages than some never do in twice that length---character growth, and beautifully done! Roo grows, emotionally, physically, metaphorically. I am always looking for great characters, and this story was full of them. Mrs. Valentine, Phillip, and especially Violet and Jack---I loved them all.

One thing that did stray from the original, but fitting right in with the garden story---both Roo and Jack both seemed to have a mystical connection with the elements, him to water and her to earth. I don't want to give more than that away, but it gave the whole story a feeling of enchantment and charm.

A definite reminder of why I still love to read middle grade fiction!


Visit Ellen Potter's website: www.ellenpotter.com

Purchase The Humming Room at: Amazon • BN.com • BookDepository • Indiebound

Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It lets us all gush about what soon-to-be released books we are jumping-up-and-down excited for.

Because It Is My Blood
by Gabrielle Zevin

hitting shelves September 18, 2012 from Farrar, Straus, & Giroux

(cover shown may not be final)

description:
Since her release from Liberty Children's Facility, Anya Balanchine is determined to follow the straight and narrow. Unfortunately, her criminal record is making it hard for her to do that. No high school wants her with a gun possession charge on her rap sheet. Plus, all the people in her life have moved on: Natty has skipped two grades at Holy Trinity, Scarlet and Gable seem closer than ever, and even Win is in a new relationship.But when old friends return demanding that certain debts be paid, Anya is thrown right back into the criminal world that she had been determined to escape. It’s a journey that will take her across the ocean and straight into the heart of the birthplace of chocolate where her resolve--and her heart--will be tested as never before.


My thoughts: I know it had some pretty mixed reviews, but I personally loved All These Things I've Done (here's my review). Zevin has such a unique writing style. And as much as I loved the simple chocolate heart on the original cover, this new stylish design is pretty cool. Here's the matching paperback copy of All These Things. Definitely eager to see where this series goes!

Recommend{2}Me: Audiobooks

Calling all audiobook junkies!! I need your recommendations! I have a few Audible credits built up and I want to hear what you think I should use them on. What I'm looking for is something in the YA or MG genre. So...tell me! What is the best audiobook you've listened to lately?? Or one that you very highly recommend?

In My Mailbox {109}

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren,
where we all share what we got during the week.

Just one new lovely book in my mailbox this week. One of my favorite authors, Michelle Zink, had a new release come out, so it was definitely a must-buy!

Bought:

A Temptation of Angels by Michelle Zink
Her Prophecy of the Sisters trilogy is definitely a favorite of mine, so I can't wait to see what this new series brings!

Cover Story

Spotted some new cover eye-candy this week! Enjoy! :D

I didn't link these so you could click to make them bigger if you want. So excited for Malinda Lo's new sci-fi novel, Crewel, The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland (another fantastic cover for this series!), and the next installment of Lisa McMann's Unwanteds series!!

Review: Unraveling Isobel by Eileen Cook

Unraveling Isobel by Eileen Cook

publisher: Simon Pulse

release date: January 3rd, 2012

hardcover, 304 pages

intended audience: Young adult

stand-alone

rating:


source: library

description:
Isobel’s life is falling apart. Her mom just married some guy she met on the internet only three months before, and is moving them to his sprawling, gothic mansion off the coast of nowhere. Goodbye, best friend. Goodbye, social life. Hello, icky new stepfather, crunchy granola town, and unbelievably good-looking, officially off-limits stepbrother.

But on her first night in her new home, Isobel starts to fear that it isn’t only her life that’s unraveling—her sanity might be giving way too. Because either Isobel is losing her mind, just like her artist father did before her, or she’s seeing ghosts. Either way, Isobel’s fast on her way to being the talk of the town for all the wrong reasons.

Review: Unraveling Isobel is a fun, fast-paced read---I read it in two days and really enjoyed every second! It's made up of a little bit of everything: psychological thriller, murder mystery, romance, social and family drama, and most of all, chilling ghost story. There were even a few moments thrown in there that I literally laughed out loud---not so much situational comedy, but the main character, Isobel has such a great feisty snarkiness to her. I really liked her. She has been dealt such a short end of the stick by her mother, who marries someone she barely knows (and who completely creeps out Isobel from the very start). Isobel gets uprooted and moved away from everything and everyone she knows just before her senior year---I had to feel for her, that would be rough. Furthermore, with having a mentally ill, artist father, her mother is constantly watching her for signs of a genetic inheritance, so she's kept from doing the one thing that actually gives her some happiness in this whole mess---her art.

The story was incredibly well written and so entertaining to read, really never a dull moment. There is nothing higher on the creepiness scale than ghostly children, so this one definitely had a few really great spine-tingling moments---a few that made me hesitant to read this right before bed in case it crept into my dreams! Isobel, despite being a little unsure about her own sanity at times, had some really great moments of bravery and integrity, my favorite being a certain part where she so satisfyingly puts a real b**** in her place. The romance, though a little "unconventional", was so sweet and the attraction grew so naturally---it was not hard to get caught up in rooting for them as the relationship progressed (and silently hoping that he didn't turn out to be a murderer!).

Great twists and turns and lots of interesting surprises! While not every element was groundbreakingly original, Unraveling Isobel is definitely a perfect blend of a fun, fast, and spooky read. I definitely recommend it and would read it again!

Visit Eileen Cook at her website: www.eileencook.com

Purchase Unraveling Isobel at: Amazon • BN.com • BookDepository • Indiebound

Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It lets us all gush about what soon-to-be released books we are jumping-up-and-down excited for.

The Sweetest Dark
by Shana Abé

hitting shelves August 21st, 2012 from Random House

description:
Chosen to be a charity student at a boarding school in World War I England, sixteen-year-old Lora discovers her long, latent magical powers just in time to battle an evil bent on decimating the school.


My thoughts:
I just learned about this one this past weekend from Jessica @ BookSake's mailbox!! The synopsis is just a tiny little thing so far, but with talk of a WWI English setting & magical powers, it sounds like something I need to read! And that cover---so gorgeous.

Review: Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

pubisher: HarperTeen

release date: February 28th, 2012

hardcover, 357 pages

intended audience: Young adult

series: Delirium, book 2
(my review of Delirium)

rating:



source: from publisher for honest review

Warning! Description, review & video may contain spoilers for Delirium, book #1 in this series. If you haven't read it yet, stop now!

description:
I’m pushing aside the memory of my nightmare,
pushing aside thoughts of Alex,
pushing aside thoughts of Hana and my old school,
push,
push,
push,
like Raven taught me to do.
The old life is dead.
But the old Lena is dead too.
I buried her.
I left her beyond a fence,
behind a wall of smoke and flame.

Review: As dark as Delirium was, with it's theme of love as a disease, Pandemonium is even darker, with a moving story about war, survival, and grief. Told in alternating time frames for each chapter, we get a glimpse at Lena's situation right after she crosses the wall, and further into the future---referred to as "then" and "now". At the beginning, I found this to be a little disorienting, my mind reeling from trying to figure out how in the world she got from point A to point B. It really left me a little lost at the start, but it soon became clear what was happening a few chapters in. Once again, Oliver delivers a story that grips and tears at your heart. Both time frames were compelling, but I find that when stories skip back and forth like this one, I tend to get more invested in one part over the other. In Pandemonium, it was the "now" that caught my attention the most. Maybe it was the slowly blossoming love story, maybe it was the intensity and danger as they get closer and closer to an uprising. But I found myself rushing through the "then" parts to get back to the "now". However, the two hold each other up. When we see Lena's time right after losing Alex, she meets several new, interesting characters, she learns how to survive in the wilds and even, at the worst of times, questions whether this new harsh freedom is worth the price she paid to get there. It builds the story behind how they all end up in the "now".

Another intensely heart-wrenching addition to this series. And once again, Lauren Oliver gives us the kind of twisting cliffhanger ending that leaves the reader gasping for air.

Visit Lauren Oliver at www.laurenoliverbooks.com.

Purchase Pandemonium at: Amazon • BN.com • BookDepository • Indiebound

No trailer for this one, but here you can see Lauren Oliver discussing Pandemonium!

In My Mailbox {108}

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren,
where we all share what we got during the week.

For Review

Perception by Kim Harrison
Thanks to Scholastic for this one!

Bought:
Spell Bound by Rachel Hawkins
Savage Grace by Bree Despain

Very excited to continue all three of these series!! Spell Bound just came in today and daughter is already almost done! Must be good, huh? :)

That's all for me this week! Happy reading, everyone!

Review: The Hunger Games Audiobook

The Hunger Games Audiobook Edition
by Suzanne Collins

Read by Carolyn McCormick

publisher: Scholastic

release date: October 1st, 2008

intended audience: Young adult


source: purchased from Audible

description:
In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister Primrose, regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before — and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that will weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

Review: Okay. Let me have it. I can hear the collective gasp of my blog readers saying, "What?? You're just reading this now??" Believe me, I'm asking myself why it took me so long to get to this book. After hearing amazing review after amazing review for this entire series, and telling myself again and again to fit it in, the day finally came. And though there may have been some underlying worry that it wouldn't live up to the hype, I can happily say that that worry was squashed within the first few chapters. Really, what can I even say that hasn't been said before? This story is amazing. I was gasping, crying, cheering, cringing, and shaking my head in utter awe. It's completely horrifying and shocking and heart-wrenching and exciting and gruesome and heroic and in all these mind-blowing things is still manages to be just a little bit romantic...all these things are just wrapped up into one extremely compelling tale.

I am actually really happy with my decision to listen to this one on audiobook. The reader, Carolyn McCormick, did a fantastic job. The intonation and intensity of her voice was perfect for the feel of the story and each character really came through. Another great thing about listening to this on audiobook: I know if I had read it, I wouldn't have been able to help speeding through it. I can only imagine that the Hunger Games in print is absolutely unputdownable (made up word? Maybe. But you know what I mean.) . With the audiobook, it self-paces the story. I was able to savor it and get caught up in the really intense scenes without tearing through them.

Even if you've already read the books, I highly recommend giving the audiobooks a listen.

As for the movie...VERY excited now. And just a little nervous, because this stunning book is a lot to live up to. Also, a lot of story is told in Katniss's internal voice, so we'll see how well that transfers to the big screen. I do think it was very well cast, though! I actually love the casting of Cinna, who was one of my favorite characters. I don't think I'll be able to help going to see it on opening weekend! I'm bringing plenty of tissue, because I know as soon as I see "certain" characters, I'm going to be a freaking sniveling mess.

Thanks to everyone who has ever recommended this! Its quite a reading/listening experience!

Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It lets us all gush about what soon-to-be released books we are jumping-up-and-down excited for.

The Unnaturalists
by Tiffany Trent

hitting shelves August 14th, 2012 from Simon & Schuster

description:
In an alternate London where magical creatures are preserved in a museum, two teens find themselves caught in a web of intrigue, deception, and danger.

Vespa Nyx wants nothing more than to spend the rest of her life cataloging Unnatural creatures in her father’s museum, but as she gets older, the requirement to become a lady and find a husband is looming large. Syrus Reed’s Tinker family has always served and revered the Unnaturals from afar, but when his family is captured to be refinery slaves, he finds that his fate may be bound up with Vespa’s—and with the Unnaturals.

As the danger grows, Vespa and Syrus find themselves in a tightening web of deception and intrigue. At stake may be the fate of New London—and the world.

My thoughts: While the description from Goodreads is intriguing enough, I wasn't really jumping up and down to read this one until I read the description at the authors site!! See it here .You tell me a book is about a museum of bizarre creatures and you've got my attention. You tell me a book involves Tesla, myth and magic, a rift in time, and Fairyland, and I am ALL OVER IT.

Review: When the Sea is Rising Red by Cat Hellison + ARC Giveaway!

When the Sea is Rising Red by Cat Hellison

publisher: Farrar, Straus, & Giroux BYR

release date: February 28, 2012

hardcover, 296 pages

intended audience: Young adult (suggested for 15+)

rating:


source: from publisher for honest review

description:
After seventeen-year-old Felicita’s dearest friend, Ilven, kills herself to escape an arranged marriage, Felicita chooses freedom over privilege. She fakes her own death and leaves her sheltered life as one of Pelimburg’s magical elite behind. Living in the slums, scrubbing dishes for a living, she falls for charismatic Dash while also becoming fascinated with vampire Jannik. Then something shocking washes up on the beach: Ilven's death has called out of the sea a dangerous, wild magic. Felicita must decide whether her loyalties lie with the family she abandoned . . . or with those who would twist this dark power to destroy Pelimburg's caste system, and the whole city along with it.

Review: When the Sea is Rising Red had me riveted to the page. It took a little getting use to, because it is fantasy in its best form, with a world that is completely built from the blank page up. There are words to learn and entire social structure to straighten out in your mind, but once you get it all straight, it sucks you in and you're completely immersed into the gritty, magical, myth-ridden world of Pelimburg. The setting is so expertly imagined and fleshed out that you could almost forget this isn't historical fiction if it weren't were for the magical drugs, the vampires and selkies among the crowd, and the bodies washing ashore that have been completely drained by boggarts until they resemble jellyfish.

Felicita runs from her privileged home and a cruel controlling brother after her best friend takes her own life to escape an arranged marriage. She has magic, but is completely unable to use it without a drug called Scriv, most of which is controlled by the rich so that they can control the poorer citizens. She is almost always conflicted on her decision to flee...life is certainly not easy in the place she has run to and her loyalty to her family name proves to be deeply embedded. Sometimes it gives her character a vulnerability and weakness to be so conflicted, but it also gives her a good amount of realism, as something as huge as running from everything you've ever known is never cut and dry. Still, she gets by and finds a place among a group in the slums of Pelimburg. The leader of the group, Dash, is mysterious and confident and has a lot of pull, and Felicita is drawn to him.

She also befriends a "bat", the vampire Jannick. Vampires, surprisingly, are at the very bottom of the social ladder of Pelimburg. Theirs was my favorite relationship of the story. It's all very unorthodox, but they find some common ground and build a very bizarre sort of friendship.

But this was not a love story---not with Dash or Jannick. It was about bravery, magic, facing the unknown to reach your freedom, myth and a strongly superstitious society, and keeps you guessing how much of those superstitious are real. It was about a society in complete social turmoil that at times resembled the despair and epic feel of Les Mis. It's about a girl who's trying to decide where her loyalties lie, what she believes in, and how she wants to live her life. It was a lot to pack in to a story of less than 300 pages, but I think Cat Hellison pulled it off beautifully. I don't know if this is a stand-alone, but I thought the ending was perfect...it ended in a way that completed the story and was satisfying, but could also conceivably leave an opening for more story.

An excellent debut, one that I definitely plan to read again.

Favorite passage: "I find out that I'm dead while eating spoonfuls of shaved ice from a paper cone. My official death notice. Lemon flavored."

Visit Cat Hellison's site: www.cathellisen.com

Purchase When the Sea is Rising Red: Amazon • BN.com • BookDepository • Indiebound

Giveaway!

Since I really loved this one and plan to buy a finished copy, I've decided to give my ARC away to one lucky winner!

Fill out the form HERE if you want a chance at it!

US only • Must be 13 or older • Contest ends 3/27/12

Good luck! :)

In My Mailbox {107}

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren,
where we all share what we got during the week.

Had some nice surprises in my mailbox this week!

RAK:
Bewitching by Alex Flinn
A huge thanks to Daniella of Lost in Novels for this one!!

For Review:
Starters by Lissa Price
Dreamless by Josephine Angelini
Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins
Wanted by Heidi Ayarbe
Many thanks to Random House, HarperTeen, and Balzer & Bray for these! Very excited about all of them!

Bought:
The Grave Robber's Apprentice by Allan Stratton
This has such a gorgeous cover, I couldn't resist. Sounds like a fantastic middle-grade adventure! Hubby and I both plan to read this one!

That's all for me this week...what was in your mailbox? :D

Dark Days News & The Calling Book Trailer!!

The Dark Darks are moving right along! This Sunday's event in LA, featuring Lauren Oliver, Dan Wells, and Claudia Gray will be livestreamed by Tiffany of http://www.abouttoread.com/. What that means is that we'll ALL get to watch the event live on http://www.livestream.com/epicreads! Don't miss it!

BUT in the meantime, if you can't wait until Sunday to hear some Pandemonium talk from Lauren Oliver, click HERE to see a video of her event Raleigh, NC !

If you missed any of leg 3 of the Dark Days blog apprearances, here's where you can find them:

2/21 Lauren Oliver at All Things Urban Fantasy

2/22 Claudia Gray at A Life Bound By Books

2/23 Alex Flinn at Mundie Moms

2/28 Dan Wells at Bookalicious

3/1 Lauren Oliver at All Things Urban Fantasy

3/6 Claudia Gray at A Life Bound By Books

3/7 Alex Flinn at Mundie Moms

3/8 Dan Wells at Bookalicious

Last but not least...I just spotted this trailer for The Calling by Kelley Armstrong at Natalia's Dazzling Reads---I just had to share it here, too. It's such an intense, exciting trailer---one of the best I've seen in a while! I can tell this story is going in a completely different direction than I thought it was from the climactic ending in The Gathering!! So excited to start reading it!

Oppression Blog Tour: Interview with Jessica Therrien

Today, as part of the Oppression Blog Tour, author Jessica Therrien is stopping by to give us a little insight into her new book and her writerly ways! If you didn't get a chance to read my thoughts on this fun mythological story, check out my review here.

Please welcome Jessica to Stories & Sweeties!

What are the first three words that come to mind when you think of your bo

ok?

Love. Fate. Heartbreak.

I feel like they should be a little more profound, but that’s what I thought of.

Can you tell a little about how you got interested in writing?

I’ve always loved language, poetry in particular. My mom is an English teacher, so books and writing were a big part of my life. I always wanted to write a book, just for fun really. I never went as far as to think anything I wrote would actually be published.

This is kind of embarrassing, but when I was a little kid, I used narrate things in my head sometime, haha. I would plan out how I would write whatever I was doing in that moment.

She walked down the noisy hallway expecting to see him, the boy she liked. If only he knew how she felt…

Super nerd. I know.

Tell us about your ideal writing space.

It used to think the beach would be nice, but I don’t imagine I’d get much done. It would have to be an office, just for me, somewhere other than my house. I have an office at home, but there are too many distractions, laundry, T.V., etc.

Who are your favorite authors? What are you reading right now?

My favorite authors right now are Veronica Roth, and Moira Young. I’m extremely inspired by their work.

I’m currently resisting finishing the end of Blood Red Road. I like to save the ends of good books for a while. I started Shiver, but haven’t gotten very far. Daughter of Smoke and Bone is calling me. I still haven’t read it yet.

What kind of books did you love to read as a teenager?

Harry Potter was a favorite. I also enjoyed a lot of the books I read for my English classes. The Bean Trees, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Ordinary People, etc. It wasn’t until I discovered Harry Potter, though, that I realized how much I loved the fantasy/paranormal MG and YA type of books. It changed my reading world dramatically.

What is the one thing you hope readers take away from reading Oppression?

I really hope readers are left wanting more. I love being so sucked into a book that I don’t want it to ever end, and I hope readers feel that way when reading Oppression. If they love the characters as much as I do, I’ll be so so happy.

Time for some fun questions!! :D

Favorite snack while writing?

Chocolate covered almonds.

Favorite movie?

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

Favorite color?

All of them, but if I have to pick, then I guess…purple.

Favorite band and song right now?

I’ve been loving Adele (much like everyone has), but my tippy-top favorite song right now is Bloodstream by Stateless.

Favorite teacher from your school years?

My Mama. No question. Best English teacher ever.

And everyone who visits Stories & Sweeties answers this one: Do you like cupcakes? Frosting or cake better?

Cupcakes. YUM.

Thanks, Jessica!

Be sure to check out more about Jessica & Oppression on her website.

Follow along the rest of the blog tour to see guest posts, more interviews, giveaways, and reviews!

One Sweet Giveaway: WINNERS!

It's time to announce the winners from my 2 year blogoversary giveaway!!!

Prize pack #1 goes to:
Kathleen Brown!!


Prize pack #2 goes to:
Lisa McGeen!! *
(*alternate winner, I didn't hear back from the first winner chosen)

Congrats to my two winners, and thanks to everyone who entered! It's been a great two years and I'm grateful to every single one of you who've visited Stories & Sweeties!

Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It lets us all gush about what soon-to-be released books we are jumping-up-and-down excited for.

Touching the Surface
by Kimberly Sabatini

hitting shelves October, 30th, 2012 from Simon & Schuster

description:
Life altering mistakes are meant to alter lives…

When Elliot dies for the third time, she knows this is her last shot. There are no fourth-timers in this afterlife, so one more chance is all she has to get things right. But before she can move on to her next life, Elliot will be forced to face her past and delve into the painful memories she’d rather keep buried. Memories of people she’s hurt, people she’s betrayed…and people she’s killed.

As she pieces together the mistakes of her past, Elliot must earn the forgiveness of her best friend and reveal the truth about herself to the two boys she loves…even if it means losing them both forever.

My thoughts: This summary definitely has me curious! That and a gorgeous cover definitely wins this one a place on my must-read list!!