LA WEATHERLY BOOK SIGNING

Hi, guys! Something that very rarely occurs in little ole Arkansas happened this evening: an author event! I was so excited a few weeks ago when I heard author LA Weatherly was coming to her home state of Arkansas and would be appearing at two events. When I heard this, I had to go support and meet an fellow Arkansas who had earned such success. I was able to attend the second event, at a Barnes & Noble in Little Rock. There were several people in attendance, but it was a nice, quiet group that was very attentive and respectful.

Ms. Weatherly began by giving a very thorough and intriguing overview of her books, Angel Burn and Angel Fire. I haven't read the series yet, but I had heard from fellow bloggers that the books are very good. And wow, when she described the books, how she perceived her "angels" and the way the interact in our world, I was hooked. She told of how the story came about. The characters had been with her for some time, but it wasn't until she was in a bookstore (go figure!) and came across books about angels, that the story began forming. Weatherly and her husband traveled the same route as her characters across the United States so she could get a true feel of what she wanted to convey to the reader. And in Angel Fire, they traveled to Mexico City to gain perspective on the setting of the story.
After this, Ms. Weatherly performed a brief reading from Angel Burn.

Next, she took questions. The advice she gave was like many authors: write, write, write! She began writing books at the age of five! Her mother, unbeknownst to LA, kept her stories, which as a mother, I completely understand. She even recited one of her earliest stories from memory. It was an adorable story that I'm sure my kids would love.

The time came for the books to be signed. I decided to browse the YA section surrounding us while others moved through the line. When my turn came, Ms. Weatherly was extremely kind. She asked how I had learned about her books, and of course, I gave a huge shout-out to my fellow bloggers. LA seemed pleasantly surprised about this, saying that as this was her first YA series and had been originally published in the UK, this meant a lot. She encouraged me to blog about this, which I had already planned to do, but it was lovely that she was so enthusiastic about blogging. Her assistant gave me a cool Angel Burn tote bag and dog-tag necklace. Then Ms. Weatherly graciously took a picture with me.

I have to say, tonight was wonderful. It's always nice to see someone from my small, often overlooked state who has made an impact on the writing world. The Angel series sounds absolutely wonderful and I can't wait to get started. Ms. Weatherly was a lovely and I highly encourage each of you to attend an event with her if you ever get the chance.

Find ANGEL BURN (ANGELS, #1) at GoodReads.
Find ANGEL FIRE (ANGELS, #2) at GoodReads.

BECAUSE OF LOW BLOG TOUR ~ GUEST POST FROM ABBI GLINES

Hello and Welcome to my first stop on the Because of Low Blog Tour! I am so happy to have a guest post from author extraordinaire, Abbi Glines. Her post features one of my favorite post topics, music. Namely, the favorite music of the main characters from the book. Be sure and read the entire post to find out how to enter the giveaway. Now I'm going to hush and let Miss Abbi do her thing. Enjoy!

Because of Low - Character’s Favorite Songs

Cage (Marcus’s roommate and Willow’s best friend) - “When I’m Gone” - Three Doors Down
Asking someone to love you no matter what screw ups you have is selfish but it’s intense. You want them but you want it all. Even when you aren’t there you want to know they will be waiting on you to return. Loving you when you’re gone.


Preston (Marcus’s best friend) - “Wall to Wall” - Chris Brown
Because it’s bad ass. The girls love me. I feel his pain in this one.


Willow (Female main character) - “All I Wanted” Paramore
It’s real. Everyone has wanted that one person out of their reach. You felt like it was simple. You were only asking for one thing. That one person. But it was unattainable and there was never a way to change that. No matter how badly you wanted it to be different.

Marcus (Male main character) - “I’d Come For You” Nickelback
The guy made a mistake. We all make them. It sucks. The song says he’ll come for her if she ask him to. But he is waiting on her to decide because he has royally screwed up. It is eye opening and every guy who has ever been in love has been there.

Amanda (Marcus’s little sister) - “Fix You” - Coldplay
Dealing with pain,betrayal, and anger. This song talks about how someone needs fixing when things come along to knock you on your ass. When everything seems perfect and then life can jerks the rug out from under you, this song gives you hope that someone someday can fix what you’ve become.

Tawny (Willow’s older sister) - “Follow Me” - Uncle Kracker
It’s fun and let’s face it, this happens. Sometimes relationships fall apart and there is someone else who can make you smile again. Someone who makes life fun again.

And there you have it. What a great list. And having read Because of Low, I can say those are great choices.

Giveaway:

Abbi is supplying each blog on the tour an ebook copy of Because of Low and a signed bookmark to giveaway.

To enter all you have to do is comment below. You can get more entries by tweeting about this post and adding a link back. If you tweet about it be sure to add @abbiglines to the post so Abbi can keep up with how many entires you have.

Grand Prize:

1. Signed copy of Breathe by Abbi Glines
2. Signed copy of The Vincent Boys by Abbi Glines
3. Signed copy of Existence by Abbi Glines
4. ebook copy of Because of Low

ONE person will win all three copies of Abbi’s other books that are now in print signed by the author along with an ebook copy of Because of Low. To enter for the grand prize be sure to leave a comment at a minimum of five of the blog tour stops.

Go here to find all the stops on the tour.

(I have quite a lot of Abbi's Predestined and The Vincent Boys bookmarks. I will give five random commenters a bookmark. )

You can find Abbi Glines at:

website | Twitter | Facebook

REVIEW ~ PARTIALS (PARTIALS, #1) BY DAN WELLS

The human race is all but extinct after a war with Partials--engineered organic beings identical to humans--has decimated the population. Reduced to only tens of thousands by RM, a weaponized virus to which only a fraction of humanity is immune, the survivors in North America have huddled together on Long Island while the Partials have mysteriously retreated. The threat of the Partials is still imminent, but, worse, no baby has been born immune to RM in more than a decade. Our time is running out.

Kira, a sixteen-year-old medic-in-training, is on the front lines of this battle, seeing RM ravage the community while mandatory pregnancy laws have pushed what's left of humanity to the brink of civil war, and she's not content to stand by and watch. But as she makes a desperate decision to save the last of her race, she will find that the survival of humans and Partials alike rests in her attempts to uncover the connections between them--connections that humanity has forgotten, or perhaps never even knew were there.

Dan Wells, acclaimed author of "I Am Not a Serial Killer," takes readers on a pulsepounding journey into a world where the very concept of what it means to be human is in question--one where our humanity is both our greatest liability and our only hope for survival. ~ From GoodReads

Wow. Wow,wow,wow! After falling in love with the post-apocalyptic world in Under the Never Sky, I didn't think I would find another novel to compete with it for quite some time, let alone this soon. But in Partials, that is exactly what I found, and I couldn't be more excited.

If you take a good look at the cover, the story is laid before you. The world as we know it is a wasteland, bleak and empty, with the buildings and homes humans once occupied nothing but an empty shell. The story is set in 2076, not so far ahead that it cannot be envisioned. And the circumstances that led to this downfall are entirely too plausible. The United States was involved in a war with Iran and another war with China, scarily possible. The government needed an unbeatable army, so they created Partials, who look like us, talk like us, but are much harder to kill. After the wars were over, the Partials were relegated to an oppressive existence. They revolted. They won. But not only did they win, they decimated the human population with the RM virus, leaving the human race unable to bring a child into the world longer than a few days. Which means the human race is going extinct. But things are not always what the seem. Who is the real enemy?

 

How scary is that? I found the plausibility of the plot to be a most terrifying, yet intriguing concept. My whole life, I've heard older people say that our technology would one day bring about our downfall. Robots would take over the world, and take us down. I always laughed that idea off, but what if it's true?

On top of the brilliant plot line, the author has created a terrific cast of characters. The interaction between the characters, the nonverbal and spoken communication was excellent. I had a great sense of who they were, how they felt about one another without the author having to overexplain. Main character Kira is a medical researcher, intelligent and resourceful. And the girl, only sixteen years old, never says quit. Willing to risk her own life to save humanity (and her best friend's baby), Kira is fierce and loyal. Tough as granite, she holds firm in the face of all adversity, including a huge bomb of a secret she is sitting on.

Kira's boyfriend Marcus was without a doubt the most entertaining character. He is always quick with a one-liner that diffuses a tense situation. He is faithful and believing in what Kira hopes to achieve. I loved him, so much. Xochi, another of Kira's friends and a partner, was also absolutely hilarious and endearing. Even with all of the drama going on, she was great for comic relief. Truthfully, there are at least five more characters that I would love to talk about in depth. But I'm going to hold back a bit because this is a review about a book and not an actual book.

I don't always enjoy post-apocalyptic books because many have become formulaic, in my opinion. That is absolutely not the case in Partials. The fact that not only is there one enemy out there, but two, in addition to the virus that will eventually kill of the human species, left me reeling. The terror is lifted to a whole new level, leaving you feeling surrounded on all sides. The author does not take the easy way out with the characters and the situations they face. Any character, shockingly, can be collaterol damage. The end of Partials left me frantic, flipping the pages as quickly as possible and crying. The story is tragic and bittersweet, yet promising. It was a terrific finish that left me wanting more, but not angry. But, honestly, I'm dying for more!


Favorite Quote:

" 'That is the second worst idea I've ever heard,' said Tovar, 'but since the first worst is you shooting me in the face, I'm all for it.' " (pg. 61, ARC)

"All we have left is each other, so let's enjoy it. Let's be together, like we've always said we'd be, and let's forget all this death and fear and everything else and just live. You want to leave this island, let's leave- let's go somewhere no one will find us, away from the Senate and the Voice and the Partials and everything else. But let's do it together." (pg. 133, ARC)


Browse Inside Partials.

Watch the PARTIALS trailer

Listen to the PARTIALS playlist.

Hardcover, 1st Edition, 472 pages

Expected publication: February 28th 2012 by HarperTEEN

You can pre-order PARTIALS at:

Book Depository  |  Barnes & Noble  |  Amazon

Find Dan Wells at:

his website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter

COVER REVEAL ~ GRAVITY (THE TAKING, #1) BY MELISSA WEST

I am so excited to be taking part in this cover reveal. GRAVITY is a book that I am anxiously waiting on, and after you see the cover and read the synopsis, you will be too.

In the future, only one rule will matter:

Don't. Ever. Peek.

Seventeen-year-old Ari Alexander just broke that rule and saw the last
person she expected hovering above her bed - arrogant Jackson Locke, the
most popular boy in her school. She expects instant execution or some kind
of freak alien punishment, but instead, Jackson issues a challenge: help
him, or everyone on Earth will die.

Ari knows she should report him, but everything about Jackson makes her
question what she's been taught about his kind. And against her instincts,
she's falling for him. But Ari isn't just any girl, and Jackson wants more
than her attention. She¹s a military legacy who¹s been trained by her
father and exposed to war strategies and societal information no one can
know - especially an alien spy, like Jackson. Giving Jackson the
information he needs will betray her father and her country, but keeping
silent will start a war. ~ From GoodReads

Expected publication: October 2012 by Entangled Publishing, LLC

You can pre-order GRAVITY at Amazon.

WAITING ON WEDNESDAY

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

This week's WoW selection is...

Everything is in ruins.

A devastating plague has decimated the population. And those who are left live in fear of catching it as the city crumbles to pieces around them.

So what does Araby Worth have to live for?

Nights in the Debauchery Club, beautiful dresses, glittery make-up . . . and tantalizing ways to forget it all.

But in the depths of the club—in the depths of her own despair—Araby will find more than oblivion. She will find Will, the terribly handsome proprietor of the club. And Elliott, the wickedly smart aristocrat. Neither boy is what he seems. Both have secrets. Everyone does.

And Araby may find something not just to live for, but to fight for—no matter what it costs her. ~From GoodReads

Why I'm Waiting ~  What first caught my attention, of course, was the cover. Simply stunning, and haunting. But when I read the synopsis, I got to thinking. I always thought that I wasn't much of a Poe fan, but I when I think about it, I sort of am. I had an awesome Literature teacher who force-fed me classic works, heavy on the Poe. I read the original Masque of the Red Death, The Raven, The Tell-Tale Heart, Murders in the Rue Morgue. And the thing about his stories is, they've all stuck with me. So, long story short, I'm really excited to read this re-telling.

Hardcover, 320 pages

Expected publication: April 24th 2012 by Harper Collins

You can pre-order Masque of the Red Death at:
Barnes & Noble  |  Book Depository  |  Amazon

TEASER TUESDAY

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along, just do as following:

·Grab your current read
·Open to a random page
·Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
·Be careful not to include any spoilers so as not to ruin the book for others.

Make sure to share the title and the author so other TT participants can add the book to their TBR piles.

This week's Teaser is from

Strangers in reality, inseparable in dreams…

After years of suffocating under her boss’s scrutiny, whale biologist Zoe Morgan finally lands a job as director of a tagging project in Hervey Bay, Australia. Success Down Under all but guarantees her the promotion of a lifetime, and Zoe won’t let anything—or anyone—stand in her way. Not the whale voices she suddenly hears in her head, not the ex who won’t take no for an answer, and especially not the gorgeous figment of her imagination who keeps saving her from the fiery hell of her dreams.

Gavin Cassidy hasn’t been called to help a human Wyldling in over a year, which is fine by him. Still blaming himself for the death of his partner, he keeps the guilt at bay by indulging in every excess his rock star persona affords. That is, until he’s summoned to protect Zoe from hungry Fyre Elementals and learns his new charge is the key to restoring order in the dying Dreaming. He never expects to fall for the feisty Dr. Morgan…nor does he realize he may have to sacrifice the woman he loves to save an entire country. ~ From GoodReads

 My Teaser:

“He’d face an army of Fyres by himself, walk into the bloody sun if he had to, but don’t ask him to hold her. He’d never be able to let go.”


I finished INHALE a few days ago. I absolutely loved it. You can find my review at GoodReads.

Paperback, 462 pages

Expected publication: May 1st 2012 by Howling Mad Press

You can find author Kendall Gray at her website.

REVIEW ~ CAPTIVATED (AN AFFLICTION NOVEL, #1) BY DEB APODACA

"I stood close to the edge looking down at what I thought was my death. Then, I somehow ignored the water and only saw him. He looked like a dark angel on a cloud of mist holding his arms out to me. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply. Then I jumped." Mindy

After Mindy's childhood best friend, Dean Aiken, shuts her and everyone else out of his life, she learns to move on. Years pass and she gets used to the fact that he's no longer a part of her life, but things begin to change

Mindy's new best friend, Markus Medina, witnesses Dean kill two people behind a club. Mindy has a hard time believing him, especially when he mentions that the bodies disappear. Poof! Into thin air. Markus decides he has to follow Dean around in order to get evidence that he's been killing people, so he doesn't sound like a nut to the police.

Despite Marcus' crazy theories about the possibility of Dean not being human. And not to mention the fact that he's dangerous. Mindy can't help that she may be falling in love with him. Even after hiding their feelings for each other from the world. Dean and Mindy being together stirs up dangers that neither of them could ever imagine. When she finds out about what Dean really is and the world he tried to keep her away from...it's already too late. ~From GoodReads

Captivated is the story of Mindy, a normal teenage girl surrounded by abnormal occurrences. First, she loses her best friend Dean when his parents are murdered and he becomes withdrawn. Then, years later, as she is still missing Dean, another mysterious guy, Shane, comes to town. There is clear animosity between Dean and Shane, and Mindy and her friend Markus want to know what is going on. When Markus thinks he has witnessed Dean murdering several people, Mindy thinks he's crazy. But is he? Mindy quickly becomes involved in a dangerous web of events, and she may not make it out alive.

Alright. I had major mixed feelings about Captivated. There were moments I felt myself being pulled into the story, and I liked I was reading. But also, there were a few issues I had with the story, one major. So let me get started with the aspects that I liked.

In general, I liked the story. I don't want to get into the details, for fear of spoilers, but the mystery surrounding Dean and Shane was intriguing. I had a good idea as to what was going on, at least with Shane, but I didn't know for sure. So for that reason, I must give props to the author.

I liked the character of Dean. But honestly, that's a no-brainer because I'm a huge Supernatural fan and yeah...I love Dean on the show. So she basically had me the first time his name was mentioned. But then again, I was distracted by the name because I wanted to go watch a few episodes instead of reading. I digress. Dean is definitely the strong silent type, letting his actions or laser beam glares do his talking. He is super buff, has tattoos and makes all the girls in school drool when he's around. But as quiet and dangerous as Dean is, he has a soft spot where Mindy is concerned.

As for Mindy, I wanted to like her, I really did. She was fun and lighthearted, a real sweetie. But the girl spent almost all of her time ogling and drooling, I mean a lot of time. Even as really weird events were occurring, she was more focused on Dean and his rock hard muscles. Which leads me to the part of the book in which I jumped off board.

I'm not trying to spoil the story for anyone, and honestly, this subject isn't a big deal in the story, and that makes this a HUGE deal for me. Fairly early on, Mindy is almost raped by a guy she's been dating. Before that can happen, she is rescued by a mystery guy she is never able to see. He saves her, covers her up and leaves before she comes to. Afterwards, instead of completely freaking out over nearly being raped, she is upset because she didn't see her rescuer. She daydreams about the guy, wants to see him again, even dressing up when she goes out the next night in hopes of seeing him. When she sees her would-be rapist, and she confronts him, Mindy is only upset because he'll never tell her who saved her.

So...where do I begin. I don't want to make this personal, but I think I must. As a female in general, and someone who was almost assaulted in the same way described, I am more than a little offended. It sends a horrible message to young readers. The way it was written makes light of a subject that deserves be treated carefully. You can say that Mindy is a teenager, and not everyone reacts in the same manner. However, I was the same age as Mindy when that happened to me, and I know how I reacted. No, there wasn't a mystery dude to save me, I saved myself with a lot of screaming and a typewriter (long story), but I can tell you that even if there had been a guy, I wouldn't have cared less if he was a hottie. I was too busy crying, trying to get myself together and wanting to kill the jerk who tried to hurt me. Mindy's reaction is so off the wall, I just don't get it. I tried to get over it, get over myself, but then a line like this comes along:

 "Well, you're the only girl I've heard of that can handle almost being raped with a smile."

Yeah. I'm not going to say any more about this subject.

Truthfully, I had a lot more to say in my review, more about the other parts of the book, but writing that last bit took a lot of the wind out of my sails. So I'll be brief.

The pacing of the story was slow for me, but did pick up in the last quarter of the book. The huge questions raised throughout a lot of the book were answered. The action was intense and lightning quick. Captivated left off with a huge, frustating, but very intriguing cliffhanger. The kind that will make your jaw drop and sets up book two perfectly. If you loved Captivated, you would be positively dying for book two. Obviously, I'm not.

For an alternate point of view, here is a positive review of Captivated.
Favorite Quote:

"He slowly swam towards me. Eyes focused. He looked like a shark coming at me, as if I were the prey" (ebook, 48%)

Paperback, 375 pages

Published June 10th 2011 by Eminent Books

Purchase Captivated at Amazon.

* I received a copy of Captivated from the author, in exchange for an honest review. *