{Blog Tour} Review: Day After by Emi Gayle + Excerpt & #Giveaway

I’m so happy that I get to share my review of this great book for my stop on the blog tour. I love Emi Gayle’s writing. Love this world she’s created. And now I’m going to try and convince you to check it out so you can feel the same. So, hop on board because the train’s about to leave the station. ;)

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Title: Day After

Series: the 19th Year Trilogy

Author: Emi Gayle

Publisher: J. Taylor Publishing

Release Date: May 6th 2013

Source: ARC received from publisher

From Goodreads:

Demon crypts. Vampire lairs. Glowing angels. Sexy sirens. The stuff of fiction.

Or so Winn Thomas always thought.

Since being accepted into the fold of the supernatural, he knows better. None of what he imagined is true, but everything he feared is, and binding himself to his Changeling girlfriend until her nineteenth birthday will give him an education far beyond what he’d get at his human high school.

Luckily, Winn’s not giving up, he won’t back down, and he definitely isn’t going to run away with his tail between his legs. After all, only werewolves have tails. Right?

In this, the second of the 19th Year trilogy, Winn’s facing the challenge of one lifetime. If he doesn’t learn the truth about mythological creatures, his girlfriend Mac Thorne won’t either. That means, in six months, when she chooses her final form, she won’t know what to pick.

Winn, though, has his own ideas about Mac’s final selection—plans she knows nothing of.

He intends to have her pick human.

Whether she can or not.

~~~~~

My Review

Day After is full of mystery and intrigue and excitement, and I pretty much enjoyed this book from start to finish. As always with Emi’s writing, the plot is as intricately revealed as it woven, leaving the reader constantly guessing and anticipating, and very often surprised. The slow reveal of revelation after revelation as each and every discovery is made is a strong motivator for the reader to keep turning the pages. But an even bigger motivator than that is the MC. Winn. *sigh*
Winnford Thomas, how I adore thou, geeky dude that thee are.
Winn won me over (ha! no pun intended) in After Dark, so I was very much looking forward to reading into his somewhat convoluted (he’s a guy, after all) mind and finding out just how the other half of Mac and Winn views their somewhat unusual relationship. Sure, to begin, his voice took a little getting into–I blame that on the great connection I felt from Mac in the first book–but it wasn’t long before I’d slid into the nerdy mind of Winn, and was very soon happy to be taken along on his ride (you can stop those filthy thoughts of yours; I didn’t mean it like that). As I expected him to be, he was intelligent and patient and caring and passionate and … just Winn. In case you hadn’t figured it out, I kinda like Winn. ;)
Plus we have Mac–through Winn’s eyes. She was slightly more frustrating a character in Day After than she was in After Dark, but I imagine that’s because we got a much stronger smack upside the head of just how her actions and decisions affected Winn on a personal and emotional level–and thanks to that connection I mentioned, they can be tough to endure through his eyes. But I still love Mac, because deep down I suspected she had her own solid reasoning for doing what she did–after all, she does really consider her actions even if she doesn’t realise she’s doing it at the time.
I’m not going to delve too much into the plot, because it’s quite complex, so the best thing to do is to just read it for yourself. But just know, you will get some answers you’ve been hoping for, at the same time as landing with a few new ones; you will experience a couple WTF!? moments when some ‘stuff’ comes to light or characters behave in a certain way; you will definitely want to do a little bit of neck throttling; and you will adore Winn. So just read it anyway. ;o)
That is all.

5starsblue

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So, did I convince you yet? Maybe this excerpt will help:

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Sitting in front of the twelve most powerful non-humans on the earth would have shaken a lesser guy. In my case, I’d almost thrown up. Twice.

‘Don’t worry,’ Mackenzie Thorne, my girlfriend, had said. ’‘It’s just a formality.

She hadn’t known I’d have to go alone.

Only the intake and exhalation of air in the room made any sound. Eerie light flickered from the tips of candles mounted along dark, oak-paneled walls.

I refused to look anywhere but ahead of me. To the long, wooden, medieval-length table.

Waiting.

Watching.

Holding my own breath.

For a moment, it seemed the walls began to close in on me.

At almost midnight on the first day of the year, I prepared to accept a fate no other human had ever taken on, been given or even offered. In response, sweat pooled under my armpits as alternating cold and hot ran through me.

The scratch of wood against wood had heads turning. Mine included.

Nahir, the oldest of the twelve, rose from his chair. “Winford Richmond Thomas, please rise.” His voice had a gravelly, hoarse sound.

I did as requested, my knees pressing against each other.

Nahir moved closer to me, his grandfatherly, human form disappearing under protruding scales of deep green. His arms lengthened into dinosaur-like paws and hit the rock floor, making the room around us shake. Thick wings extended from his body, and a tail lashed out against the wall behind him, rattling the candles.

A dragon, in the color of tropical ocean water, stood before me, huffing air from horse-sized nostrils.

Oh. God. I’m going to die.

Not going to die. It’s part of the test. Remember, you have to see them all. Mac’s words flowed through my mind. 

Keep breathing.

“Master Thomas.” Josie, a siren and one of the most beautiful women I’d ever met, rose, her long flowing gown matching the color of her reddish-gold hair. I couldn’t help but stare at her. “You’ve been asked by our current changeling, Miss Maya Mackenzie Thorne, to be her teacher. Have you willingly agreed to take on this duty?” As Josie talked, she stalked forward, shimmering, shifting, the already-pretty woman becoming deadly man-hunting female—according to the legends I’d read.

Vibes ebbed from her like the rocking tide. If she sang, throwing up would be the least of my worries. I’d be dead by sexual self-implosion.

With a rough cough, I gathered my wits. “Yes. I have accepted. Willingly.” Every nerve ending in my body urged me to go to Josie, to let her take me and do with me whatever she wanted. A groan built in my throat, tension straining my limbs, most particularly, my crotch. Not now! The need to shift what grew sent heat to my cheeks even as Mac’s words played through again. Force yourself not to react to any of them. They’ll think you’re stronger than you are since you’re only human.

Only human. Problem number one.

~~~~~

That’s done the job. Right?

You can grab your own copy of Day After at Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

Aaaaaaannnnnnnd … in the meantime, why not enter Emi’s giveaway, where you could be in with a chance of winning a signed copy, an e-copy, or bookmarks. :D

Giveaway badge

Clicking on the giveaway image will lead ye to the magic rafflecopter form.

Good luck!

~~~~~

Emi Gayle just wants to be young again. She lives vicariously through her youthful characters, while simultaneously acting as chief-Mom to her teenaged son and searching for a way to keep her two daughters from ever reaching the dreaded teen years.

Ironically, those years were some of Emi’s favorite times. She met the man of her dreams at 14, was engaged to him at 19, married him at 20 and she’s still in love with him to this day. She’ll never forget what it was like to fall in love at such a young age — emotions she wants everyone to feel.

Cover Reveal: Tremble by Jus Accardo (whoo-hoo!) including juicy excerpt (double whoo-hoo!)

I’m super excited to hop aboard this particular cover reveal.

I LOVED Toxic when I read that, so I’m eagerly anticipating this next installment.

But this post isn’t about me. It’s about Kale Tremble. So, I’ll just get on with it.

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Title: Tremble

Series: Denazen #3

Author: Jus Accardo

Release Date: May 7th 2013

Publisher: Entangled Teen

TREMBLE_1600*sigh* Kale *sigh*

And the blurb:

Dez Cross has problems. She’s almost eighteen and on the verge of losing her mind thanks to the drug the Denazencorporation used to enhance her abilities. People close to her have turned their backs on the underground and are now fighting for the wrong side. And then there’s Kale… Things couldn’t get any worse.

Until, of course, they do. Denazen is about to start a new trial—this one called Domination—and it works. But that means out with the old and in with the new. The order has been given to terminate all remnants of the second trial—including Dez. The good news is that there’s a survivor from the original trial. A woman whose blood may hold the cure for the second generation of Supremacy kids’ defects. But the underground Sixes aren’t the only ones who know about her.

Dez’s father is willing to throw away everything he has to keep Dez from getting the cure—including the one thing that might tear her apart from the inside out.

~~~~~

EEEP!

AAAAAAAAND here’s your excerpt I promised up in yonder post title there ^.

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“I told them you wouldn’t come alone. Yet here you are,” Kale’s dark voice said from the doorway. “You’re an odd one.”

“You don’t realize it, but coming from you, that’s kinda funny,” I said, swallowing hard and turning to face him. The light from the hall lit the entire right side of his face, leaving the left cloaked in darkness. Two sides of the same dangerous coin. I wanted to back away but resisted, meeting his gaze straight on. My Kale was in there somewhere—and he could sense weakness. “Did you kill her?”

“She’s dead.”

“I figured as much,” I said, jaw tense. Another step closer. “But I’m asking if you did it.”

He cocked his head to the left and I could see his expression. Confusion. “You asked the same thing about the other girl. Why does it matter?”

“Because it does. It matters to you, too. You just don’t remember.”

He took another step. Inches. He was inches from me now, the warmth from his body radiating like the sun. Every one of my muscles plunged into an all-out war with my heart. Common sense screamed for me to match his steps forward with ones away. Keep your distance—he’s dangerous!

My heart wanted to move closer. I wanted this to all be nothing more than a bad dream.

“I feel like…when I look at you—” He shook his head and placed a hand on either side of me, up against the mattress, and brought his face close to mine. For the longest moment all he did was stare. When he did speak, there was so much rage in his voice. “You stabbed me. When that didn’t do the trick, you pushed me from the bridge. I’m asking you why?”

“I never did that, Kale. No one’s ever pushed you from a bridge as far as I know. I promise. As for the scar, yeah. You were stabbed. Alex did it.”

“You’re lying, Kiernan.”

“I’m not. And my name is Dez,” I said, voice cracking under the weight of his words. “Deznee.” I wasn’t ready to give up, so I went with what had always worked for me. Something insane.

Pushing forward, I crushed my lips to his, wrapping both arms around his neck to lock him in place. He didn’t resist and, to my surprise, didn’t shove me away. Instead, after a moment, he responded, his lips moving fervently with mine.

The kiss only lasted a few moments. I was the one who broke it, pulling away as the clouds passed, allowing the moonlight to shine through the bedroom window once again. For a second, neither of us said a word. His cheeks glistened with my tears, making it look like he’d been crying, too, as he stared—eyes wide and mouth agape—like he’d never seen me before.

For a crazy, insane moment, time froze. I thought maybe the kiss had done the trick. That this time the princess had woken the prince. He looked at me with a mix of shock and awe, the tiniest hint of my Kale gleamed through. My heart pounded so loudly I could barely hear anything else. It was there. I could see the spark in his eyes. “Kale?”

But it didn’t last. Or maybe it hadn’t been there at all. Maybe I wanted to see it so badly that I imagined the whole thing.

His lips parted and the corners tilted upward just a hair. “Roz is right. You are crazy.”

~~~~~

Double EEEEP!

If you (like me) want to pre-order Tremble, you can do so at the following places:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository

You can also add it to your Goodreads by clicking the coverart up above.

PLUS …

There is also a super-groovy TREMBLE COUNTDOWN WIDGET! which you can get by clicking HERE!!!!!

(my blog won’t let it show up, sorry).

I’m mega excited for this book to come out. Love the Denazen series.

What do YOU all think?

Jus Accardo spent her childhood reading and learning to cook. Determined to follow in her grandfather’s footsteps as a chef, she applied and was accepted to the Culinary Institute of America. At the last minute, she realized her path lay with fiction, not food, and passed on the spot to pursue writing.

 Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook

Book Blast: Sacrifice by Stacey Rourke

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Sacrifice Tour
Chat with Stacey Rourke
author of Amazon Bestselling Children’s Action & Adventure novel
#Sacrifice
April 10 at 10:30 am ET
(it’s easy to join the conversation using tweetchat.com)
Celeste Garrett has finally found a happy balance in her life as the Chosen One, thanks in large part to a certain hunky Irishman. But if there’s any lesson she should heed since receiving her calling it’s that everything can change in the blink of an eye. Soon a terrible new threat, unlike anything she’s ever encountered, causes her to make a gut-wrenching choice that will strip her of someone she holds dear.As much as she’d like to have a pity party for one, there’s no time for that now because wedding bells are ringing in Gainesboro! In between dress fittings and rehearsal dinners Celeste will have to fend off attacking demons and leering pirates. As if the Dark Army wasn’t scary enough our heroine is faced with the horrifying trauma of attending a bachelorette party with her mom and watching Grams do Jello shots. Is a walk down the aisle even possible for a member of the Garrett family when the Dark Army is out to destroy them? More importantly, will the Dark Army Glee Club sing at the reception?

Raise your glass to the happy couple, and get ready for a wedding…Conduit-style.

Buy the books for 99 cents each!
Be sure to follow the full tour for reviews, interviews, excerpts, and the inside scoop on Stacey Rourke and the Gryphon series. To celebrate the third book in the Gryphon series, Stacey Rourke is offering one lucky fan an awesome prize pack. Enter below.

Rafflecopter Form

A GWR Publicity promotional tour paid for by the author. Girl Who Reads is an Amazon advertising affiliate; a small fee
is earned when purchases are made via the above links. Rose Petals background is a public domain image courtesy of Виталий Смолыгин.

Launch Party for Lisa Kessler’s Night Demon! #Giveaway

Welcome, welcome to the launch party for Lisa Kessler’s Night Demon. Book two of the The Night Series launches TODAY, and to celebrate there is a GIVEAWAY involved.

*cue the clackers*

I’m real excited to get to be a part of this, so let’s take a look at the lickalicious book in question.

 See? Told ya it was lickalicious. ;)

You can add it to your Goodreads by clicking the image.
And here’s the blurb:

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Gretchen Finch’s job would be much easier if she weren’t alone in the jungle with a brilliant recluse whose every glance sets her on fire. But the more she focuses on her work, the closer she gets to unlocking the mysteries of a terrible creature—the Night Demon—that threatens the world as she knows it. Though her scientific mind tells her it’s impossible, she’s beginning to believe the ancient Mayan tales as the sinister jungle comes alive around her.

Lukas Smith has spent hundreds of years searching for answers to his immortal Night Walker nature. As a series of ancient glyphs become clear, he’s about to find out more than he’d ever hoped, but the more he learns, the more his fate intertwines with the Night Demon, and the harder it becomes to hide his immortal secret from the beautiful, intelligent Gretchen.

Together, they must find a way to stop the inexplicable violence and mass destruction surging across the earth before the Night Demon destroys more than just mankind.

~~~~~

 Night Demon is available NOW!

You can grab your copy from: 

Amazon | B&N

Also, be sure to check out the first book in the series, Night Walker, as well as the prequel, Night Thief. Trust me when I say those covers are just as candy-full.

 

Lisa Kessler Author PhotoLisa Kessler is an award winning author of dark paranormal fiction. Her debut novel, Night Walker, won a San Diego Book Award for Best Published Fantasy-Sci-fi-Horror as well as the Romance Through the Ages Award for Best Paranormal and Best First Book.

Her short stories have been published in print anthologies and magazines, and her vampire story, Immortal Beloved, was a finalist for a Bram Stoker award.

When she’s not writing, Lisa is a professional vocalist, performing with the San Diego Opera as well as other musical theater companies in San Diego.

WebsiteFacebook@LdyDisney

And now it’s …

Giveaway badge

Yep, to celebrate the launch of Night Demon, Lisa is giving away four prizes:

A $25 Amazon gift card
A Mayan Glyph necklace
A signed paperback of Night Walker
Aaaaaannnnnnd an ebook of Night Thief.

You, my lovelies, can enter HERE!!!!!!!!

Go, go, gooooo! 

Good luck!

And don’t forget to stalk Lisa and wish her a happy book birthday!

Review: Iced by Karen Marie Moning

Title: Iced

Series: Fever #6

Author: Karen Marie Moning

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Publication date: October 30th 2012

Source: I own a copy (thanks, Katherine)

From Goodreads: 

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Karen Marie Moning comes the first book in her hotly anticipated new urban paranormal trilogy, set in the world of her blockbuster Fever series.

The year is 1 AWC—After the Wall Crash. The Fae are free and hunting us. It’s a war zone out there, and no two days are alike. I’m Dani O’Malley, the chaos-filled streets of Dublin are my home, and there’s no place I’d rather be.

Dani “Mega” O’Malley plays by her own set of rules—and in a world overrun by Dark Fae, her biggest rule is: Do what it takes to survive. Possessing rare talents and the all-powerful Sword of Light, Dani is more than equipped for the task. In fact, she’s one of the rare humans who can defend themselves against the Unseelie. But now, amid the pandemonium, her greatest gifts have turned into serious liabilities.

Dani’s ex–best friend, MacKayla Lane, wants her dead, the terrifying Unseelie princes have put a price on her head, and Inspector Jayne, the head of the police force, is after her sword and will stop at nothing to get it. What’s more, people are being mysteriously frozen to death all over the city, encased on the spot in sub-zero, icy tableaux.

When Dublin’s most seductive nightclub gets blanketed in hoarfrost, Dani finds herself at the mercy of Ryodan, the club’s ruthless, immortal owner. He needs her quick wit and exceptional skill to figure out what’s freezing Fae and humans dead in their tracks—and Ryodan will do anything to ensure her compliance.

Dodging bullets, fangs, and fists, Dani must strike treacherous bargains and make desperate alliances to save her beloved Dublin—before everything and everyone in it gets iced.

For the record: this cover is A-Mazing in hardback.

My Review

Dude! Where to fe***ng start?

Okay, I’ll go with the simplest part of my review first: Iced is one of the best books I’ve read in a good while.

The reason for this is that it’s made up of a whole heap of different components.

It has: intelligence; wit; twisted hot guys; a kick-a$$ yet 100% vulnerable MC; awesome characterisation; descriptions that leave you in no doubt as to what’s happening or with no trouble visualising; imagination; originality; mystery & intrigue; action; sexiness; surprises; and to top it all, a GREAT voice.

Let me just chat about that last component for a second. Because it’s no secret a lot of KMM fans were a little concerned about the MC chosen for Iced. After all, Dani could be a bit of an irritant during her scenes in the Fever series, always giving it the big ‘I am’. However, I cannot possibly put into words just how impressed I am with KMM for pulling off a believable voice, one full of teen angst and attitude, alongside Dani’s constant self-proclamations, without pissing the reader off. Because, yes, in Iced, Dani is—to steal a Dani term—‘the shit!’ In fact, I believe it’s wholly possible that I prefer Dani’s voice to Mac’s. She’s fun, she’s sarcastic (and I love sarcasm), aaaaaaaaand she make even the toughest and self-composed dudes laugh. Loved her. Seriously.

So let’s chat about the twisted hot guys a mo. To be honest, I didn’t know which way to be tugged when it came to the dudes. Because Dani has not just one but three with their eye on her—I suspect, all for different reasons, too. Ryoden kinda left me confused and frustrated. He’s an infuriating guy who you can’t help but be mega intrigued by, but his interest in Jo? Yeah, not getting/buying that. Though, let’s not forget the very subtle shift in her demeanour toward him down in that cellar once ‘contracts’ were on the table. Underhanded is the first word that springs to mind when I delve deeper in that relationship. And then we have his most unusual interest (and almost soft spot) for Dani. I honestly believe his taunting of Christian is exactly that. I’m not convinced Ryoden wants Dani for something as base as sex. I believe there is WAY more to Dani than meets the eye, and I think Ryoden sees it. Either that, or there is some kind of prophecy that Ryoden just happens to know of—because, let’s face it, the dude knows everything, right? Of course, this is mere speculation, which I rarely ever do in reviews—but then this book leaves you with a whole lot to speculate if you look beyond the mere happenings of this title and search for the bigger picture. As already mentioned above, we also have Christian. Though he was somewhat creepy at times, he was also incredible hot in his own right, and incredibly vulnerable (and entertaining). I don’t believe he has any underhanded agendas—at least, not that he is himself aware of—but I do think there is much more going on with him and Dani needs to watch out. His intentions might seem pure to himself, but I’m not 100% convinced he’s the one pulling his strings. Finally, there’s Dancer. The mere human. The one seen as weaker by the other two, but can knock them dead with his brain power and proved exactly that, as well as not being an ounce of afraid of the bigger two. I loved his relationship with Dani, loved their interactions, and whilst my heart is telling me he is totally the right guy for our young heroine, my more sensible brain is telling me to never assume and never believe that anything will ever be that simple.

Anyway, I think that might be enough spoilers for one review in my character opinions alone. But I do feel I have to mention the plot at least a little bit. Because, despite the pace of the book seeming a little slow, it didn’t feel slow as I was reading. It felt more as though I was working vigilantly alongside Dani—and one must stay vigilant if they’re to take it all in—to solve the mystery (or all of them) at the exact pace she did. Did I see anything coming? Tiny little bits maybe. Like the idea Ryoden comes up with for the grand finale, though I didn’t anticipate just how the actual occurrence of such would play out. But I didn’t pre-amp much.

So, drawing the review to an end, I’ll wrap up with a mention of the ‘dreaded cliffhanger’. Some folk hate cliffhangers. Personally, I’m pretty ecstatic there was one in Iced, and I am seriously hoping for a good five books or so to this series, because KMM style, I suspect it will take at least that long for all my questions to be answered. And, boy, am I left with a shed-load of questions. About Cruce & Mac & Ryoden & Christian—okay, pretty much everything and everyone—but to list them here would be the biggest spoilers of them all. So I’ll just end by saying: gimme more!

5starsblue

Have you read this one? Are you planning to?

Blog Tour: #Reaper by L.S. Murphy: Guest Post plus #Giveaway

Reaper-Blog-Tour-Button

Yahoo!

I’m very excited to be a part of the Reaper Tour. Not only did I enjoy this book thoroughly (you can read my review HERE), but Ms Murphy is also awesomesauce to stalk and a hoot to toot to.

And for any of you who haven’t read Reaper yet (why the heck not?), here’s the scoop:

There’s no way sixteen year old Quincy Amarante will become the fifth grim reaper. None. Not over her shiny blue Mustang. Her Jimmy Choos. Or her dead body.

She’s supposed to enjoy her sophomore year, not learn about some freaky future Destiny says she has no choice but to fulfill.

It doesn’t take long for Quincy to realize the only way out of the game is to play along especially since Death can find her anyway, anywhere, anytime. And does.

Like when she’s reassuring her friends she wants nothing to do with former best friend Ben Moorland, who’s returned from god-knows-where, and fails. Miserably.

Instead of maintaining her coveted popularity status, Quincy’s goes down like the Titanic.

Maybe … just maybe … that’s okay.

It seems, perhaps, becoming a grim reaper isn’t just about the dead but more about a much needed shift in Quincy’s priorities—from who she thinks she wants to be to who she really is.

See? Sounds awesome right. Well, in conjunction with the blog tour, I have a special treat for you today. Yup, Ms Murphy is taking over my blog. And at the bottom? There’s a giveaway, too!

Lovely lady, it’s over to you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Quincy Amarante is not the girl next door. She’s not the loveable loser looking to shine. She’s not on the edge of the in-crowd. She IS the in-crowd.

At the beginning of Reaper, Quincy’s the quintessential mean girl.

The most important things to her are 1) her status, 2) her clothes, and 3) getting a car for her 16th birthday. Pretty shallow, right?

My high school existence was nothing like Quincy’s. I wasn’t popular by any means. I didn’t give a snake’s patooty about my social status, and I wore t-shirts and jeans/shorts ninety-nine percent of the time. Relating to Quincy and writing her character was not easy for me.

So, why did I pick such an unlikeable character to begin with? It certainly wasn’t a “write what you know” type of situation. If I’m being honest, I wanted to read something different, something that didn’t have the same old characters in it. No down-on-her luck, beautiful but unappreciated teen. No poor, but has an incredible personality modelesque girl. I wanted to look at the world of a mean girl and then throw her under the bus. Hence, the reaper idea.

Quincy was born from that.

She wasn’t easy to write. Once I had a general idea of her personality, I came up with her name. Quincy means fifth or five. Amarante means unfading. Both names deal with her destiny to become a grim reaper.

After that initial phase, I had an issue. How to write a mean girl? Like I said this wasn’t a “write what you know” situation, but it turned into a “write what you’ve seen/heard” one. As I outlined the plot, I imagined those girls in high school who were similar to Quin. I remembered some of the crap they would say about one another, their parents, or anyone in general. I may not have been part of the in-crowd, but I was forced into many situations with them during marching band, basketball, softball, etc. Their barbs, at me and others, are still rather fresh in my head after all these years.

Quincy’s thought process came from those memories, well with a few things added in. I can’t imagine that all of those girls were always so hateful. Maybe they were, but I don’t think so. I suspect they were just as insecure as I was back then.

Writing Quincy only grew more difficult once I started. If you think she’s mean, that’s nothing compared to the first draft. Or the second. Or even the third. Each draft (and I lost count how many drafts I wrote), Quincy became clearer, but she fought me all the way. There are chapters that have, thankfully, disappeared because Quincy’s character wasn’t right. In fact, I rewrote the original ending to the point that Quincy wasn’t Quincy anymore. One of my critique partners stared at me and said, “You need to either make her nicer or go full Heathers*** with her.”

Believe it or not, Quin’s nicer in the final draft.

Taking that advice to heart, I rewrote the entire manuscript. Let me rephrase that: I retyped the entire manuscript. Giving Quincy a teeny tiny bit of empathy, although not too much, opened up the story in so many ways. It made Quincy become a fully realized character and not just a caricature of a mean girl.

***Trailer for Heathers can be found HERE!

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Thank you so much, L.S., for chatting to us about the quirky Quincy.

And if that’s not enough, Ms Murphy is even sharing an excerpt. :)

Below:

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A spitball stops in mid-air less than an inch from my nose.

It hangs there. I assume everyone else notices the wet wad of paper too, but when I turn to my bestie Jordan, her mouth is stuck open with her eyes half closed.

She was just laughing. Now she’s … frozen?

The sudden silence is louder than a room full of gossiping teenagers.

Mini-quakes creep up my spine like a centipede hurrying toward my hair.

I’m not entirely sure my heart is beating. I wave my shaking hand in front of Jordan, hoping this will break her free of whatever happened.

No reaction.

Why am I moving?

So many times, I wished Jordan would stop talking. Now is the one time I need her high-pitched voice to pierce my ears.

Quin, relax. It’s okay. No way this is real. I pinch my arm hard, but it doesn’t change anything.

A loud pop makes me spin around in my seat. A man stands in front of the chalkboard in a bluish-white robe staring at me through blizzard white eyes. He holds a staff in front of him that looks like melting glass.

“Hello, Quincy,” he says in a deep velvet voice. “How would you like to see your future?”

I stand and stumble toward the back of the room. “Who are you supposed to be? Gandalf?” I’m unable to keep the tremor out of my voice.

“One person dresses up like me in a movie, and that’s all I hear.” He leans back on Mr. Spragg’s desk. “I’m far more attractive than him and so much more fun.” He winks and lifts his robe, revealing a pair of yellow and red striped Bermuda shorts and orange flip-flops.

My eyes pop wider at the mismatched mess, but I keep my thoughts about his sense of fashion to myself. “Who are you?”

His sigh echoes off the walls. “I’m Destiny.”

“Who?”

Rolling his eyes, he raises the staff high to his left. Like a swordsman, he stabs and swooshes it down in an arch. The air ripples as a dark slit opens. A man in a deep brown pinstripe suit steps through. His cheap sneakers don’t match the formality of the tan fedora and horn-rimmed glasses.

A pony-sized white German shepherd saunters in behind him, and I take an automatic step back. The dog turns his head, black orbs where its eyes should be.
Pinstripe man glances my way before turning toward the person who calls himself Destiny. His features contort and a maroon tint creeps over his face.

“What the f—”

Destiny flips his finger and the new guy shuts up. After a moment, he does another finger move.

“We said when she was eighteen, Des.”

“I’m aware of that, Forsyth.”

“She’s not eighteen.”

“Really? I never would have guessed.” Sarcasm fills each word as Destiny raises his eyebrows like a flag on the Fourth of July.

Forsyth glares. “Then why am I here?”

“I let you pick the date, but I never agreed to honor it.” Destiny pats the dog on the head with sneer and wipes his hands on his robe. “Now is the time. Teach her.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Like I said, it’s a pretty cool read. :D

And now it’s …

Giveaway badge

Yep, I have up for grabs a signed Reaper bookmark & a signed Reaper postcard. They’re totally cute, and shiny and look pretty much like this:

001

Want one?

Well, you might just be in luck.

Simply leave Ms Murphy a comment below telling us what YOUR get-up (translate: outfit) would be if YOU were made Reaper.

Giveaway is International.

Entry will be open until midnight of 31st January (2013), and a winner will be chosen using Random.org.

Good luck!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

L.S. Murphy lives in the Greater St. Louis area where she watches Cardinals baseball, reads every book she can find, and weaves tales for teens and adults. When not doing all of the above, she tends to The Bean (aka her daughter), her husband and a menagerie of pets. “A Reason to Stay”, a contemporary romance novella, is available as of November 2, 2012. Reaper is her debut young adult novel and will be released on January 7th, 2013.

She is a co-rep for the Southern Illinois region of Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and a member of the St. Louis Writer’s Guild.

You can connect with her here: Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | J.Taylor

Cover Reveal: Breathless by @BrigidKemmerer Wheeeeeeeeeeee!

Yahooo!

So I spotted this reveal over on Brigid’s Facebook, and because I luuuurves me some Merrick Brothers, I just couldn’t seem to stop the urge my tapping fingers had to share.

Here’s the goods.

~~~

Title: Breathless

Series: Elemental 2.5

Author: Brigid Kemmerer

Release Date: May 2013

Publisher: Kensington Teen

 

Too many secrets. Not enough time.

Nick Merrick is supposed to be the level-headed one. The peacemaker. Since it’s just him and his three hotheaded brothers against the world, that’s a survival tactic.

But now he’s got problems even his brothers can’t help him survive.

His so-called girlfriend, Quinn, is going quick as mercury from daring to crazy. Meanwhile, Quinn’s dancer friend Adam is throwing Nick off balance, forcing him to recognize a truth he’d rather shove back into the dark.

He can feel it—-the atmosphere is sizzling. Danger is on the way. But whatever happens next, Nick is starting to find out that sometimes nothing you do can keep the peace.

~~~

Saweeeeeeeeeeet!

Dunno about you, but I can’t WAIT!

:D

Review: Nevermore by Kelly Creagh

Title: Nevermore

Series: Nevermore #1

Author: Kelly Creagh

Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers

Publication date: August 31st 2010

Source: I own a copy

From Goodreads: 

Cheerleader Isobel Lanley is horrified when she is paired with Varen Nethers for an English project, which is due—so unfair—on the day of the rival game. Cold and aloof, sardonic and sharp-tongued, Varen makes it clear he’d rather not have anything to do with her either. But when Isobel discovers strange writing in his journal, she can’t help but give this enigmatic boy with the piercing eyes another look.

Soon, Isobel finds herself making excuses to be with Varen. Steadily pulled away from her friends and her possessive boyfriend, Isobel ventures deeper and deeper into the dream world Varen has created through the pages of his notebook, a realm where the terrifying stories of Edgar Allan Poe come to life.

As her world begins to unravel around her, Isobel discovers that dreams, like words, hold more power than she ever imagined, and that the most frightening realities are those of the mind. Now she must find a way to reach Varen before he is consumed by the shadows of his own nightmares.

His life depends on it.

My Review

Man! Why did somebody not warn me that this book doesn’t end here? That the most MAJOR issue of the tale is unresolved? That the reader would be left somewhat sad and desolate at the end and almost devoid of hope? I raged on through to the end, desperate to see Isobel conquer, yet found a door slammed in my face, knowing the answers and ending I sought would not be forthcoming unless I read on. This is my payment for rarely reading blurbs, eh?

Okay, gripes out of the way, I’ll move on. With the amount of bog-standard paranormal books out there for YA readers at the moment, this one was such a refreshing change. I was a little concerned at one point, that I’d be left behind due to not being familiar with the work of Poe but that wasn’t the case. The authors descriptions are done well enough that I followed the tale just fine and dandy. And what descriptions they were. This is possibly one of the most ‘visual’ novels I have read in a good while, to the point I could almost imagine each and every scene–especially toward the end–spread across a huge screen as they played out within my mind.

As for the characters? I loved who the author intended me to–Gwen was a welcome addition to Isobel’s friends list, and Isobel’s little brother was just an all-round awesome and amusing character that brought her home life to life–and I disliked all the right characters, as well as felt sorry for those I probably didn’t really want to, telling me the writer did a great job of pulling me in all the right directions.

I have no idea of the title of the next book in this series, but rest assured I shall be looking for it, and it will definitely be placed on my to-read pile. Would I recommend it? Oh, you betcha.

Have you read this title? What’d you think?

Review: Touch of Death by Kelly Hashway

Title: Touch of Death

Series: Touch of Death #1

Author: Kelly Hashway

Publisher: Spencer Hill Press

Publication date: January 15th 2013

Source: Arc received from publisher (thank you)

From Goodreads: 

Jodi Marshall isn’t sure how she went from normal teenager to walking disaster. One minute she’s in her junior year of high school, spending time with her amazing boyfriend and her best friend. The next she’s being stalked by some guy no one seems to know.

After the stranger, Alex, reveals himself, Jodi learns he’s not a normal teenager and neither is she. With a kiss that kills and a touch that brings the dead back to life, Jodi discovers she’s part of a branch of necromancers born under the 13th sign of the zodiac, Ophiuchus. A branch of necromancers that are descendents of Medusa. A branch of necromancers with poisoned blood writhing in their veins.

Jodi’s deadly to the living and even more deadly to the deceased. She has to leave her old, normal life behind before she hurts the people she loves. As if that isn’t difficult enough, Jodi discovers she’s the chosen one who has to save the rest of her kind from perishing at the hands of Hades. If she can’t figure out how to control her power, history will repeat itself, and her race will become extinct.

My Review

I’m actually not 100% sure on my thoughts about Touch of Death. I mean, I obviously enjoyed it because I read until the end, and wanted to see how everything would work out. But, there seemed to be something slightly lacking—though I can’t quite pinpoint what.

I don’t know if it was the young tone to the writing when there are so many more maturely written YA books available now. Or if it was the MC, and the fact she became slightly less likeable as the book went on rather than more. Or the way she randomly decided she had feelings for Alex when she barely knew him, and some of that hadn’t been in a positive context, and she’d not long killed her last boyfriend who just might have been the first boy she’d ever loved—dunno, but the speed their relationship developed at was a bit off without some kind of background to strengthen the reasoning (though, I guess that could still come in later books). Or it could just have been that I pretty much predicted everything that was going to happen before it occurred—and anyone who knows me knows how I love to be surprised by a tale.

Yet, as I said in the opening, I didn’t dislike the read and something in it certainly compelled me to read on.

Closing comments: I’ve seen a couple of reviews that describe this as being awesome due to it blending both zombies and mythology. This is sort of true, because there is mythology, and there are zombies—but don’t go into this expecting to be reading about mindless monsters out of control rampaging the city and taking over the world with their brain-chowing ways. Go into it with an open mind, accept it for what it is, and you’ll no doubt enjoy the read. Whilst it didn’t blow me away, I was still entertained, and it’s certainly wowed a tonne of other folk out there.

Have you read this title? What’d you think?

Early Review: Reaper by L.S. Murphy

Title: Reaper

Author: L.S. Murphy

Publisher: J. Taylor Publishing

Publication date: January 7th 2013

Source: ARC received from publisher

From Goodreads: 

There’s no way sixteen year old Quincy Amarante will become the fifth grim reaper. None. Not over her shiny blue Mustang. Her Jimmy Choos. Or her dead body.

She’s supposed to enjoy her sophomore year, not learn about some freaky future Destiny says she has no choice but to fulfill.

It doesn’t take long for Quincy to realize the only way out of the game is to play along especially since Death can find her anyway, anywhere, anytime. And does.

Like when she’s reassuring her friends she wants nothing to do with former best friend Ben Moorland, who’s returned from god-knows-where, and fails. Miserably.

Instead of maintaining her coveted popularity status, Quincy’s goes down like the Titanic.

Maybe … just maybe … that’s okay.

It seems, perhaps, becoming a grim reaper isn’t just about the dead but more about a much needed shift in Quincy’s priorities—from who she thinks she wants to be to who she really is.

My Review

I haven’t read many reaper-type stories, involving death and ‘passing on’, but I thought Reaper was pretty fresh. Possibly because it had a mixture of genres and has the potential to please more than one type of reader preference. I have a feeling this may be marked as urban fantasy. Personally, I believe that’s pushing the boundaries a little, as the fantasy side of it seems to add an extra kick to an otherwise contemporary tale rather than hold the most dominance. I also think the ending is what stalled it from being labelled PNR. However, I think contemporary YA slash pnr is a much closer description.

Because we have a quirky voice to tug us along on the tale. We have all the dramas of high school. We have the high school romance and what some might (loosely) peg as a love triangle. And then we have all the ‘supernatural’ bits and bobs that Quincy—who I shall rename QQ for Quirky Quincy—keeps getting dragged into at The. Most. Inopportune. Moments.

So did I enjoy it?

For sure.

I’ll admit it took me a little while to connect with the MC. HOWEVER, once I reached the end, I understood fully that it was mostly because I didn’t like her very much at the beginning of the story. BUT, only if you read the book in its entirety will you fully appreciate the character development—though you have to be looking out for it because it’s so subtle and understated (in a good way) that you barely even notice its happening as you read along.

To begin, we get all the bratty teenagery. Yeah, in all honesty, this doesn’t fully go away, and some could argue that QQ isn’t fully converted into a 100% likeable character by the end, but listen, she’s a teenager in the opening and she’s still one when certain things happen and she’s a little different to what she used to be (obscure, much?)—and no matter how decent a person, EVERY teenager has attitude and the potential to be selfish because to be otherwise comes with life experience.

Despite this, everything I said about her shift as a ‘person’ stands, because I KNOW I’d connected to the MC by the end. I know, because, DUDE!, I blarted like a baby through those final couple of chapters. I mean, BLARTED! Luckily, nobody saw me or my rep would have been ruined. ;)

So yeah, I enjoyed it once it all got rolling and I got comfortable in the driving seat. Though I’ll admit I enjoyed it a whole lot more once Ben played a bigger physical role and we got to see more of him. Because that guy is adorable, believable, hot, a DRUMMER (what? This is SEXY!), adorable, hot ….

What can I say?

Win me over with your males, and chances are, you’ll win me over with your tales.

That is all. :)

Have you read this title? What’d you think?