Angelbound by Christina Bauer (Review)

 Yup, I love this book. Angelbound is about purgatory, heaven, hell, ghouls, cool tails, gladiator battles, a kick butt heroine, and destiny. Which in case you don’t know, makes up for a heck of a good read. Christina’s voice is very much defined in this book, and makes for a smooth read. It does not have a boring moment, and the villains are truly despicable, which gets the rise out of every reader. Like I mentioned before, this book has an incredible kick butt heroine. She is an inhabitant of purgatory, and equipped with her awesome demon tail, she fights the truly bad guys in the arena, to make sure they go to hell like they are supposed to. Her name is Myla. Myla is a half demon… need I say more about how epic this is? This book and all its characters deserve the rating I am giving it. Five stars for Angelbound!

Alienated by Melissa Landers (review)

   Aliens, rebellions, and prejudice. Oh my! In this novel, the two main characters are from… different planets. Cara Sweeney is a teenager on earth, entrusted with the heavy responsibility to host the first-ever L’eihr exchange student. As you have guessed, the L’eihr are the aliens. Her charge, a L’eihr named Aelyx. It should be simple enough, but things are not all sunshine and roses for Cara after Aelyx enters her life. Anti-alien groups attack her, her own classmates turn against her, and Aelyx has a secret he’s been keeping from her. I loved it! Its complexity amazed me. Alienated is riddled with action and secrets, and it kept me at the edge of my seat from the beginning to the end. This is definitely a must read. I am now pumped for the next one in the series. I give it FIVE STARS! 

Getting to Know the Authors: Featuring Skylar Dorset!

  Bio

  Skylar’s first story was a tale of romantic intrigue involving two feuding factions of squirrels. Think “Romeo & Juliet” but with bushy tails and added espionage. She was seven.

    Since that time, Skylar’s head has been filled with lots of characters and lots of drama. She is delighted to be able to share some of it with all of you now, because, honestly, it was getting pretty loud and crowded in there.

    Skylar is a born-and-bred New Englander, which is why Boston was a natural setting for her debut novel, THE GIRL WHO NEVER WAS. Skylar shares her home with a cardboard cutout of the Tenth Doctor, lots of Mardi Gras beads from the time she spent living in New Orleans, and a harp she’s supposed to be teaching herself to play. She’d like to get a dog.

                                         What has she written?

The Girl Who Never Was (Otherworld, #1)

by Skylar Dorset

The Girl Who Kissed a Lie (Otherworld #0.5)

by Skylar Dorset

The Boy with the Hidden Name (Otherworld, #2)

     by Skylar Dorset

 Now on to the interview!!

1)How old were you when you started writing, in your opinion?

I think I started when I was born. I just didn’t know how to write yet, so I had to wait to learn that skill. But I always had stories going on in my head, and once I knew how to write, I immediately started writing down stories. I was six when I typed up my first one.

2)What do you want a reader to gain from reading your works?

Fun! I want a reader to be able to read what I write and be able to escape for a little while, hang out with some characters he or she really loves and enjoys spending time with.

3)What are your three top suggestions on becoming an author, or being a pleasure writer?

(A)    Write the thing you want to read. Because then, when you’re done, you’ll be happy you wrote it because you’ll be able to read it! \

(B) Don’t be afraid to be part of a community. Either online or in real life, writing groups can be so fun and you can learn so much. And not just from writing, but from reading other people’s writing. 

(C) Don’t be too self-critical. Don’t freeze yourself up. Get it out of you, and then worry about the polish later.

4)What is your favourite novel, why?

Oof, picking just one is hard but I’m going to go with “Watership Down,” by Richard Adams, because it has fantastic world-building, unforgettable characters, and a plot that has you on the edge of your seat by the end.

5)Who is your favourite author, why?

J.K. Rowling, because she’s basically the queen, because she opened my eyes to how awesome writing really can be, and because she taught me how to plot.

6)What are your favorite pass times besides writing?

I’m so boring. I basically watch a lot of television and poke around on the Internet. I do bake pretty often.

7)Who in your life do you credit your imagination to the most?

Well, as with everything, my parents.

8)What are the top five things on your bucket list?

I don’t have much of a bucket list these days, because I’m pretty content, I have to say. Publishing a book was a pretty big bucket list item, after all! But if I had to list some, I’d say: 

(1) Fly first-class to Europe. 

(2) Take one of those really decadent spa vacations. 

(3) Go to the Oscars, preferably as a nominee. 

(4) Buy a really incredibly fancy pair of shoes. 

(5) Live by the sea.

9)What is your funniest childhood memory?

My childhood was basically nothing but laughter, which is a very good thing. I can’t just pick one!

10)To the youth of today, if you could tell them one thing, what would it be?

Enjoy every single second of it. You wouldn’t believe how fast time flies.

Getting to Know the Authors: Featuring Joss Stirling!

                                      Bio

      Joss Stirling also writes under the pen names of Julia Golding and Eve Edwards. She is a multi-award winning writer for children and young adults. Watch the video below to find out more.

      Former British diplomat and Oxfam policy adviser, she has now published over thirty books in genres ranging from historical adventure to fantasy. Read carefully and you’ll spot all sorts of material from her diplomatic and Oxfam careers popping up in unexpected places. She has a doctorate in English literature from doctorate in English literature from Oxford.

      Studying for this prompted her to write her first novel, 'The Diamond of Drury Lane', set in 1790 and told by her intrepid heroine, Cat Royal. It went on to win the Waterstones Children's Book Prize 2006 and the Nestle Children's Book Prize 2006 (formerly known as the Smarties Prize). In the US, 'Secret of the Sirens' won the honor book medal of the Green Earth Book Award. 'Dragonfly' won the 2012 Beehive Book Award, Young Adult Division, given by the Children's Literature Association of Utah and voted on by readers in schools and public libraries.

       Writing as Stirling, 'Finding Sky' is shortlisted for the German Children's Literature Award 2013 and 'Stealing Phoenix' reached the last three of the Lancashire Children's Book Award 2013.

        She is also a Fellow of the English Association. Over half a million of her books have been sold worldwide in many languages.

                               

                                     What has she written?

                                   Under the name Joss Stirling, she has written Finding Sky, 

                                                                 Challenging Zed, 

                                                                 Stealing Phoenix, 

                                                                 Seeking Crystal,

                                                                     and Struck. 

I have already reviewed some of her books here:

The Benedict series: 

http://thenotsopubliclibrary.blogspot.ca/2014/03/the-best-series-ever.html

Struck (Storm and Stone): 

 http://thenotsopubliclibrary.blogspot.ca/2014/03/five-stars-when-i-first-realized-that.html

Look out for her newest upcoming novel!

Look out for her new novel Misty Falls, coming out October 2nd 2014! 

Now on to the review!!

1) How old were you when you started writing, in your opinion?

I started making up stories at Primary School. I still have them.  They are heavily influenced by whatever I was reading or watching then so a story might start with a Narnia style 'through the wardrobe' experience and sudden take a left turn into space (I was a fan of a series called Blake's 7 - BBC Sci-Fi).  They are also illustrated as I wanted to make the whole book, not just the story.  The best one was called The Tapestry Room with a huge tapestry in an old spooky house that led to magical worlds.

2)What do you want a reader to gain from reading your works?

First, I'd like them to love the story and characters.  I enjoy falling under the spell of other writers so much so that I can't wait to finish the tale; if my readers feel the same about what I write then I'm happy.  Secondly, I'd like them to feel they've gone on a journey of discovery, perhaps finding out something about themselves or finding solutions to things that worry them through the experiences of the characters.  That sometimes happens and readers will contact me to tell me about this.  It is a privilege to have been the right book for someone at the right moment.

3)What are your three top suggestions on becoming an author, or being a pleasure writer?

 Keep on writing through until end of first draft without worrying about getting it absolutely right - you can always go back once you've got the whole story down.

Keep a notebook to hand - you never know when an idea may come to you or you will spot something you want to remember.

Enjoy writing for its own sake as publication is a hit and miss affair.

4)What is your favourite novel, why?

Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice - not only is it supremely accomplished but she invented the ultimate romance hero.  Her dialogue sparkles.  In fact, if you think about it, dialogue is character in that book as we hear little about appearance and not so very much happens.  The drama and comedy is all in the sparks flying when people start talking.

5)Who is your favourite author, why?

Other than Jane Austen, J R R Tolkien for his wonderful sprawling world of Middle Earth which is a version of English and European landscapes but mythologized.  I take his world everywhere with me when out walking.

6)What are your favorite pass times besides writing?

Travelling - just back from Central America where we've been swimming in turquoise waterfalls and snorkelling in the Caribbean.

7)Who in your life do you credit your imagination to the most?

I never think about it as being anything other than mine own but I suppose my parents would have had something to do with it.  My mum is artistic and is always making crafts or painting pictures or on fabrics so perhaps the creative flair comes from her.

8)What are the top five things on your bucket list?

Most of the things I would like to happen in my life are beyond my sphere of influence e.g. I'd like to see a successful screen adaptation of one of my books one day.  Of the things I can do, I'd like to travel to New Zealand, learn to draw to a professional standard, come up with a brilliant and original idea for the next book, improve my language skills and teach my dog to come back when called (he's lovely but not obedient when someone else's picnic is involved).

9)What is your funniest childhood memory?

They usually involve my older sister.  We had Womble craft kits one Christmas and she managed to glue up her hair very badly but I suppose it was funnier when a few years later she tried to home-bleach it as a teen and it went green.  At the time it wasn't amusing as she was upset but after it was fixed, it was.

10) To the youth of today, if you could tell them one thing, what would it be?

 Lots of things came into my head when I read that question but I suppose I would say the same as I would to my own children: build your life on real values not on flimsy stuff like wanting to make money or be a celebrity.  If you aim to leave the world a better place after you've passed through it then that would be a life well lived.

Great ebook deal!: Struck by Joss Stirling

Heads up guys! The great Joss Stirling informed me that this awesome sale is happening, I belive it is my job to inform you all about the awesome deal tomorrow of  Struck (Storm and Stone). It is the Kindle daily deal on 22nd August 2014 (tomorrow)! Time to go book shopping. 
By the way, so you don't get confused, yes this is:

One book, with two covers.

I have already read and reviewed Storm and Stone here:
http://thenotsopubliclibrary.blogspot.ca/2014/03/five-stars-when-i-first-realized-that.html 

Entangled by Amy Rose Capetta (review)

I've been kinda in a futuristic space craze since Guardians of the Galaxy came out, so this book looked super special and exciting to me. It started off with a really intense guitar show. To me, it was doing well so far. I love the personality of Cadence a.k.a Cade, the main character. She is tough and determined. She is very intense and intelligence. She is the epitome of resilience. The book started off interesting, and with so much opportunity for greatness. It could have been an epic action novel with a kick butt heroine, or it could have been a lovely soul mate story about how love stretches the universe. It failed on both fronts. Although it had moments, the book seemed to have little to no direction to the story. It was a hopeful read. I kept waiting for it to really take off, and I was disappointed. Don't get me wrong, this book was still semi interesting and it was not a nightmare read by far, but when I shut the book I felt one word. Bleh. It was a bleh book. I believe reactions can definitely differ because it was so in the middle. So its up to you if you should read it.  I don't recommend it if you want to read the best book ever, but if you just want to read and your not picky, have at it. I give it three stars.

Getting to Know the Authors: Featuring Ink Monster!

 

What is Ink Monter?

Ink Monster is a publishing group of some awesome young adult Novels.

Who are they?

Publishers of books

They are readers

They are writers

They are geeks

They are Aileen Erin and Christina Bauer

5 Little-Known Facts about Author Aileen Erin:

Aileen Erin is the author of Becoming Alpha and the upcoming Cipher, due for release on October 14^th, 2014. Here are five little-known facts about her:

    1. Aileen is half-Mexican and half-Irish, which makes her uber-superstitious. Fey? Demons? They’re all real to her. She’s even had a curandro to help her with a nasty demon problem. Ask her about it if you want details, but don’t expect to sleep well afterwards…

    2. Diet coke is her favorite bev. It’s all chemicals, but keeps her going on a deadline.

    3.  Super Mario Brothers is her bitch. Don’t challenge her here unless you are ready to get your ass kicked.

    4.   She reads the JRR Tolkien languages of Quenya as well as some Sindarin.

    5.     It takes her three-four hours to read a full novel and she reviews them regularly on her blog.

Here’s how to follow Aileen Erin on social media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aelatcham

Twitter: @aileen_erin

Email: aerin@inkmonster.net

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/aileen_erin

Blog: http://inkmonster.net/blog/category/aileen

   

5 Little-Known Facts about Author Christina Bauer:

Christina Bauer is the author of Angelbound. The third installment in this series, Armageddon, is due for release on October 14, 2014. Here are five little-known facts about her:

1.      Christina is a licensed scuba diver and disc jockey.

2.      She hates any word with an ‘oi’ sound, like moist or loin. Saying the ‘moist loin’ is especially painful to her.

3.      Dessert is her favorite meal of the day.

4.      She translates poems from their original canine into English for her dog, Ruby. Example: Mother Effing Squirrels.

5.      Christina used to be a Dungeon Master until everyone figured out that it took her way too long to build her elaborate fictional worlds. After that, she became a dual-classed elf warrior-mage and turned to writing books about her imaginary worlds instead. 

Here’s how to follow Christina Bauer on social media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorBauer

Twitter: @CB_Bauer

Email: cbauer@inkmonster.net

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/Christina_Bauer

Blog: http://inkmonster.net/blog/category/christina