Fantasy

Review and Giveaway: Runes by Ednah Walters

May 20, 2013 by Barbara at Basia's Bookshelf 16 Comments

RunesTourBanner

Runes (Book One)
By Ednah Walters
Publisher: Firetrail Publishing
Publication Date: May 20, 2013
Genre: YA Fantasy
Source: Netgalley for Xpresso Book Tours
Follow the rest of the tour!

Seventeen-year-old Raine Cooper has enough on her plate dealing with her father’s disappearance, her mother’s erratic behavior and the possibility of her boyfriend relocating. The last thing she needs is Torin St. James—a mysterious new neighbor with a wicked smile and uncanny way of reading her.

Raine is drawn to Torin’s dark sexiness against her better judgment, until he saves her life with weird marks and she realizes he is different. But by healing her, Torin changes something inside Raine. Now she can’t stop thinking about him. Half the time, she’s not sure whether to fall into his arms or run.

Scared, she sets out to find out what Torin is. But the closer she gets to the truth the more she uncovers something sinister about Torin. What Torin is goes back to an ancient mythology and Raine is somehow part of it. Not only are she and her friends in danger, she must choose a side, but the wrong choice will cost Raine her life.

Goodreads Summary

Purchase Runes at:
Amazon | Kindle (US) | Kindle (UK) | Kindle (CA) | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords

I haven’t done this in a while, so I hope I’m up to the challenge. There will be some serious gushing about a YA fantasy coming up, including some sort-of inappropriate fantasizing about a hot guy. The only problem I’m going to have is avoiding spoilers – Torin keeps telling Raine there are a lot of things he can’t tell her and that’s going to be the theme of my review too.

Raine meets the super sexy Torin when he moves next door into her childhood friend Eirik’s house. He’s a little arrogant, a lot cocky and there’s something kind of strange about him that he jokingly calls magic. Raine is completely tongue-tied and usually irritated around him but can’t stop looking to see if he’s around. Torin seems pre-occupied with her too, always there when she’s in trouble or just on the periphery of her sight when she’s thinking of him. When three new students show up at school and there are actual attempts to harm Raine, it’s Torin who comes to her rescue, displaying otherworldly powers that stir something inside of her.

I sort of knew which direction Walters was going just by the title of the book, since the general area of mythology that uses runes are limited. I was still thrilled with her vision of things and the way she worked it all into a contemporary YA setting. From the outside, this may look like a typical fantasy, but it’s creative, a little violent and a fast ride. There are a number of twists, some I saw coming, some I didn’t. I’ve remarked before that one of my pet peeves is that a lot of YA protags don’t have parents present and I’m happy to say Raine has a loving mother here who actually cares about curfew, dinner, her car and classes. Her father has been missing for three months after his plane crashed into the ocean, and it’s a significant plot in the story too.

Raine was an…interesting character. I can name a lot of things about her character that annoyed me that should have made me not like her, but I still did and I really wanted that happy ending for her. She was ridiculously blasé about all of the insane things that were happening, about a momentous development – several momentous developments – near the end and she went running into trouble so many times after she was told not to. I wasn’t happy that she encouraged Eirik’s romantic feelings for her when all along she and Torin were really practically making fire with the sparks they were throwing, not to mention I kind of saw Eirik with someone else. I still liked Raine a lot though – she had a funny, snarky way about her sometimes, she was sweetly vulnerable and I loved the scenes she had with her chatty and fun friend Cora.

Torin was hot and sexy personified. I’d feel really gross writing that about someone his age, except he’s not really his age. Cryptic, huh? I know I complained a little about his arrogance earlier, but on him, it worked. I loved that he called Raine, “Freckles,” and that even though she hated it when anyone else did, from him it was nice. Sure, it’s kind of stereotypical, but he rode a motorcycle and, hello? Another sexy point. I didn’t understand why he couldn’t explain to Raine what he was, but I think that had more to do with Walters warping the mythology than any character flaw.

I hadn’t planned on it, but I gobbled this book up in one sitting – sorry, laundry. I loved how fast it moved, the way the revelations about the mythology were doled out and the relationship between Raine and Torin. One thing I didn’t like was the ending. I. Hate. Cliffhangers. There’s no doubt that I’ll buy the next book because I have to know what’s going to happen, but it doesn’t mean I didn’t scream a little when I saw the last few paragraphs.

My Rating: A-

sig Barbara

EDNAH WALTERS grew up reading Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys and dreaming of one day writing her own stories. She is a stay-at-home mother of five humans and two American short-hair cats (one of which has ADHD) and a husband. When she is not writing, she’s at the gym doing Zumba or doing things with her family, reading, traveling or online chatting with fans.

Ednah is the author of The Guardian Legacy series, a YA fantasy series about children of the fallen angels, who fight demons and protect mankind. AWAKENED, the prequel was released by Pill Hill Press in September 2010 with rave reviews. BETRAYED, book one in the series was released by her new publisher Spencer Hill Press in June 2012 and HUNTED, the third installment, will be released April 2013. She’s working on the next book in the series, FORGOTTEN.

Ednah also writes New Adult paranormal romance. RUNES is the first book in her new series. She is presently working on book 2, IMMORTALS.

Under the pseudonym E. B. Walters, Ednah writes contemporary romance. SLOW BURN, the first contemporary romance with suspense, was released in April 2011. It is the first book in the Fitzgerald family series. Since then she has published four more books in this series. She’s presently working on book six. You can visit her online at ednahwalters.com or ebwalters.com.

Connect with Ednah:
Her Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

Ednah is holding a tour-wide giveaway (open to international entries) with 2 grand prizes. The first is for a signed copy or ebook of Runes plus a $25 Amazon gift card and the second is for a signed copy or ebook of Runes plus a $10 gift card from Amazon. Good luck everyone!

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Filed Under: 2013 Ebook Challenge, Fantasy, Giveaway, Young Adult Tagged With: Ednah Walters

Descendant by Nichole Giles: Review, Playlist and Giveaway

May 10, 2013 by Barbara at Basia's Bookshelf 13 Comments

Descendant
By Nichole Giles
Publisher: Rhemalda Publishing
Publication Date: May 1, 2013
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Source: Author Tour
Available for purchase at: Amazon | B&N | The Book Depository | IndieBound

Seventeen-year-old Abigail Johnson is Gifted.

Blessed—or cursed—with Sight and Healing, Abby lives an unsettled life, moving from place to place and staying one step ahead of the darkness that hunts her. When she arrives in Jackson, Wyoming, she is desperate to maintain the illusion of normalcy, but she is plagued with visions of past lives mixed with frightening glimpses of her future. Then she meets Kye, a mysterious boy who seems so achingly familiar that Abby is drawn to him like he’s a missing piece of her own soul.

Before Abby can discover the reason for her feelings toward Kye, the darkness catches up to her and she is forced to flee again. But this time she’s not just running. She is fighting back with Kye at her side, and it’s not just Abby’s life at stake.

Goodreads Summary

Under the tutelage of her beloved grandmother, Abby has been learning to use the natural Gifts of Healing and Sight that she was born with. Abby can see flashes of the past and visions of people in the present, and with herbs and crystals, heal people (and her pet dog). According to her mom and grandmother, those same Gifts make them hunted, so each time they think someone may have noticed Abby, they have to move. When something horrible happens this time, it’s time to say hello to Jackson, Wyoming.

At school, Abby gravitates to a small group of friends, including the ridiculously influential Rose, her friend Jen and Eric, a boy who has a perma-crush on her, but the one boy she feels compelled to talk to keeps his distance until they get stuck together on a bus trip. When Abby looks into Kye’s eyes, she feels like she knows him and during their bus trip, the two talk like they do. Something strange, almost supernatural happens, and Kye reveals why it seems like they know each other, why Abby’s been on the run – he knows a lot more about Abby’s life than she does.

Wow. Well, there turned out to be a lot more to this story than the synopsis said. It took me quite a bit longer to read, since I had complete information overload at times, but it was quite an interesting story. Abby really was in the dark about her Gifts and her heritage. The story started as something relatively simple – if you can call the ability to heal and see into the past and have visions simple- then it added sprites, demons, elemental gifts and curses. It covered a few states and a few realms and a few people were sort of, kind of dead. Even though I had to take a couple of breaks, it was still a thrilling ride.

I really liked Abby and how she managed to roll with everything Kye told her and she experienced through the Sight. She came up with some smart solutions when the two of them got into sticky situations and stuck with Kye, even knowing more than he did about the outcome of some things because of the visions she had. I thought it was funny that she was always waiting for him to put the moves on her and he was always literally dragging her around because she was tired – and eternally hungry – and they had to run. Kye was sweet and seemed much, much older than his eighteen years. In a lot of ways, he was almost too perfect for Abby. He had the platinum credit card, they did have that insta-connection, which blossomed into a fast love and because he knew things about the past before she did, it seemed like it was an excuse to be extra loving. Don’t get me wrong, it was very sweet and once it was combined with the action, a good amount of sweet, but he seemed to fall on the ultra-nice side of the boyfriend spectrum. I could just be reading too many jerk-boyfriend books lately too.

Rose, Jen and Eric all turned out to have their own little surprises, and were nice supporting characters. Eric in particular was a character who did things I didn’t expect. Kye had a sort of confusing list of people he lived with – I never could keep the names straight for some reason – that came in handy and his dad was funny in an absentee professor sort of way. I was sort of disappointed in Abby’s mom. She wasn’t as present as I’d hoped and Abby’s non-reaction to it bugged me too. I don’t really like this continuing trend of having invisible parents in YA.

Overall, I enjoyed Descendant a lot. It was hugely action-packed and had a big emotional past story that tied into the present story nicely. There was less focus on the Gifts than I expected from the synopsis and more on the fantasy elements, but the way it was put together worked well and Giles has a nice clean writing style that made everything easy to read. The ending tied the current story up nicely, the guy got his girl and although this looks like a standalone, there’s always room for more.

My Rating: B+

From Nichole: I tried to put these in order of scene—sort of. Obviously there’s not one for every scene, because that would be a ridiculously long list. So I tried to think of the story in terms of movie length, and these are some of the songs I came up with.

1. How Does it Feel by Avril Lavigne
2. Redemption Day by Sheryl Crow
3. Home by Philip Phillips
4. Open Your Eyes by Snow Patrol
5. Starlight by Taylor Swift
6. Naked by Avril Lavigne
7. Til Kingdom Come by Coldplay
8. Hold on to the Night by Richard Marx
9. Stranger by Secondhand Serenade
10. Catalyst by Anna Nalick
11. What I’ve Done by Linkin Park
12. Wait for Me by Theory of a Deadman
13. Far Away by Nickelback

Obviously, I have a wide range of taste in music. I hope my stories reflect that diversity as well. What do you think? Are there specific songs you’d add to this list?

About Nichole:
Nichole Giles was born in Nevada, and moved with her parents to a number of cities in and around the West. Writing is her passion, but she also loves to spend time with her husband and four children, travel to tropical and exotic destinations, drive in the rain with the convertible top down, and play music at full volume so she can sing along.

For the list of the awesomeness Nichole is giving away, click on the animated banner up top. You can also see the entire tour schedule there! The giveaway is US only and runs May 6th to June 5th.

********

Praise for DESCENDANT: “A hot new spin on paranormal, Descendant is refreshingly imaginative and powerful. I can’t decide which was best — piecing together Abby’s sinister past or keeping up with her heartbreaking future. If you like your YA laced with melt-my-heart romance and a good helping of heart-pounding suspense, you’ll love this book!” — Michelle Davidson Argyle, author of The Breakaway

“Nichole Giles has crafted a story that breathes from the pages. Her characters are authentic, the action intense, with powerful emotions that will keep Descendant on your mind long after the book ends. Open your eyes to another facet of our world in Descendant and you’ll be sucked into an adventure with Abby and Kye, that will explore the power of gifts, courage, and love. With top-notch writing, Giles has crafted a story that breathes from the pages.” –Rachelle J. Christensen, award-winning author of Wrong Number and Caller ID

“Nichole Giles brings a fresh new voice and flawless writing technique to the world of Young Adult fiction. I was swept away to another place and never wanted to come back.” –Tristi Pinkston, author of Turning Pages and the Secret Sisters mystery series

“This debut novel delivers in all the right ways, with heart-pounding action and a delicious romance that sweeps centuries. I loved it!” –Elana Johnson, author of Possession and Surrender

Filed Under: *B Rating, 2013 Debut Author Challenge, 2013 Ebook Challenge, 2013 Standalone Challenge, Fantasy, Giveaway, Young Adult Tagged With: Nichole Giles

Review: Blood and Snow: The Complete Set (Blood and Snow #1-12)

April 25, 2013 by Barbara at Basia's Bookshelf 5 Comments

By RaShelle Workman
Publication Date: 2013
Genre: YA Paranormal
Source: Xpresso Book Tours
Follow the rest of the tour!

Every thousand years the Vampire Queen selects a new body, always the fairest in the land, and this time she’s chosen Snow White.

Snow isn’t an ordinary girl. She doesn’t know that yet.

When Snow gets bitten by a Hunter, her life is thrown into a whirlwind of change where instead of worrying about what to eat, she has to fight not to drink the blood of fellow high school students. She becomes a revenant – not quite human, not quite vampire.

With the help of an eccentric old Professor, his seven adoptive sons, and her best friend, Snow learns to control her blood craving. Sort of. She drinks a bloodlust tea, but she’d rather drink from her Hunter.

Or, a human.

She also discovers a whole other realm, one filled with fairies, dragons, and magic. And not only does the Vampire Queen want her, but there’s a pendant called the Seal of Gabriel created for Snow by the Vampire Queen’s twin sister. And Snow’s supposed to use it to restore balance to all magical creatures. Including vampires.

Goodreads Summary

I can hardly believe I’m saying this, but ignore the pretty girl in the pretty poofy dress on the cover – this is not that Snow White. It’s not even the kind of twisty story from the synopsis – it’s something more YA and more twisty with more fantasy, more blood and a houseful of hormonal boys overseen by a guy with a nickname that sounds like cereal. Yeah, it’s pretty good.

This Snow White is a klutzy tomboy whose Disney-obsessed step-mother keeps her dad away from home on long trips. Fortunately, Professor Pops, the nice guy in the mansion next door steps in to take their place, along with all seven of his adopted sons who have varying degrees of crushes on the oblivious Snow.

Before her sixteenth birthday, Snow learns that she was marked by a Hunter of the Vampire Queen Sharra to be one of her potential body donors. Fortunately, Professor Pops knows all about this stuff – that she needs to be on guard, watch out for Hunters and definitely not get bitten and changed. Poor Snow doesn’t do much of what she’s told (or what’s suggested to her), and she ends up as a revenant, a half-human, half-vampire, courtesy of a Hunter she can’t stay away from.

The mythology is a big patchwork of ideas that was probably perfect to take in as the story was originally published, in twelve separate novellas. Even though this is the all-in-one collection, it’s still basically the same thing with the title and cover separations and it was easy for me to take a mini-break in between each one to recharge. There were the usual Snow White themes of true love releasing her from her endless sleep, the evil queen wanting her for her perfection and a Huntsman’s betrayal, though each one had a different YA angle. Snow didn’t know what true love was and which boy she had it with, even though I sprained my arm patting myself on the back because I knew. Nyah, nyah and all that.

Nearly everything else was sort of mythology soup-ish. There were fairies, dragons, unicorns, trolls, talismans, witches and a lot of things with Disney names. I never knew what was going to happen from section to section and was worried how Workman was going to make it all transition, but it did, and it built to an exciting end. I may have known who Snow White’s true love was, but I had absolutely no idea how that was going to save anyone or how other unrelated things were going to ever be resolved.

I really loved Snow White – and it feels so weird writing that, since I’m not reviewing a children’s book. Even though her story book counterpart was all about her beauty, this Snow certainly wasn’t. She saw the beauty in others but if you asked her what she saw in the mirror, she’d say a gawky klutz with dark hair and blue eyes and that’d be it. She had a giant and brave heart, never wanting to hurt anyone with what she was yet willing to expose herself to condemnation for it at the same time. Even while I wanted to smack her for always running off alone when she had a houseful of guys who wanted to help her, I admired her for sticking to her convictions and not involving them in things she didn’t think they belonged in.

With so much story and Snow, the Huntsman, Professor Pops, the Vampire Queen and more, there really wasn’t room for all seven brothers except for Gabe and Dorian, two that had special places in Snow’s life. I’ll say it – Gabe bugged the crap out of me. He ran hot and cold with Snow, even while she had such sweet affection for him. He just disappointed me. Dorian was so cute, always there for her in such a dorky, sweet way. I loved how he was always trying to get Snow to bite him. Snow’s friend Cin is getting her own spin-off apparently – she’s a witch and I felt a little meh about her character. She was rarely around when things were normal with Snow and later, she seemed to be around only for other reasons.

I thought this was imaginative and engaging and I really loved the main characters. Workman kept me reading even when the story got a little too twisted and I had to do a quick reread to straighten out what was going on. The little nods to the traditional story were fun and even the Disney names seemed sly rather than corny and made me giggle. I was happy with the way things ended and had a big smile on my face at the romance of it.

My Rating: B+

Filed Under: *B Rating, 2013 Ebook Challenge, 2013 Witches & Witchcraft Challenge, Barbara Recommends, Fantasy, Paranormal, Young Adult Tagged With: RaShelle Workman

Review: Breath (Riders of the Apocalypse #4) by Jackie Morse Kessler

April 16, 2013 by Barbara at Basia's Bookshelf 12 Comments

By Jackie Morse Kessler

Publisher: Graphia
Publication Date: April 16, 2013
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy/Paranormal
Source: Publisher

Contrary to popular belief, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse aren’t just harbingers of doom—they actually keep life in balance. But what happens when their leader and creator, Death, becomes suicidal? Before the first living thing drew its first gasping breath, he was there. He has watched humanity for millennia. And he has finally decided that humanity is not worth the price he has paid time and again. When Death himself gives up on life, a teenager named Xander Atwood is the world’s only hope. But Xander bears a secret, one that may bring about the end of everything. This heart-pounding final installment of the Riders of the Apocalypse series looks at the value of life, the strength of love, and how a small voice can change everything . . . forever.

Goodreads Summary

I still feel emotionally drained and a little incoherent after finishing Breath, a book it seems I’ve been waiting years for. Since he first showed up looking an awful lot like Kurt Cobain in Lisa’s basement in Loss, I was fascinated by Death and couldn’t wait until Morse Kessler got to his book. Now that its release is here, I know I’ll miss the Riders of the Apocalypse quartet but his story was so exquisite that at least for now, I can’t be sad. That’s not to say the Kleenex weren’t piling up next to my chair though.

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Filed Under: *A Rating, 2013 Ebook Challenge, Barbara Recommends, Fantasy, Paranormal, Young Adult Tagged With: Jackie Kessler, Jackie Morse Kessler

Review: Saved at Sunrise (Shadow Falls #4.5) by C.C. Hunter

April 8, 2013 by Barbara at Basia's Bookshelf 4 Comments

By C.C. Hunter

Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Publication Date: April 2, 2013
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy/Paranormal
Source: Purchased

Nestled deep in the woods, Shadow Falls is a secret camp where teens with supernatural powers learn to harness their abilities and live in the normal world. But Shadow Falls is facing a problem that could finally expose them to the rest of the world. Humans are showing up dead, and rogue vampires may be to blame.

Camp resident Della Tsang, who’s still coming into her own vampire powers, is assigned to help find those responsible. If she succeeds, maybe she’ll even land her dream job: working for the F.R.U., the enforcers of the supernatural world. But when she sees that her new partner is a hunky shapeshifter, things get complicated. Steve, too gorgeous to be trusted and capable of seeing through her tough-as-nails exterior, knows just how to get under her skin. And only hours into the mission, Della realizes rogue vampires aren’t the only threat she’s facing. If she’s ever going to complete her assignment, she’ll need his help…but learning to trust him will be her hardest challenge yet.

Goodreads Summary

Does it make me a big weirdo wuss that the closer this series gets to its conclusion the more reluctant I get to read each book? It’s like I want to hoard them so I’ll always not be done. I lasted almost a full week before I had to read Saved at Sunrise. I’m so glad I did, because it’s a terrific addition to the series and I loved reading a new book all about Della, but there were all sorts of reminders in it that things are ending. Waaaaah!

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Filed Under: *A Rating, 2013 Ebook Challenge, Barbara Recommends, Fantasy, Paranormal, Young Adult Tagged With: C.C. Hunter

Review: Timespell by Diana Paz

March 6, 2013 by Barbara at Basia's Bookshelf 22 Comments

By Diana Paz

Publisher: Rhemalda Publishing
Publication Date: April 1, 2013
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Source: Xpresso Book Tours

In TIMESPELL, the brash and impulsive Julia must team up with her sweet and straight-laced best friend, Angie, and the malicious and power-hungry Kaitlyn in order to keep the witch-like powers of her inheritance. But these powers come at a cost. The girls are bound to serve the Fates, and their first mission sends them back in time to Marie Antoinette’s Paris and eventually, into the chaos and war of the French Revolution.

Goodreads Summary

Go ahead, pet the pretty cover. I liked Timespell, but I managed to work references to pirate phrases, breaking The Commandments and things found in your nose into my review, so the cover is something you should enjoy for a while. But really, my review is nice because I liked the book!

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