Cover Reveal - Empowerment: Fight Like A Girl

We are excited to announce a cover reveal for Sacrifice (Daughters of Lilith: Book 3)! 

Not only will you get the chance to read an awesome book, but all the profits from its sale will be going to a great cause to help solve the cruel mystery of lupus - the Lupus Foundation of America (www.lupus.org).  May is Lupus Awareness Month, so it's no accident the publication date is on May 1. 

Title: "Empower: Fight Like A Girl"
Genre: Anthology of short stories ranging from crime mysteries to paranormal thrillers
Publisher: Words Empower Media
Release date: May 1, 2014



“Women of TV have united against lupus! Presenting "Empower: Fight Like A Girl", a special collection of short stories by top women writers from some of your favorite shows, including: Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Family Guy, Person of Interest, Grimm, Battlestar Galactica, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Law & Order: SVU, Star Trek: Voyager, Eureka, Twisted, The 100, Malcolm in the Middle, Millennium, Being Human, The Shield, Castle, Chuck, Gilmore Girls, and Game of Thrones. In this anthology, you'll discover supernatural thrillers, crime mysteries, horror, comedies, and more." 

Authors contributing stories to this volume include:
Amy Berg
Cherry Chevapravatdumrong

Akela Cooper
Liz Edwards
Jane Espenson
Shalisha Francis & Nadine Knight
Lisa Klink
Pang-Ni Landrum
Lauren LeFranc
Kam Miller
Jess Pineda
Jennifer Quintenz
Lisa Randolph
Kay Reindl
Kira Snyder
Jeane Wong

Check this out!
The book is now available:

Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/empower-fight-like-girl-words-ebook/dp/B00K0VQ7TM

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22026558-empower

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ARC Review: Heartbeat by Elizabeth Scott

Stats:

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Release Date: January 28, 2014

Page Count: 304

Buy Link: Amazon

Favorite Quotes:

“…grief is slippery, a tangle of thorns that dig in so deep you don’t know where they stop and you start. You don’t know where you are. I think of Caleb... He has thorns too, and I wonder if he knows where his end and he begins.”

“…I knew he understood grief. I didn’t know that it had spilled out of him and into the world.”

“I feel his smile then. I don’t just see it anymore. It crawls inside me, curls up alongside all my grief. Confuses me, just like I said.”

“I want to have his hair in my hands while he holds me.”

“’Emma,’ he says, and it’s too soon to say it, way too soon, but what’s in my heart is in his too and he touches my face, cupping the side of my jaw and my name is a prayer in his voice, four letters of joy.”

Elizabeth Scott is one of those authors that just gets people. Most of all, she explores emotion, and she does a fabulous job in her writing, as you can see from the above quotes. I am never disappointed after any of her novels.

That being said, this story was touching. Heartbreaking. The premise hooked me right away. Emma’s mother is dead, being kept alive by machines because she is a human incubator. Emma is pissed. Dan, her step-dad, is keeping her mother alive so that the baby inside her can live. She talks to her mom at the hospital daily, keeps her up to date with things at school, but she can’t be in the same room as Dan for more than a few minutes.

Now, this perfect valedictorian is beyond caring. Until she meets the notorious car thief at her school, Caleb—a trifecta of gorgeousness with a lot of crazy.

Emma soon finds out that first impressions can be wrong. A common past of tragedy links the two together.

Things I loved:

• The romance that blossoms between the two. Well written, sigh worthy. Sweet.

• Relationships. Olivia, Emma’s best friend, is always by her side and knows her needs often before Emma does. Even though they grow apart because of Caleb, Olivia is a strong and dependable friend. Dan and Emma’s constant tension is so tangible it jumps off the page. Caleb’s entire family is beyond sad. They treat him like he’s not even there because of an accident they blame him for. I really connected with the characters and their feelings through the whole book.

• The way Emma’s mom is described. The memories they made are strung throughout the pages. Even though she’s not alive in the story, I felt what a great person she was. She hated peas. She put her wallet in her purse first. She made peanut butter and corn chip sandwiches. She loved better than anyone could.

• Emma’s end epiphany. To find out what this is, you have to read the book.

Rating: 4/5 Good Read!

--BUY HEARTBEAT NOW HERE--

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ARC - Being Sloane Jacobs by Lauren Morrill (Release Day)

Stats:

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Date of Release: January 7, 2014

Page Count: 352
Buy Link: Amazon.com

Favorite Quotes:  

“’Girl, it’s so not personal. She should hook up with a Hoover, because that girl needs the BS sucked out of her.’”

“I grab it and jam it onto my head. It’s tight, but it fits, and it only smells like dead fish a little bit.”

“’It ain’t a big deal. Either you love it or you don’t. Either you can do it or you can’t. And, kid? I been watching you for years, and I know you can do it. The question you gotta figure out is, do you love it?’”

*Thanks to NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Going into this book, I had high expectations. Lauren Morrill put together an excellent love/figuring out who you are story in Meant to Be. Although bits of the plot drew me through the story with curiosity, overall, it fell flat.

The premise is a twist on The Parent Trap, which, funny enough, one of the characters mentions. Two girls have the same name and decide to switch places. Sloane Emily is supposed to be going to four weeks of ice skating camp to recover her reputation from a failed junior nationals competition three years earlier. Sloane Devon is headed to four weeks of hockey camp because her coach has given her an ultimatum for an anger problem. Neither girl wants to be at camp. Both girls are tired of being themselves with all the crazy pressures in their lives. Sloane Emily has to be perfect, always smiling for the camera, because her dad’s a senator. Sloane Devon has an alcoholic mother who’s in rehab.

Both camps are in Montreal. Both girls stay at the same hotel.

Things I liked:

• That the POV switched between the girls.

• The near-beginning part where both girls meet at the hotel and don’t get along.

• Both male love interests and their tour-guiding qualities around Montreal.

• Andy, Sloane Devon’s doubles partner, has a great personality.

--BUY "BEING SLOANE JACOBS HERE--

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My Nerd Wishes for 2014

I had a lot of fun putting my list together last year, and a lot of them actually came true! Or at least half true- S.H.I.E.L.D. was picked up, but is neither awesome nor Whedony, at least not yet, and while Community did return, it was a soulless mockery of itself. But that's ok because!

10) Dan Harmon's return will put an end to the Darkest Timeline. This is not so much a wish as it is a dearly held belief.

9) S.H.I.E.L.D. to get better. There's so much potential, but so far it's lacking that essential spark and I just don't care about anyone other than Coulson most of the time.

8) The chance to go back to NYCC. I went this year and it was amazing and even better than last time (Sleepy Hollow cast! Spirited feminist debates! Hugs and love from John Barrowman!). Here's hoping the third time is the best so far.

7) To not say appallingly stupid things to the Supernatural cast at the con I'm going to in September. Or to swoon during my photo op with "Sam" and "Dean."

6) This is pretty vague, but more movies that say "feh" to traditional gender roles and romantic tropes. Pacific Rim was a really fun surprise, partially for this reason, and everything I've heard about Frozen is encouraging.

5)  For the Daughter of Smoke and Bone film adaptation that's in the works to do the book justice. I would say it's not that hard, but it kind of is, which is why I'm not even cautiously excited that there's going to be a movie in the first place. Just, could we not? Thanks.

4) More Simon Pegg and Nick Frost collaborations, ideally with Edgar Wright.

3) For Sleepy Hollow to continue being the breakneck whirlwind of supernatural cheese, ethnic diversity, pair bonding and gleeful insanity that we've come to know and love. With Orlando Jones with his finger on the fandom pulse, I think we're in safe hands.

2) A live-action miniseries with the Eighth Doctor. I don't want to hear your reasonable excuses. He was back for The Night of the Doctor and people loved it so la la la la la.....

And finally:

1) A female-led comic book movie because COME THE HELL ON ALREADY. Marvel please, I don't trust DC with this.


What's on your nerdy wish list this year?

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Top Ten Teen Books of 2013

It's that time of year again! Time to agonize over picking my ten favorite books this year, and then find ways to cheat slightly to include a few more. ;-)

Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

Actually, I had a bit of trouble putting together this list because so many of my favorite books this year were firmly in the Adult category. Still, plenty, like this one, have broader appeal. While the movie is fun, and it's great to have an addition to the ZomRomCom genre, the book outstrips it by a mile. Contemplative, horrifying, and emotionally resonant for a generation, Warm Bodies should definitely claw its way onto your reading list.

 I mentioned the cheating, right? Here's a big one- the ninth spot on my list belongs to the collections of critical essays based around popular TV shows that I've read this year. It's been a big year for fandoms, and what better way to celebrate than by delving deeper into the history, psychology, and cultural relevance of your favorite Time Lord, Vampire Slayer, Hunter or Browncoat?

Again with the cheating. Last one though. Probably.

I'm giving the Eighth spot, and I swear that this was actually a coincidence, to the Big Finish audio stories featuring the Doctor's  Eighth incarnation, as voiced by Paul McGann. This year marks the show's 50th anniversary, so it seems fitting to include them. Even if you've  never tried audiobooks before, these can be a fun introduction as they're really more radio plays with multiple actors, many well-known to Whovians. I highly recommend a viewing of the (cheesy but lovable) 1996 Doctor Who movie, then listening to some of these audios. Fair warning: you will fall head over heels in love with Eight's "Edwardian Adventuress" companion, the fantasic Charley Pollard.

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

Aaaand, back to the teen books! Series are a fact of life in the realm of teen lit, and this can sometimes be wearying, so it's always a pleasant surprise to find books that you actually can't wait for the next installment of. With engaging characters, an increasing amount of magic, and enough quippy banter for any CW-hardened fan of genre fiction, these books are a fun ride that I wholeheartedly recommend.

The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two by Catherynne M. Valente

Speaking of series that you're actually excited for! If you've seen this blog before you know I turn into a babbling sack of enthusiastic superlatives where the Fairyland series is concerned, so I'll spare you. If you haven't already, please start this series. It's waiting to welcome you with open arms and a fresh pot of spiced tea.

Another Little Piece by Kate Karus Quinn

Not my usual, but I really enjoyed this creeptastic bit of madness and body horror. Recommended for fans of Stephen King.

The Lost Girl by Sangu Mandanna

I feel like there's a shortage of good sci-fi being released for teens. Maybe that's just because I don't read enough sci-fi in general to be on top of these things, but so much of it seems like quickly churned out dystopian filler. Not so here, where the focus is on the ethical issues of cloning, and the story plays out in an all-too-possible future. It's chilling and uplifting and really makes you think- exactly as good science fiction needs to.

Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan

English. Snarky. Magical. Mysterious. Romantic. Gothic. Funny. Yes good.

Not a Drop to Drink by Mindy McGinnis

I struggled with this spot, and almost had it be a tie with Ashfall (which is one of the only YA books with a male protagonist I've read this year, and was a damn good story to boot), but I decided I'd done enough cheating. Besides, this one feels that little bit more unique, even if it is perhaps a bit less polished. I've had just about enough dystopian novels, but this one, which happens on the outskirts and to everyday people, made things interesting again. Bleak but powerful, this is an intriguing portrayal of survival and love in the face of overwhelming odds.

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

I had despaired of vampires ever being even tolerable in a YA novel again. And then this happened. Sexy and scary by turns, exactly as the best vampire lit should be, this is a fun ride into a dark and glittering world of ballgowns, teenage angst, shameless media consumption, marketing, death and romance. This is my kind of vampire book people, and it might just be yours as well.




And there you have it! Not as many books as I was completely in love with as some previous years- and as much as I love The Dream Thieves and The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two, the inclusion of two series installments on this list is telling.

What made your top ten list this year?

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Night of Cake and Puppets

Night of Cake and Puppets by Laini Taylor

In Night of Cake & Puppets, Taylor brings to life a night only hinted at in the Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy—the magical first date of fan-favorites Zuzana and Mik. Told in alternating perspectives, it’s the perfect love story for fans of the series and new readers alike. Petite though she may be, Zuzana is not known for timidity. Her best friend, Karou, calls her “rabid fairy,” her “voodoo eyes” are said to freeze blood, and even her older brother fears her wrath. But when it comes to the simple matter of talking to Mik, or “Violin Boy,” her courage deserts her. Now, enough is enough. Zuzana is determined to meet him, and she has a fistful of magic and a plan. It’s a wonderfully elaborate treasure hunt of a plan that will take Mik all over Prague on a cold winter’s night before finally leading him to the treasure: herself! Violin Boy’s not going to know what hit him. -Plot summary borrowed from Goodreads

I haven't been completely won over by ebooks. Don't get me wrong, I'm far from a hater. Plenty of friends have told me they read more since getting an ereader, and that is fantastic. I love that people can access hundreds of thousands of books from nearly anywhere in the world, instantly. Hell, I used my Nook a lot when traveling this year, especially while waiting in lines at NYCC. Still, I haven't made the switch to electronic books and never will. BUT!

There's something really, really cool happening because of ebooks. Authors are releasing short stories, novellas, and assorted material that, for whatever reason, isn't to be found in their printed books. This story, for example, happens during the events of Daughter of Smoke and Bone. It doesn't have any business in that novel though, as it's from the perspective of a character other than the protagonist, has a very different tone, and would detract from the narrative flow of DoSaB. Instead of trying to shoehorn it in, or never write it in the first place, Taylor has provided this magical story in a completely independent format. Yay! 

I'm really impressed that this story manages to be sweet and magical and romantic without ever seeming trite or saccharine. Zuzana, Karou's "rabid fairy" friend is far too cool for such twee, Hallmark nonsense. Instead, we're treated to more trips down the crooked streets of Prague, along its twisty rivers and between medieval buildings. We get to revisit the Poison Kitchen, with its gas masks, coffins, and sugar bowls labelled "Arsenic." Best of all, we get some romantic tropes turned on their heads and a peek inside Zuzana's slightly mad, puppet-infested brain while she sets out to win the heart of "Violin Boy."

It's a joy to read, especially at this time of year and while waiting (im)patiently for the third book in Taylor's phenomenal series. If you loved Daughter of Smoke and Bone, go ahead and spend the $3 to buy this novella. You won't regret it.

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Untold

Untold by Sarah Rees Brennan

It’s time to choose sides… On the surface, Sorry-in-the-Vale is a sleepy English town. But Kami Glass knows the truth. Sorry-in-the-Vale is full of magic. In the old days, the Lynburn family ruled with fear, terrifying the people into submission in order to kill for blood and power. Now the Lynburns are back, and Rob Lynburn is gathering sorcerers so that the town can return to the old ways.

But Rob and his followers aren’t the only sorcerers in town. A decision must be made: pay the blood sacrifice, or fight. For Kami, this means more than just choosing between good and evil. With her link to Jared Lynburn severed, she’s now free to love anyone she chooses. But who should that be? -Plot summary borrowed from Goodreads

There's so much to love in these books. I've already raved about Kami's family and friends, and how competent and fun she is as a protagonist (parallels may have been made to Veronica Mars). This sequel offers more of the same, with more complex relationships, an expanded cast of characters, a darker, more menacing tone, and of course, more romantic entanglements. Add to that the allure of a small, mysterious village in the days leading up to the winter solstice and you have one atmospheric read. 

Highly recommended, but definitely be sure to read the first installment before facing up to some original worldbuilding and a diverse cast of characters.

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