A New Way to Follow!

If you didn't notice, I finally added Linky Followers and am trying to figure out NetworkedBlogs! I would love some help! And for the 111 Giveaway, if you follow Linky, click and get 2 more entries! Good luck again!

A New Meme

From now on, I will not be supporting The Story Siren or her meme, In My Mailbox, because of a recent scandal. (You can find my post about it here.) Someone recommended Showcase Sunday, and I decided to participate in this meme! All In My Mailbox tags will be replaced, and I hope there will be no confusion!

Credit goes to Books, Biscuits, and Tea and to find out how to join, click here!

This meme is similar to In My Mailbox, where bloggers share our newest books and swag, whether they were won, bought, given, traded, borrowed, or downloaded to an eReader! Don't forget to share your links! I love seeing what others get!

For Review:
                  

Bought/Given/Borrowed:
                   

NetGalley:
N/A

Traded:
N/A


Forgiven and Fated were given to me by St. Martin's and I am so thankful! I absolutely loved Demon Trapper's Daughter and Soul Thief, so I can't wait to get started! Fated has been on my wishlist for a while and I will definitely be reviewing this one as soon as possible! Dreaming Awake I bought last week and it was so amazing! I absolutely have to review it!

Like I said, Fated and Forgiven were given to me by St. Martin's. Anna Dressed in Blood, I received from the library, and I can't believe I haven't read it yet! I guess it was the ominous cover htat creeped me out. I wasn't much of a ghost girl when it came out. Well, obviously, now I am!

Sadly, I didn't get to read Romeo Redeemed or Unspoken because my laptop broke. I know, I know, I need to buy new electronics. Boo. My money is always on books theses days! Well, one of my friends is working on it, so it should be good by next week!

I did not trade this week, though I do have a few pending. Hopefully, we'll go through with them!

Author Interview: Josephine Angelini

Another interview, this time with the amazingly talented Josephine Angelini, author of Starcrossed and its sequel, Dreamless.

Fiction Freak: What first made you think of the four houses/Furies? 

Josephine Angelini: The Furies I got from Aeschylus and his cycle of plays called the Oresteia.  I was always fascinated with the no-win situation Orestes faced, and I wanted to put that in a modern-day setting.  The Houses I got from history.  The House of Atreus, Thebes, and Athens all existed, and Aeneas, a Trojan general who was a son of Aphrodite, founded Rome.  I altered some of the finer details to suit my story but I tried to maintain the spirit of the lore.  I didn’t create any of these elements out of thin air, I just combined them in a way that I had never seen before and wrote the most entertaining story I could.    

FF: What is the funniest moment in your life? 

JA: I have no idea.  Honestly, I hate to punk you like this, but despite the fact that I can remember plenty of nights where I laughed for hours, I’m not exactly sure which moment in my life is the funniest.  Or that it would be considered funny if I tried to recount it to you.  Probably, you’d think I was crazy. 

FF: As an author, what are the best and worst things? 

JA: The best thing is being able to work in my pajamas at any hour of the day.  The worst thing is always feeling like I should be writing.  Holidays, weekends, my birthday—I always feel like I should sit down and write something even though I know that taking a break is a good thing.  I think I’m scared that if I stop for even a few days, I’m going to forget how to write.    

FF: If YOU happened to find yourself in Helen's shoes, how would you react? 

JA: I don’t want to give away any spoilers, so I’ll just say that if I were in Helen’s shoes, there would be a lot of crying involved, lots of sad music, and spaghetti.  Spaghetti makes even a terrible situation a bit more bearable. 

FF: You've gotten many five-star reviews. How did it first feel knowing
that so many of us readers and bloggers adored Starcrossed? 

JA: I absolutely love the response I’ve been getting.  When I got to work on Starcrossed, my main goal was to write something that I wouldn’t be able to put down.  It feels like such an accomplishment to know that I did that for so many readers.  I’m enormously fortunate.

FF: What made you choose to write about Greek Mythology? Do you sometimes
wish you hadn't? 

JA: I grew up reading Greeks mythology for fun and I spent a bunch of years in college studying ancient Greek drama.  For me, it just seemed like the most natural thing to write my first book based on something that I not only love, but that I also know a bit about.  They always say, “Write what you know.”  And no, I’ve never regretted choosing the Iliad as my jumping off point.  Greek mythology is so rich and varied that it feels new even now, thousands of years later.  I couldn’t have picked a richer mine to plunder if I tried. 

FF: What do you do when you're not writing/researching? 

JA: Oh man, I am so boring!  Apart from the occasional dinner with friends and my daily trip to the gym I don’t really do much besides write.  I used to be an exciting person, a bit wild even, but I didn’t have much time to write back then.  I think most writers find that living a quiet life is the only way to really focus.   
FF: If you were to compare your writing from 7 years later to now, what do
you think your reaction will be? 

JA: I hope I’m proud of it.  I also hope that I have 7 more finished books under my belt, each successive one better than the one before it.  I know Starcrossed isn’t perfect, but that’s okay.  My goal has always been to improve with every draft and with every new book I write.  I’m still learning, but I know that just getting published to begin with is such a rare blessing that I should be proud of my first book no matter how much I grow as a writer.  I intend to do just that.

FF: The ending of Starcroseed left us Starstruck! Care to share any hints
of what's to come in Dreamless? 

JA: Dreamless is darker and it has a lot more action than Starcrossed.  Helen is trapped in the Underworld each night, trying to free the Scions from the Furies, and it just keeps getting harder for our girl.  But it’s not all suffering.  I also introduce a new boy named Orion.  I can’t wait for readers to meet him! 
FF: Any words to the readers out there?  

JA: To the pure readers:  I hope you enjoy my story and read it over and over again!  To the reader/future writers:  Keep at it, and finish that manuscript.  Finishing a story is the first step to getting published.  Good luck!  J

Starcrossed blurb:

Set on the island of Nantucket, STARCROSSED tells the tale of Helen Hamilton, a young woman whose destiny is forever altered when she meets Lucas Delos and tries to kill him in front of her entire high school. Which is terribly inconvenient, not only because Lucas is the most beautiful boy on the island, but also because Helen is so achingly shy she suffers physical pain whenever she is given too much attention.

Making matters worse, Helen is beginning to suspect she’s going crazy. Whenever she’s near Lucas or any member of his family she sees the ghostly apparitions of three women weeping bloody tears, and suffers the burden of an intense and irrational hate. She soon learns that she and Lucas are destined to play the leading roles in a Greek tragedy that the Three Fates insist on repeating over and over again throughout history. Like her namesake, Helen of Troy, she’s destined to start a war by falling in love. But even though Lucas and Helen can see their own star-crossed destiny, they’re still powerfully attracted to each other. Will they give up their personal happiness for the greater good, or risk it all to be together?

Short Author Bio:

I was supposed to be a boy.

At least, my mother was convinced I was going to be a boy when she was pregnant with me. She claimed that I "carried" like a boy, but since I'm the youngest of eight, and I have six sisters and only one beloved brother, it is reasonable to assume that my mother was simply suffering from a massive case of wishful thinking. Whatever the reasons, my parents were so convinced I was going to be a boy they had even decided on a boy name for me—Joseph.

But I'm a girl.

My mother, always a frugal woman, figured, why throw out a perfectly good name just because the gender's wrong? She put a handy "ine" on the end of Joseph, and I'm rather glad she did. I like my name, or at least I realize it could have been much worse. They could have been planning on calling me Ralph or something. Not much you can do with Ralph.

I grew up surrounded by women.

And not just normal, average women, either. My sisters are, without exaggeration, a pack of Amazons. They are all tall. They have masses of thick hair, gigantic smiles, ringing laughs, and unfortunately for me, they all have fiery tempers. You see—I'm not only the youngest, but the smallest as well. I also happen to be a natural wiseass. Not a healthy combination.

Lucky for me, I'm fast.

Contact Information:

Starcrossed's Facebook

Josephine Angelini's Twitter

Josephine Angelini's Facebook 

Josephine Angelini's Blog

Josephine Angelini's Website

Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson

Goodreads Blurb

Before Peter Pan belonged to Wendy, he belonged to the girl with the crow feather in her hair. . . .

Fifteen-year-old Tiger Lily doesn't believe in love stories or happy endings. Then she meets the alluring teenage Peter Pan in the forbidden woods of Neverland and immediately falls under his spell.

Peter is unlike anyone she's ever known. Impetuous and brave, he both scares and enthralls her. As the leader of the Lost Boys, the most fearsome of Neverland's inhabitants, Peter is an unthinkable match for Tiger Lily. Soon, she is risking everything—her family, her future—to be with him. When she is faced with marriage to a terrible man in her own tribe, she must choose between the life she's always known and running away to an uncertain future with Peter.

With enemies threatening to tear them apart, the lovers seem doomed. But it's the arrival of Wendy Darling, an English girl who's everything Tiger Lily is not, that leads Tiger Lily to discover that the most dangerous enemies can live inside even the most loyal and loving heart.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Peaches comes a magical and bewitching story of the romance between a fearless heroine and the boy who wouldn't grow up.

This book was incredibly emotional and mournful. Even with the warning at the beginning of this story, I couldn’t have imagined just how deep it would affect me.

I honestly didn’t know what to expect. A retelling of Peter Pan? That just seemed so far-fetched since I’d heard it was an emotional rollercoaster. I should not have doubted it. Tiger Lily surpassed all expectations and honestly, made my eyes wet. Tiger Lily has always been one of my favorite Disney princesses since she was loyal, brave, and strong, but sadly was overlooked and only had one line that barely lasted 2 seconds. Her character traits were highlighted in this amazing book, making me love her even more. Tiger lily has been betrayed, hurt, lost, and was an outcast. That is, until she meets Peter Pan and falls in love with him and he with her. It was a beautiful, subtle, love story, but it was that subtle part that ripped it all apart.

Let me just say this now: I hated Wendy. She seemed shallow and uncaring, pretty much your average bitc*. I absolutely hated her with all my heart and wanted to tear out her pretty little hair just so Peter Pan would love Tiger Lily again. Sadly, I couldn’t and just had to keep reading, learning how things would play out, and leaving me heartbroken with tears in my eyes. Never has a Disney movie been so emotional, so sad, and so, so beautiful.

This story is told in Tinker Bell’s, that’s right Tinker Bell’s, point of view and that made this all the more worthwhile to read. This way, you can catch a glimpse what others are thinking, imagining, and you never have to second guess what a character is feeling. I almost felt like I was in the book, Tiger Lily, Peter, Hook, and Tik Tok in front of me. The writing was lyrical, the plot shocking, and the mood/tone sorrowful, mournful, despairing. No other book has made me feel that way.

My favorite part though, was the letter at the end of the story. Those last 2 pages ended this piece wonderfully, making you want to unread the book just to re-read it again, if that makes any sense. I don’t think, I honestly don’t think, that there is one book that comes close to this heartbreaking retelling.

All in all: Jodi Lynn masterfully weaves this story together so that both adults and teens will love this story and never want to put it down. Tiger Lily will keep you reading frantically until the very last page, the very last word. It was that amazing. Retellings always are, but this one touched me so much deeply than any other stories could. I recommend this book to everyone who watched and loved Disney movies and even to those who didn’t. Trust me, if you hated Disney before, this book will change your perspective. One thing I learned: sometimes, you have to let your feelings show or else you may just lose everything.

The quote for this review isn’t going to be one that raises your anticipation, but one of the most heartbreaking ones in the book.

 Pages: 304

Series: Standalone

Genre: Retelling/Romance/Fantasy

Rating: 5 stars (If possible, 10 stars)

“He stood up. ‘You’re worthless to me, Tiger Lily.” He said. He walked off into the woods. She sat on the ground, listening to the calls of the birds.”

You're Kidding Me!

I had always admired Kristi at the Story Siren, but in light of recent events, I an shocked and apalled! I am so thankful I had stumbled across this.

If you haven't known, Kristi had plagiarized off of several bloggers. Click here, here, and here to find out exactly what happened.

Things like this make everyone unnerved. If she copied those pieces then who's to say she hasn't copied anything else? I don't know what to think. Kristi definitely lost many fans, though I do think that some aare being to harsh. She's only human. On the other hand, what she did was wrong and her denies have inflamed my irritation. Evidence has been shown and still, she says she didn't plagiarize! Her apologies aren't apologies. There's no "I'm sorry I did this" it's "I'm sorry even though I did NOT copy". I don't know why, though I suspect it has something to do with her image. It may be ruined in the blogosphere, but perhaps not in the publishing world. Making this worse is that Kristi had always been against plagiarism, and this just...well, I hope no one does this again

What's worse is the fact that so many people looked up to her. The Story Siren had great influence in the blogging and book world and could've gotten any book she wanted a year early and publishers jumping at the chance to have their books reviewed by her. But it's not only that. It's that she wrote amazing reviews and wasn't afraid to share her opinions. Admittedly, I wish to be as great a book blogger like her. I am still confused as to WHY she has done this. EDIT: Nocturne Romance Reads has written this post about the TSS scandal and I agree with her completely!

And because of this, I no longer will continue In My Mailbox until things are settled and Kristi has FULLY apologized. Now, I still need a mailbox meme. Does anyone have a suggestion? I am thinking of Mailbox Monday, but I'm up to other suggestions as well!

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Thank You + Giveaway

<center><a href="http://fiction-freak.blogspot.com/2012/04/thank-you-giveaway.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Fiction Freak" src="http://i1156.photobucket.com/albums/p566/Nikki_Wang/untitled-2.jpg" /></a></center>

I have 113 followers! I cannot believe how far my blog has gone. Honestly, I never expected to get many followers, and definitely not over 100. Thanks to all of you who stumbled across my blog and followed and to my friends who followed as well! And a special thanks to all those bloggers who helped me by giving me tips or sending me ARCs! I hope that you all discovered some amazing books here! And for all of that, here's a GIVEAWAY!

Rules:
1. You must be a follower since this is a gift to them!
2. You must live in one of the countries that The Book Depository ships to for FREE
3. If you have a false entry, you WILL be disqualified
4. There will be one winner, but if I manage to reach 222 followers before the giveaway is over, there will be TWO winners!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Favorite Publishers

Here's the first of the fun posts. you didn't catch the last post, I have no access to a CPU, so I'm doing this via smartphone so I can't do reviews. Which sucks. Anyways, this is a list of my favorite publishers, 1 being the best, and 5 being the worst.

1. HarperTeen-

HarperTeen has published most of those books on my wishlist, including Defiance, For Darkness Shows the Stars, and Unraveling! Oooh, I absolutely need those books!

2. St. Martin's Griffin/Press

They have some amazing books! Examples: Shadow Falls series, Fated, Glitch, and This is Not a Test. Not to mention the Trylle Trilogy which I still need to read!

3. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

I love their books! An they also have a lot on my wishlist like Grave Mercy. Eep!  I need to buy that SOON.

4. Penguin

This is the "mother branch" of so many amazing publishers! That includes Dial Books which publishes Treachery of Beautiful Things. Gasp! My most awaited book of 2012

5. HarlequinTeen

They published the Iron Fey series and Immortal Rules. Who wouldn't love them?!

There. My top 5 publishers! What are YOUR favorite publishers?

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Quick Update

I'm feeling better, so I should be posting soon. Either Saturday or Monday, and everything will be back to normal. And thanks for all the well wishes!

And 108 followers! Amazing! Thank you all for supporting this blog. And be on the lookout for a giveaway when I get 111.

One more thing: I'll be posting some random things this weekend to make up for lack of reviews. Hope you enjoy them!

-Nikki

(P.S. Don't forget to preorder your copy of Fated to get a pair of Soul Seeker inspired earrings!)

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Get a Pair of Fated Earrings!

You guys all know about #1 New York Times Best-selling author, Alyson Noel's new series, Soul Seekers, right? Well here's YOUR chance to get a free pair of earrings inspired by Fated. All you have to do is preorder Fated in any format and submit the receipt. How awesome is that? To see the full list of rules, click here. Hurry while supplies last! Happy reading!

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Hiatus

I won't be posting for hte next 5 days, since I just found out I was allergic to seafood after eating a lot of sushi. I now have the hives and since I post at the library (since my CPU broke down) I won't be able to post! I should be fine by Monday, though.

Happy Readings!

Random Musings: Seeing a Book

Today while I was walking down the halls of my school, I saw someone reading Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa! If you dind't know already, the Iron Fey series is my absolute favorite series! So that one sight kept me smiling the entire day. It was wonderful seeing someone else enjoying the books I loved, especially my all-time favorites! Since I was at school, I couldn't take a picture, but if I could, I would've. I love seeing a book I've read in someone else's hands, just so I can know htat others around me are enjoying the same books as me.

A Few of the Amazing!

Too many awesome books have been released today! Some, I'm dying to buy, others I've read, but here are my top four, both ones I've read, and haven't:

The Selection 

Masque of Red Death  

Unraveling

Immortal Rules

                             
                                                           

Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

Goodreads Blurb

In a future world, Vampires reign. Humans are blood cattle. And one girl will search for the key to save humanity.

Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten.

Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of them. The vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself is attacked—and given the ultimate choice. Die… or become one of the monsters.

Faced with her own mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must learn the rules of being immortal, including the most important: go long enough without human blood, and you will go mad.

Then Allie is forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls. There she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend—a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike.

But it isn't easy to pass for human. Especially not around Zeke, who might see past the monster inside her. And Allie soon must decide what—and who—is worth dying for.

Allie’s used to protecting her group, her family, until the night they’re killed. The night they’re killed and she gets two options: Die a human or die and rise as a vampire. She picks option 2 and thus starts our story. When her teacher, the one who turned her, is captured by enemies, Allie is left to her own resources to survive in the apocalyptic world full of rabids, twisted creatures that were once human, or once vampire. From there our heroine meets a group of Unregistered humans who somehow survived in a world where vampires rule the cities and food is rationed only among registered. She joins their gathering, but day by day her secret is getting harder to hide, her bloodlust harder to control. “Sometime in your life, Allison Sekemoto, you will kill a human being.The question is not if it will happen, but when.”

Julie Kagawa amazed me with her Iron Fey series, and she blew me away with Immortal Rules. And for someone who never wanted to do a vampire story from the beginning, Kagawa definitely aced the test with flying colors. If I didn’t know better, I’d say that she’d been lying to us and wrote vampire stories her whole life! That’s how amazing Immortal Rules was. The plot was original, the characters each having their own unique personalities, and the setting fit the story perfectly.

I couldn’t help but compare this to the Iron Fey sometimes, especially when I read similar things such as the tree growing out of the car. Caleb reminded me so much of Ethan, especially with the family bond between Allie and Caleb that reminded me of Meghan and Ethan at the beginning of Iron King! But Immortal Rules definitely has its own unique plot. Vampires have never been so new. Julie has twisted the myth of vampires into something entirely new, adding her own splash of imagination in the form of rabids. Next to clowns, rabids are now the scariest thing I’ve read about.

Usually I can tell what’s going to happen, can’t most of us? But I had absolutely no idea how the Immortal Rules would end. One moment I’d think she’d die, the next she wasn’t. I thought the love story would survive, I’m still not sure if it will or won’t. Nothing is predictable, and remember the phrase “Predict the unpredictable” while reading this.

Allie was way different than Meghan. She was more headstrong, stubborn, cruel, cold, and just…hard-core. Half of those we love in a protagonist. Meghan was sweet, strong, stubborn, a tad naïve, sacrificing, and underwent serious changes, emerging stronger than before. But so did Allie. I guess all in all, they’re both amazing characters. Zeke was a great love interest, broken but fixed, a leader yet still needing his family. Still remembering things that hurt. And that made me like him even more. I had a love/hate relationship with Ruth. I admired her for her strong personality, and her concern for her family, albeit a bit twisted. On the other hand, Ruth was being a real bitch, excuse my language, to Allie, spreading poison. Though I do think she really did care for her family and was just looking out for them.

I have to admit, as much as my heart races for other books as well, this single story definitely made me hold my breath and definitely made my heart stutter in fear.  I did cry, but why, I can’t say. But there is a heartbreaking moment in this book of horrors, and it will send you to the tissue box. And I did scream. Or tried to. My heart was in my throat at one part and I swore I could see Allie fighting desperately.

Summary:

Enchanting. Enticing. Beautiful. Dark. Edgy. Creepy. All wonderful words to describe the dangerous world of Immortal Rules. This is easily one of my favorite vampire/dystopian books of all time. It had the perfect dose of romance, danger, secrets, sacrifice, and the hard-core will of one girl struggling to survive…even when the world stands against her.

 Pages: 504

Series: Blood of Eden #1

Genre: Paranormal/Dystopia

Rating: 5 stars

“I froze, feeling the world stop for a fraction of a second. In a heartbeat, a torrent of emotion rushed through me, almost too fast to recognize. Horror, anger, guilt, regret. What was I doing? What the hell had come over me?

Showcase Sunday

I've gotten a few books, and I think that's it for the trades. Probably not, but I'm trying to stay away from trades! I got a few great ones this week/last week that I absolutely loved! (Yes, I read two..or more...already)

While I'm at it, credit goes to the Story Siren Books, Biscuits, and Tea for coming up with this meme where bloggers tell youw hat we received in our mailboxes.






Bought:

         


Bloggers:
                             


Publisher:



NetGalley:

         

I actually already read boh of these, and I loved them! Dreaming Awake, the sequel to Falling Under, was absolutely enticing and Clockwork Prince was as good as Clockwork Angel, if not better! Full of twists and turns, both ending will leave you shocked!

I read Incarnate already, and it wasn't to my liking. I think I might just give it to whoever wants it even though it came out two-three months ago. I'm definitely excited to read under The Never Sky. Sadly it's in bad condition...but the blurb makes up for that. I hope the writing is as good as it sounds! Harbinger caught my interest back in 2011, but I never got the chance to read it. It definitely sounds intriguing.

I won Tiger Lily in a giveaway on Goodreads and I'm not sure what to think of this one. A retelling of Peter Pan? REALLY!? On the other hand, I've seen wonderful reviews, so I'm giving Tiger Lily a chance.

I may or may not read Romeo Redeemed because I'm planning on buying the finished copy since I have Juliet Immortal and hate not having the entire series. On the other hand, I'm dying to see what happens to Romeo. Juliet got her second chance. Will Romeo? Unspoken is definitely at the top of my to-read list, and I can't wait to ge started! Talk about a dream boy!

Random Musings: ARCs and finished

So.while I trade for ARCs, I always feel hesitant. Why? Because I want that book in hardcover/finished copy! I have no idea why. Because I'm vain with my books? Because I hate that black square that ruins the cover? Because of the grammar mistakes? I don't know

Do any of you other bloggers feel the same way?

 

Winner!

The winner of the Hunger Games giveaway is Selena Donnetto!  I have contacted her and she has 48 hours to reply. Happy Friday!

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Taken at Dusk by C. C. hunter

Goodreads Blurb

Step into Shadow Falls, a camp for teens with supernatural powers. Here friendship thrives, love takes you by surprise, and our hearts possess the greatest magic of all.

Kylie Galen wants the truth so badly she can taste it. The truth about who her real family is, the truth about which boy she’s meant to be with—and the truth about what her emerging powers mean. But she’s about to discover that some secrets can change your life forever…and not always for the better.

Just when she and Lucas are finally getting close, she learns that his pack has forbidden them from being together. Was it a mistake to pick him over Derek? And it’s not just romance troubling Kylie. An amnesia-stricken ghost is haunting her, delivering the frightful warning, someone lives and someone dies. As Kylie races to unravel the mystery and protect those she loves, she finally unlocks the truth about her supernatural identity, which is far different—and more astonishing—than she ever imagined.

I received Taken at Dusk from St. Martin's Press/Griffin, including Born at Midnight and Awake at Dawn, book one and two in the Shadow Falls Series, since I hadn't read the series then. But I can promise you, that I devoured this series in two days (three books in two days!) and absolutely loved it.

This is a popular series among paranormal junkies out there, but when I first heard of it, I decided not to read it. Why? Because at the time, I had been reading Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins, and the blurb sounded suspiciously like that of Hex Hall. Once all the starred reviews started pouring in though, I regretted it, so I'm glad to have a chance to read the entire series!

Taken at Dusk starts immediately where Awake at Dawn left off, Kylie about to meet her adoptive parents, the ones who just might have the clue to finding out exactly what she is. But when she gets there, her "adoptive parents" and her barely get ten minutes before they're ushered out and it looks as if the couple weren't her adoptive parents, but were, instead, imposters. Shocking! And then animals are suddenly protecting her. An eagle that suddenly catches a snake mere inches from her feet, a deer jumping in front of her just before lightning strikes the spot she would've been in if not for the deer. But why? Taken at Dusk raises more questions than it answers, leaving readers shocked and mystified.

I fell in love with our characters in book one, wanting to hug the life out of them in book two, and started crying for them  in book three. Kylie had that strong personality we love in heroines, Holiday had that older-sister feel, helping Kylie along the way, Burnett was like Kylie's protector, and he was absolutely adorable when it came to Holiday! Lucas was edgy and dangerous, while Derek was sweet and caring. And I loved the ghosts! I don't know why, but I've always loved ghost-paranormal stories. No matter how much they creeped me out. And we finally meet the dreaded Ellie whom I loved!
This third installment of the Shadow Falls series was absolutely breathtaking, and I enjoyed every page! Kylie has fully accepted her paranormal blood and she's learning, slowly, to trust her father again. The ending scenes had me flipping to the end and leaving me shell-shocked. And to those who have read Taken At Dusk, what do you think a chameleon is? I have a theory. But I'm not sharing it!


Summary: The writing is beautiful, the characters are even more wonderful, and I don't think I can wait until Whispers at Moonrise comes out! This is definitely a paranormal romance that Fiction Freaks should read, whether or not its your thing.

Pages:380
Series: Shadow Falls #3
Genre: Paranormal/Romance
Rating: 5 stars

"Jane swerved toward Catherine and held both her fists up in front of her face, her body tight with fury. 'How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not Berta! I did not kill my own child. I would never kill my baby. I loved my baby.'"

Random Musings: Soul Mates

An akward random musings that I thought of before. I know, it's actually kind of stupid...

Soul Mates: If a soul mate is the other half of your soul as many books say they are, then aren’t you falling in love with yourself, basically? So maybe in another life, but if before you’re born your soul is split, then wouldn’t one soul be split in two, then when reincarnated, those two souls split into two each? My opinion? That we decide who our soul mates are. We don’t control who we fall in love with; we never could. Yes, I do believe in soul mates, but not the theory stated above; I think, instead, that it’s our past lives, or perhaps our first life. (Yes, I’m a believer of reincarnation; books got to me.) Who we fall in love when we died, is who we would fall in love with now. I don’t know, some of you might think I’m crazy, but I just thought I’d post this. It’s been nagging me for days…

Glimmer by Pheobe Kitanidis

Goodreads Blurb

What if you forgot your identity and had to rely on other people to tell you who you were?

And what if to discover your true self, you first had to unravel a mystery so big and terrifying you were not sure you’d survive solving it?

When Marshall and Elyse wake up in each other’s arms with zero memory of how they got there or who they are, it’s the start of a long journey through their separate pasts and shared future.

Terrified by their amnesia, the two make a pact to work together to find the answers that could jog their missing memories. As they piece together clues, they discover they’re in the idyllic mountain resort town of Summer Falls, where everyone seems mysteriously happy, but as Marshall and Elyse quickly learn, darkness lurks beneath the town’s perfect facade. Not only is the town haunted by sinister ghosts, but none of its living inhabitants retain bad memories of anything—not the death of Marshall’s mom, not the hidden shame in Elyse’s family, not even the day-to-day anguish of high school.

Lonely in this world of happy zombies, Marsh and Elyse fall into an intense relationship...but the secrets they uncover could be the death of this growing love—and the death of everyone, and everything, they love in Summer Falls.

I received Glimmer from another blogger and I am so happy that I got it! Honestly, when I first heard about it, I wasn’t interested. My eyes basically zeroed in on the word “zombies” and decided not to read it. But then, with all the excitement, I decided to read the entire summary. And guess what? I ended up vying for this book! I’ve always, always, always, loved those amnesia-filled stories. When the characters don’t know anything, it makes it more anticipating for the reader since, after all, the main character doesn’t know anything either, so that we learn everything as the MC does.

The story starts with Elyse and Marshall literally waking up tangled in each other’s arms, like it says in the description. They have no idea who they are, and are suspicious of everything and everyone. And guess what? Elyse can see the ghosts that haunt the town, the ones that erase the memories of traumatic events, and Marshall can somehow repel ghosts. They have a future of action, a present full of questions, and a past filled with holes. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

I loved Glimmer! It exceeded my expectations completely, and I was whisked away by the plot! Questions were raised, but when everything was slowly explained, I realized that there were scattered hints about their past and the secret that haunts Summer Falls. They were just so cleverly hidden, and I absolutely loved re-reading it just so I could point and yell "Hey! He did that because ________!" By the end of the day, several people had looked at me like I was crazy.

The writing was beautiful, switching between the POV's of both Marshall and Elyse. The writing also portrayed the town perfectly, creepy. As in, very, very creepy. Honestly, I kept imagining ghosts popping out and my memories being erased. So I definitely can't complain about Glimmer being boring.

The scenes were rushed just a bit at the end, confusing me as to what happened when, but I remember reading somewhere that in the final copy, the scenes are less rushed, which is great. However, there was one thing I disliked. It was mainly the factor that though Elyse wrote to herself, she believed so easily. I uderstand the "habit" of it, but it was still a slightly far stretch.

Glimmer was an amazing read, showing you just how strong, and important, memories are, bad or good. I just ate it up!

Pages: 352

Series: Stand-alone

Genre: Paranormal/Romance

Rating: 5 stars

"How could I stay away from Elyse? How could we abandon each other to this place? Protecting her has been my purpose, almost from the moment I woke up to this new life."

Showcase Sunday (Catch-up)

This week is actually the same as last week's. This way, I can catch up on reviewing the books I wanted to, and it also gives me a chance to read the other books I've been dying to read!







Some books that I'm mainly going to try to review this week are:
                   


These are pretty much it. After all, there are only seven days in a week! But trust me, there may be more. ;)

Author Interview: Jessica Shirvington

So excited to announce my interview with Jessica Shirvington, the author of Embrace, called the “Hottest YA Debut of 2012”.

Fiction Freak: What inspired Embrace? What were you thinking when you decided to write it?

Jessica Shirvington: At the time I started writing Embrace I'd been reading a lot and had reached the point where I wanted to try and craft my own story. There were things I was looking for in my reading experience that I wanted to be able to put into a story. It's strange how some things happen. I just sat down at the kitchen table, opened my laptop and started to write a story. I didn't know what it would all be about, I didn't know if I would get past the first paragraph let along a full novel. The idea that it is now a published series is mind-boggling!

I knew when I started the story process I wanted my heroine to deal with 'the big issues' and a perfect way to manifest these into a story is to incorporate the paranormal. This led to the use of angels. I realize there is now a number of YA angel themed books in the marketplace but when I started writing Embrace, there were none. I loved the idea of exploring the theme of angels and of choice and consequence. From there the research began and the story started to take shape.

FF: What is one of the funniest moments you've witnessed?

JS: Actually it was one I was involved in. My best friend and I were in Portugal, in a little seaside town. We decided to hire a moped for the day and explore. Anyway, we were only about 18 at the time and made a huge deal of which bike we wanted to hire, which helmets we thought looked the best. All in all we took about an hour of laughing and deliberating in the hire shop before we were ready to go. The guy hiring us the moped asked if we'd ever driven one before and we were like "ah...no. But we'll be fine!" He ran through a few quick tips and then my best friend jumped on the back and I was driving. We made it to the end of the little road (about 10 meters) before we needed to turn ... To this day I swear there was something wrong with the bike. It just wouldn't turn. And, ok, I forgot to use the brake. Long story short - we cruised right into a brick wall. I stood up, picking the bike up from under us. My best friend stood up, the broken-off side mirror dangling from her hand. The second I saw her standing there with a piece of the bike in-hand - in her perfectly selected helmet - I lost it. Needless to say, our moped experience ended there, but it's now fifteen years later and we still crack up whenever we relive the story.

FF: How does it feel to have YOUR book called "The Hottest YA Debut of 2012"?

JS: Incredibly flattering. I'm so passionate about this story and the characters. I love them so much and so naturally, I want readers to care for them too. That's what it's all about. :)

FF: When your book became international, we readers were excited, but how did you feel?

JS: Excited is a good word for it. Overjoyed, delirious, ecstatic, nervous, and humbled are also words that would apply!

FF: Lets approach the subject of your characters; Phoenix or Team Lincoln? (I'm a Phoenix all the way.)

JS: I love them both. Unlike Violet I don't have to choose and unlike Violet, I know all of their secrets and motivations so I feel differently about them. That's not to say that at times I don't feel like one would be the better choice for her or that one is behaving very badly. They all, Violet included, make their fair share of mistakes!

FF: Your take on angels is different than most fallen angel stories. What gave you the idea of exiles and light and dark as equals/balances?

JS: It comes from considering how any one event can at the same time produce a good result for one person and a bad result for another. It happens in all aspects of life - like getting a job. When one person gets a job, it's great for them and you never know just how important it is to them or how desperately they needed the income for themselves and their family, BUT, what about the other person who didn't get the job - what if they were down to their last $50 and this was a make or break moment. For the person that got the job they might think they had someone looking over them at that point, but what about the person that didn't get the job? And what does this mean for each of these people's futures and the people in their lives? This led to the idea that if angels played an active role in our universe and in the function of influence over our wills, then there had to be both good and bad that came from them, otherwise it simply couldn't work. (if that makes sense...!)

FF: How did it feel to know that Embrace was receiving such positive responses in another country?

JS: Awesome. Positive response makes it all worthwhile!

FF: What do you do in your regular day?

JS: The interesting thing about writing is that every day is different. Sometimes I am in draft and writing constantly. Sometimes my time is dictated by research, sometimes by editing, and at other times with publicity. Basically, there is always a lot going on so the main constant in my regular day is that once I get the kids off to school, it is very busy.

FF: Did anyone ever recognize you in public? If so, what did they do?

JS: Every now and then. Mostly if I'm with my husband (he's a TV personality / ex-Olympian). They tend to recognize him and then put two and two together if they have read my books. Usually they just want to say hi, or have a chat about the books or writing, which are two of my favorite subjects so it's all good.

FF: Describe your book in 9 words.

JS: Exiled angels are vengeful. Violet must choose her path.

FF: Last one, why don't you live in the US?! ;)

JS: Actually, I've been asking myself that question as well lately! I love the US and will be there in September for the release of ENTICE and am hoping to visit as many cities as possible. I'll also be back there in December to holiday with my family. So, whilst we don't live in the States, we do plan on visiting as much as possible!

Embrace Blurb:

It starts with a whisper

“It’s time for you to know who you are…”

Strange dreams leave her with very real injuries and there’s a dark tattoo weaving its way up her arms. The guy she thought she could fall in love with just told her he’s only half-human—oh, and the same goes for her. And she keeps hearing a distant fluttering of wings.

Violet Eden is having a very bad 17^th birthday.

But if angels seek vengeance and humans are the warriors, you could do a lot worse than betting on Violet Eden…

Short Author Bio:

Jessica Shirvington is the author of THE VIOLET EDEN CHAPTERS also known as THE EMBRACE SERIES. An entrepreneur, author, and mother living in Sydney, Australia, Jessica is also a 2011 finalist for Cosmopolitan’s annual fun, Fearless, Female Award. She’s also one of the lucky few who met the lover of her life at age seventeen: Matt Shirvington, a former Olympian and current sports broadcaster for FOXTEL and Sky News. Married for almost eleven years with two beautiful daughters, Sienna and Winter, Jessica knows her early age romance and its longevity has definitely contributed to how she tackles relationships in her YA novels. Previously, she founded a coffee distribution company, Stella Imports, in London, and before that was involved in the management of restaurants Fuel Bistro and MG Garage in Sydney. Jessica is not a full-time novelist and living her dream.

Contact Info:

Embrace Website

Violet Eden Chapters Website

Violet Eden Chapters Facebook

Jessica's Shirvington's Website

Jessica Shirvington's Goodreads