Winner!

And the winner of the LDS Giveaway (winner of a hardback copy of My Double Life by Jannette Raillison) is Rena! I've emailed her and she has 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen. Thanks to everyone for entering!

Random Musings

Is it just me or are there a lot of paranormal/dystopia going on? Immortal Rules, The Hunt, Darkness Before Dawn, Black City...they all sound original on their ways, but I was wondering: Has anyone else noticed this? I've read half of the ones I've named so I'm excited to read the other two, and yet is it funny that no one thought of this, then all at once we have 4 in one year?! And there's no way they stole ideas since it takes a while to get a manuscript into a book. As in, 2 years. Talk about coincidence! Is it because of Hunger Games and Twilight?

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Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins + Author Interview!

Goodreads Blurb

What if there were teens whose lives depended on being bad influences?
This is the reality for sons and daughters of fallen angels in Sweet Evil.

Tenderhearted Southern girl, Anna Whitt, was born with the sixth sense to see and feel emotions of other people. She’s aware of a struggle within herself, an inexplicable pull toward danger, but it isn’t until she turns sixteen and meets the alluring Kaidan Rowe that she discovers her terrifying heritage, and her will-power is put to the test. He’s the boy your daddy warned you about. If only someone had warned Anna.

Forced to face her destiny, will Anna embrace her halo or her horns?

If the beautiful cover and the blurb didn't catch your interest...you're crazy. 100% crazy, no doubt about it. This book was absolutely beautiful, enchanting, and dark at the same time. It captured my heart and kept breaking it over and over and over. There is no happy ending, let's just say that now. And I say that with 100% because Wendy Higgins herself said that! (Check the author interview below) I'm going to be cutting this review short, only about three paragraphs, including this, since I do have an author interview to add!

Anyways, I loved Anna so much and I'm thinking a lot of readers can relate to her. We're all pulled in both directions: good and evil. We never really know which to pick, balancing between the two. Anna's the perfect good girl, thanks to her light angel mom. She knows when enough is enough, when too much is too much. But she also has to deal with the pulls of sins from her father's side. Something that makes her almost exactly like your typical human. And that is the main reason I loved Anna so much. Kaidan was....wow. Just wow. HELLO!? You have to love him! He's enticing, alluring, and has that dangerous edge that you guys know I love! I really can't think about other characters with these two fresh on my mind. However, Wendy Higgins did fit each character to their role as the spawn of a Duke.

Sweet Evil had a wonderful plot that made me wiggle in my seat and scream out loud. It made me laugh, cry, and smile behind my tears! The pacing was quick enough that you never get bored, yet slow enough that nothing ever just dashes by without you noticing. The world was beautiful, complicated, and so, so, wonderful. Readers will definitely line up and fight over copies (if they haven't already) and will be drawn into Sweet Evil's world.

Ok, I lied. Four paragraphs because I need to rant about this book! I have absolutely no negative thoughts. Which honestly? Is surprising. Hold on. I just remembered one thing I absolutely hated with all my heart: Sweet Evil ended! It ended! I am outraged by that. Just...just...no. There has to be more Kaidan! And another sequel! But mainly more Kaidan...If you still aren't convinced, I dare you to read it and tell me you don't absolutely love it!

Pages: 464

Series: Sweet #1

Genre: Paranormal/Romance

Rating: ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I'm making a new rating just for this book. An absolute 7 stars.

"He would never have the freedom to let himself be loved."

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

I got the opportunity to interview Wendy Higgins, author of the amazing debut Sweet Evil! Eek! Major fan girl moment!

Fiction Freak: What inspired Sweet Evil? (The inevitable question)

Wendy Higgins: I know it sounds corny, but I think my whole life lead up to writing this story. Every experience, heartbreak, family issue, friendship, book, my schooling, my time teaching...everything contributed to my mind being ready for this. Once I decided I was ready to write, the story came to me like a rush. It was a crazy, exhilarating time.

FF: There's no happy ending in Sweet Evil, is there?

WH: Nope. Sorry.  :(

FF: Did you plan for it to end that way, or did the story just pull you that way?

WH: Well, in my mind it’s not the end - it’s just the end of part 1. There is still much that will happen before the story really wraps up.  I hated not having a happy ending, but it wasn’t time for that - it just wouldn’t realistically work as is.

FF: Can you tell us a few things that were changed from the original Inkie version to the newly published version?

WH: The original Inkpop version, Angel Prophecy, was a stand-alone single story. I ended up cutting the story down the middle and extending it into a trilogy.

FF: Kaidan or Kopano?

WH: I love both my K-boys to pieces!!!  They’re both very different, but they both hold an intense allure for me.  I’ve spent more time in Kaidan’s head, so I do feel closest to him.

FF: How much of Sweet Evil was researched? How much was prior knowledge?

WH: I had to map out the cross country trip, and read a lot of fallen angel lore to see what other people were saying, but mostly I just made stuff up, lol.

FF: How did it feel to see your work go from online story to published book? (And HarperTeen no less!)

WH: It’s STILL sort of unbelievable, even after two years. When HarperTeen tweets about me I get all sorts of giddy. I feel like an inkpopper still - deep down I’ll always just be a writer who needs feedback and values the give & take partnership of critiquing that I came to love as an Inkie.

FF: What's one of your favorite debuts of 2012?

WH: Unraveling by Liz Norris

FF: What's one thing you love and hate about writing?

WH: I love, love, love when the story invades my mind and takes over my thoughts. Even though it turns me into a total ditz because I can’t concentrate on “real life,” there’s just no cooler feeling. What I hate is writer’s block - and for me it has more to do with feeling intimidated about moving forward, which sucks. I’m actually working through that right now.

FF: In Sweet Evil, a certain someone tells Anna the meaning of life; is that what you yourself think it is?

WH: Haha, well, kind of but not exactly.  I had to make it work for their particular story world. I am a spiritual person, so I do believe in a higher meaning and having a purpose and all that good stuff. But the way that certain someone breaks it down for Anna is extremely simplified.

FF: What's the funniest moment of your life?

WH: Hm...for some reason this is really hard for me. All the instances that come to mind are either too gross, too humiliating, or just plain inappropriate! Stuff about my parents keep coming to mind - like when my dad walked into the glass at a store in the mall and left a faceprint. Or when we scared my mom to death with these fake rattlesnake eggs in an envelope that “buzzed.” Both of those times about made me pee my pants.

Sweet Evil Blurb:

What if there were teens whose lives depended on being bad influences?
This is the reality for sons and daughters of fallen angels in Sweet Evil.
Tenderhearted Southern girl, Anna Whitt, was born with the sixth sense to see and feel emotions of other people. She’s aware of a struggle within herself, an inexplicable pull toward danger, but it isn’t until she turns sixteen and meets the alluring Kaidan Rowe that she discovers her terrifying heritage, and her will-power is put to the test. He’s the boy your daddy warned you about. If only someone had warned Anna.
Forced to face her destiny, will Anna embrace her halo or her horns?

Short Author Bio:

After earning a Creative Writing degree from George Mason University and a Masters in Curriculum and Instruction from Radford, she taught high school English until becoming a mommy. She’s always had a heart for teens, and writing YA stories gives her the opportunity to delve into the ambiguities of those pivotal years before adulthood.
She live in the D.C. area with my husband, daughter, and son.

Contact Info:

Sweet Evil Facebook

Wendy Higgins’s Blog

Wendy Higgins’s Goodreads

Wendy Higgins’s Twitter

Fated by Alyson Noel

Goodreads Blurb

Lately strange things have been happening to Daire Santos. Animals follow her, crows mock her, and glowing people appear out of nowhere. Worried that Daire is having a nervous breakdown, her mother packs her off to stay in the dusty plains of Enchantment, New Mexico with a grandmother she’s never met.

There she crosses paths with Dace, a gorgeous guy with unearthly blue eyes who she’s encountered before...but only in her dreams. And she’ll get to know her grandmother—a woman who recognizes Daire’s bizarre episodes for what they are. A call to her true destiny as a Soul Seeker, one who can navigate between the worlds of the living and the dead. Her grandmother immediately begins teaching her to harness her powers—but it’s an art that must be mastered quickly. Because Dace’s brother is an evil shape-shifter who’s out to steal her powers. Now Daire must embrace her fate as a Soul Seeker and find out if Dace is one guy she’s meant to be with...or if he’s allied with the enemy she’s destined to destroy.

Whew! So sorry, peoples! I know, first review in, like, 12 days! Blasphemy!
I enjoyed the first books in The Immortals, Alyson Noel's other paranormal series, so when I heard of Fated and read the enticing blur above, I was interested, and maybe a bit wary. No matter how much I loved the plot of the books(at least, the first three) I absolutely hated Ever's personality. Good thing I was prepared.
the book starts off during a time freeze, something Daire is used to y now. What she isn't used to are the glowing people and the crows attacking her in the middle of them. Marked as crazy almost immediately, Daire only has two choices and decides to choose the lesser evil and is shipped off to her grandmother's home--a woman she didn't even know was alive. Quickly she learns about her powers as a Soul Seeker and learns to eventually accept it, to control them. Making things even more interesting is Dace, the boy Daire's literally been dreaming about, and someone who she's immensely attracted to. The problem? Dace is part of a family called Le Coyotes, a family that has tried o control the Lowerworld, an event that will, eventually, kill humanity. Should she trust him? Or is her truly the one she will be forced, someone she's fated to, kill?

The book lacked the edge I had been anticipating, I'm afraid. Nothing really seemed as dangerous as this type of story required in order to make you excited. In short--Fated seemed seemed just a bit too innocent at times. Especially with the things we encounter. On the other hand, I enjoyed reading it and the story was as original as you can get in the paranormal genre.

What I did fully love, was the fact that Alyson Noel could create wonderful worlds that honestly didn't sound that farfetched, the way she wrote it! I could honestly believe in the Lower, Middle, and Upperworld if I knew it was fiction. It's just the way that Alyson Noel pieced together the words and sentences that made you convinced of everything.
Onto characters, I honestly hated Daire the first few chapters. She seemed as shallow as Ever was sometimes, but later on, you did see her (hopefully) real side, one that's caring and not as whiny. Dace wasn't at all as dangerous as his brother, Cole, and that was one thing I didn't exactly like. In real life, a sweet, caring guy is wonderful! In books, I know a lot of readers prefer the dark and dangerous ones. A seemingly innocent boy didn't fit with the blurb, exactly. I thought at first that Dace would be all cocky and a bit sweet, still dangerous. That way you honestly wouldn't know if he was friend or foe. But even though I was skeptical at first, I Dace did eventually grow on me and I grew to like him more and more. Cade is your typical antagonist, although even more evil in my eyes. I mean, he ate...well, read it and find out!

I do think Fated lacked a plot, though. It as more of an introduction than an actually completed book. honestly, the only action there truly was, was near the end. The romance was barely there. It seemed more as if Dace and Daire had already fallen in love through their dreams, rather in real life which is the only part we fully experience along with her.

For people who are interested in shamanism and loved the Immortals like I did, I definitely think you'll love it! The story and setting were different from all the others we see and the way that Noel approaches things definitely makes you fall in love with a few key factors. Fated was a satisfying read and I did enjoy it. I just didn't love it as much as I hoped, and perhaps that has something to do with this review: too high hopes.
There were many moments that made me laugh, cringe, and look around nervously and that's all thanks to Daire, so I'd definitely give this book a try!

Shelf Awareness also gave me some interesting insight to the making and publicity of the novel. click here to read the article. Just scroll down after the review.

Pages: 306
Series: Soul Seekers #1
Genre: Paranormal/Romance

Rating: 3 stars

"That after I attacked Vane, a host of innocent bystanders, and myself, I babbled like a crazy person, going on and on about crows, severed talking heads hanging on spikes, and a tribe of scary glowing people intent on capturing me for purposes unknown."

Fun or Not?

<center><a href="http://fiction-freak.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img alt="Fun or None?" src="http://i1156.photobucket.com/albums/p566/Nikki_Wang/untitled-41.jpg" /></a></center>

Fun or None? That is the question. This will be a blog hop type thing (I don't feel like calling it a blog hop since that feels too professional--this is purely fun) from May 27-June 2. Basically, since I'm thinking that a lot of other teens will have the same schedule, during the week of exams, me and about (hopefully) 15 other bloggers will post something that will correspond to that day's post. The posts are a secret, so if you're interested, then please e-mail me for more information!

I just came up with the idea because I don't think I can study and review books at the same time and, obviously, final exams are at the time, more important than bloging. I'm sorry! I do love all my followers, but I have parents breathing down my back here! Again, if you're interested, please email me (piscesgirl1688@gmail.com)! Happy Readings!

Showcase Sunday

This week I got a lot of amazing books, both bought, borrowed, traded, and given! And I really should start taking pictures, but I find that my camera is unbelievably slow when updating pictures to my computer, so I may just stick with cover-only pictures from Goodreads.

All credit goes to Books, Biscuits, and Tea for coming up with this meme where bloggers show you what books or book-related swag we got, no matter how we got it. The question is what, now how this time!

For Review

                   

Bought

              

Given

               

Borrowed

    

NetGalley

    

Traded

N/A

Fated was one I was going to review two weeks ago, but I never got the time. No worries, I may just skip reviewing Forgiven (although 4 stars for that one) and just review Fated! Wake I got from St. Martin's (man, they have some really amazing books!) and I bought Sweet Evil. Eeek!

I bought Crave and Exile from my local Half Price Bookstore! I can't believe they had such amazing books for such low prices. But I'm definitely glad they do. I bought Hereafter and Sweet Evil from Barnes and Nobles. I know: I haven't read Hereafter yet? Shame on me.

You already know I got Wake from the pub, and the rest my friend Jessica from Blog Eared Books gave them to me! She's super nice for giving me all these books.

I got Hourglass and Blood Red Road from the library. I'm starting a lot of new series this year. And amazing ones, all of them!

My laptop is officially fixed! Yay! More books for me...

I should be getting around...4-5 books next week! Wooh! I love trading.