Review: The Queen of Bright and Shiny Things

THE QUEEN OF BRIGHT AND SHINY THINGS
Ann Aguirre
Contemporary Young Adult
328 pages
Feiwel & Friends
Available Now
Source: ARC from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Sage Czinski is trying really hard to be perfect. If she manages it, people won’t peer beyond the surface, or ask hard questions about her past. She’s learned to substitute causes for relationships, and it’s working just fine… until Shane Cavendish strolls into her math class. He’s a little antisocial, a lot beautiful, and everything she never knew she always wanted.

Shane Cavendish just wants to be left alone to play guitar and work on his music. He’s got heartbreak and loneliness in his rearview mirror, and this new school represents his last chance. He doesn’t expect to be happy; he only wants to graduate and move on. He never counted on a girl like Sage.

But love doesn’t mend all broken things, and sometimes life has to fall apart before it can be put back together again…

MY THOUGHTS
Where so many stories depict the struggle of life, the moments spent stumbling around in the darkness with only the promise of a light at the end of the tunnel, The Queen of Bright and Shiny Things gives us the beautiful moments following the first few hesitant steps that leave the darkness behind. We get a three-hundred page slice of life with Sage and Shane, the two of them putting one foot in front of the other to create as much distance from their difficult pasts as possible, and there's something extraordinarily satisfying in watching as they do everything they can to embrace the good in their lives while they have it. Their story is sweet and touching, largely free of drama and angst but full of feeling nonetheless, and our time with them is spent smiling and hopeful that their respective tunnels are well behind them.

Sage is an inspirational young woman, writing a few kind words on a brightly colored Post-it note and sticking it on the locker of someone who's having a rough day despite the mockery she gets for doing so. Her dedication to such a seemingly small gesture makes us fall a little more in love with her with every note, and when a moment comes that lets her see just how profound an effect her words have had over the years, we can't help but tear up and look for any opportunity to pay the kindness we've seen from her forward in our reality. She wants so badly to prove she's more than the events of her past, and her sheer determination to rise above and keep the shadows at bay makes us want to pick up a stack of pink Post-it notes and beat them back right beside her.

Sage's romance with Shane is characterized by one cute moment after another, the two of them choosing to share the secrets of their pasts slowly but surely as they make their way toward happiness instead of falling prey to the typical teenage habit of failing to communicate. Some readers may wish for a few more ups and downs between them, a happy couple perhaps not as riveting as one fighting to be together, but there's a certain desirable comfort that radiates from the two of them, blanketing us in their warmth even as their pasts rear their ugly heads one final time. 

Overall, The Queen of Bright and Shiny Things is a story full of light and hope even dappled with darkness as it is, showing us how impressively far-reaching and life-changing the tiniest of kindnesses can be.

Rating: 4/5
 

Find Ann:

Website • Facebook • Twitter • Goodreads • Amazon

This book was sent to me by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of a review. 

I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.

Review: I Want It That Way

I WANT IT THAT WAY
2B Trilogy #1
Ann Aguirre
Contemporary New Adult
352 pages
Harlequing
Available August 26th
Source: BEA

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Nadia Conrad has big dreams, and she's determined to make them come true—for her parents' sake as well as her own. But between maintaining her college scholarship and working at the local day care to support herself, she barely has time to think, let alone date. Then she moves into a new apartment and meets the taciturn yet irresistible guy in 1B….

Daniel Tyler has grown up too fast. Becoming a single dad at twenty turned his life upside down—and brought him heartache he can't risk again. Now, as he raises his four-year-old son while balancing a full-time construction management job and night classes, a social life is out of the question. The last thing he wants is for four noisy students to move into the apartment upstairs. But one night, Nadia's and Ty's paths cross, and soon they can't stay away from each other.

The timing is all wrong—but love happens when it happens. And you can't know what you truly need until you stand to lose it.

MY THOUGHTS
I Want It That Way is everything there is to love about the New Adult genre with none of the overly familiar elements that make so many of this book’s contemporaries frustratingly repetitive. Over the top relationship drama is replaced with a believable obstacle for our couple to overcome, and we’re thankfully graced with two people who are mature and level-headed enough to both talk–and listen–to the other person on good days and bad. The romance between Nadia and Ty is one that feels beautifully genuine, the challenges they each face with school and life splashed across the pages, coating us in their accomplishments and struggles until we’re so invested in the outcome of their story that we can’t bring ourselves to set the book down before the last page is reached.

Nadia is gloriously real, someone who feels as though she could have easily lived down the hall from us at school, free of any kind of fictional exaggeration to make her more interesting to readers. She’s not running from a dark or sordid past and is free of trust issues courtesy of past relationships, instead she’s financially strapped but on a scholarship, determined to make her way through school but open to having fun while she’s at it. Despite her complete understanding that Ty doesn’t want a relationship because his first priority is his son, she stays endearingly calm and collected when affection turns into so much more, tucking her love for him away without any pity for herself or resentment toward Ty. Even as their romance reaches its breaking point, Nadia proves herself to be heads above the rest, nursing her hurt without doing anything stupid to deliberately hurt Ty before deciding to fight for what she wants.

Ty is as real as Nadia is, his romantic appeal stemming from his obvious love for his son and his desire to provide for him while working to make sure his own dreams come true as well. He’s tired, stressed, and on any given day in over his head, but we feel how every ache and pain he experiences is more than worth it when Sam smiles or laughs, and the caution he exercises with Nadia in order to protect Sam only serves to make us fall a little more in love with him. He doesn’t fight his feelings for Nadia or push her away, instead he makes it clear how much he wants her and a life with her even if it’s not a possibility for the two of them at that exact moment. His reaction to Nadia’s slight voyeurism kink is enough to make us break out a multitude of fans, waving frantically to reduce the blush in our cheeks as we root for their happily every after with every fiber of our being.

Overall, I Want it That Way is New Adult at its very best, Nadia and Ty on their own gorgeously layered and infinitely relatable, but they're also surrounded by an extraordinary cast of secondary characters in Nadia’s roommates. Up next is the romance between Nadia’s brother Rob and her best friend Lauren, and I couldn’t be more grateful that we have so short a wait in between books.

Rating: 4.5/5
 

Find Ann:

Website • Facebook • Twitter • Goodreads • Amazon

This book was sent to me by the author free of charge for the purpose of a review. 

I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.

Review: Mortal Danger

MORTAL DANGER
Immortal Game #1
Ann Aguirre
Paranormal Young Adult
372 pages
Feiwel & Friends
Available August 6th
Source: ARC from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Revenge is a dish best served cold.

In Ann Aguirre's Mortal Danger, Edie Kramer has a score to settle with the beautiful people at Blackbriar Academy. Their cruelty drove her to the brink of despair, and four months ago, she couldn’t imagine being strong enough to face her senior year. But thanks to a Faustian compact with the enigmatic Kian, she has the power to make the bullies pay. She’s not supposed to think about Kian once the deal is done, but devastating pain burns behind his unearthly beauty, and he’s impossible to forget.

In one short summer, her entire life changes and she sweeps through Blackbriar, prepped to take the beautiful people down from the inside. A whisper here, a look there, and suddenly . . . bad things are happening. It’s a head rush, seeing her tormentors get what they deserve, but things that seem too good to be true usually are, and soon, the pranks and payback turns from delicious to deadly. Edie is alone in a world teeming with secrets and fiends lurking in the shadows. In this murky morass of devil’s bargains, she isn’t sure who—or what—she can trust. Not even her own mind.

MY THOUGHTS
Mortal Danger is a story that starts out on a literal edge, Edie ready to leave life behind in the hope that death will be less cruel, only to be stopped by an enigmatic young man who offers her a different type of escape. The first few chapters make us as readers incredibly uneasy, Edie’s thwarted suicide and the fact that her first request from Kian is to be made beautiful causing us to fear what this tale has in store for us in terms of the message carried by her actions. While the synopsis suggests the revenge aspect is a focal point though, where Ms. Aguirre takes us (thankfully) instead is far beneath the hell that is high school and into one much more befitting of the name.

As mentioned previously, Edie has us a touch worried in the beginning chapters, wondering if her story is going to be one where we spend the entire time fearful the next chapter is going to be the one where her need for vengeance will result in an action we simply cannot forgive. What we find in place of a single-minded drive for revenge on those who broke her (the means by which we don’t discover until much later in the story), however, is a fierce intelligence and a beautifully level-head, her dealings with the popular crew surprisingly free of the venom and vitriol initially expected. Edie instead approaches them in a much more reasonable way, her anger and hurt still present and palpable, but she never seeks to actively shame or humiliate them the way they did her.

Perhaps most surprising about Mortal Danger is just how small a role Edie’s revenge plays in the overall plot. Once she makes her deal with Kian, the teenage bullies who forced her to the bridge in the first place suddenly pale in comparison to the immortal ones who now hold all the cards in a game she never wanted to play. Edie is the type of heroine we crack the spine of every book hoping find, her initial insecurities replaced with a confidence, sharp wit, and extraordinary problem solving ability (all traits it’s made clear to us come from within and are not simply side effects of her newfound beauty). She tackles her numerous problems head on, self-reliant to an admirable degree but not so much so that she doesn’t know when to ask for help, and so very careful as to where she steps on the gameboard that has suddenly become her life.

Overall, Mortal Danger is a stunning start to a new series, giving us a heroine who makes mistakes and is riddled with flaws in the most beautiful way, and who despite a rough start, comes to fully appreciate all life has to offer even in its darkest moments. The ending lacks a touch of the excitement and action promised all along as Edie faces off with one of the game’s top players, but that’s a minor quibble in an otherwise gritty and darkly entertaining story. Ms. Aguirre never fails to impress with her characters and her creativity, and Mortal Danger is yet another reminder of how fascinating (and also terrifying) her mind is.

Rating: 4/5
 

Find Ann:

Website • Facebook • Twitter • Goodreads • Amazon

This book was sent to me by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of a review. 

I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.

Fierce Reads Cincinnati Recap + Giveaway

This past Sunday the second leg of the fantastic Fierce Reads tour stopped at Joseph Beth Booksellers in Cincinnati, and I once again had the pleasure of not only attending, but also chatting with all four authors before the event actually started. I've been lucky enough to attend quite a few local signings since I started this blog; they've all been wonderful in different ways and it's never not an honor to meet and chat with authors whose books I absolutely adore.

This group of women though? They were the funniest and most outgoing authors I've had a chance to spend time with, and I spent nearly the entirety of the event in tears because I was laughing so hard. I actually thought I might have laughed myself straight into a six-pack with the way my midsection was aching as I left, but regrettably when I got home and checked there were no chiseled abs waiting for me. Oh well.

I can't thank Leigh Bardugo (Siege and Storm), Gennifer Albin (Altered), Jessica Brody (Unforgotten), and Ann Aguirre (Horde) enough for their enthusiasm and their infectious laughter, they made this event one that will always stand out as special for me. I also want to say a huge thank you to Mary and Ksenia of Macmillan for giving me the opportunity to cover the event, I so hope Fierce Reads comes back this way next year!

Instead of a formal interview (which I learned the first time around was not ideal because I couldn't write the answers fast enough to keep up), I thought a This or That list might be a fun way to get to know these ladies a bit better. Below is the interview as well as highlights from the event Q+A and of course, pictures! There's also a pretty epic giveaway thanks to Macmillan, so be sure and check the bottom of the post for those details.

THIS OR THAT LIST

(don't look for any sort of rational order to these questions,
they're absurdly random)

Which is harder: writing the first chapter of book one in a series or writing the first chapter of its sequel?

Leigh: Book one
Gennifer: Book one
Jessica: Sequel
Ann: Sequel

In terms of productivity: morning person or night owl?

Leigh: Varies
Gennifer: Night
Jessica: Morning
Ann: Morning

Juggle multiple projects simultaneously or work on one at a time?

Leigh: One
Gennifer: Simultaneously
Jessica: One
Ann: It's usually deadline dependent, but I prefer one at a time

Revisions: dread or look forward to?

Leigh: Depends on the book
Gennifer: Look forward to
Jessica: Dread
Ann: Look forward to

Which would be harder to temporarily give up: a favorite food or a favorite writing tool (ie music, favorite writing spot, etc.)?

Leigh: Favorite writing tool
Gennifer: I'm not really a creature of habit, so I could do without either.
Jessica: Food
Ann: I can write wherever I am, but don't take away my laptop. I would choose giving up the favorite food over giving up my laptop.

Your television is suddenly limited to a single channel (of your choosing). Does it show police/law dramas or sitcoms?

Leigh: Police/law dramas
Gennifer: Sitcoms
Jessica: Sitcoms
Ann: Sitcoms

Time travel: jump forward into the future or go back in the past?

Leigh: Forward
Gennifer: Through space and time, I'm staying in my TARDIS
Jessica: Past
Ann: Forward

You suddenly find yourself in a survival situation. Would you rather have a pack full of limited supplies or a companion (who may or may not have survival knowledge)?

Ann: Companion
Leigh: I think companion, because then if I didn't like them, I could kill them and use them for food.

*note to self: don't get lost in the wilderness with Leigh. As you can imagine, this response from Leigh triggered a variety of conversational tangents, and we never quite made it back to this question. I figured it was best to just move on really ;-)

As a challenge, you have to write a new character into one of your existing books. Is that character hero, villain, or something in between?

Leigh: Talking animal
Gennifer: In between
Jessica: Villain
Ann: In between

If you could be someone else for a day, would you pick a real-life person or a fictional character?

Leigh: Fictional character
Gennifer: Fictional character
Jessica: Fictional character
Ann: Amelia Earhart. I want to know what happened to her.

*We digressed at this point and mused over her fate. Jessica is convinced she's somewhere with everyone else who's supposedly "dead" like Tupac and Michael Jackson ;-)

To keep your brain busy: word search or crossword puzzle?

Leigh: Crossword
Gennifer: Crossword
Jessica: Crossword
Ann: Nap

Preferred ending when you're reading: happy for now or cliffhanger?

Leigh: I think there's satisfaction to be found in both, but my preference for one over the other is typically genre-specific.
Gennifer: I'm giving the standard author answer - whatever is best for the story.
Jessica: Cliffhangers. At least when all the books are already out.
Ann: Positive endings.

• • • • • • • • • • 

Q+A HIGHLIGHTS

(Thanks as always to Cathy, who so kindly took notes so I could pop up at random and take pictures)

• One of the first questions asked had to do with romance in YA, with a special emphasis on love triangles. Ann pounced on this question and went on a rant (as she called it, it was actually more of a hilarious and impassioned speech on what constitutes a real triangle verses another romantic shape) complete with animated hand gestures (see photographic evidence below). Both Cathy and I were laughing too hard to get the finer points of Ann's argument down, but suffice to say she more than made her point and had the entire audience in stitches.

• On the same question, Gennifer said she was actually in a real love triangle, one that ended with her marriage. The love triangle in her book though came in the revision stage and was not planned originally.

• All four authors were asked to tell us a favorite moment of theirs from being on tour. One such moment had to do with karaoke. Apparently they went out to sing (and ending up doing the Spice Girls justice!) and kept stealing the spotlight from other people because whoever was calling out the names to take their turn was impossible to understand. As a result, they all just kept jumping up and racing to the stage when they thought they heard their name only to have the person whose name was actually called show up a few seconds later and request they hand over the microphone. *Jenny dies*

• Question: If you could have a conversation with any author, alive or dead, who would it be?

Gennifer: JK Rowling.
Leigh: George R.R. Martin and I would want to know how everything ends.
Jessica: Jane Austen.
Ann: Clive Barker only because Leigh told me something disturbing and I want to know if it's true. She said he has a dungeon in his house, so I would ask him about that.

• Question: What is Fierce about your books?

Gennifer: She can manipulate the fabric of reality!
Leigh: The setting. It's a tough environment and world to live in.
Jessica: The twist at the end. The clues are all there, but I hid them.
Ann: There's lots of killing with guns and knives, and Deuce does not take no for an answer. There's also a fierceness of spirit.

• • • • • • • • • • 

PICTURES

Left to right: Gennifer, Leigh, Jessica, Ann.

Left: The adorable Mary from Macmillan. She probably thought she would escape my camera, but she was so very wrong wasn't she ;-) Right: Ann's awesome hand gesture-assisted explanation of what makes a love triangle.

Gennifer Albin and her very cool Altered buttons.

Just in case you couldn't tell Gennifer was a fan of Doctor Who with her TARDIS answer up in the interview, I went ahead and got a shot of her snazzy lunchbox which turned out to be the perfect thing to carry all her swag.

Jessica Brody and swag.

Leigh Bardugo and swag.

Okay. I know this is not a stellar picture of Ann, but the line formed at her end of the table, and I couldn't get a good angle without being intrusive while other people were trying to talk to her. So rather than be obnoxious, I just took a picture of her hair. And her books. You're welcome.

Company D patches and wristbands!

Gennifer, Jessica, me, Ann, and Leigh. Somehow Jessica and I managed to land ourselves right under a spotlight so our foreheads are beacons of blinding light. Excellent:)

• • • • • • • • • • 

GIVEAWAY

Thanks to the always-wonderful people at Macmillan, I have a monster giveway for you all today. Up for grabs are 9 signed copies of Gennifer, Jessica, Ann, and Leigh's books as well as some of the swag you see above. To enter, just fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Giveaway is open to US residents only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Horde Blog Tour: Review

HORDE
Razorland #3
Ann Aguirre
Young Adult/Dystopian
432 pages
Feiwel & Friends
Available October 29th
Source: ARC from publisher for review

THE STORY
The horde is coming.

Salvation is surrounded, monsters at the gates, and this time, they're not going away. When Deuce, Fade, Stalker and Tegan set out, the odds are against them. But the odds have been stacked against Deuce from the moment she was born. She might not be a Huntress anymore, but she doesn't run. With her knives in hand and her companions at her side, she will not falter, whether fighting for her life or Fade's love.

Ahead, the battle of a lifetime awaits. Freaks are everywhere, attacking settlements, setting up scouts, perimeters, and patrols. There hasn't been a war like this in centuries, and humans have forgotten how to stand and fight. Unless Deuce can lead them.

This time, however, more than the fate of a single enclave or outpost hangs in the balance. This time, Deuce carries the banner for the survival of all humanity.

MY THOUGHTS
Horde concludes the Razorland trilogy in a frenzy of claws and teeth, but in between the deep lacerations and the brutal blows delivered to our hearts Ms. Aguirre beautifully infuses the warmth of friendship and first love, filling each emotional slice and tear the Freaks make with just enough light to fight off their darkness. Horde takes us on more of a journey than the previous two books, Deuce and Fade constantly in motion as they seek to build an army capable of meeting the Freaks head on, but instead of being a slow build to a final epic battle, we’re given a more painfully realistic setup wherein minor and major battles (both mental and physical) are fought throughout to keep our breath escaping our lips in short pants. The pacing is beautifully executed, blood and death chilling our blood while love and family heats it again, leaving us exhausted and emotionally depleted by the end, but also so very hopeful.

Deuce has been an extraordinary young woman from the beginning, her mental and physical toughness accompanied by a sweet vulnerability when it comes to dealing with relationships and feelings of any kind. In Horde she’s at the top of her game as a fighter and leader, but the true beauty of her lies in her weaknesses just as much as it does her strengths, and the devoted effort she makes to be both emotionally and physically demonstrative to those she cares for is as much a joy to experience as her battlefield successes. In the darkness of the underground enclave she was a warrior only–her life dedicated to a single purpose–but the woman at the end of Horde is a striking combination qualities, too large and full of life to fit in any one neatly labeled box.

Fade has our hearts in a vise for a good portion of this book, the lingering effects of the abuse he endured in Outpost present and accounted for, and we can’t help but flinch or wince with him whenever someone makes physical contact. He’s been such a force to be reckoned with in these books that it’s a special kind of torture to see him brought so low, but through his obvious pain the fire that’s always burned so brightly in him shines, and we have the pleasure of watching him fight his way free of the fears paralyzing his mind to find Deuce waiting patiently for him on the other side. The two of them together are an extraordinary and unforgettable pair, one destined for the favorites shelf to be read and enjoyed again and again.

Overall, Horde is an emotionally-charged and action-packed finale, showing us with more than just Deuce how one person can inspire change and rewrite what was sure to be a dark and bleak history, both humbling us and sparking in us a renewed desire to bring forth our own change, however small it may seem in the grand scheme of things.

Rating: 4/5

Find Ann:

Website • Facebook • Twitter • Goodreads • Amazon

Ann is a part of the Fierce Reads Tour (along with the amazing Leigh Bardugo, Gennifer Albin, and Jessica Brody), so be sure and check HERE to see if they're coming to a stop near you!

• • • • • • • • • •

HORDE BOOK TRAILER

• • • • • • • • • • 

GIVEAWAY

Thanks to the always outstanding team at Macmillan, I have paperback copies of both Enclave and Outpost to give away today, as well as a hardcover copy of Horde. To enter, please just fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Giveaway is open to US/Canada only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

• • • • • • • • • • 

Be sure and check out all the remaining stops on the tour for more interviews, reviews, guest posts and chances to win!

Monday 10/14

Rainy Day Ramblings

Tuesday 10/15

Supernatural Snark

Wednesday 10/16

Two Chicks on Books

Thursday 10/17

Almost Grown-Up

Friday 10/18

Alice Marvels

Monday 10/21

The Midnight Garden

Tuesday 10/22

PageTurners

Wednesday 10/23

Curling Up with a Good Book

Thursday 10/24

Birth of a New Witch

Friday 10/25

Adventures of a Book Junkie

Authors Are Rockstars: Ann Aguirre

Today I'm thrilled to be a part of the Authors Are Rockstars Tour which celebrates authors in all their creative and imaginative glory, and gives us readers a chance to gush over the people who continue to make us laugh, cry, love and hurt over and over again.

I'm honored to have Ann Aguirre stopping by the blog to not only endure my enthusiastic fangirling, but also to talk a little bit about the third and final book in her young adult Razorland trilogy, Horde. Ann is one of my go-to authors whenever I need a book I know will impress me with its characterization, as I've yet to meet a hero, heroine or secondary character of hers who hasn't left a memorable impression. She writes individuals who are always rich and nuanced, forcing us to analyze the white space in between the lines just as much as we do the printed words in order to learn something about them. She leaves us little choice but to put in the time and effort to really look at each person in order to see what needs seeing, and in doing so we're rewarded with brilliantly flawed men and women with whom we leave a little piece of ourselves when we close the back cover of one of her books.

Clearly Ann is an author I would highly recommend to anyone and everyone, and if you've yet to try one of her titles I truly hope she's someone you make time for in the near future!

HORDE INTERVIEW

If I was to suddenly find myself in the middle of Salvation knowing nothing of this post-apocalyptic world, what is the first thing Deuce or Fade would tell me in order to keep me alive as long as possible?

Don’t leave the settlement unless you’re properly equipped and trained.

What aspect of our world do you think would fascinate Deuce most? Fade?

They’d be pretty amazed by our technology: video games, computers, music players, buses, trains, and planes. So many things had passed from reality into legend by the time they were born, that I think they’d be astonished and impressed by many of our modern conveniences. But I suspect Deuce would be wary too; she’d think relying on such devices makes you soft.

If you could explore the world of any one piece of fiction, what world would that be and which of your characters would you most like to take with you for companionship?

I think it would be pretty awesome to explore the Pac-Rim world, largely because… enormous sea monsters versus giant robots! There’s no way I would ever get to pilot a jaeger, but I can dream. As for who I’d take with me? Hm. That’s a good question. Jael, from my upcoming SF novel, Perdition, would be a huge asset because he fights like a ninja and he heals like Wolverine. Also, he’s pretty hot. But I would need a full party to make it a real adventuring campaign, so I’d add Vel and Jax as well. There’s no way that gets awkward.

Is there anything about Deuce’s character that has surprised you over the course of the series? Something she’s said or a decision she’s made that you didn’t see coming before you actually sat down and started writing?

Since I don’t outline, pretty much everything through the middle of the book surprises me. I know how books start and how they end, but all the action that carries us from point A to point B is a total mystery to me until I actually write it. So yeah, lots of things she did surprised me.

If you were to write yourself into Outpost and Horde as one of the townspeople in Salvation, what role would you play and what skills would you bring to the table that would help keep the town functioning?

I’m a good cook and I know how to make bread from scratch. So I would probably be the town baker. Otherwise, I have no useful skills, unless you count making up stories.

Given the Razorland series is written from Deuce’s point of view, we don’t spend any time in Fade’s head. In order to help us see Deuce a little bit through his eyes, what three words might he use to describe the Deuce at the beginning of Enclave versus the Deuce at the end of Horde?

Enclave Deuce: fierce, obedient, driven.

Horde Deuce: loyal, devoted, compassionate.

• • • • • • • • • • 

ANN AGUIRRE

Ann Aguirre is a USA Today bestselling author with a degree in English Literature; before she began writing full time, she was a clown, a clerk, a voice actress, and a savior of stray kittens, not necessarily in that order. She grew up in a yellow house across from a cornfield, but now she lives in sunny Mexico with her husband, children, and various pets. She likes books, emo music, and action movies. She writes all kinds of genre fiction for adults and teens.

Website • Facebook • Twitter • Goodreads

• • • • • • • • • • 

HORDE

The horde is coming.

Salvation is surrounded, monsters at the gates, and this time, they're not going away. When Deuce, Fade, Stalker and Tegan set out, the odds are against them. But the odds have been stacked against Deuce from the moment she was born. She might not be a Huntress anymore, but she doesn't run. With her knives in hand and her companions at her side, she will not falter, whether fighting for her life or Fade's love.

Ahead, the battle of a lifetime awaits. Freaks are everywhere, attacking settlements, setting up scouts, perimeters, and patrols. There hasn't been a war like this in centuries, and humans have forgotten how to stand and fight. Unless Deuce can lead them.

This time, however, more than the fate of a single enclave or outpost hangs in the balance. This time, Deuce carries the banner for the survival of all humanity.

Goodreads • Amazon

• • • • • • • • • • 

GIVEAWAY

I'm hugely excited for Horde (releasing from Feiwel & Friends on October 29th), so in order to share my enthusiasm for this series as a whole and this book in particular, I'm giving away an ARC of Horde to one lucky winner. To enter, please just fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Giveaway is open to US residents only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Super Six Sunday: Kick-Ass Heroines

Inspired by Top Ten Tuesday from The Broke and The Bookish, Super Six Sunday, a new feature from the fabulous ladies at Bewitched Bookworms, has different book-related topics each week and asks participants to address each topic in the form of a list of six. Obviously.

This week's topic is kick-ass heroines, and there's nothing I love more (aside from romance, of course) than a girl who can take care of herself and fight side by side with the best of them. Most of the women I've picked have a supernatural ability to aid them in their general badassery, but what I love about all of them is the fact that even without their various gifts or abilities, every one of these ladies would place herself smack dab in the middle of a fight regardless, ready to protect those she loves with whatever of herself it's necessary to give in order to do so. If you haven't yet met any of the women below, I can't recommend their stories enough!

GIN BLANCO

The Elemental Assassin Series by Jennifer Estep • Adult Urban Fantasy

Spider's Bite •  Web of Lies • Venom •  Tangled Threads • Spider's Revenge • By A Thread • Widow's Web • Deadly Sting • Heart of Venom

I met Gin long before I started this blog, and while her cool calm as she wielded her knives and inflicted lethal damage as assassin The Spider was initially a bit of a challenge to see past in the first book, once I really settled into the series she quickly became a woman I couldn't help but adore. She's as selfless as they come (almost to a fault at times), always putting the physical safety and emotional happiness of everyone around her ahead of her own, thereby making her both someone you wouldn't want to meet on the street late at night and someone you can't help but want to hug.

DANI O'MALLEY

The Fever Series by Karen Marie Moning • Adult Urban Fantasy

Darkfever • Bloodfever • Faefever • Dreamfever • Shadowfever • Iced

(Iced is technically book 6 in the Fever series, but it's the first that features Dani as a protagonist rather than a supporting character. I recommend starting with book one, Darkfever, though, as Iced contains major spoilers for books that come before it)

After my fangirl post a couple weeks back, I'm sure it's no surprise to most of you to see Dani's name on this list. Though she's only fourteen, Dani can quite literally run circles around anyone who tries to challenge her, including quite possibly the baddest supernatural alpha men in fiction, Barrons and Ryodan. Not only is she a force to be reckoned with, but she approaches the death she faces each and every day with a beautiful sense of humor, convinced if she's going to meet her end it's going to be with a smile on her face and laughter in the air.

DEUCE

The Razorland Series by Ann Aguirre • Post-Apocalyptic Young Adult

Enclave • Outpost • Horde

Deuce is the epitome of a fighter; as close to fearless as they come and completely capable of defending herself and others against the daily threat of the Freaks. She's also one of those young women who has no agenda and plays no games, her utter innocence and sweet naivete when it comes to her relationship with Fade making her a desirable combination of strength and vulnerability. I don't want to say too much more about her as I'll be gushing all over this series in a few weeks when I host Ann as part of the Authors Are Rockstars tour, but suffice to say Deuce is a personal favorite of mine.

ALICE BELL

The White Rabbit Chronicles by Gena Showalter • Paranormal Young Adult

Alice in Zombieland • Through the Zombie Glass

I'm a huge Gena Showalter fan in general, and her books always have a wonderful blend of action, romantic tension and laugh-out-loud humor. Ali is a young woman who has suffered unimaginable loss, but she possesses a fierce determination and a will to survive that simply won't let her wallow in the pit of despair she quite frankly deserves. She's not always the strongest fighter, but she's eager to learn and she holds her own against the the snark, the disdain, and the overwhelmingly strong personalities of her fellow zombie hunters.

ALINA STARKOV

The Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo • Young Adult/Fantasy

Shadow and Bone • Siege and Storm

I think most people who've read this series would agree that Alina personifies everything we might consider to be badass. She has an ability that shocks and scares her with its power, and in the blink of an eye she finds herself trying to navigate a completely different world from everything she's known previously. People fear her, fawn all over her, love her and hate her, but she gracefully bears every burden laid across her young shoulders, becoming more gorgeously regal and awe-inspiring as the series continues.

ELISA

The Fire and Thorns Series by Rae Carson • Young Adult/Fantasy

The Girl of Fire and Thorns • The Crown of Embers • The Bitter Kingdom

Elisa and I got off to a rocky start. Book one, The Girl of Fire and Thorns, is split into three parts, and for nearly the entirety of the first part, I couldn't connect to Elisa at all. She's what could be described as pleasantly plump, and for the first third of book one she constantly bemoans her weight yet imbibes in all sorts of pastries and the like, and she hardly has any confidence as a result of her own negative self-image. As soon as part two hits however, Elisa starts to blossom, forced to toss aside all her weight issues and focus on surviving in a brutal world, and throughout the remainder of the series she continues to grow as both a woman and a leader until she's completely unrecognizable from the girl we first met. Like Ali above, she's not always the most skilled fighter in hand to hand combat, but her strength lies in her compassion and her decision-making, which more than compensate for any of her physical shortcomings in battle.

Those are just a handful of my favorite kick-ass heroines, who would top your list?

Bronze Gods Blog Tour: Guest Post + Giveaway

Today I'm hugely excited and honored to be the third stop of the promotional tour for A.A. Aguirre's new steampunk noir novel, Bronze Gods, hosted by Maja at The Nocturnal Library. Well-written and complex characters are what I always crave when reading, and Ann Aguirre has never once let me down with her many and varied protagonists, so I can't wait to dive into this book and meet inspectors Mikani and Ritsuko!

The tour for this book is quite unique in format, with each blog posting snippets from some of Mikani and Ritsuko's cases that, when read in order, tell a story. Maja has written a perfect introduction to how the tour is going to work, so I'm just going to let her explain in full:

The Criminal Investigation Division of the great city of Dorstaad doesn't normally allow just anyone access to their case files, but after several days of aggressive negotiations (bribery may or may not have been involved), a group of curious bloggers, myself included, has been allowed to rummage through some of the more peculiar cases that their top inspectors, Janus Mikani and Celeste Ritsuko, have worked on. While we were there, mostly unsupervised, we poked around more than was strictly permissible and found some of their personal correspondence as well. It goes without saying that neither of them was present at the time.
 
The first set of notes can be found at The Nocturnal Library (followed by Rainy Day Ramblings) and the story continues through all the remaining stops, so make sure to check them all out. You can find the links at the bottom of this post.

DOCUMENT 1

 DOCUMENT 2

• • • • • • • • 

BRONZE GODS

Danger stalks the city of steam and shadows.

Janus Mikani and Celeste Ritsuko work all hours in the Criminal Investigation Division, keeping citizens safe. He’s a charming rogue with an uncanny sixth sense; she’s all logic—and the first female inspector. Between his instincts and her brains, they collar more criminals than any other partnership in the CID.

Then they’re assigned a potentially volatile case where one misstep could end their careers. At first, the search for a missing heiress seems straightforward, but when the girl is found murdered—her body charred to cinders—Mikani and Ritsuko’s modus operandi will be challenged as never before. Before long, it’s clear the bogeyman has stepped out of nightmares to stalk gaslit streets, and it’s up to them to hunt him down. There’s a madman on the loose, weaving blood and magic in an intricate, lethal ritual that could mean the end of everything…

More on A.A. Aguirre and Bronze Gods can be found here:

Website • Facebook • Twitter • Goodreads • Amazon

• • • • • • • • 

TRAILER

 • • • • • • • • • • 

BLOG TOUR

Be sure and check out all the stops on this tour, starting with The Nocturnal Library, to follow the case notes/personal correspondence and the story they tell in its entirety!

April 30th The Nocturnal Library 

May 1st Heidi @ Rainy Day Ramblings

May 2nd Jenny @ Supernatural Snark

May 3rd Mary @ Book Swarm

May 6th Melissa @ Books and Things

May 7th Kimberly @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer

• • • • • • • • • • 

GIVEAWAY

Thanks to Ann and Andres Aguirre I have one signed copy of Bronze Gods to give away on the blog today! To enter, just fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Giveaway is international, good luck everyone!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: 'Til The World Ends

'TIL THE WORLD ENDS
Julie Kagawa, Ann Aguirre, and Karen Duvall
Dystopian Anthology
368 pages
Harlequin Luna
Available January 29th
Received via NetGalley for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
DAWN OF EDEN by Julie Kagawa
Before The Immortal Rules, there was Red Lung, a relentless virus determined to take out all in its path. For Kylie, the miracle of her survival is also her burden—as a doctor at one of the clinics for the infected, she is forced to witness endless suffering. What’s worse, strange things are happening to the remains of the dead, and by the time she befriends Ben Archer, she’s beginning to wonder if a global pandemic is the least of her problems….

THISTLE & THORNE by Ann Aguirre
After a catastrophic spill turns the country into a vast chemical wasteland, those who could afford it retreated to fortresses, self-contained communities run by powerful corporations. But for Mari Thistle, life on the outside—in the Red Zone—is a constant struggle. To protect her family, Mari teams up with the mysterious Thorne Goodman. Together, they’ll face an evil plot in both the underworld of the Red Zone and the society inside the fortresses that could destroy those on the outside…for good.

SUN STORM by Karen Duvall
Sarah Daggot has been chasing storms since she was a child. But after the biggest solar flares in history nearly destroy the planet, she becomes a Kinetic, endowed by her exposure to extreme radiation with the power to sense coming storms—in the cosmos and beyond. And she’s not the only one. Sarah believes the Kinetics are destined to join forces and halt the final onslaught of the sun. She’ll vow to keep trying to convince the one missing link in their chain of defense, the enigmatic Ian Matthews, up until the world ends.

MY THOUGHTS
DAWN OF EDEN by Julie Kagawa
Typically with novellas there’s not a great deal of backstory for the characters or world, the short page length requiring the action to take place and the relationships to form more quickly, but to our utter delight, Ms. Kagawa’s contribution to this collection is the backstory itself. In it we get to experience the terrifying beginning of what will become the world of The Immortal Rules, the dark and bloody reality of the Red Lung virus depicted for us in gut-wrenching detail as humanity falls and the Rabids rise.

Though The Immortal Rules is a young adult series, albeit a gritty one, this prequel is perhaps more brutal and violent, and certainly more detailed on the romantic front, than The Immortal Rules, sliding it more firmly into the New Adult or adult category given its level of description. The relationship between Ben and Kylie is rich and layered despite the briefness of our time with them, their intimacy seeming to build slowly even though only days pass between their first meeting and a declaration of love, but even with such a short timeline Ms. Kagawa beautifully manages to give us a meaningful and genuine relationship – the birth of a love amidst the death of the world as we know it.

Rating: 4/5

THISTLE AND THORNE by Ann Aguirre
Ms. Aguirre adds a truly magnificent story to this anthology with "Thistle and Thorne", her uncanny ability to craft gorgeously complex characters used to its fullest with this all-too brief tale. Mari is a young woman who shows remarkable growth over the course of the story, her strength and desire to protect her brother and sister obvious from the beginning, but her time with Thorne molds her slowly but surely, adding layer after layer of steel to her already-existing armor coating. She’s a young woman who’s capable and deadly when necessary, yet she possesses none of the cockiness or swagger that typically accompanies abilities such as hers, instead recognizing her weaknesses and working around them to ensure she’s as effective a fighter, protector, and survivor as she can be.

Her relationship with Thorne is a fascinating contrast to what we saw expressed between Kylie and Ben in Ms. Kagawa’s story, the physical intimacy of the latter drastically different from the slightly strange (in the best way possible) and hesitant intimacy of the former. There’s hardly a touch exchanged between Mari and Thorne, but the air between them is thick with possibility and there’s a sense of unspoken understanding that gradually forms, building and strengthening until it becomes an almost physical caress we can feel down to our bones. The beauty of the promise between Mari and Thorne lingers in our hearts and minds long after reading, and it's my deepest wish and most sincere hope that Ms. Aguirre will see fit to return to this world at some point and explore their relationship further.

Rating: 5/5

SUN STORM by Karen Duvall
Though the bleak world depicted in the final novella of this anthology is as fascinating as the two that preceded it, inspiring in us the same thankfulness that our reality is–as of yet–still a far cry from the desperation and devastation portrayed page to page, the characters themselves pale a bit in comparison to our previous two couples. Sarah is a bit of an emotional cyclone, forming an opinion and passing judgment one minute only to spin 180 degrees the next, trusting Ian and then condemning him for his actions before quickly apologizing when her accusations prove false. Additionally, their feelings for one another form quickly and easily, which would be fine as Kylie and Ben’s did as well, but Sarah and Ian’s relationship lacks the poignancy we experienced just pages before with Ms. Kagawa’s and Ms. Aguirre’s contributions.

Overall "Sun Storm" is a quick and entertaining read, but it has the misfortune of following two stories where the characters shine brightly from the pages, illuminating their dark worlds with the beauty and strength of their radiance.

Rating: 3/5

Guest Post: Ann Aguirre

I'm thrilled today to welcome Ann Aguirre to the blog to chat a little bit about her upcoming young adult release Enclave. I had the opportunity to read and review Enclave as part of a tour through Teen Book Scene and you can read my review HERE. I absolutely adored this one, and am greatly looking forward to the next book in the series, Outpost.

Let's say you have written yourself as a character in Enclave, can you give us a short anecdote on the number of scars you bear, the name you've been given, and how you came to earn that particular name?

Since I have children, but I'm no fighter, and I have no skill at building or fixing anything, it's pretty clear I'd be a Breeder. That means I'd have only one scar on my arm. Since I'm smart, they'd pair me with a handsome male in the hopes that our children would therefore be reasonably attractive and intelligent. Though all knowledge of genetics has been lost, they do retrain a rudimentary understanding that when you mix two things you sometimes get a combination of qualities in the new product. It's quite likely that I'd end up having babies with Stone, or someone like him.

I'd also share in the responsibility for watching and caring for the young until they grow old enough to start basic brat training. Not school as we know it, but survival skills, crucial for life down below. Unfortunately, even with their best efforts, the infant mortality rate is high and the life span is short, due to privation and quality of life issues. The Wordkeeper maintains charts to keep the breeding schedule as varied as possible, though there are some problems of consanguinity, naturally, which contributes to the decline in population. Being a Breeder is heartbreaking because you must toughen yourself emotionally and not permit yourself to get attached to the young for whom you care. Hence, the rather derogatory name.

If I survived to age 15 and got my name, then my name would be earned by chance, like everyone else. Your name is determined by whatever object your blood spills on when you move your hand after the cut(s). If there are two objects struck, (which happens rarely), the person ends up with a compound name, and everyone makes fun of him for being called Hammershoe, for example.

Thank you so much for stopping by Ann! There are so many fascinating aspects to life in this post apocalyptic environment, so be sure to be at the bookstore on April 12th so you can immerse yourself in Deuce's world! If you want more information on Ann, Enclave, or any of her adult romance and science fiction/fantasy releases, you can find her here:

Website

ENCLAVE (from Goodreads):

New York City has been decimated by war and plague, and most of civilization has migrated to underground enclaves, where life expectancy is no more than the early 20's. When Deuce turns 15, she takes on her role as a Huntress, and is paired with Fade, a teenage Hunter who lived Topside as a young boy. When she and Fade discover that the neighboring enclave has been decimated by the tunnel monsters—or Freaks—who seem to be growing more organized, the elders refuse to listen to warnings. And when Deuce and Fade are exiled from the enclave, the girl born in darkness must survive in daylight, in the ruins of a city whose population has dwindled to a few dangerous gangs. As the two are guided by Fade’s long-ago memories, they face dangers, and feelings, unlike any they’ve ever known.