Starflight Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway

STARFLIGHT
Starflight #1
Melissa Landers
Young Adult/Sci-Fi
358 pages
Disney-Hyperion
Available Now
Source: Finished copy from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Life in the outer realm is a lawless, dirty, hard existence, and Solara Brooks is hungry for it. Just out of the orphanage, she needs a fresh start in a place where nobody cares about the engine grease beneath her fingernails or the felony tattoos across her knuckles. She's so desperate to reach the realm that she's willing to indenture herself to Doran Spaulding, the rich and popular quarterback who made her life miserable all through high school, in exchange for passage aboard the spaceliner Zenith.

When a twist of fate lands them instead on the Banshee, a vessel of dubious repute, Doran learns he's been framed on Earth for conspiracy. As he pursues a set of mysterious coordinates rumored to hold the key to clearing his name, he and Solara must get past their enmity to work together and evade those out for their arrest. Life on the Banshee may be tumultuous, but as Solara and Doran are forced to question everything they once believed about their world—and each other—the ship becomes home, and the eccentric crew family. But what Solara and Doran discover on the mysterious Planet X has the power to not only alter their lives, but the existence of everyone in the universe...

MY THOUGHTS

Starflight gives us an exciting start to this new sci-fi series as we hit the ground running with Solara, pausing only occasionally to catch our breath before we're once again outrunning alien bounty hunters, dodging space pirates with wounded egos, and swooning over a slow burn romance.

Solara earns our sympathy and our unwavering solidarity from page one as she's passed over again and again for off-planet work, and that sympathy only increases when the only person willing to take her on is a spoiled heir to a fuel empire who takes pleasure in putting her in her place. Solara keeps her head high in the face of his cruel words and taunts though, never letting him see how much they hurt and clinging tight to her dignity and pride. Once both their lives turn upside down and they find themselves partners in crime with a ragtag crew of wanted men and women, Solara proves herself to be the stronger of the two again and again. Easily able to adapt to their new circumstances and gifted with anything mechanical, she makes herself a welcome asset to the crew of the Banshee.

Doran is someone who makes us genuinely question whether or not Ms. Landers will be able to redeem him over the course of the book, his entitled attitude and utter contempt for Solara in the opening chapters enough to have us wishing violence on sensitive parts of his male anatomy. Slowly but surely however, Ms. Landers proves herself to be more than up to the task of changing our low opinion of him, and the relationship that unfolds between Doran and Solara is nothing short of delightfully captivating. It takes a good long time before the antagonism between them even remotely starts to shift into something resembling friendship, and we have to wait a good long time after that before that friendship turns romantic, but the wait is more than worth it for a romance like theirs.

We're left in a good place in this first installment, the crew of the Banshee together and ready to face what comes next as we delve deeper into the mysteries of Doran's family and Spaulding Fuel.

Rating: 4/5

Find Starflight:

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Indiebound | iBooks | The Book Depository

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MELISSA LANDERS

Melissa Landers writes romantic sci-fi for teens and the young at heart. ALIENATED and INVADED are now available from Disney Hyperion, and UNITED, the third book in the trilogy, will release in August, 2016. The first novel in her new series, STARFLIGHT, launches February 2, 2016.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

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GIVEAWAY

Three lucky winners will each receive a finished copy of Starflight! To enter, please fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Giveaway is open to US addresses only. 
 

a Rafflecopter giveaway
WEEK ONE
2/1: Fiction Fare - Review

2/2: Rebelle Reads - Galaxy Inspired Nail Colors

2/3: Polished Page Turner - Review

2/4: Paperback Princess - Starflight & Firefly

2/5: Supernatural Snark - Review

WEEK TWO

2/8: Red House Books - Galaxy Nail Art

2/9: Two Chicks on Books - Review

2/10: What Sarah Read - Top 10 Spacecrafts In SciFi

2/11: Ex Libris - Review

2/12: Novel Heartbeat - Review

Review (+ Giveaway!): Passenger

PASSENGER
Passenger #1
Alexandra Bracken
Young Adult/Time Travel
464 pages
Disney-Hyperion
Available Now
Source: ARC from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
passage, n.
i. A brief section of music composed of a series of notes and flourishes.
ii. A journey by water; a voyage.
iii. The transition from one place to another, across space and time.

In one devastating night, violin prodigy Etta Spencer loses everything she knows and loves. Thrust into an unfamiliar world by a stranger with a dangerous agenda, Etta is certain of only one thing: she has traveled not just miles but years from home. And she’s inherited a legacy she knows nothing about from a family whose existence she’s never heard of. Until now.

Nicholas Carter is content with his life at sea, free from the Ironwoods—a powerful family in the colonies—and the servitude he’s known at their hands. But with the arrival of an unusual passenger on his ship comes the insistent pull of the past that he can’t escape and the family that won’t let him go so easily. Now the Ironwoods are searching for a stolen object of untold value, one they believe only Etta, Nicholas’ passenger, can find. In order to protect her, he must ensure she brings it back to them— whether she wants to or not.

Together, Etta and Nicholas embark on a perilous journey across centuries and continents, piecing together clues left behind by the traveler who will do anything to keep the object out of the Ironwoods’ grasp. But as they get closer to the truth of their search, and the deadly game the Ironwoods are play­ing, treacherous forces threaten to sep­arate Etta not only from Nicholas but from her path home . . . forever

MY THOUGHTS
Passenger is a stunning first installment, tackling the tricky topic of time travel in an easily understandable and emotionally challenging way as we consider both the “what if” questions our characters face as well as the ones we ask ourselves as we read.

Etta is a true gem of a heroine, coming face to face with an ability she never fathomed possible and shouldering the weight of a world-changing responsibility with only days to acclimate herself to her new circumstances. She doesn't panic, curl into the fetal position or otherwise rail at the enormity of what's being asked of her, instead she keeps a level head, treats everyone around her with respect (even those who frankly don't deserve it) and charges forward with more determination than know-how (through no fault of her own), while at the same time acknowledging just how far out of her depth she really is.

Her quiet romance with fellow Traveler Nicholas is everything we could hope for in a young adult relationship, the two of them finding moments in the sudden chaos of their lives to learn about one another; the attraction between them starting at surface level and slowly deepening until their feelings for one another come across as nothing other than completely genuine. Both are keeping secrets from the other with regard to their shared mission, but just as we start to feel the kiss of anxiety in the final quarter of the book–dreading the moment the truth will come to light–both opt for honesty and come clean to our ever-lasting relief.

We're left with what some may consider a cliffhanger, but it feels more (to me) like a simple pause in the action; a logical place to stop before a new kind of journey starts in the next installment. The fate of some characters is of course up in the air as is the ultimate outcome of Etta and Nicholas's time-hopping search, but we are treated to a number of answers about the villain's motivations, the basics of time travel as well as a brief history of the Traveling Families and their overall purpose, leaving us content with what we do know even as we look forward to discovering all that we don't as the series progresses.

Rating: 4/5

Buy Passenger:

Amazon • B&N • BAM • Indiebound • iBooks 

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

ALEXANDRA BRACKEN

Alexandra Bracken was born and raised in Arizona, but moved east to study at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. She now writes full time and can be found hard at work on her next novel in a charming apartment overflowing with books. You can visit her online at www.alexandrabracken.com or on Twitter (@alexbracken).

Website • Facebook • Twitter • Goodreads • Instagram

• • • • • • • • • • • • • •

GIVEAWAY

Three lucky winners will each receive a finished copy of Passenger! To enter, please fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Giveaway is open to US address only.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Don't forget to check out the other stops on the tours for more reviews, interviews and guest posts!

WEEK ONE:
12/28/2015- Novel Novice- Review  
12/29/2015- Fiktshun- Interview  
12/30/2015- Mundie Moms- Review  
12/31/2015- Me My Shelf And I- Guest Post  
1/1/2016- Page Turners Blog- Review

WEEK TWO:
1/4/2016- Dark Faerie Tales- Interview  
1/5/2016- Fangirlish- Guest Post   
1/6/2016- Supernatural Snark- Review  
1/7/2016- Magical Urban Fantasy Reads- Interview  
1/8/2016- The Book Cellar- Review

Their Fractured Light Blog Tour: Interview + Giveaway

I'm thrilled today to welcome authors Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner back to the blog as part of the promotional tour for the final book in their outstanding Starbound trilogy, Their Fractured Light. I absolutely adored the first two books in this series and can't wait for a little time off over the holidays to dive into this one uninterrupted:) For now though, I'll have to tide myself over with the few tidbits and hints dropped in this interview. I hope you guys enjoy!

LaRoux Industries and Roderick LaRoux are capable of monstrous things, and nothing makes me happier than when a villainous character finally gets his due. What one fictional villain made you flip pages at record speed to get to the moment where their evil finally caught up with them?

Wow, we really had to think about this! Ultimately, although villains are, you know, villainous, they need to be more than that to hold our attention. In Their Fractured Light we learn a lot about Roderick LaRoux – a lot of his history, and his reasons for doing the things he does. A really compelling villain usually has a motivation that, on one reading of events, sort of makes sense. A villain like that for us was President Snow from The Hunger Games. The guy was okay with the Hunger Games themselves existing, so obviously he was evil, but he was also… complicated. And that’s pretty awesome.

If all the three Starbound pairs could choose another group of epic sci-fi characters to team up with in their attempt to take down LRI, who would they most want to work with?

Aaaah, what a great question! Without a doubt it would be the crew of the Serenity, from the TV show Firefly. We’re both huge fans of the series, and Mal Reynolds and his gang would get along with Team Starbound like a house on fire. They’d be pairing up and comparing con jobs and weapons and making diabolical plans in no time! We’re pretty sure that Zoe and Jubilee would be instant besties. If they didn’t shoot each other first.

Gideon and Sofia have no choice but to work together in Their Fractured Light. Though it might pain them both to admit it, what’s one thing each admires about the other’s abilities?

It totally would pain them to admit it! Sofia’s an outstanding con artist, and Gideon admires her ability to keep a cool head and talk her way out of the most difficult of situations, pulling together what she has to somehow make it work. She’s like the MacGyver of con artists. Gideon’s a hacker, and he’s been single-mindedly pursuing his goal for years now. Sofia admires his intelligence, and his ability to pull together data and see things nobody else can. She also admires the fact that he works out. A lot.

If your teenage selves were able to read the Starbound series, which of the romantic pairings would have made you swoon the most?

You can’t make us choose! We love them allllllll! Honestly, we’d have swooned over them all for different reasons. Tarver and Lilac, because true love is an incredible thing to find. Flynn and Jubilee because they’re fighting for a chance to find out if what they have is love. And Gideon and Sofia because amidst the romance, these two are pure sass.

What one word would Gideon and Sofia each use to describe the secrets they uncover at LaRoux Industries?

Hrmmmmmm, let’s see. One would say ‘horrifying’ and one would say ‘unimaginable’, but we’ll let readers find out for themselves which is which!

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions ladies!

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

THEIR FRACTURED LIGHT

A year ago, Flynn Cormac and Jubilee Chase made the now infamous Avon Broadcast, calling on the galaxy to witness for their planet, and protect them from destruction. Some say Flynn’s a madman, others whisper about conspiracies. Nobody knows the truth. A year before that, Tarver Merendsen and Lilac LaRoux were rescued from a terrible shipwreck—now, they live a public life in front of the cameras, and a secret life away from the world’s gaze.

Now, in the center of the universe on the planet of Corinth, all four are about to collide with two new players, who will bring the fight against LaRoux Industries to a head. Gideon Marchant is an eighteen-year-old computer hacker—a whiz kid and an urban warrior. He’ll climb, abseil and worm his way past the best security measures to pull off onsite hacks that others don’t dare touch.

Sofia Quinn has a killer smile, and by the time you’re done noticing it, she’s got you offering up your wallet, your car, and anything else she desires. She holds LaRoux Industries responsible for the mysterious death of her father and is out for revenge at any cost.

When a LaRoux Industries security breach interrupts Gideon and Sofia’s separate attempts to infiltrate their headquarters, they’re forced to work together to escape. Each of them has their own reason for wanting to take down LaRoux Industries, and neither trusts the other. But working together might be the best chance they have to expose the secrets LRI is so desperate to hide.

IndieBound • B&N • BAM • Amazon • iBooks

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

AMIE KAUFMAN & MEAGAN SPOONER

AMIE KAUFMAN is the New York Times bestselling co-author of Illuminae (with Jay Kristoff) and These Broken Stars, This Shattered World, and Their Fractured Light (with Meagan Spooner.) She writes science fiction and fantasy for teens, and her favourite procrastination techniques involve chocolate, baking, sailing, excellent books and TV, plotting and executing overseas travel, and napping.

She lives in Melbourne, Australia with her husband, their rescue dog, and her considerable library. She is represented by Tracey Adams of Adams Literary.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Tumblr | Instagram

MEAGAN SPOONER grew up reading and writing every spare moment of the day, while dreaming about life as an archaeologist, a marine biologist, an astronaut. She graduated from Hamilton College in New York with a degree in playwriting, and has spent several years since then living in Australia. She's traveled with her family all over the world to places like Egypt, South Africa, the Arctic, Greece, Antarctica, and the Galapagos, and there's a bit of every trip in every story she writes.

She currently lives and writes in Asheville, North Carolina, but the siren call of travel is hard to resist, and there's no telling how long she'll stay there.

In her spare time she plays guitar, plays video games, plays with her cat, and reads.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Tumblr 

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 

GIVEAWAY

Three lucky winners will each receive a Starbound prize pack! To enter, please fill out the Rafflecopter form below. 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Be sure and check out the other stops on the tour for more reviews, interviews and guest posts!

11/30: Fiction Fare - Review

12/1: Across the Words - Guest Post

12/2: Such A Novel Idea - Review

12/3: Two Chicks On Books - Q&A

12/4: My Friends Are Fiction - Review

Week 2:

12/7: Paperback Princess - Review

12/8: No BS Book Reviews - Cover & Makeup Matching

12/9: Love At First Page - Review

12/10: Supernatural Snark - Q&A

12/11: A Backwards Story - Review

Hunter Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway

HUNTER
Hunter #1
Mercedes Lackey
Young Adult/Fantasy/Dystopian
384 pages
Disney Hyperion
Available Now
Source: ARC from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Centuries ago, the barriers between our world and the Otherworld were slashed open allowing hideous fantastical monsters to wreak havoc; destroying entire cities in their wake. Now, people must live in enclosed communities, behind walls that keep them safe from the evil creatures constantly trying to break in. Only the corps of teen Hunters with lightning reflexes and magical abilities can protect the populace from the daily attacks.

Joyeaux Charmand is a mountain girl from a close knit village who comes to the big city to join the Hunters. Joy thinks she is only there to perform her civic duty and protect the capitol Cits, or civilians, but as cameras follow her every move, she soon learns that the more successful she is in her hunts, the more famous she becomes.

With millions of fans watching her on reality TV, Joy begins to realize that Apex is not all it seems. She is forced to question everything she grew up believing about the legendary Hunters and the very world she lives in. Soon she finds that her fame may be part of a deep conspiracy that threatens to upend the protective structure built to keep dark magic out. The monsters are getting in and it is up to Joy to find out why.

MY THOUGHTS
Hunter drops us right into the thick of things, introducing us to this post-apocalyptic paranormal world and our heroine as she faces down one of the beautifully brutal fae on her way to a new life. From there we hit the ground running, learning the ins and outs of the various otherworldly creatures who make everyday life difficult as Joy runs into them on her Hunts, all the while slowly unraveling the politics behind the superstar quality to life as a Hunter.

Joy is a young woman we can't help but love the moment we meet her, the size of her ego inversely proportional to her abilities as a Hunter, ensuring she has us in her corner before she even steps foot off the train. She's quick to share her knowledge with her fellow Hunters instead of keeping it all to herself, and is equally open to learning what they have to teach her so that she can better protect those who cannot protect themselves. Despite being used to Hunting solo, she adapts easily and becomes a team player through and through, unfazed by the celebrity status of some her fellow Hunters and focusing on the job at hand.

The pacing does take a slower turn midway through, the Hunts Joy is sent on feeling a little like empty action as it's not entirely clear where her Hunting is heading in the grand scheme of things. The romance also leaves a little to be desired, emotionally quiet enough that the story would likely be equally successful without it, but it's possible the relationship will increase in importance as the series continues. Those two flaws aren't enough to detract from an altogether thoroughly entertaining story however, with the final one hundred pages flying by as politics and Hunting clash and try to bring Joy to her knees.

Overall, Hunter gives us a unique paranormal world full of little-known creatures who wreak all kinds of havoc, as well as a heroine who is gorgeously strong and quick-thinking; a true badass who doesn't even realize how badass she is. We're left in a satisfying place, a lot of questions as of yet unanswered but it's clear we'll figure things out together with Joy as we go, and I for one look forward to teaming back up with her and her ever-growing pack of hounds.

Rating: 4/5

Find Hunter:

Amazon • B&N • iBooks • Goodreads

• • • • • • • • • • •

MERECEDES LACKEY

Mercedes Lackey is the acclaimed author of over fifty novels and many works of short fiction. In her "spare" time she is also a professional lyricist and a licensed wild bird rehabilitator. Mercedes lives in Oklahoma with her husband and frequent collaborator, artist Larry Dixon, and their flock of parrots.

Find Mercedes:

Website • Twitter • Facebook • Goodreads

• • • • • • • • • • •

GIVEAWAY 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Be sure and check out all the previous stops for more reviews, interviews and guest posts!

WEEK ONE

8/24/2015- Fictitious Delicious- Interview  

8/25/2015- What the Cat Read- Review  

8/26/2015- Tales of the Ravenous Reader- Guest Post  

8/27/2015- The Book Bratz- Review  

8/28/2015- Bewitched Bookworms- Interview

WEEK TWO

8/31/2015- She Dreams in Fiction- Review

9/1/2015- Two Chicks on Books- Guest Post

9/2/2015-The Book Cellar- Review

9/3/2015- Mundie Moms- Interview

9/4/2015- Supernatural Snark- Review

Waiting on Wednesday: Starflight

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking The Spine and is a fun way to see what books other bloggers just can't wait to get their hands on!

STARFLIGHT

Melissa Landers

Young Adult/Sci-Fi Romance

Available February 2nd, 2016 from Disney-Hyperion

From Goodreads:

Life in the outer realm is a lawless, dirty, hard existence, and Solara Brooks is hungry for it. Just out of the orphanage, she needs a fresh start in a place where nobody cares about the engine grease beneath her fingernails or the felony tattoos across her knuckles. She's so desperate to reach the realm that she's willing to indenture herself to Doran Spaulding, the rich and popular quarterback who made her life miserable all through high school, in exchange for passage aboard the spaceliner Zenith.

When a twist of fate lands them instead on the Banshee, a vessel of dubious repute, Doran learns he's been framed on Earth for conspiracy. As he pursues a set of mysterious coordinates rumored to hold the key to clearing his name, he and Solara must get past their enmity to work together and evade those out for their arrest. Life on the Banshee may be tumultuous, but as Solara and Doran are forced to question everything they once believed about their world--and each other--the ship becomes home, and the eccentric crew family. But what Solara and Doran discover on the mysterious Planet X has the power to not only alter their lives, but the existence of everyone in the universe...

Hello there, gorgeous. In true girly fashion, the shininess of this cover immediately called to me, begging me to click on it and take a closer look. When I did, it became apparent that I needed this book in my life immediately. I think you guys know by now that antagonistic romantic relationships are my very favorite kind, so the fact that Solara and Doran have baggage of the life-made-miserable variety makes me absurdly happy. I'm not sure what that says about me really, but I can't wait to see how things play out between these two.

Plus, that cover. It's so shiny and pretty. *pets it*

WHY MUST YOU BE SO FAR AWAY FEBRUARY?!

Goodreads • Amazon

Trollhunters: Top of the Food Chain Giveaway!

Today in celebration of the fact that it's finally Friday, I have a very exciting giveaway (prizing provided by Disney-Hyperion) to share with you guys! Guillermo Del Toro, horror filmmaker extraordinaire, just released a young adult novel (along with Daniel Kraus) so I hope all you horror lovers out there add Trollhunters to your lists!

Before we get to the giveaway though, I have a sneak peek at a few of the interior pages from illustrator Sean Murray:

The look of pure terror on that kid's face? Would absolutely be mimicked on mine if I ever ran into that beast under a bridge. *shudders*

TROLLHUNTERS

"You are food. Those muscles you flex to walk, lift, and talk? They're patties of meat topped with chewy tendon. That skin you've paid so much attention to in mirrors? It's delicious to the right tongues, a casserole of succulent tissue. And those bones that give you the strength to make your way in the world? They rattle between teeth as the marrow is sucked down slobbering throats. These facts are unpleasant but useful. There are things out there, you see, that don't cower in holes to be captured by us and cooked over our fires. These things have their own ways of trapping their kills, their own fires, their own appetites."

Jim Sturges is your typical teen in suburban San Bernardino— one with an embarrassingly overprotective dad, a best friend named "Tubby" who shares his hatred of all things torturous (like gym class), and a crush on a girl who doesn't know he exists. But everything changes for Jim when a 45-year old mystery resurfaces, threatening the lives of everyone in his seemingly sleepy town. Soon Jim has to team up with a band of unlikely (and some un-human) heroes to battle the monsters he never knew existed.

From the minds of horror geniuses Guillermo del Toro and Daniel Kraus comes a new illustrated novel about the fears that move in unseen places.

Amazon • B&N • IndieBound • Goodreads

• • • • • • • • • • •

THE CREATIVE TEAM

Guillermo del Toro is best known for his critically acclaimed feature films, such as Pan's Labyrinth, Helllboy, The Hobbit, and Pacific Rim, as well as his best-selling Strain Trilogy.

Daniel Kraus is the award-winning author of Scowler and Rotters, and is the director of six feature films. He lives with his wife in Chicago.

From Pan's Labyrinth to Hellboy to his best-selling novel The Strain, del Toro has captured the imagination through his works. His co-author Daniel Kraus is another award-winning author and filmmaker with a penchant for horror stories. Kraus' debut novel, The Monster Variations, was selected for New York Public Library's "100 Best Stuff for Teens." Fangoria called Rotters, his Bram Stoker-finalist and Odyssey Award-winning second novel, "a new horror classic." Kraus' 2013 title, Scowler, also won an Odyssey Award for best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults.

Sean Murray is an illustrator, concept artist, author and teacher known for his work on video games such as Dungeons & Dragons Online and The Lord of the Rings Online, as well as the creator of The World of Gateway, which includes his fantasy guidebook Gateway: The Book of Wizards and the upcoming card game Gateway Uprising.

***If by any chance you know someone attending San Diego Comic Con today, be sure and tell them to head to the Disney Worldwide booth (#1129) at 2:30 for a TROLLHUNTERS signing with Guillermo & Daniel!***

• • • • • • • • • • • •

GIVEAWAY

Thanks to generosity of the team at Disney-Hyperion, there is an epic prize pack up for grabs today. One lucky winner will receive a Top of the Food Chain Prize Pack, including:

• Branded Trollhunters zip-up hoodie and pins
• Candy bones
• A copy of Trollhunters

a Rafflecopter giveaway