Reliquary Blog Tour: Interview + Giveaway

Happy Friday Everyone! Today I'm thrilled to welcome author Sarah Fine back to the blog to answer a few questions about her newest release, Reliquary. As you guys already know, I'm obsessed with everything Sarah writes so I couldn't be more excited for this new book! I hope you guys enjoy the interview and be sure to check the bottom of the post for all the details on a fun giveaway as well as the full list of blogs participating in Sarah's tour. 

The magic in this world has a darker edge, working like a drug and addicting those who use it. If you were able to take a group of readers and cross from our reality into this world, what are three things you would make sure they knew about magic before going in?

1. Ekstazo (pleasure) magic can be as dangerous as Knedas (manipulation) magic. Don't make the mistake of thinking it's harmless.

2. Pain can be your friend. Especially if you encounter a Knedas in a dark alley.

3. If you are carrying the slightest whiff of magic on you, Asa will know.

If Mattie could describe brothers Ben and Asa using only one word, what word would she pick for each of them, and would they agree with what she's chosen?

For Ben: Perfect
Ben's response: Of course I'm not perfect! I'm perfectly imperfect.

For Asa: COMPLICATED
Asa's response: *smirk* Shut the fuck up. 



If Mattie's world hadn't suddenly changed with Ben's disappearance, what part of planning her wedding would have been her favorite?

Wedding favors! Mattie loves the idea of planning a gift for her guests that both makes them happy AND represents how intensely ideal her life with Ben is and will be. 



I have a sneaking suspicion that Asa might make his way onto more than a few book boyfriend lists. Who would top Mattie's list of book boyfriends?

What she will tell you: Darcy from Pride and Prejudice. Edward from Twilight.
Who she's intrigued, frightened, and turned on by all at once (but will never admit it out loud): Jericho Barrons.

*Jenny excited flails at the mention of Barrons. MINE MATTIE*

Looking forward to book two, as a fun little teaser, what color would you say most accurately represents the events that take place?

Probably red. There is so much turmoil, upheaval, and pain for Mattie in Splinter, and so much ferocity and intensity from Asa, but also something very fundamental and necessary happening for both of them ... I think red might capture it. All that said, Splinter is one of the more humorous books I've ever written!

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

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

RELIQUARY

Mattie Carver’s engagement party should have marked the start of her own personal fairy tale. But when her fiancé, Ben, is violently abducted the next morning, her desperate quest to find him rips her away from small-town life and reveals a shattering truth: magic is real—and Ben is hooked. It’s not the stuff of storybooks. It’s wildly addictive, capable of producing everything from hellish anguish to sensual ecstasy almost beyond human endurance.

Determined to find out who took Ben and why, Mattie immerses herself in a shadowy underworld and comes face-to-face with the darkly alluring Asa Ward, a rogue magic dealer, infamous hustler…and her missing fiancé’s estranged brother. Asa has the power to sense magic, and he realizes Mattie is a reliquary, someone with the rare ability to carry magic within her own body, undetected. Asa agrees to help find Ben on one condition: Mattie must use her uncommon talent to assist his smuggling operations. Now, from magic-laced Vegas casinos to the netherworld clubs of Bangkok, Mattie is on a rescue mission. With Asa by her side, she’ll face not only the supernatural forces arrayed against her but the all-too-human temptation that she fears she can’t resist.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble 

 

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SARAH FINE

Sarah Fine is a clinical psychologist and the author of the Servants of Fate and Guards of the Shadowlands series. She was born on the West Coast, raised in the Midwest, and is now firmly entrenched on the East Coast.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Tumblr 

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GIVEAWAY

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

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

TOUR SCHEDULE:

7/17: Polished Page-Turners - Spotlight

7/18: The Eater of Books - Excerpt

7/19: Behind Closed Covers - Spotlight

7/20: Gone with the Words - Excerpt

7/21: Reading is Better with Cupcakes - Excerpt

7/22: Supernatural Snark - Q&A

7/23: Quite the Novel Idea - Spotlight

7/24: The Book Cellar - Review

7/25: Fiction Fare - Q&A

7/26: No BS Book Reviews - Q&A

7/26: Emily Reads Everything - Review

7/27: Stuck in Books - Excerpt

7/27: Reads All the Books - Review

7/28: Ex Libris - Review

7/28: BCS Reviews - Review

7/29: kimberlyfaye reads - Review

7/29: Wandering Bark Books - Review

7/30: Lost in Lit - Review

7/30: Bookish Lifetsyle - Review

7/31: Don't Fold the Page - Review

7/31: Miranda's Book Blog - Review

Review (+ Giveaway!): The Impostor Queen

THE IMPOSTOR QUEEN
The Impostor Queen #1
Sarah Fine
Young Adult/Fantasy
432 pages
Margaret K. McElderry Books
Available Now
Source: ARC from publisher for review

THE STORY 
Sixteen-year-old Elli was a small child when the Elders of Kupari chose her to succeed the Valtia, the queen who wields infinitely powerful ice and fire magic. Since then, Elli has lived in the temple, surrounded by luxury and tutored by magical priests, as she prepares for the day when the Valtia perishes and the magic finds a new home in her. Elli is destined to be the most powerful Valtia to ever rule.

But when the queen dies defending the kingdom from invading warriors, the magic doesn’t enter Elli. It’s nowhere to be found.

Disgraced, Elli flees to the outlands, the home of banished criminals—some who would love to see the temple burn with all its priests inside. As she finds her footing in this new world, Elli uncovers devastating new information about the Kupari magic, those who wield it, and the prophecy that foretold her destiny. Torn between the love she has for her people and her growing loyalty to the banished, Elli struggles to understand the true role she was meant to play. But as war looms, she must align with the right side—before the kingdom and its magic are completely destroyed.

MY THOUGHTS
The Impostor Queen starts a touch slow, the introduction of a royal hierarchy categorized by unfamiliar terminology keeping us from settling in immediately, but before long Elli’s journey picks up speed and has us racing to the finish to see how everything will unfold.

Elli is a sheltered young woman both literally and figuratively, having spent her entire childhood and majority of her teen years safe and coddled within the walls of her beloved Temple on the Rock. While her every need is attended to, her thirst for knowledge about the outside world goes unquenched, leaving her no choice but to trust blindly what those in a position of power tell her. Once she gets outside the walls however, she soaks up new information like a sponge, and it’s nearly impossible not to root for a young woman who has absolutely no sense of superiority despite being told she’s the future queen all her life.

The romance between Elli and ice-Wielder Oskar is everything we’ve come to expect from a Sarah Fine relationship, things between them starting out slowly as they both harbor secrets to protect themselves and others, and then steadily growing until we want nothing more than to read about the two of them building a life together. Unfortunately for romantics like myself, that dream of a life together is interrupted by a brutal series of revelations that tears the world Elli once new down and sets it aflame, and our fledgling couple finds themselves in the middle of a battle.

We’re left in a solid place despite a number of threads left loose to be picked up in the next installment, but Ms. Fine is an expert at ripping hearts out and stomping on them, so while this first book leaves us content, there are more than a few hints that she’s getting ready to ball her hands into fists and punch us right in the gut in the not-too distant future.

Rating: 4/5
 

Find The Impostor Queen:

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

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

SARAH FINE

I’m the author of several books for teens, including Of Metal and Wishes(McElderry/Simon & Schuster) and its sequel, Of Dreams and Rust, the Guards of the Shadowlands YA urban fantasy series (Skyscape/Amazon Children’s Publishing), and The Impostor Queen (McElderry, January 2016).

I’m also the co-author (with Walter Jury) of two YA sci-fi thrillers published by Putnam/Penguin: Scanand its sequel Burn. My first adult urban fantasy romance series, Servants of Fate, includes Marked, Claimed, and Fated, all published by 47North in 2015, and my second adult UF series — The Reliquary, kicks off in summer 2016. When I’m not writing, I’m psychologizing. Sometimes I do both at the same time. The results are unpredictable.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Tumblr 

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

GIVEAWAY

Thanks to Margaret K. McElderry Books and Irish Banana Blog Tours there are 3 finished copies of The Impostor Queen up for grabs today! To enter, please fill out the Rafflecopter form below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Don't forget to check out all the participating blogs for more reviews, interviews and guest posts!

Week 1:

1/18: Two Chicks on Books - Q&A

1/19: The Irish Banana Review - Guest Post

1/20: Bookmark Lit - Cover Colors

1/21: Bibliobibuli YA - Review

1/22: No BS Book Reviews - Polyvore Collage

Week 2:

1/25: What Sarah Read - Review

1/26: Supernatural Snark - Review

1/27: Paperback Princess - Review

1/28: Eater of Books - Top 10

1/29: Lili's Reflections - Review

Review: Of Dreams and Rust

OF DREAMS AND RUST
Of Metal and Wishes #2
Sarah Fine
Young Adult
288 pages
Margaret K. McElderry Books
Available Now
Source: ARC from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
n the year since the collapse of the slaughterhouse where Wen worked as her father’s medical assistant, she’s held all her secrets close. She works in the clinic at the weapons factory and sneaks away to nurse Bo, once the Ghost, now a boy determined to transform himself into a living machine. Their strange, fragile friendship soothes some of the ache of missing Melik, the strong-willed Noor who walked away from Wen all those months ago—but it can’t quell her fears for him.

The Noor are waging a rebellion in the west. When she overhears plans to crush Melik’s people with the powerful war machines created at the factory, Wen makes the painful decision to leave behind all she has known—including Bo—to warn them. But the farther she journeys into the warzone, the more confusing things become. A year of brutality seems to have changed Melik, and Wen has a decision to make about him and his people: How much is she willing to sacrifice to save them from complete annihilation?

MY THOUGHTS

Of Dreams and Rust is a stunning sequel, moving us out of the dirt, grime and politics of the slaughterhouse and out into a world we didn't get to experience at all in the first book. The taste of freedom we get in this story only has us turning the pages faster, eager for details about the escalating war between the Itanyi and the Noor, and thirsty for knowledge about a people of whom we only got a select sampling in Of Metal and Wishes. Suddenly what was a world of walls and blood is now vast and brutal, but death is as prevalent out in the open as it was amidst steel and machinery.

Wen, despite hearing nothing from Melik in over a year, is determined to warn him of the changing tide of the war, setting off on her own to save as many lives as she can. What she finds is not the clear cut battle of good vs. evil she expected, and Ms. Fine does a beautifully horrifying job of showing how war can make monsters of anyone, with mercy being a luxury neither side can afford. Though the new light cast on the Noor shakes the foundations of everything Wen learned of them in the first book, she takes the blow with a grace that's undoubtedly a rarity on the field of battle, continuing her quest to save human beings without separating them into Itanyi and Noor.

She keeps her feelings for Melik tight to her chest even when it's revealed that not everything she felt for him a year ago was the lie she initially thought, keeping our hearts in our throats as the tension between them remains at an all-time high throughout. As Ms. Fine has proven in previous books, she rarely pulls her punches, and though we desperately want everyone in this tale to miraculously dance their way out of death's reach, we're painfully reminded that life–even in fiction–is rarely fair. 

We're not left only with tears and heartache by the time we reach the last page however, instead our time with Wen and Melik comes to a close with a hopeful look toward the future, the fond memories of those we lost along the way a comfort in the grief of their passing. Ms. Fine never fails to write emotionally rich and romantic stories, delighting with layered and complex characters who slide easily under our skin and take up shop, refusing to budge no matter how many books we read after we close the back cover.

Rating: 4.5/5

Find Sarah:

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: Marked

MARKED
Servants of Fate #1
Sarah Fine
Paranormal Romance
332 Pages
47North
Available Now
Source: Thank you, Nick!

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
In a broken landscape carved by environmental collapse, Boston paramedic Cacia Ferry risks life and limb on the front lines of a fragile and dangerous city. What most don’t know—including her sexy new partner, Eli Margolis—is that while Cacy works to save lives, she has another job ferrying the dead to the Afterlife. Once humans are “Marked” by Fate, the powerful Ferrys are called to escort the vulnerable souls to either eternal bliss or unending fire and pain.

Unaware of Cacy’s other life, Eli finds himself as mesmerized by his fierce and beautiful partner as he is mistrustful of the influential Ferry clan led by the Charon—who happens to be Cacy’s father. Cacy, in turn, can no longer deny her intense attraction to the mysterious ex-Ranger with a haunted past. But just as their relationship heats up, an apparent hit takes the Charon before his time. Shaken to the core, Cacy pursues the rogue element who has seized the reins of Fate, only to discover that Eli has a devastating secret of his own. Not knowing whom to trust, what will Cacy have to sacrifice to protect Eli—and to make sure humanity’s future is secure?

MY THOUGHTS
Marked is a thrilling start to this new series from Ms. Fine, introducing a fascinating mythology as to the politics of death itself while providing more than a little mystery and romance to keep us on the edge of our seats. The futuristic, flooded version of Boston takes a little while to really come into focus, the amphibious vehicles and the lawlessness of canal pirates creating a bit of chaos in the opening chapters, but before long the strength of Ms. Fine’s characters overshadow any lingering confusion we have as to how this world operates, and we easily find ourselves swept up in our lead couple's rather significant problems.

Cacy and Eli set a bar by which a large number of the romantic couples to follow them will find it hard to meet, treating each other with respect and maturity despite the landmines awaiting them every step they take. The communicate effectively not only as work partners but even more importantly as romantic partners, not allowing any behavior from the other person to tip them over the emotional edge before they’ve had the chance to talk things over. While it does take Cacy a little while to reveal the totality of what it means to be a Ferry in this world, Eli is well aware there’s something she’s not telling him from the beginning, thus relieving us of the full burden of her secrets.

While the chemistry between Cacy and Eli is incendiary and the slow escalation of sexual tension between them enough to have us flipping the pages with unprecedented speed, the romance, though prominent, is secondary to the mystery as to who is responsible for the dissolution of the ancient treaty between the Ferry’s and the Kere. Ms. Fine throws in a number of twists, Fate itself forced to snip a number of threads and then reweave them in a pattern that was never meant to be, and we read with breath held until a piece of the larger conspiracy is finally revealed.

Overall, Marked is pure entertainment, giving us a cast of beautifully layered characters we simply can’t wait to spend more time with and a world full of darkness and grit with shadowed corners we look forward to seeing come into the light. Eli and Cacy’s siblings have their chance to shine next, and the release date for Claimed can’t come soon enough.

Rating: 4/5

Find Sarah:

Website • Blog • 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: Of Metal and Wishes

OF METAL AND WISHES
Of Metal and Wishes #1
Sarah Fine
Paranormal Young Adult
320 pages
Margaret K. McElderry Books
Available Now
Source: ARC from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
There are whispers of a ghost in the slaughterhouse where sixteen-year-old Wen assists her father in his medical clinic—a ghost who grants wishes to those who need them most. When one of the Noor, men hired as cheap factory labor, humiliates Wen, she makes an impulsive wish of her own, and the Ghost grants it. Brutally.

Guilt-ridden, Wen befriends the Noor, including their outspoken leader, a young man named Melik. At the same time, she is lured by the mystery of the Ghost and learns he has been watching her … for a very long time.

As deadly accidents fuel tensions within the factory, Wen must confront her growing feelings for Melik, who is enraged at the sadistic factory bosses and the prejudice faced by his people at the hand of Wen’s, and her need to appease the Ghost, who is determined to protect her against any threat—real or imagined. She must decide whom she can trust, because as her heart is torn, the factory is exploding around her … and she might go down with it.

MY THOUGHTS
Of Metal and Wishes is as beautifully haunting as the story on which it’s partly based, a quiet intimacy established between character and reader early on thanks to a world that doesn't extend much beyond the walls of the slaughterhouse. Though the Phantom does his great and terrible things amidst the glittering beauty of a Parisian opera house, the Ghost grants wishes and exacts vengeance within blood spattered walls, the grittiness of the factory workers' existence a dark complement to the deeds of which the Ghost is capable. Through it all though, Ms. Fine weaves threads of hope of the finest nature, small phosphorescent moments that light up the darkness of Gochran One and show us that within the darkest shadows sometimes hide the most beautiful things.

Ms. Fine is an author with an extraordinary ability to craft characters with more layers than we can possibly fully explore in our relatively short forays into their lives, leaving us wanting more without fail while simultaneously satisfying us with what we are able to uncover. The Ghost is one such character, the ease with which he destroys lives on either his own whim or the whims of others a startling contrast to his vulnerability and clear affection for Wen. He is both childlike victim and monstrous villain depending on whether or not he considers you friend or foe, but despite his capacity for violence our hearts still ache for him throughout, tears threatening to spill for all he's lost even as we find ourselves oddly grateful on Wen's behalf for what he's become.

Wen is innocent in a number of ways, but accompanying that innocence is fire and an impressive strength of will that allows her to defiantly stand up in defense of those to whom everyone else would turn a blind eye. Despite growing up with stories of the barbaric Noor, it takes her very little time to shed the prejudice of those around her and realize the Noor are not the heathens she'd been expecting, and she quickly throws herself in their corner even when it's the most dangerous place for her to be. She's intelligent and compassionate, handling her delicate relationship with the Ghost with a maturity far beyond her young years by giving him the respect of her honesty even when it may not be what he wants to hear.

The only very mild complaint with this story is with the world-building, namely in that there isn't much, and we're tossed into life in the slaughterhouse without really knowing much about what exists outside of it. That being said however, being in the figurative dark as to the world beyond the walls painted with the deaths of those who slave away within them allows us to focus all our attention on the characters and the increasingly volatility of their social hierarchy. We're left with things fairly wide open for Wen, the dust from a massive upheaval in her world not yet beginning to settle when we part with her on the last page, but there's comfort in knowing we'll meet up with her again, and when we do our questions about what's in store for her will be answered.

Rating: 4.5/5
 

 Find Sarah:

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.

End of Year Survey: Part 2

Today is part two of the End of Year Survey put together by Jamie at The Perpetual Page Turner, you can check out part one in yesterday's post if you missed it! There was a lot of gushing over my favorite books. Gushing that will only continue today. Win.

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PART TWO

Favorite Relationship From A Book You Read In 2013 (be it romantic, friendship, etc).

I went with romance. Of course ;-)

Warden and Paige from The Bone Season

Isaiah and Rachel from Crash Into You

Janelle and Ben from Unbreakable

Kaidan and Anna from Sweet Peril

Lela and Malachi from Sanctum

Favorite Book You Read in 2013 From An Author You’ve Read Previously.

I’m going to change this question just a touch to be “authors read in 2013 that never disappoint”.

Karen Marie Moning, Jennifer Estep, Katie McGarry, Ann Aguirre, Elizabeth Norris, Wendy Higgins, Chloe Neill, Thea Harrison, and Nalini Singh.

Best Book You Read In 2013 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else:

Sanctum by Sarah Fine. I’d seen it around a lot when it first came out and made note of it, but then more and more of the bloggers whom I love and whose opinions I trust implicitly started talking about it and I knew I had to pick it up.

Genre You Read The Most From in 2013?

Paranormal YA! Try not to be so surprised, everyone ;-)

Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2013?

This question is torture! There are so many I could list, but several of them are on this list multiple times already, so to shake things up I’m going with the oh-so swoon-worthy Trevor from Pivot Point. I loved him so much!

Best 2013 debut you read?

Pivot Point by Kasie West, Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by April Genevieve Tucholke, and All our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill.

Book That Was The Most Fun To Read in 2013?

Poison by Bridget Zinn. This was a light and cute fantasy story complete with an adorable pet pig, and I just smiled the whole way through. A close runner-up would be The Nightmare Affair by Mindee Arnett. Main character Dusty wielded her snark like a boss and I adored her.

Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2013?

Endless by Jessica Shirvington and Fractured by Sarah Fine. Months later, my heart hurts still.

Book You Read in 2013 That You Think Got Overlooked This Year Or When It Came Out?

Impostor by Susanne Winnacker. There didn’t seem to be a ton of hype surrounding this book before or after it came out and I didn’t see too many reviews for it (though that could entirely be my fault and I just never ran across them), but I so enjoyed this book. I would say the same for Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen. Both are books I would strongly recommend to anyone.

One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2013 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2014?

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown. This was one of my must-haves at BEA this year, but I came home, got distracted, and then never got to it. *hangs head in shame*

Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2014 (non-debut)?

Burned by Karen Marie Moning (I know you’re all shocked by this given the prevalence of Iced in all my answers yesterday)

2014 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?

Half Bad by Sally Green and Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige

Series Ending You Are Most Anticipating in 2014?

Sweet Reckoning by Wendy Higgins, The Retribution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin, and Up from the Grave by Jeaniene Frost.

One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging In 2014?

This might seem like a strange or lame answer, but this year with my blogging I really want to just be content. It’s so easy to get caught up in the sometimes-competitive nature of book blogging (especially YA book blogging), feeling compelled to compare page views, comments, number of ARCs received, etc., and I fully admit to focusing on the wrong things numerous times in my almost 4 years doing this.

With each year I’ve been blogging though, the exhausting need to make the blog bigger and better (in terms of statistics and popularity) has waned, and as 2013 draws to a close I’m finally finding that I’m happy with things just as they are. My blog will never be the biggest, best, or brightest stat-wise, but I have an AMAZING group of readers and followers, and a core group of blogging friends that I simply can’t imagine my life without, so 2014 is a year that's going to be all about being satisfied with what I have. I’m still going to strive to improve the quality of my content of course and make the blog better in that way, but I’m going to try and rein in my competitive nature and just be happy with Supernatural Snark as it is moving forward ;-)

• • • • • • • • • • 

Finally, just as a little extra addition to this survey, I thought I would list the books that received a rating of 4.5 or 5 stars this year since it's a fairly rare occurrence. After looking through all my reviews for this survey, I've found that I'm fairly critical in terms of rating assignments and I'm a bit stingy with those upper numbers O.o

Out of 150 or so books read and reviewed this year, I gave exactly 5 the highest rating I have. That's not very many at all. Apparently I'm hard to impress :-) Here are the best of the best for me in 2013:

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon
Dare You To by Katie McGarry
Thistle & Thorne by Ann Aguirre (part of the 'Til the World Ends Anthology)
Iced by Karen Marie Moning
Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor

I was a tiny bit more generous with the 4.5 rating, and had a whopping 19 of those this year:

House Rules by Chloe Neill
Pivot Point by Kasie West
Emblaze by Jessica Shirvington
Breaking Point by Kristen Simmons
The Rules by Stacey Kade
True by Erin McCarthy
Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo
Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by April Genevieve Tucholke
Heart of Venom by Jennifer Estep
Pretty Girl-13 by Liz Coley
Through the Zombie Glass by Gena Showalter
All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill
Endless by Jessica Shirvington
The Burning Sky by Sherry Thomas
Finding It by Cora Carmack
Sanctum/Fractured by Sarah Fine
Kinked by Thea Harrison
Crash Into You by Katie McGarry
These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

Any books I haven't listed above that I absolutely should not miss out on? I'm always looking for recommendations! *makes grabby hand motions*

End of Year Survey: Part 1

I'm really excited today to participate in the End of Year Survey put together by the fabulous Jamie at The Perpetual Page Turner. I always have so much fun reading friends and fellow bloggers' favorite book lists around this time of year, so I thought I would hop aboard this Train of Win and give the survey a try. 

It's a shockingly hard survey to fill out. I've read innumerable amazing books this year, so it was crazy difficult to call out only a handful. Also, my memory is more sieve than steel trap, so it may or may not have taken me several hours to go back through my review list and figure out what books would fit into which category. Well done me ;-)

This is a fairly lengthy survey, so I decided to split it into two parts with the second one posting tomorrow along with the list of books that got a 4.5 or 5  from me in 2013. Without further ado, I give you some of my favorite books of the year!

• • • • • • • • • • •

Best Book You Read In 2013? (If you have to cheat — you can break it down by genre if you want or 2013 release vs. backlist)

Contemporary YA: Crash Into You by Katie McGarry

Contemporary NA: True by Erin McCarthy

Dystopian: The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon. All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill is a close second. (Both of these books span genres, but I'm tucking them into this one for the purposes of this survey.)

Historical Fiction: The Madman’s Daughter (yes, this is a bit of a stretch for this genre ;)

Paranormal: Iced by Karen Marie Moning

Science Fiction: Unbreakable by Elizabeth Norris and These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner.

Fantasy: The Burning Sky by Sherry Thomas and Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

Romance: Kinked by Thea Harrison

Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?

Taken by Erin Bowman. I’m a sucker for a stunning cover (as so many book lovers are), so I had very high hopes for this one after seeing its gorgeous cover. Unfortunately, it didn’t work quite as well for me as I’d hoped.

Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2013?

Impostor by Susanne Winnacker and Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen

Book you read in 2013 that you recommended to people most?

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon and Iced by Karen Marie Moning

Best series you discovered in 2013?

The Guards of the Shadowlands by Sarah Fine

Favorite new author you discovered in 2013?

So many! Sarah Fine, Samantha Shannon, Kasie West, Cristin Terrill, Erin McCarthy, A.C. Gaughen, Mindee Arnett, and Cora Carmack.

Best book that was out of your comfort zone or was a new genre for you?

The Burning Sky by Sherry Thomas. For a while now I’ve told myself that fantasy is not the genre for me, but multiple times this year I’ve proven myself wrong and I couldn’t be happier about it!

Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2013?

Iced by Karen Marie Moning. If I didn’t need my hands to work, I would have Ryodan in a death grip 24/7.

Book You Read In 2013 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon or Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor. Both have sequels that should be releasing in 2014 (hopefully on The Bone Season anyway, I know it's book one of seven), and I will gladly re-read both of these to make sure I remember everything I need to before tackling the newest installment!

Favorite cover of a book you read in 2013?

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by April Genevieve Tucholke. I also absolutely ADORED this book.

Most memorable character in 2013?

Ryodan from Iced
Warden from The Bone Season
Sturmhond from Siege and Storm

Most beautifully written book read in 2013?

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea. This book was just so beautifully atmospheric, it had a dark hypnotic quality that left me completely mesmerized.

Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2013?

This answer is a bit of a surprise for me, but I’m going to go with Endless by Jessica Shirvington. The Violet Eden Chapters and I got along very poorly in the beginning, but with each book my love for the series has grown, and Endless absolutely ripped my heart out and stomped on it. It makes me a bit of a masochist, but I loved every second of it.

Days of Blood and Starlight and Sanctum/Fractured would be on this list as well.

Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2013 to finally read?

I’m going to change this question a little bit to be “Books I still can’t believe I haven’t read given it’s 2013”

Anything by Gayle Forman (I KNOW!)
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2013?

I fail this question. I never highlight or mark quotes or passages, so I honestly don’t have one.

Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2013?

Shortest (not counting novellas): Neptune’s Tears by Susan Waggoner
(218 pages)

Longest: Lover at Last by J.R. Ward (597 pages)

Book That Had A Scene In It That Had You Reeling And Dying To Talk To Somebody About It? (a WTF moment, an epic revelation, a steamy kiss, etc. etc.) Be careful of spoilers!

Pretty much the entirety of Iced. It’s a conversation starter for sure. Also, the ending of Fractured *falls down dead*

Part two will be up tomorrow!

Waiting on Wednesday: Of Metal and Wishes

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!

OF METAL AND WISHES

Sarah Fine

Paranormal Young Adult

Releases August 5th, 2014 from Margaret K. McElderry Books

From Goodreads:

There are whispers of a ghost in the slaughterhouse where sixteen-year-old Wen assists her father in his medical clinic—a ghost who grants wishes to those who need them most. When one of the Noor, men hired as cheap factory labor, humiliates Wen, she makes an impulsive wish of her own, and the Ghost grants it. Brutally.

Guilt-ridden, Wen befriends the Noor, including their outspoken leader, a young man named Melik. At the same time, she is lured by the mystery of the Ghost and learns he has been watching her … for a very long time.

As deadly accidents fuel tensions within the factory, Wen must confront her growing feelings for Melik, who is enraged at the sadistic factory bosses and the prejudice faced by his people at the hand of Wen’s, and her need to appease the Ghost, who is determined to protect her against any threat—real or imagined. She must decide whom she can trust, because as her heart is torn, the factory is exploding around her … and she might go down with it.

My main interest in this book? The fact that it's written by Sarah Fine. I only recently discovered Sanctum and Fractured, but I fell head over heels in love with those books and the way Ms. Fine tells a story. I think she has an extraordinary gift for characterization, and I simply cannot wait to meet Wen and Melik (and this Ghost). She also knows how to write gorgeously painful romances and we all know how I feel about those. WIN. 

Series Review: Sanctum + Fractured

SANCTUM/FRACTURED

The Guards of the Shadowlands 1&2

Sarah Fine

Paranormal Young Adult

Amazon Children's Publishing

Fractured releases October 29th

Source: Bought/BEA

THE STORY - FRACTURED (from Goodreads)
In the week since Lela returned to Rhode Island as Captain of the Guard with Malachi as her second in command, local news has been dominated by chilling sightings of human-like creatures running on all fours. Lela knows there’s only one explanation: the Mazikin have arrived in the land of the living.

Needing to maintain the appearance of a normal life for her foster mother, her probation officer, and her classmates, Lela returns to Warwick High along with Malachi. At night they secretly hunt for the Mazikin nest. To assist, two new Guards from very different parts of the Shadowlands are assigned to Lela’s unit, including the bad boy Jim, who repeatedly challenges Lela's authority. Lela struggles to keep all her Guards on the right side of the law, but their mistakes come at a terrible cost.

As one painful revelation follows another and the Mazikin start targeting those closest to her, Lela finds herself more vulnerable than she’s ever been, wanting a future more than she ever has. With an enemy determined to separate soul from body, one question remains: how much is she willing to sacrifice to protect those she loves?

MY THOUGHTS
The Guards of the Shadowlands is a stunningly dark and beautifully challenging series, testing our mental and emotional endurance as Lela and Malachi are tested again and again, but luckily for us Ms. Fine seems to have a direct link to our hearts, knowing just where the line dividing what is bearable from what is overwhelming lies to guide us on a terribly stunning journey along its edge without ever letting us tip over. She provides us with a pair of protagonists in possession of infinite strength despite the cracks that spiderweb their emotional armor, giving them a gorgeous vulnerability to contrast their impressive physical prowess and add yet more colors to an already striking and vibrant couple.

Lela is an exceedingly memorable young woman, her utter devotion to those select few who have shown her compassion and kindness connecting us to her instantly, while the brutal truth of her past launches her to the top of the list of people we admire. She's a fighter through and through, her determination to ensure the safety and happiness of others when she so rarely feels safe herself causing goosebumps to run unchecked across our skin, so moved are we by her actions. Her relationship with Malachi is a perfect sort of torture, her poor sense of self worth–compliments of her gut-wrenching past– creating such fragile moments between them, their emotionally delicate interactions an intricate dance of pain, hope, friendship and budding love.

Malachi is as richly nuanced as Lela, his bad boy status not simply a young adult fiction label but rather an extraordinarily apt description; death and violence a cloak he appears to wear with confidence and surety. Underneath the blood though is a pair of hands that itch with a desire to hold and protect Lela; hands that bring as much comfort when she comes barreling into his world as they instill fear into those terrorizing the Shadowlands and the human realm. He is as uneasy in romantic situations as Lela is, the tension between them a pulsing beat we can practically feel reverberate through the pages, and we can do nothing other than cherish every quiet moment between them as it's clear to us their road will never be one easily walked.

Fractured, book two, does adopt the typical middle book ploy in which the primary romance dissolves, but instead of irritating us Ms. Fine makes sure we're devastated instead, the new distance between them like a clawed Mazikin hand sending a raging infection of wrongness through our bloodstream. Additionally, where Sanctum wraps up nicely Fractured leaves us far more off-kilter, but our faith in Lela and what's she's capable of is a spark in the blackness; one we lunge toward in the concluding chapters and cling to like a safety net as we begin the painfully long wait for book three.

Sanctum: 4/5
Fractured: 4.5/5

Find Sarah:

Website • Blog • Facebook • Twitter • Amazon • Goodreads

 

I had the opportunity to interview Sarah a few weeks ago, if you didn't get a chance to check that interview out, you can do so HERE.

Fractured was given to me by the publisher at BEA  free of charge for the purpose of a review. 

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

Interview: Sarah Fine + Fractured

I'm extremely excited today to welcome young adult author Sarah Fine to the blog to answer a few questions about her Guards of the Shadowlands series. I first heard about Sanctum from fellow bloggers who all had outstanding things to say, but I didn't have the opportunity to pick it up until I went on vacation recently and I kind of want to punch myself in the face as a result. It was amazing. Fractured, book two, is even better (full review coming soon), and I'm one-hundred percent in love with Lela and Malachi. As you may have guessed, I can't recommend this series enough and having Sarah on the blog completely makes my day. I hope you all enjoy the interview!

The human Guards of the dark city, given they died in different time periods, all bring varied skills and knowledge with them when they begin training. If you found yourself in Guard training with Malachi, what skills or information would you bring to the table that might be useful to them?

I’m told that I have a disapproving stare that sends chills down the spine, though I doubt that would deter a Mazikin. Apart from that, I have a sick imagination and the ability to assess and diagnose mental disorders. Again, probably not that useful, unless we want to have a Mazikin admitted to the hospital on a 72-hour involuntary hold.

Lela’s story is a brutal and highly emotional one. What’s the last book you read that tied you up in emotional knots?

SECRET by Brigid Kemmerer (it comes out in January 2014). Brigid has a talent for creating tense, emotionally charged family dynamics and romantic relationships, but in Secret, she outdoes herself. Her main character, Nick, is so anguished. His need to understand and accept himself, his intense desire to connect with the guy he’s falling for, his fear of losing control, as well as his anxiety about revealing his true self to his family was palpable and raw. It’s a phenomenal book.

What is one quality Lela possesses that you wish you did? One quality you have that Lela would benefit from?

Lela is incredibly resilient and fierce, and I’m not sure I could endure what she has and still be as functional as she is. As for a quality I have … I’m much less prone to shooting off my mouth. Most of the time.

As a reward for all their hard work, the Judge (in a magnanimous mood) grants Lela and Malachi a single day in the world of another piece of YA fiction. In what worlds might each of them choose to spend their time?

This is such an interesting question because I tend to read such dark YA fiction with bleak, scary worlds, and really, all Lela and Malachi want is rest (and each other). I think both would choose a contemporary, less urban setting, like Mercy Falls from Maggie Stiefvater’s Shiver/Linger/Forever, where they’re likely to have a bit more peace and quiet.

If Malachi were to ask you to rewrite one small thing about his character, what do you think he would want to change?

I think he might ask to be as brutal and emotionless as he sometimes tries to act. Malachi, in his soul, craves peace and gentleness. He doesn’t seek or want greatness; he never asked to be part of this epic story. But since he has to be, I think he’d want to be a little tougher internally, because he also has a deep sense of duty and doesn’t avoid doing what he thinks is right, even if it causes him great pain.

What aspect/element of the dark city was the first to take shape in your mind when crafting the Shadowlands?

The fact that people could have whatever they wanted, that they could grow whatever they desired, but that it just wouldn’t be that great or satisfying. That was inspired by one of C.S. Lewis’s books, and I built the whole city around it.

You’re in a group interview setting with all the characters from Sanctum and Fractured. Who is the first to speak and what question do they ask?

Wait—are they interviewing me? If so, Michael would dominate the rest through the sheer volume of his voice and demand to know why he doesn’t have more page time. Then he’d probably curse at me in Farsi.

• • • • • • • • • • 

SARAH FINE

I’m the author of the Guards of the Shadowlands urban fantasy series (Skyscape/Amazon Children’s Publishing), including Sanctum (October 2012) and Fractured (October 2013). My gothic young adult novel Of Metal and Wishes will be published by McElderry/Simon & Schuster in August 2014. In May 2014, Putnam/Penguin will publish Scan, the first of two thrillers I co-authored with Walter Jury under the name S. E. Fine. When I’m not writing, I’m psychologizing. Sometimes I do both at the same time. The results are unpredictable.

Website • Blog • Facebook • Twitter

• • • • • • • • • • •

FRACTURED

(releases October 29th)

In the week since Lela returned to Rhode Island as Captain of the Guard with Malachi as her second in command, local news has been dominated by chilling sightings of human-like creatures running on all fours. Lela knows there’s only one explanation: the Mazikin have arrived in the land of the living.

Needing to maintain the appearance of a normal life for her foster mother, her probation officer, and her classmates, Lela returns to Warwick High along with Malachi. At night they secretly hunt for the Mazikin nest. To assist, two new Guards from very different parts of the Shadowlands are assigned to Lela’s unit, including the bad boy Jim, who repeatedly challenges Lela's authority. Lela struggles to keep all her Guards on the right side of the law, but their mistakes come at a terrible cost.

As one painful revelation follows another and the Mazikin start targeting those closest to her, Lela finds herself more vulnerable than she’s ever been, wanting a future more than she ever has. With an enemy determined to separate soul from body, one question remains: how much is she willing to sacrifice to protect those she loves?

Amazon • Goodreads

*Fractured (or Sanctum if you've yet to read it) is one of the books I'm giving away as part of the Something Wicked Returns Giveaway Hop, so be sure and enter HERE if you haven't yet!