Dark Days Tour Recap

This past Tuesday I had the opportunity to attend HarperTeen's Dark Days tour as it stopped at Books & Co in Dayton, Ohio. There has been an increase in the number of amazing author signings in the Dayton/Cincinnati area of late, and I can only hope this trend continues because it's hugely exciting for me to get the chance to meet and chat with such a wide variety of talented women.

Rae Carson (The Girl of Fire and Thorns Trilogy), Amelia Kahaney (The Brokenhearted), and Mindy McGinnis (Not a Drop to Drink) were all a part of this leg of the tour, and I was given the chance to spend a few minutes with them before the event started (I even managed to form coherent sentences this time, WELL DONE ME!). Since time was a little short, I decided to forgo actual interview questions and instead torture all three of them with word associations. I like to keep people on their toes you see ;-) They were up for anything though, and I have to admit to enjoying hurling words at them probably more than I should have. Below are all their responses, plus some pictures from the event as well as highlights from the general Q+A session.

WORD ASSOCIATIONS

Chapter 1

Mindy: Sucks (as in the writing of it; she said her actual first chapter doesn't suck ;-)
Rae: Revision
Amelia: Hard

Heroine

Mindy: Strong
Rae: Fun
Amelia: Super

Love Interest

Mindy: Dead
Rae: Hot
Ameila: Villain

Journey

Mindy: Internal
Rae: Interminable
Amelia: Indomitable

Family

Mindy: Dead*
Rae: Pain in the butt
Amelia: Out to lunch

*we all had to laugh at this point at the seeming death theme of Mindy's answers and how well she obviously fit on a tour called Dark Days.

Revision

Mindy: 6 months
Rae: Personal hell
Amelia: Redemption

Book Cover

Mindy: Beautiful
Rae: Fantasy
Amelia: Sexy

Leader

Mindy: Hard
Rae: Elisa
Amelia: Corrupt

Challenge

Mindy: Disaster
Rae: Writing
Amelia: Transforming

Fear

Mindy: Death*
Rae: Life
Amelia: Rebirth

*we all snorted at this

The End

Mindy: Angry
Rae: Triumph
Amelia: Twist

Writer

Mindy: Work
Rae: Sucker
Amelia: Poor

Imagination

Mindy: Flowing
Rae: Livlihood
Amelia: Atmosphere

Regret

Mindy: Theme of book
Rae: Perpetual
Amelia: Heartbreak

Future

Mindy: Bleak
Rae: Shades
Amelia: Lies

• • • • • • • • • • 

Q+A HIGHLIGHTS
(a huge thanks to Cathy for taking notes while I tweeted and took pictures)

• The idea for Not a Drop to Drink came from a fresh water shortage documentary Mindy saw called "Blue Gold". In the book, people in the country have water and people in the city want it, so her protagonist learns to be the type of person to shoot first and ask questions later when it comes to the pond she guards. She called the book "Little House on the Prairie on crack". Win.

• Amelia was asked how the idea for a character with a hummingbird heart came to be and she said she was doing research on hummingbirds and discovered numerous interesting facts that were catalysts for the book. A hummingbird's heart beats 10x faster than ours, and if it stays still too long, its heart actually stops. O.o

• All three ladies were asked what they enjoyed most about writing for a teen audience. Rae said she loved that teens were open to anything and tended to be less prejudiced and judgmental than adult readers, but she acknowledged that a huge chunk of her readers were in fact adults. Amelia chimed in with some stats she'd read in an article, saying nearly 35% of YA readers are between the ages of 18 and 35 with another 15-20% consisting of the next age bracket up.

• Both Mindy and Amelia said they were huge fans of Stephen King when they were teenagers, and Rae devoured every single Nancy Drew book she could find, sharing a story about getting out of class by pretending to go to the bathroom only to wander down to the library to see if they'd gotten a new shipment of Nancy Drew books in.

• The last question they were all asked was what they wanted readers to take away from their stories. Rae said she's not big on moral messages, and she just wants readers to have an overall experience. Amelia said there's some thoughts on trusting boys running through her story as well as a look at political corruption and class distinction. Mindy wrapped things up in the best possible way saying, "You probably shouldn't shoot people". Awesome.

I had such a great time with all three of these authors, each of whom was incredibly personable and easy to talk to, and I hope they had enough fun in Dayton that they might consider coming back in the near future!

Rae Carson, Amelia Kahaney, Me, and Mindy McGinnis

Rae, Amelia and Mindy getting ready to answer questions

Rae Carson

Amelia Kahaney

Mindy McGinnis

Mindy very appropriately brought bottles of water (with snazzy labels!) to the signing, along with fancy water droplet stickers made for her by author Sherry Thomas (The Burning Sky)

Review: The Bitter Kingdom

THE BITTER KINGDOM
Fire and Thorns #3
Rae Carson
Young Adult/Fantasy
448 pages
Greenwillow Books
Available August 27th
Source: e-ARC via Edelweiss for review

THE STORY (from Amazon)
The champion must not waver.
The champion must not fear.
The gate of darkness closes.

Elisa is a fugitive.

Her enemies have stolen the man she loves, and they await her at the gate of darkness. Her country is on the brink of civil war, with her own soldiers ordered to kill her on sight.

Her Royal Majesty, Queen Lucero-Elisa née Riqueza de Vega, bearer of the Godstone, will lead her three loyal companions deep into the enemy's kingdom, a land of ice and snow and brutal magic, to rescue Hector and win back her throne. Her power grows with every step, and the shocking secrets she will uncover on this, her final journey, could change the course of history.

But that is not all. She has a larger destiny. She must become the champion the world has been waiting for.

Even of those who hate her most.

MY THOUGHTS
The Bitter Kingdom is everything the conclusion of a sprawling, epic fantasy should be – a long and exhausting journey fraught with challenges mental, emotional and physical that brings us around full circle from where we began with Elisa so many pages ago. Ms. Carson dives straight back into Elisa’s story with little to no recap of previous events – and very few hints to help us identify some of the secondary characters who don’t feature as prominently in our memories as Elisa and Hector do – so a quick review of some of the events of The Crown of Embers is recommended. That being said however, though we don’t necessarily recall all the finer details of characters and places, it’s easy to get immediately swept up in Elisa’s search for Hector, the foggy specifics of books past becoming ultimately irrelevant in the face of her desperate search for a way to save the man and the country she loves.

Elisa is the type of character about whom it’s an absolute pleasure to read, starting her time with us off a touch whiny and completely unsure of herself as she’s thrust into an arranged marriage, but ending up a fighter, a champion, a leader, and someone whose strength never fails to be awe-inspiring. In this final installment we get to see the many varieties of Elisa’s strength, the augmented power of her Godstone combining with her growing skill in hand to hand combat to show us just how formidable she’s becoming physically, but it’s her strength as a ruler that truly shines. Her Godstone is what guaranteed her ascension to the throne, but it’s her intuition, her ability to think on her feet, and her compassion that keep her there, leaving a trail of unwavering loyalty in her wake as she risks everything for a chance at a better life for her people.

While secondary to the many challenges Elisa faces as both Queen and living bearer of a Godstone, the romance with Hector has been a highlight in the past and continues to be one in The Bitter Kingdom, providing a comforting warmth just when her journey is at its darkest. We are treated to a few select chapters from Hector’s point of view, something that deeply satisfies in the first part of the story when he and Elisa are separated and things between them are a touch up in the air, but even with the uncertainty we know neither Elisa nor Hector are the type to play games or hide feelings. They are nothing short of truthful with one another at all times, expressing fears and concerns on an emotional level as well as a professional one given Hector is Lord-Commander to Elisa’s Queen, and the two of them together simply delight with the upfront nature of their relationship.

The only minor drawback to this final installment is with regard to Elisa’s act of service, something that’s part and parcel with being a bearer and something that’s weighed heavily on her throughout the series. We do find out what her act of service is, but it’s unclear as to why this particular act is so important in the grand scheme of things. Granted, we’re reminded again and again that God’s plan isn’t necessarily going to be readily apparent and that Elisa’s act of service may not be something significant for years to come, but a small hint or clue as to its role down the line would have been nice. Overall though, The Bitter Kingdom is rich of character and story, and I can’t wait to see what Rae Carson comes up with next.

Rating: 4/5
 

Find Rae:

Website • Facebook • Twitter • Amazon • Goodreads

 

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: The Girl of Fire and Thorns

THE GIRL OF FIRE AND THORNS
(Fire and Thorns #1)
Rae Carson
Young Adult Fantasy
422 pages
Greenwillow/HarperCollins
Received from publisher for review

THE STORY
It's Elisa's sixteenth birthday. It's also her wedding day. Her father has arranged her marriage to King Alejandro as part of a political alliance in preparation for the upcoming war with the Invierne. Not many outside those closest to her know that she is also the bearer of the Godstone, a sparkling blue gem in her navel that shows everyone God has chosen her for a special Service. Only one in every century is chosen.

Elisa doesn't feel like a chosen one. She's not as beautiful or charming as her older sister, and as soon as she reaches her new husband's kingdom, he asks that she lie to those in the court and keep their marriage a secret. She learns why when she sees his stunning mistress. Alone and unsure, Elisa wonders what's in store for her.

Not long after her arrival, Elisa wakes to find a cloth over her face, coming to hours later and miles away from the palace. Taken by a group of young men and women her age, they lead her to an outpost in the desert and show her that the war her husband is preparing for has actually already begun. With them, Elisa finds a new purpose and learns some of the history of the Godstone, most notably that the bearers almost always die young. With war raging, she has little doubt she will soon join them in demise, but hopes she can fulfill her Service before she goes.

MY THOUGHTS
Reading part one of The Girl of Fire and Thorns (there are three sections) is a bit like playing that game where you (along with a group of other gluttons for punishment) spin in circles as fast as possible and then attempt to run in a straight line quicker than those around you while onlookers watch in amusement as everyone wobbles about extraordinarily disoriented. In the same vein, we as readers are dropped into Elisa's story, informed quickly she bears something called a Godstone and is being pawned off to a marriage of convenience and politics, but we are given so little history as to how we've reached this point. We are told of an impending war with a group of people called the Invierne, yet we know nothing about them or why they are at odds with Elisa's new husband, and while we are aware Elisa has been chosen for the Godstone we are given no background information regarding it either. Thus, we find ourselves floundering a bit in a world with already established political relationships we don't fully comprehend, grasping for something concrete to steady us as we're tugged along on Elisa's journey.

Once we reach part two, it's as though a switch gets flipped and we suddenly find ourselves intrigued and invested as our feet, previously dragging on this adventure, move faster and faster until we're flat out sprinting to get to the end in order to find out what happens. This change is due in most part to Elisa herself, starting out in the beginning a girl who constantly fixates on her weight and the fact that she's not as pretty or skinny as those around her, and who seems content with her ignorance of the Service she is to perform as a bearer. When she's kidnapped about 150 pages in however, Elisa sheds the skin (literally and figuratively) of the slightly chubby princess with a backbone that bends to the will of others as needed, and gradually transforms into a young woman of drive and determination–that previous spinal bend slowly straightening and solidifying into steel. She grows from a shy follower to a bold leader, leaving her melancholic musings on physical appearance behind and focusing on learning as much as she can about who she is as a bearer and how she can help those who so clearly need her.

With Elisa's progress from a girl comprised of transparent vapors whom our fingers slip right through as we try to connect to her to a tangible intellectual powerhouse no longer afraid to speak her mind, we find ourselves utterly captivated. The questions regarding the history of the war between the Invierne and the rest of the territories become irrelevant as the relationships between Elisa and those who look up to her strengthen and grow in emotional complexity, drawing our attention away from what we don't know and dazzling us with what's currently taking place on the pages. Ms. Carson also makes it abundantly clear that no character is safe in this world of fantasy she's created, fraying the strands of our newly developed connections and showing us just how involved we've become by delivering some well-placed blows to the heart.

The Girl of Fire and Thorns ends far stronger than it starts, progressing into a truly entertaining tale that leaves us craving more. There is still a lot of history missing by the end of these 400 plus pages, but as it is the first in a series, presumably we'll learn a bit more as we continue forth. Elisa is a remarkable heroine once the kidnapping sparks a fire in her, proving to both her and us just how much of a fighter she truly is, and I for one cannot wait to see how she will continue to mature in the next couple books.

Because I had such drastically different reactions to part one versus parts two and three, I'm splitting my rating:

Part 1: 3/5
Parts 2&3: 4/5