Metaltown Blog Tour: Guest Post + Giveaway

Today I have the very special honor of welcoming an author I get to call friend to the blog to celebrate the release of her newest YA book, Metaltown. I couldn't be more excited for this book or for Kristen as she is one of the most adorable people you'll ever meet, and I hope you guys all have this book on your lists! Since the world of Metaltown and its factories is a brutal one where the days are long and so very hard, I asked Kristen to help us put on protagonist Ty's shoes for a few minutes and walk her mile. 

Be sure and check out the bottom of the post for a complete list of the participating blogs so you can follow along, as well as all the details on a fantastic giveaway!

WHAT ARE 5 THINGS TY WOULD WANT US TO KNOW ABOUT LIVING LIFE AS A FACTORY WORKER?

1. Don’t be a baby. You think your life’s tough? Try waking up before dawn every morning to get a bowl of mash at St. Mary’s, or working a double in a hot factory just to not get paid. First rule of factory life? Keep your mouth shut and your eyes open. You want a free ride you can go cross the beltway to Bakerstown.

2. Find someone who’s got your back. You look out for them, they look out for you. It’s that simple.

3. Don’t eat anything that hasn’t been tested. What are you, crazy? The stuff they sell on the streets in the factory district is flat out deadly. If you want the corn flu, by all means, give it a shot. Otherwise, stick to stuff you know is clean.

4. Don’t fight someone smaller than you. Don’t steal from your own people. I share my food with you, tomorrow you share yours with me. Those are street rules, got it?

5. Colin’s mine. Keep your hands off.

Noted, Ty. ;-)

Thanks so much Kristen!

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

METALTOWN

Metaltown, where factories rule, food is scarce, and hope is in short supply.

The rules of Metaltown are simple: Work hard, keep your head down, and watch your back. You look out for number one, and no one knows that better than Ty. She’s been surviving on the factory line as long as she can remember. But now Ty has Colin. She’s no longer alone; it’s the two of them against the world. That’s something even a town this brutal can’t take away from her. Until it does.

Lena’s future depends on her family’s factory, a beast that demands a ruthless master, and Lena is prepared to be as ruthless as it takes if it means finally proving herself to her father. But when a chance encounter with Colin, a dreamer despite his circumstances, exposes Lena to the consequences of her actions, she’ll risk everything to do what’s right.

In Lena, Ty sees an heiress with a chip on her shoulder. Colin sees something more. In a world of disease and war, tragedy and betrayal, allies and enemies, all three of them must learn that challenging what they thought was true can change all the rules.

An enthralling story of friendship and rebellion, Metaltown will have you believing in the power of hope.

Amazon | B&N 

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 

KRISTEN SIMMONS

Kristen Simmons is the author of the ARTICLE 5 series, THE GLASS ARROW, and the upcoming METALTOWN (Tor Teen). She loves her family, Jazzercise, and chocolate cupcakes. She currently lives in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Website | Twitter | Facebook 

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway

WEEK ONE

9/12: Mundie Moms - Q&A

9/13: Fiction Fare - Review

9/14: Eater of Books - Review

9/15: Two Chicks on Books - Q&A

9/16: Krista's Dust Jacket - Review

WEEK TWO

9/19: No BS Book Reviews - Makeup Inspirations

9/20: Quite the Novel Idea - Review

9/21: Supernatural Snark - Guest Post

9/22: The Petite Book Blogger - Review

9/23: The Irish Banana Review - Top 10

Waiting on Wednesday: Metaltown

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!

METALTOWN

Kristen Simmons

Young Adult/Dystopian-ish

Releases September 20th from Tor Teen

From Goodreads:

Metaltown, where factories rule, food is scarce, and hope is in short supply.

The rules of Metaltown are simple: Work hard, keep your head down, and watch your back. You look out for number one, and no one knows that better than Ty. She’s been surviving on the factory line as long as she can remember. But now Ty has Colin. She’s no longer alone; it’s the two of them against the world. That’s something even a town this brutal can’t take away from her. Until it does.

Lena’s future depends on her family’s factory, a beast that demands a ruthless master, and Lena is prepared to be as ruthless as it takes if it means finally proving herself to her father. But when a chance encounter with Colin, a dreamer despite his circumstances, exposes Lena to the consequences of her actions, she’ll risk everything to do what’s right.

In Lena, Ty sees an heiress with a chip on her shoulder. Colin sees something more. In a world of disease and war, tragedy and betrayal, allies and enemies, all three of them must learn that challenging what they thought was true can change all the rules.

First, that cover! It's all gritty and gorgeous and metal-y, and I need it in my hands immediately. Second, Kristen Simmons. I adored her Article 5 series, though I have to admit to being a tiny bit nervous because she does brutal really well and is skilled in the art of ripping out readers' hearts and stomping on them before making things better in the end. *stocks up on chocolate* I'm curious as to the dynamic between Ty, Colin and Lena as well, it sounds like it's going to be far more complicated than a triangle between two girls and one guy (if there's a triangle at all), and I can't wait to see how everything unfolds between them!

Goodreads • Amazon

The Big Love Letter Event: Mindee Arnett

Welcome to week three of The Big Love Letter Event! For those of you who missed the introductory post several weeks ago, this event will run every Friday through March 13th and will consist of love letters written by some truly amazing authors. Danny from Bewitched Bookworms and I will each be hosting different letters every week (hop over there today for a little something special from Anna Banks!), so be sure and check out both blogs for a bigger and better celebration of all things swoon-worthy. We'll also be hosting a fantastic giveaway, so don't forget to check the bottom of the post for all the details, as well as links to all the previous love letters in case you didn't get to them!

I have the great pleasure today to welcome young adult author Mindee Arnett back to the blog to share a letter from Eli to his love interest Dusty, two characters from her hugely entertaining Arkwell Academy series. Book one, The Nightmare Affair, is where I first discovered–and fell madly in love with–Mindee, her sense of humor shining through Dusty and endearing her to me forever. People who love to laugh are my kind of people, and, I say this in the least stalkerish way possible, Mindee is someone I consider my people. If you haven't tried the Arkwell books or her amazing Avalon series, then get on it because Mindee's books are the kind it would be a travesty to miss!

Dear Dusty,

Summers shouldn’t be like this. So long, so slow. Before I met you my summer breaks flew by fast as anything, the days blurring into one another. Then again, this one would be flying by too, if you were here. But you’re not. You’re touring Europe with your mother, although we both know the trip is just an excuse to keep us apart. Your mother believes the dream seer curse is true. But we don’t. We know better.

I think. I hope.

I wish you were here. But I’ve been doing my best to stay busy. Some days are better than others. But the nights are the hardest. You’re in my dreams every night. That sounds incredibly sappy, but we both know that our dreams are different, special. Or at least they were when you were here. But all summer my dreams have been my own. Lonely. Empty. The dream you my self-conscious keeps supplying isn’t good enough. She’s not the real thing, but a shadow. Sometimes when I first arrive in my dream and spot her, I think she’s really you, that you’re really here, and for a few minutes everything is right. Then I realize the truth and it’s worse than ever.

Not only that but my dreams lack the substance of the ones we share together. Is it weird that I miss that, too? I know I shouldn’t. Dreams that aren’t fraught with danger and symbols of impending doom should be welcome, but I’d rather face the danger—with you. And there is still danger out there. We need to be together to fight. Apart we’re blind and vulnerable. Why can’t the Magi Senate see it? Why doesn’t your mother understand? I wish we could make them all see the truth. Then again, it’s just a few weeks, right? In reality it’s no time at all, no matter that it feels like eternity.

Honestly, I’m not sure why I’m even writing this letter. It’s not like I can mail it to you. Where would I send it? I don’t even know where you are exactly. And emailing is out of the question since you’re mom confiscated your phone. I know the coverage rates are crazy expensive over there, but it seems a ready-made excuse to keep us apart. I hate it. I guess this means that you probably won’t ever see this letter. But I’m writing it anyway. What does that mean?

I guess it means that…that…I love you. Wow, writing it feels strange like gravity has suddenly become less somehow, like if I jump in the air I might lose my hold on the earth. I’ve never said it before, never admitted it, not even to myself. But it’s true. I love you. Maybe someday, when you’re back, I’ll finally get to tell you.

Love,
Eli

Dammit Eli! Way to make a girl cry ugly tears. *wanders off to call the husband and berate him for not writing me heartfelt and gloriously sappy love letters*

*Book 3, The Nightmare Charade, releases in August from Tor Teen.

 • • • • • • • • • • • • •

THE NIGHTMARE AFFAIR
Arkwell Academy #1

Sixteen-year-old Dusty Everhart breaks into houses late at night, but not because she’s a criminal. No, she’s a Nightmare.

Literally.

Being the only Nightmare at Arkwell Academy, a boarding school for magickind, and living in the shadow of her mother’s infamy, is hard enough. But when Dusty sneaks into Eli Booker’s house, things get a whole lot more complicated. He’s hot, which means sitting on his chest and invading his dreams couldn’t get much more embarrassing. But it does. Eli is dreaming of a murder.

Then Eli’s dream comes true.

Now Dusty has to follow the clues—both within Eli’s dreams and out of them—to stop the killer before more people turn up dead. And before the killer learns what she’s up to and marks her as the next target.

Amazon • Goodreads • B&N

• • • • • • • • • • • • •

THE NIGHTMARE DILEMMA
Arkwell Academy #2

Sixteen-year-old Dusty Everhart breaks into houses late at night, but not because she’s a criminal. No, she’s a Nightmare.

Literally.

Being the only Nightmare at Arkwell Academy, a boarding school for magickind, and living in the shadow of her mother’s infamy, is hard enough. But when Dusty sneaks into Eli Booker’s house, things get a whole lot more complicated. He’s hot, which means sitting on his chest and invading his dreams couldn’t get much more embarrassing. But it does. Eli is dreaming of a murder.

Then Eli’s dream comes true.

Now Dusty has to follow the clues—both within Eli’s dreams and out of them—to stop the killer before more people turn up dead. And before the killer learns what she’s up to and marks her as the next target.

Amazon • Goodreads • B&N

• • • • • • • • • • •

MINDEE ARNETT

Mindee Arnett lives on a horse farm in Ohio with her husband, two kids, a couple of dogs, and an inappropriate number of cats. She’s addicted to jumping horses and telling tales of magic, the macabre, and outer space. She has far more dreams than nightmares. 

Website • Facebook • Twitter

• • • • • • • • • • •

GIVEAWAY

Danny and I have (what we think) is a pretty fabulous giveaway that will run for the entirety of this event with 5 winners in total when all is said and done:

• Winners 1-4: Each will get a book of your choice from one of the participating authors. (Open internationally as long as Book Depository ships to you! )
• Winner 5  : Hardcover copy of LAILAH by Nikki Kelley plus some awesomely cute swag (international ). Prize is provided by author - thank you so much!
  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Don't forget to check back both here and at Bewitched Bookworms every Friday in February for more letters and a whole lot more love from these fantastic authors:

• Kristen Simmons (The Glass Arrow)
• Mindee Arnett (Polaris, The Nightmare Dilemma)
• Melissa Landers (Invaded)
• Sara Raasch (Snow Like Ashes)
• Emery Lord (The Start of Me and You)
• Liza Palmer (Girl Before a Mirror)
• Anna Banks (Joyride)
• Heather Demetrios (I'll Meet You There)
• Nikki Kelly (The Styclar Saga)
• Paula Stokes (Liars, Inc.)
• & More!

The Big Love Letter Event 2015: Kristen Simmons

Welcome to day one of The Big Love Letter Event! For those of you who missed the introductory post a couple weeks ago, this event will run every Friday through March 13th and will consist of love letters written by some truly amazing authors. Danny from Bewitched Bookworms and I will each be hosting different letters every week (hop over there today for a little something special from Heather Demetrios!), so be sure and check out both blogs for a bigger and better celebration of all things swoon-worthy. We'll also be hosting a fantastic giveaway, so don't forget to check the bottom of the post for all the details!

I have the pleasure of kicking this event off today with Kristen Simmons, author of the Article 5 series and, more recently, The Glass Arrow which is set to release next week. I read the Article 5 series a while back and fell madly in love with it, and then last year was able to meet Kristen at a group signing in Cincinnati. She is, and I say this with absolutely no exaggeration, one of the sweetest and funniest people I've been lucky enough to cross paths with, and I feel privileged to call her friend.

If you haven't added The Glass Arrow to your must-have lists yet, I hope this letter has you remedying that immediately :-)

(Found in the barn behind The Garden)

Aya,

It’s night in the city, though it hardly looks or sounds it. The sky’s gray as muddy water, and the trash machine behind the barn is grinding something fierce. It’s one of two things that’s kept me awake since I came here.

The other is this lumpy bedroll. (That’s a joke, Aya.)

I can see you from the slatted window in the loft, curled up on the hard ground with your wolf as a pillow. You look like all the things I want to feel. Calm and steady. Still and unburdened. The daylight will change you – but this heavy air doesn’t drag you down. It makes you taller. It makes me taller, watching you.

There are things about me you don’t know. Things I can’t tell you. If you ever found them out, you’d probably beat on me for a good while for lying to you. At least, you’d try. (That’s not an invitation to try.)

There are things I want to tell you, though. More things than there are stars in the sky outside this dirty city. Things like, you’re not as good at throwing a ball as you’d like to think. And that I’m safe, and you and me, we aren’t so different.

There are other things, too. Crazy things I’m only writing now because I know you can’t read them. I know what you sing for. Your voice stays in my head, even in the daytime. You are stronger than iron. I like your ankles, and your wild black hair, and the way you say Kiran.

And if I could talk, Aya, I’d talk to you.

Don’t give up. I won’t give up either.
Kiran

*Jenny dies a little inside*

I love you, Kiran :-)

• • • • • • • • • • • 

THE GLASS ARROW

(releases February 10th from Tor Teen)

Once there was a time when men and women lived as equals, when girl babies were valued, and women could belong only to themselves. But that was ten generations ago. Now women are property, to be sold and owned and bred, while a strict census keeps their numbers manageable and under control. The best any girl can hope for is to end up as some man’s forever wife, but most are simply sold and resold until they’re all used up.

Only in the wilderness, away from the city, can true freedom be found. Aya has spent her whole life in the mountains, looking out for her family and hiding from the world, until the day the Trackers finally catch her.

Stolen from her home, and being groomed for auction, Aya is desperate to escape her fate and return to her family, but her only allies are a loyal wolf she’s raised from a pup and a strange mute boy who may be her best hope for freedom . . . if she can truly trust him.

Goodreads • Amazon • B&N

• • • • • • • • • • • • 

KRISTEN SIMMONS

Kristen Simmons writes young adult fiction - the kind that's dark and scary but generally involves some kissing. She's the author of ARTICLE 5 (2012), BREAKING POINT (2013), and THREE (2014), as well as THE GLASS ARROW (2015), and METALTOWN (2016). Words cannot describe how happy all this makes her.

Website • Facebook • Twitter 

• • • • • • • • • • •

GIVEAWAY

Danny and I have (what we think) is a pretty fabulous giveaway that will run for the entirety of this event with 5 winners in total when all is said and done:

• Winners 1-4: Each will get a book of your choice from one of the participating authors. (Open internationally as long as Book Depository ships to you! )
• Winner 5  : Hardcover copy of LAILAH by Nikki Kelley plus some awesomely cute swag (international ). Prize is provided by author - thank you so much!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Don't forget to check back both here and at Bewitched Bookworms every Friday in February for more letters and a whole lot more love from these fantastic authors:

• Kristen Simmons (The Glass Arrow)
• Mindee Arnett (Polaris, The Nightmare Dilemma)
• Melissa Landers (Invaded)
• Sara Raasch (Snow Like Ashes)
• Emery Lord (The Start of Me and You)
• Liza Palmer (Girl Before a Mirror)
• Laura Lee Guhrke (Catch a Falling Heiress)
• Anna Banks (Joyride)
• Heather Demetrios (I'll Meet You There)
• Nikki Kelly (The Styclar Saga)
• Paula Stokes (Liars, Inc.)
• & More!

Review: The Nightmare Dilemma

THE NIGHTMARE DILEMMA
Arkwell Academy #2
Mindee Arnett
Paranormal Young Adult
384 pages
Tor Teen
Available Now
Source: ARC from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
The second in a thrilling new fantastical mystery series

Dusty Everhart might be able to predict the future through the dreams of her crush, Eli Booker, but that doesn’t make her life even remotely easy. When one of her mermaid friends is viciously assaulted and left for dead, and the school’s jokester, Lance Rathbone, is accused of the crime, Dusty’s as shocked as everybody else. Lance needs Dusty to prove his innocence by finding the real attacker, but that’s easier asked than done. Eli’s dreams are no help, more nightmares than prophecies.

To make matters worse, Dusty’s ex-boyfriend has just been acquitted of conspiracy and is now back at school, reminding Dusty of why she fell for him in the first place. The Magi Senate needs Dusty to get close to him, to discover his real motives. But this order infuriates Eli, who has started his own campaign for Dusty’s heart.

As Dusty takes on both cases, she begins to suspect they’re connected to something bigger. And there’s something very wrong with Eli’s dreams, signs that point to a darker plot than they could have ever imagined.

MY THOUGHTS
The Nightmare Dilemma is a solid, entertaining sequel to The Nightmare Affair, beautifully avoiding some of the pitfalls so common in second books of a series and taking us on a complete journey with Dusty instead of leaving us on the final page but only mid-story overall. The synopsis is a bit misleading in a way that doesn’t do this book justice, giving readers the idea that we’ll have to deal with a love triangle when Dusty’s ex-boyfriend reenters the picture to give Eli a run for his money, but thankfully once we crack the spine we find no triangle in sight. Dusty’s ex does make a return appearance, however, Dusty’s history with him is a complicated one and she’s in no hurry to replace her anger with any type of rekindled romantic feelings, her every action in this story making us want to open our arms wide and simply hug her.
 
Dusty’s snark and quick wit were highlights of the first book, but we find a bit more subdued version of her in this second installment, and though she’s still a joy of a heroine, we can’t help but miss her smart mouth just a touch. That infinitesimal niggle aside, Dusty remains someone extraordinarily easy to root for, never once slipping into the tendencies that seem to plague young adult heroines in sequels by thankfully limiting herself to a romance with just one boy rather than waffling between two, and that relationship is in fact a non-relationship for majority of the book. There’s a great deal of tension and unspoken attraction between Dusty and Eli, but it’s more a friendship that has the potential to be something special if both they and the world they live in will let it.

Dusty’s inability to keep a secret is another aspect of her character that has us falling a little more in love with her in this tale, her openness with both best friend Selene and Eli something that brings a huge smile to our faces. She doesn’t always open up to one or both of them immediately, but never does more than a day go by before she’s filling them in on what’s going on with Arkwell's latest mysteries. She’s perhaps not as quick to share personal feelings with Eli as we might like, however it’s all too easy to remember being her age and the sometimes paralyzing fear of rejection that comes with a friendship on the precipice of something both scarier and more exciting. Her tongue doesn’t stay frozen forever though, and we can’t help but want to applaud when the questions that have been tormenting all of us finally burst forth.

As with the first installment, we’re given a complete story in The Nightmare Dilemma, bits and pieces from book one beautifully continued and expanded in this second book, linked together but separate enough that the mystery elements could stand alone should a reader pick the series up out of order. There is a hugely significant revelation toward the end that will inevitably play a big role for Dusty and Eli moving forward, but we're left at the final page with this book’s big puzzle solved and a triumphant grin on our faces, ready for what awaits our dream-seeing pair in the next installment.

Rating: 4/5
 

Find Mindee:

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.

Interview: Mindee Arnett + Avalon

I'm super excited today to welcome young adult author Mindee Arnett back to the blog to answer a few questions about her new sci-fi release, Avalon. I fell a little in love with Mindee after reading least year's The Nightmare Affair, and Avalon only further solidified that love. She writes fantastic characters and hugely entertaining stories, so if you haven't had a chance to read either of her books I hope you add them to your lists immediately!

If you could spend one day aboard a fictional spacecraft from any book, movie or TV show, which one would top your list?

Ah! I love this question. I would definitely have to go with the TARDIS from Doctor Who. It can go anywhere in space and time. Plus is has a swimming pool, a library, racquet ball court. Heck, it probably has stables in there somewhere. That makes it impossible to beat.

Jeth is our protagonist, so we get glimpses of his thoughts and feelings toward every member of his elite team of thieves. What’s one word each member of the team might use to describe him?

Okay, I’m going to cheat with this one and provide phrases.

Lizzie: “butthead but I love him”
Celeste: “handsome but not my type”
Flynn: “can kick my ass but I’m okay with that”
Shady: “thinks he can kick my ass but I’d like to see him try”
Milton: “hard of hearing and thinking”

Of course, you could really add “but I love him” to all of these phrases, because Jeth’s crew definitely does.  

You’ve joined the crew aboard Avalon and are hovering just outside the boundary for the Belgrave Quadrant. What’s the last thought running through your head as you cross into it?

Is there any way to leave a trail of bread crumbs in space?

There’s some pretty fabulous futuristic technology in this book. What gadget from Jeth’s world do you wish existed in ours?

Metatech all the way. I know, of course, that faster than light travel is impossible, but if it were, could you imagine what we might learn and discover out there in the big wide universe? So often in our modern world it feels as if there’s nothing new under the sun, but that would all change if we could travel through space without it taking multiple lifetimes.

Jeth is clearly a very capable team leader, staying cool and calm even when his mission seems like it might be headed south. Celeste works closest with him in the field, so she must have witnessed an episode or two where Jeth wasn’t quite as together as he is when we meet him. Does she have a funny and/or embarrassing Jeth moment she can share with us?

Celeste definitely does! More like repeat offenders. The truth is Jeth was very clumsy at fifteen when they first started working together. He just hadn’t grown into his body. So early on, Celeste dreaded anytime she had to hand him something on the sly. He had a tendency to drop it. Oh, and she is extremely grateful that none of their jobs ever required them to dance. Her feet wouldn’t have survived. Fortunately, at 17 Jeth has grown into himself and is much slicker.

Let’s say Jeth and his crew grew up in today’s world rather than their world of intergalactic space travel. Obviously they wouldn’t be able to pilot various spacecrafts, so who would you guess might accumulate the largest number of traffic tickets or moving violations?

I think Jeth and Celeste would be tied. They both love to go fast.

For the entire crew, but particularly Jeth, Avalon is more than a ship; she’s a vital member of the team and a character unto herself. Even though she’s inanimate, how might Jeth describe her personality?

Jeth would describe her as steadfast. It’s an old, kind of hokey term, but also true. Avalon is like his noble steed that will carry him safely through any battle. She’s the Silver to his Lone Ranger, the Black to his Alec, the Artax to his Atreyu. Minus the drowning in the Swamps of Sadness thing, of course. At least in book 1. Book 2 however…joking…mostly…mwhahahaha!

*The mere mention of Artax in this interview had me sobbing via email to Mindee. I can't help it, okay? I simply cannot deal with that horse sinking in the swamp! *curls into a fetal ball*

As always, thanks for such a superb interview! Truly a highlight :)

*Thank you so much, Mindee!

• • • • • • • • • • • 

AVALON

Of the various star systems that make up the Confederation, most lie thousands of light-years from First Earth-and out here, no one is free. The agencies that govern the Confederation are as corrupt as the crime bosses who patrol it, and power is held by anyone with enough greed and ruthlessness to claim it. That power is derived from one thing: metatech, the devices that allow people to travel great distances faster than the speed of light.

Jeth Seagrave and his crew of teenage mercenaries have survived in this world by stealing unsecured metatech, and they're damn good at it. Jeth doesn't care about the politics or the law; all he cares about is earning enough money to buy back his parents' ship, Avalon, from his crime-boss employer and getting himself and his sister, Lizzie, the heck out of Dodge. But when Jeth finds himself in possession of information that both the crime bosses and the government are willing to kill for, he is going to have to ask himself how far he'll go to get the freedom he's wanted for so long.

Goodreads • Amazon

• • • • • • • • • • •

MINDEE ARNETT

Mindee Arnett lives on a horse farm in Ohio with her husband, two kids, a couple of dogs, and an inappropriate number of cats. She’s addicted to jumping horses and telling tales of magic, the macabre, and outer space. She has far more dreams than nightmares. 

Website • Facebook • Twitter 

Revelations Blog Tour: Interview + Giveaway

I'm very excited today to be a part of the promotional tour for Revelations, book two in The Elysium Chronicles by J.A. Souders. I was a huge fan of book one, Renegade, and can't wait to see where things go for Evie in this newest installment! J.A. was nice enough to answer a few questions for me, and be sure and check the bottom of the post for a full list of participating blogs as well as details on the the giveaway so you don't miss out on any of the fun!

If you had to escape the only home you’ve ever known as Evie does, what’s one thing you would make sure you didn’t leave without?

Oh wow. That’s a great question and one I really had to think about. At first I was like books. Obviously books. Then I was like oh wait. I really should say my family, because I love my family and I wouldn’t want to be without them, but then even though I’m still leaning toward them as my answer, since Evie doesn’t really have a family I’m going to ignore that one. So then I was like, “Hmm. I don’t really know. What is the one thing I made sure I’d have?" (I’m apparently way too serious to come up with a funny answer. LOL.) Then from Evie’s prospective, I was thinking I should bring a weapon to protect myself, considering what she knows of the Surface. But in the end, I decided, I should answer this like it was me, and I’d have to be the best thing I could bring would be my memory box. It’s filled with all sorts of items that are important to me. Photos. Notes. Greeting cards. My first flower from my husband (dried of course), ticket stubs from movies and concerts, etc. That’s kind of cheating, but I suppose that’s why I keep it. Because all my most important things are there and if I’m in a hurry, I can grab it and run. :-)

If Gavin had the ability to restore a single memory of Evie’s of their time together in Elysium, which one would he most like her to remember? 

I would say he’d like her to remember the time when they’re in the abandoned Sector the 2nd time and they’re in the bedroom and he’s just holding her while she cries. It’s his most favored memory from there.

When in Elysium, what’s one thing on the Surface Gavin would have most liked Evie to see?  Has she seen it now that she’s on the Surface herself?

Well, the most honest answer to this would be he’d want her to meet his family. They’re the most important thing to him. Everything he does, every decision he makes is because of them. The only time that changed was when he decided that he needed to save Evie from Elysium and it didn’t matter the cost. And, of course, yes she does. But, if we’re going with places and things it would be, he’d want her to see the stars. Really see them. In all their silvery glory. And yes, there is a scene that I simply love, that he shows her the stars as he sees them. Amidst all the choas that’s happening around them, I think it’s a really beautiful scene and I hope every one else does, too.

If you could sit down with Mother for an interview, what’s the first question you would ask her?

I would ask her if she regrets what she’s done. She’s done a lot of bad things. And she’s going to continue to do them, but she has her reasons and while her reasons are warped, she really is doing them for what she thinks is the good of her people. Sure there’s some selfishness in there, but it’s not all about that. So I’d want to know if she regrets anything that she’s done and if she could do it all over again would she. I’m honestly afraid of the answer I’d get.

What would the Evie of Revelations say to the Evie of Renegade if by some twist of fate and physics they came to be face to face?

To live in the moment. That things change in a flash and nothing is forever. Good or bad. And you have to take the good with the bad, so just enjoy where you’re at now. Stop and smell the roses and live in the moment.

• • • • • • • • • • •

REVELATIONS
(released from TOR Teen on November 5th)

Six weeks after her arrival on the Surface, Evelyn Winters is no closer to unlocking the memories lost in her subconscious than she was when she first came. Isolated in a strange new society, Evie has only Gavin Hunter to remind her of who she once was.

But even with a clean slate, it’s easy to see that Evie doesn’t fit in on the Surface. And as her differences make her feel more and more alone, she can’t help but yearn for that place she doesn’t remember: the isolated city hidden in the depths of the ocean. Elysium. Home.

But she can’t exactly tell Gavin what she’s feeling. Not when he’s the one who helped her escape Elysium in the first place, and has the scars to prove it. Though the doctors say otherwise, Gavin believes that Evie just needs time. And if her memories don’t come back, well, maybe she’s better off not remembering her past.

But the decision may be out of their hands when Evie’s ever-elusive memories begin to collide with reality. People and images from her past appear in the most unlikely places, haunting her, provoking her…and making her seem not only strange but dangerous.

Evie and Gavin can’t wait around for her memories to return. They’ll have to journey across the Outlands of the Surface to find help, and in the end, their search may just lead them back to the place it all started…

Amazon • B&N • Goodreads

• • • • • • • • • •

J.A. SOUDERS

J.A. SOUDERS is the author of the Elysium Chronicles and lives in the land of sunshine and palm trees with her husband and two children where she spends her time writing about the monsters under the bed, day dreaming about living in an underwater colony, and failing miserably at playing video games.

Website • Blog • Twitter • Facebook • Goodreads • Pinterest 

• • • • • • • • • • 

GIVEAWAY + BLOG TOUR

Grand Prize- 1 Signed set of Renegade and Revelations, 1 scrabble tile pendant with covers of both books, and a $25 gift card to Amazon or B&N!

Second Place- 1 Signed set of Renegade and Revelations and 1 set of scrabble tile pendants with covers of both books.

Third Place- 1 set Revelations themed swag

To enter, please just fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Giveaway is for US residents only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Tour Schedule:

Week One:

10/28/2013- Magical Urban Fantasy Reads- Guest Post  
10/29/2013- Katie's Book Blog- Interview  
10/30/2013- The Book Life- Review  
10/31/2013- Curling Up With A Good Book- Guest Post  
11/1/2013- That Artsy Reader Girl- Review

Week Two:

11/4/2013- Bookish- Interview  
11/5/2013- Two Chicks on Books- Guest Post   
11/6/2013- Supernatural Snark- Interview  
11/7/2013- Book Haven Extraordinaire- Review  
11/8/2013- Jenna Does Books- Review

Waiting on Wednesday: The Nightmare Dilemma

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!

THE NIGHTMARE DILEMMA

Arkwell Academy #2

Mindee Arnett

Releases March 4th, 2014 from Tor Teen

From Goodreads:

Dusty Everhart might be able to predict the future through the dreams of her crush, Eli Booker, but that doesn’t make her life even remotely easy. When one of her mermaid friends is viciously assaulted and left for dead, and the school’s jokester, Lance Rathbone, is accused of the crime, Dusty’s as shocked as everybody else. Lance needs Dusty to prove his innocence by finding the real attacker, but that’s easier asked than done. Eli’s dreams are no help, more nightmares than prophecies.

To make matters worse, Dusty’s ex-boyfriend has just been acquitted of conspiracy and is now back at school, reminding Dusty of why she fell for him in the first place. The Magi Senate needs Dusty to get close to him, to discover his real motives. But this order infuriates Eli, who has started his own campaign for Dusty’s heart.

As Dusty takes on both cases, she begins to suspect they’re connected to something bigger. And there’s something very wrong with Eli’s dreams, signs that point to a darker plot than they could have ever imagined.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Nightmare Affair earlier this year, so I'm extremely excited to get back into this world and see what trouble Dusty will stir up next. I'm slightly concerned over the mention of Dusty's ex-boyfriend given my full approval of the budding romance with Eli–my love triangle radar is pinging warning after warning in my head–but seeing as the first book was relatively low in the angst department, I'm going to pick this one up hoping it continues in the same deliciously relationship melodrama-free vein.

Also, anyone else see screaming faces in the black shapes above each of the character's heads on that cover? Or is that just me? At first I thought they were branches or flourishes, but I think they're creepy-yet-cool faces with pointy noses and open mouths, and the one on the right seems to be sucking the "a" of "dilemma" right in. Awesome. I'm a big fan of illustrated covers, so both of the covers in this series have worked really well for me:)

Review: Breaking Point

BREAKING POINT
Article 5 #2
Kristen Simmons
Young Adult/Dystopian
400 pages
Tor Teen
Available Now
Received from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
After faking their deaths to escape from prison, Ember Miller and Chase Jennings have only one goal: to lay low until the Federal Bureau of Reformation forgets they ever existed.

Near-celebrities now for the increasingly sensationalized tales of their struggles with the government, Ember and Chase are recognized and taken in by the Resistance—an underground organization working to systematically take down the government. At headquarters, all eyes are on the sniper, an anonymous assassin taking out FBR soldiers one by one. Rumors are flying about the sniper’s true identity, and Ember and Chase welcome the diversion….

Until the government posts its most-wanted list, and their number one suspect is Ember herself.

Orders are shoot to kill, and soldiers are cleared to fire on suspicion alone. Suddenly Ember can’t even step onto the street without fear of being recognized, and “laying low” is a joke. Even members of the Resistance are starting to look at her sideways.

With Chase urging her to run, Ember must decide: Go into hiding…or fight back?

MY THOUGHTS
Breaking Point is a thrilling sequel, every page vibrating with tension on both physical and emotional levels as Chase and Ember take up the fight of the Resistance. This is a story we close the back cover on with our guts roiling and clashing due to the myriad of conflicting emotions, refusing to settle even though we’ve exited Ember’s brutal world of chaos and compliance and returned to the safety of our reality. Ms. Simmons makes the most of every single page in this lengthy tale, perfectly balancing the quiet moments with the action-packed ones to ensure our hearts slowly migrate from the safety and protection of the center of our chests to our sleeves, where they sit vulnerable and exposed to a continued emotional onslaught.

Ember shows a great deal of growth in this second installment, her lingering anger at Chase for his initial enlistment as well as the role he played in her mother’s death slowly fading, allowing her to see Chase more clearly without the red haze of pain clouding her vision. Her progress is of course gradual–her impulsiveness and quick temper still present and accounted for in the first half of the book–but she slowly comes to realize the effect her behavior has on those around her, especially Chase, and she proceeds to make a concerted effort to listen when it’s asked of her, act when she’s needed, and provide support when her pillars of strength start to crumble.

Chase and Ember’s romance is a beacon of light amidst the grit and violence of a terrifying possible future, their relationship perhaps even more tense in this book than in book one as weighted silences and meaningless conversations mask the anxiety and pain churning beneath the surface. Where their initial lack of communication would normally be frustrating, we know in this case the poisonous quiet between them is borne of fear rather than the anger we saw from both in book one, and we simply cannot begrudge them the survival instinct to curl in on themselves in preparation for warding off whatever blow is headed their way next. Ms. Simmons beautifully stuns us with one all-too brief scene though; a fleeting moment between Chase and Ember that suddenly rights scales that had been steadily slipping farther and farther off balance, lifting a weight from our chests and allowing us to suck in a deep breathe for the first time since we started reading.

Overall, Breaking Point is a magnificent follow up to Article 5, captivating us from the very first page and never once losing our rapt attention. Some may still be disappointed by the lack of detailed explanation as to how this post-apocalyptic world came to be, but in my opinion, what we do know is enough to be able to fill in the blanks ourselves, well aware of how easily a shift in power can occur when the world is suddenly thrown into anarchy. We’re left with things very much unresolved, but we are given the satisfaction of one of Ember and Chase’s main goals in this second book being achieved, thereby making the wait for book three more bearable as we revel in one success even as we despair of a separate massive failure.

Rating: 4.5/5

Interview: Mindee Arnett + The Nightmare Affair

I'm chock-full of giddiness today because I have the pleasure of welcoming young adult author Mindee Arnett to the blog to answer a few questions about the first book in her new series, The Nightmare Affair. I absolutely adored this book (read my full review here), it was full of snark and romance and mystery, and I simply couldn't put it down. A huge thank you to Mindee for taking the time to answer all my questions, and I hope you all enjoy the interview!

If you were a Nightmare like Dusty, what would you dread seeing most in someone’s dreams?

Oh my, probably all the naked people? I know that some of my worst nightmares growing up were the ones where I would find myself at school without any pants on. Even thinking about it makes me embarrassed. And really, witnessing someone else’s mortal embarrassment can be just as bad.

Let’s say you find yourself in Eli’s shoes, attending a school for magically gifted students when you yourself are ordinary. What would you love and hate most about the experience?

I would love just seeing and experiencing the magic, especially combined with all the history of it. I think I would be paralyzed by wonder. But eventually, I would hate not being able to participate. It would be pure torture. Poor Eli. I’m feeling sorry for him all over again.

Dusty is given an extra assignment thanks to her smart mouth. She has to travel to the world of any young adult piece of fiction and witness the dreams of a character of her choosing and then report back with her findings. Whose sleepy mind would she most like to see into?

I think she would pick Cas Lowood from Anna Dressed in Blood. I imagine Cas’s dreams are pretty scary given his day job, but I think Dusty would have a fun time making him dream about fluffy kittens and unicorns instead. Plus, who wouldn’t want to meet Cas? He’s the epitome of cool.

If your computer was to develop a personality like the technology at Dusty’s school has, what type of personality would it have and what kinds of things would it do to express itself?

My current computer is a brand new Mac Air, and I’m quite sure it would have a brainy- chic attitude. I think it would mostly express itself with quirky Doctor Who sounds and wiseass remarks when I make silly typos.

My previous computer was a Dell, and it would be stubborn and crotchety, a bit like an electronic mule. It would express itself with loud, annoying noise and unnecessary commentary, a lot like the computers at Arkwell.

Eli can’t manipulate his own dreams the way Dusty can, but if he could, is there any one place he would like to show her while he has her all to himself away from the real world?

Such a tough question! I think Eli is a bit of a rugged romantic. I think he would take her somewhere very remote and naturally beautiful, like the top of a mountain. This song is a little dated, but I think Eli is a bit like the “cowboy” in the Dixie Chicks song “Cowboy Take Me Away.”

What’s the strangest or most inconvenient place you’ve found yourself when a brilliant idea for a story has popped into your head?

I get a lot of ideas in the shower or while cleaning stalls. Pretty strange, I know, but I guess it’s because both activities are physical and methodical, the perfect activity for the creative mind to wander.

Dreams are rarely straightforward and often times deliver meaning only through symbolism. If Dusty was to get a peek at the events of book two in dream form, what’s one symbolic element she might see there?

Birds. I won’t say what kind of bird or anything, but definitely birds. And funnily enough, I think the cover artist for The Nightmare Affair, the lovely Kate Forrester, must be psychic because she put this on the cover long before I started writing book 2:

 

Thanks so much for such a fabulous interview!

• • • • • • • • • • 

MINDEE ARNETT

Mindee Arnett lives on a horse farm in Ohio with her husband, two kids, a couple of dogs, and an inappropriate number of cats. She’s addicted to jumping horses and telling tales of magic, the macabre, and outer space. She has far more dreams than nightmares.

Website • Blog • Facebook • Twitter • Goodreads • Amazon

• • • • • • • • • • 

THE NIGHTMARE AFFAIR

Sixteen-year-old Dusty Everhart breaks into houses late at night, but not because she’s a criminal. No, she’s a Nightmare.

Literally.

Being the only Nightmare at Arkwell Academy, a boarding school for magickind, and living in the shadow of her mother’s infamy, is hard enough. But when Dusty sneaks into Eli Booker’s house, things get a whole lot more complicated. He’s hot, which means sitting on his chest and invading his dreams couldn’t get much more embarrassing. But it does. Eli is dreaming of a murder.

Then Eli’s dream comes true.

Now Dusty has to follow the clues—both within Eli’s dreams and out of them—to stop the killer before more people turn up dead. And before the killer learns what she’s up to and marks her as the next target.