Embrace Blog Tour: ARC Review + Author Interview + Giveaway

~Review~

Author: Jessica Shirvington

Series: The Violet Eden Chapters #1

Pages: 367
Format: ARC
Source: Sourcebooks (Thanks Jessica)
Rating: 3.5/5

Summery:
Violet Eden is dreading her seventeenth birthday dinner. After all, it’s hard to get too excited about the day that marks the anniversary of your mother’s death. The one bright spot is that Lincoln will be there. Sexy, mature and aloof, he is Violet’s idea of perfection. But why does he seem so reluctant to be anything more than a friend?

After he gives her the world’s most incredible kiss – and then abandons her on her front doorstep – Violet is determined to get some answers. But nothing could have prepared her for Lincoln’s explanation: he is Grigori – part angel and part human – and Violet is his eternal partner.

Without warning, Violet’s world is turned upside down. She never believed in God, let alone angels. But there’s no denying the strange changes in her body ... and her feelings for Lincoln. Suddenly, she can’t stand to be around him. Luckily, Phoenix, an exiled angel, has come into her life. He’s intense and enigmatic, but at least he never lied to her.

As Violet gets caught up in an ancient battle between dark and light, she must choose her path. The wrong choice could cost not only her life, but her eternity...

Review:
I will always compare angel books to Hush, Hush.  That's just a fact.  And while this book isn't as kick-ass as Hush, Hush, it's still special in it's own way.

I really liked the different angel spin Shirvington put on this story.  I think it was a good idea, a good story line, and amazing writing.  There were just a few things that weren't very good: Shirvington mentioned towards the end of the book that Violet was terrified of her old teacher (you'll understand once you read the book) but I didn't really get that vibe throughout the book.  And the embrace, which should have been amazing, breathtaking, and should have sucked me right in, didn't.  It should have been a climax to the story and it wasn't.  And at the moments that should have been groundbreaking and momentous, she made the moments boring.  Those moments are when the reader should be totally sucked in and can't hear her brothers screaming bloody murder into her ear, but it wasn't.  And, although this book had a love triangle, it was only a semi one, so I think it really helped the story.

In the love triangle there are three people: Violet, Lincoln, and Phoenix.  But the thing is, there really isn't a love triangle.  Violet chooses Phoenix, and I can't for the life of me figure out why.  (Don't worry, that's not a spoiler.  It is a small detail in the whole story.)  Lincoln just seemed so nice and all, perfect boyfriend material.  But on the other hand, Phoenix was smokin' hot and totally swoon worthy.  Towards the end of the book,  I liked Phoenix better.  And, although he did something bad (I won't tell) in the end of the book, I still like him.  Usually when a boy messes up and does something like framing the girl for a crime he committed, I despise that boy.  But with Phoenix, I like him just as much.  I think part of the reason why is that Shirvington didn't make what he did groundbreaking and world-ending to it didn't really sink in as bad.
Lincoln is the perfect perfect boy.  He's nice, cute, and totally swoon-worthy.  But he wasn't as kick-ass as Phoenix.  Don't get me wrong though, I love both of them.
And, last but not least, there's Violet.  I think she was a very strong female character and I'm so glad that there wasn't a huge love triangle because I would have hated that competing against the fact that she was kick-ass.

All in all, I really enjoyed it and can't wait for the next book, Enticed, to come out September 2012.

Thanks so much to Jessica Shirvington for reading my messages BEGGING for an ARC and for sending it to the right people so they could mail me one.  You're awesome!! :P

______________________________________________________

~Interview~

Today has a been a day of several first for me: my first ever blog tour and first ever author interview and I'm so glad I get to share it with all of you. :)

 Jessica Shirvington is the author of The Violet Eden Chapters also known as The Embrace Series. An entrepreneur, author, and mother living in Sydney, Australia, Jessica is also a 2011 finalist for Cosmopolitan’s annual Fun, Fearless Female Award. She’s also one of the lucky few who met the love of her life at age seventeen: Matt Shirvington, a former Olympian and current sports broadcaster for FOXTEL and Sky News. Married for almost eleven years with two beautiful daughters, Sienna and Winter, Jessica knows her early age romance and its longevity has definitely contributed to how she tackles relationships in her YA novels. Previously, she founded a coffee distribution company, Stella Imports, in London, and before that was involved in the management of restaurants Fuel Bistro and MG Garage in Sydney. Jessica is now a full-time novelist and living her dream.

(Author bio taken from Goodreads)


1.   Could you tell us a bit about yourself?
Sure. I'm 32 years old, I live in Sydney, Australia with my husband, Matt - who was an Olympic sprinter and is now a TV presenter, and our incredible daughters, Sienna and Winter. I have managed and owned a couple of businesses, the main one in London which was a fine foods import and distribution company - we imported products from Italy and France (specializing in espresso coffee) and supplied restaurants and hotels across the UK. I have done a lot of travel in my life, first to adventure, then to follow my husband around the world as he competed, and then living and working in Europe. Embrace is my debut novel and has just been released in stores across the US and Canada. Yay! Until the last couple of years my love of writing has been a private passion, one I never considered a possibility to pursue. I'll never know exactly why I opened my laptop that day sitting at my kitchen counter, but I will be eternally grateful I did! 


2.   What do you enjoy most about being an author?
Storytelling. I get such a buzz out of coming up with a complete story that I believe in and want to share with people.


3.   Who were your biggest influences?
I always say CS Lewis, but the truth is I've read so many books and they all influence me in one way or another. You never stop learning.


4.   Why did you start writing?
At the time, I was reading a lot. Obsessively. I'd just had my youngest daughter and we had moved back to Australia after living in the UK for 6 years. It was the first time in my life I wasn't working full-time and when I actually had a minute to think about what I wanted to do, well, I opened my laptop and started writing. It wasn't a plan. I hadn't considered it could be a new career. I just knew I really wanted to see if I could write a good story.


5.   If you could have a different career instead of being a writer, what would it be?
I did have a different career and I really loved it, so I feel confident when I say, I have no desire to be anything other than a writer (I love it that much!!)


6.   When and how did you get the idea for Embrace?
The idea for Embrace came on that same day. It started with simply writing a scene - an introduction to the main characters and discovering who they were. From there, I knew I wanted to write a story that was based on choice and consequence. This is often at the heart of coming of age stories - I just wanted to delve deeper. The concept of angels worked brilliantly for this as they are often caught up in the predetermined destiny vs freewill debates. And then the research began and the story took shape.


7.   What's your favorite animal?
Horses


8.   Favorite color?
Orange


9.   Favorite candy?
Anything chewy. I love toffee.


10.   Favorite season?
Winter


11.   What can we expect from the next book in this series?

The next books see Violet learning more about who she is and the people around her. With many answers come more questions and the only thing she is sure of is that if she wants to survive and protect the people she loves, she is going to have to fight. Hard. 

In Entice, out Sept 2012, Violet travels to Jordan in search of something that could tilt the balance of light and dark in the world forever. More secrets are revealed, enemies are made, and new characters arrive. Entice really ups the ante in terms of Violet's role in the greater fight and she is also forced to face some matters of the heart she is not sure she wants to.

______________________________________________________

~Giveaway~

Ok, so today I've decided to give away my ARC copy of Embrace, by Jessica Shirvington.  It is in ARC format, so I hope you don't mind.  I have read the copy I am giving away but don't worry, it's in perfect condition.  Please read all the rules carefully and feel free to comment below! :)

MAKE SURE YOU READ THE FOLLOWING RULES VERY CAREFULLY!!

The Rules:

1. There will be one winner. 
2. Giveaway ends on March 29, 2012 @ 11:59 p.m.
3. Must be a GFC follower
4. Must be 13 or older.
5. US resident.  If you're not, no entry (sorry).
6. Fill out the form.

Thanks so much for stopping by and looking in on my first ever blog tour.  It means a lot to me and I really hope you enjoyed it.  Feel free to comment below if you have any pointers or are just feeling talkative :P
Huge thanks to Jessica Shirvington for answering all my questions and for asking me to be a part of this tour in the first place.  You're the best! :)

Cover Reveals: Beautiful Redemption,

Beautiful Redemption
by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
#4 in Caster Chronicles
Release Date: October 23, 2012
Number of pages: -----
Format: Hardcover


I like this cover better than the others.  I love the green and the staircase.  It's perfect in it's simplicity.

Other books in this series:

Venom

by Fiona Paul

#1 in Dark Waters

Release Date: October 3, 2012

Number of pages: 432

Format: Hardcover

Cassandra Caravello is one of Renaissance Venice’s lucky elite: with elegant gowns, sparkling jewels, access to the best balls, her own lady’s maid, and a wealthy fiancé, she has everything a girl could desire. Yet ever since her parents’ death, Cassandra has felt trapped, alone in a city of water, where the dark and labyrinthine canals whisper of escape. 
But when Cass stumbles upon a murdered woman—practically in her own backyard—she’s drawn into a dangerous world of secret societies, courtesans, and killers. Soon, she finds herself falling for Falco, a mysterious artist with a mischievous grin. . .and a spectacular skill for trouble. Can Cassandra find the murderer, before he finds her? And will she stay true to her fiancé, or succumb to her uncontrollable feelings for Falco?

Not a particularly sunning cover but reasonable. :P

Beta

by Rachel Cohn

#1 in Beta

Release Date: October 16, 2012

Number of pages: 304

Format: Hardcover

In a world constructed to absolute perfection, imperfection is difficult to understand—and impossible to hide. 

Elysia is a clone, created in a laboratory, born as a sixteen year old girl, an empty vessel with no life experience to draw from. She is a Beta, an experimental model of teenaged clone. She was replicated from another teenage girl, who had to die in order for Elysia to be created. 

Elysia's purpose is to serve the inhabitants of Demesne, an island paradise for the wealthiest people on earth. Everything about Demesne is bioengineered for perfection. Even the air there induces a strange, euphoric high that only the island's workers—soulless clones like Elysia—are immune to. 

At first, Elysia's new life on this island paradise is idyllic and pampered. But she soon sees that Demesne's human residents, the most privileged people in the world who should want for nothing, yearn. And, she comes to realize that beneath its flawless exterior, there is an undercurrent of discontent amongst Demesne's worker clones. She knows she is soulless and cannot feel and should not care—so why are overpowering sensations clouding Elysia's mind? 

If anyone discovers that Elysia isn't the unfeeling clone she must pretend to be, she will suffer a fate too terrible to imagine. When Elysia's one chance at happiness is ripped away from her with breathtaking cruelty, emotions she's always had but never understood are unleashed. As rage, terror, and desire threaten to overwhelm her, Elysia must find the will to survive.

I LOVE THIS COVER!!  I love the purple.  She's purple!!  This cover is perfect. :)

And that's all I have for you today.  I personally think most of them were amazing and I'm so excited to find out what's inside.  :)

 

 What is your favorite cover!?

Review: Across the Universe

Across the Universe

by Beth Revis

Series: Across the Universe #1

Release Date: January 11, 2011

by Razorbill (an imprint of Penguin)

Goodreads / Purchase

A love out of time. A spaceship built of secrets and murder.

Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects to awaken on a new planet, three hundred years in the future. Never could she have known that her frozen slumber would come to an end fifty years too soon and that she would be thrust into the brave new world of a spaceship that lives by its own rules.

Amy quickly realizes that her awakening was no mere computer malfunction. Someone-one of the few thousand inhabitants of the spaceship-tried to kill her. And if Amy doesn't do something soon, her parents will be next.

Now Amy must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets. But out of her list of murder suspects, there's only one who matters: Elder, the future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen coming.

I haven't read many dystopian books, or books in general, that really disturb me.  And this was the first.  Usually when I read dystopians I'm not really bothered by how some company or organization is running everything, but in this book, I was really affected.

It was a good idea.  It really was.  And I loved that Revis went right into the story.  She didn't mess around and write ten pages for Amy's history.  She got that in in other, brilliant ways.  She wrote the book very well, and the story line was really great, albeit a little boring at times, but overall it was good.  The thing that really bothered me was the drugging.  They drugged the passengers to make them passive, to make them mindless drones, and that really bothered me, and really got me thinking.  Just the things they did to keep people under control was sickening.

I really, really liked Amy.  She was strong, confident, and she saw right through the facade Eldest set up.  She was kick-ass and defiant and I loved it.
Elder was okay for me.  Not particularly hot or cute or sweet, bu fine.  He didn't really have any personality and Revis didn't really develop him over the course of the book.
I hate hate hate hate hate Eldest.  I hate him about as much as I could possibly hate anyone.  He's evil, twisted, and delusional.  Why he would think that controlling people is right I have no idea.

All in all, a very disturbing read in a good way, and I can't wait to read the next book.

4 pink flowers

Waiting on Wednesday (#21): Struck

This is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlites upcoming new releases that we're highly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

Struck, by Jennifer Bosworth

Add on Goodreads

Mia Price is a lightning addict. She’s survived countless strikes, but her craving to connect to the energy in storms endangers her life and the lives of those around her.

Los Angeles, where lightning rarely strikes, is one of the few places Mia feels safe from her addiction. But when an earthquake devastates the city, her haven is transformed into a minefield of chaos and danger. The beaches become massive tent cities. Downtown is a crumbling wasteland, where a traveling party moves to a different empty building each night, the revelers drawn to the destruction by a force they cannot deny. Two warring cults rise to power, and both see Mia as the key to their opposing doomsday prophecies. They believe she has a connection to the freak electrical storm that caused the quake, and to the far more devastating storm that is yet to come.

Mia wants to trust the enigmatic and alluring Jeremy when he promises to protect her, but she fears he isn’t who he claims to be. In the end, the passion and power that brought them together could be their downfall. When the final disaster strikes, Mia must risk unleashing the full horror of her strength to save the people she loves, or lose everything.

Release Date: May 8, 2012

Teaser Tuesday: (#17)

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

Anyone can do it.  You just have to do is:

 (1): Grab your current read.

(2): Open it to a random page.

(3): Share 1 or 2 "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page.  BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!! 

(4): Make sure you also mention the author and title.

Across the Universe, by Beth Revis

Add on Goodreads

#1: "Orion snatches my hands away and scrubs them with a steaming hot, slightly damp towel.  It feels almost as if he's scrubbing away my skin, and when I pull away and look at my hands, they're red, but clean.  Before I can say anything, Orion shoves the towel in my face and scrubs it as well.  He's laughing, and so am I--I haven't been treated as if I was a child in need of a bath for a very long time."--Amy's point of view

#2: "I get Amy off the Keeper Level and away from Eldest as fast as I can.  The fear and exhilaration she showed when we first went up the grav tube is gone, replaced with mild disinterest.  She follows me down the path to the Hospital garden like a dog.  Her eyes stare straight ahead, not at the flowers, not at the statue of the Plague Eldest, just straight ahead.  I wonder if she's even really seeing anything at all."--Elder's point of view 

Tons and Tons and Tons of Cover Reveals: Reached, Sacrifice, Burned, A Fractured Light, Starling, Deadly Little Lessons, Rift, & The Crown of Embers

Reached
by Ally Condie
#3 in Matched
Release Date: November 13, 2012
Number of pages: -----
Format: Hardcover


This cover is amazing!  Out of the whole series, this cover is my favorite.  I just love it.  The colors are so much better, and I love that she's finally "burst out" :P

Other books in this series:

               

Sacrifice

by Mayandree Michel

#2 in The Descendants

Release Date: June 2012

Number of pages: -----

Format: Hardcover

Although this cover isn't stunning, it is still really pretty and I like it! :)

Other books in this series:

Burned

by Sara Shepard

#12 in Pretty Little Liars

Release Date: December 4, 2012

Number of pages: -----

Format: Hardcover

I don't really like this cover.  I don't like the girl and I don't like the color.

*I'm not going to list the series because there's too many of them ;p*

A Fractured Light

by Jocelyn Davies

#2 in A Beautiful Dark

Release Date: September 25, 2012

Number of pages: 352

Format: Hardcover

When she wakes up in unfamiliar surroundings, Skye knows something terrible has happened to her. But it’s not until she hears Asher, the dark, rebellious angel she fell in love with, that the memories of Devin and his shocking betrayal come flooding back. 

Skye returns home, but with the knowledge of who she really is, nothing can ever be the same. As she tests the limits of her newfound powers, Skye discovers that she’s capable of far more than anyone could have imagined. Both the Order and the Rebellion want her for their side as war between the factions looms. She can’t forgive the Order for nearly killing her, but something holds her back from embracing the Rebellion.

I adore this cover!!  It is amazing!!  It's so dark and mysterious and the girl is so pretty.  One of my favs.

Other books in this series:

Starling

by Lesley Livingston

#1 in Starling

Release Date: August 15, 2012

Number of pages: -----

Format: Hardcover

"Love is just the beginning... of the end." 

Mason Starling is a champion fencer for Gosforth Academy, but she’s never had to fight for her life. Until now. When a ferocious storm rips through Manhattan and unleashes terrifying creatures onto Gosforth’s campus, Mason barely escapes alive. Without help from the mysterious stranger who appeared in the midst of the storm, she might not have made it at all. But now, in the aftermath, Mason’s life begins to spin dramatically, mystically out of control, and the only one who seems able to help her is the stranger who can remember nothing but his name: Fennrys Wolf. 

As Mason and Fenn uncover more about Fenn’s past and the strange events that surround them, they realize that Mason’s family — and its dark allegiance to the ancient Norse gods — is at the center of everything. A predetermined fate seems to be closing in on Mason, but is it possible to change one’s destiny? 

This cover is amazing.  I love it.  It's simple, and I think that's what I like about it.  It's so intense and beautiful, and I just love it. :p

Deadly Little Lessons

by Laurie Faria Stularz

#5 in Touch

Release Date: December 2012

Number of pages: -----

Format: Hardcover

Simple and beautiful.  Just how I like it.  Stunningly perfect.

Rift

by Andrea Cremer

#1 in Nightshade Prequel

Release Date: August 7, 2012

Number of pages: 448

Format: Hardcover

Before Calla Tor, there was Ember Morrow 

Sixteen-year-old Lady Ember Morrow fulfills a family obligation by joining her friend Alistair in the Conatus Guard and begins training to help with the order’s true mission, to seek out and stop evildoers and their unnatural creations.

Oh my god oh my god oh my god I AM SO EXCITED!!  Words cannot express how excited I am.  And this cover!!!!  AMAZING!!  MY MOST FAVE EVER!!!!

The Crown of Embers

by Rae Carson

#2 of Fire & Thorns

Release Date: 2012

Number of pages: ---

Format: Hardcover

Elisa is the hero of her country. She led her people to victory against a terrifying enemy, and now she is their queen. But she is only seventeen years old. Her rivals may have simply retreated, choosing stealth over battle. And no one within her court trusts her-except Hector, the commander of the royal guard, and her companions. As the country begins to crumble beneath her and her enemies emerge from the shadows, Elisa will take another journey. With a one-eyed warrior, a loyal friend, an enemy defector, and the man she is falling in love with, Elisa crosses the ocean in search of the perilous, uncharted, and mythical source of the Godstone’s power. That is not all she finds. 

Not that good of a cover but if it's a good book then I'm willing to overlook that fact ;p

Other books in this series:

Can you believe all the new covers out?!  I am so behind!!  I'd have to say my two favorite are Rift and A Fractured Light.  Which ones were your favorites???  :):):)

   

Review: Fracture

Author: Megan Miranda
Pages: 262
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 4/5

Summery:
Eleven minutes passed before Delaney Maxwell was pulled from the icy waters of a Maine lake by her best friend Decker Phillips. By then her heart had stopped beating. Her brain had stopped working. She was dead. And yet she somehow defied medical precedent to come back seemingly fine. Everyone wants Delaney to be all right, but she knows she's far from normal. Pulled by strange sensations she can't control or explain, Delaney finds herself drawn to the dying. Is her altered brain now predicting death, or causing it?

Then Delaney meets Troy Varga, who recently emerged from a coma with similar abilities. At first she's reassured to find someone who understands the strangeness of her new existence, but Delaney soon discovers that Troy's motives aren't quite what she thought. Is their gift a miracle, a freak of nature-or something much more frightening?

Review:

This book is unlike any book I've ever read before.  It's different, and I love that.  It's thought-provoking and I will never forget it.

The idea is amazing.  Just amazing.  How did Miranda come up with this?!  It is a completely awesome, original idea, and I love it.  The story line was really good, and the writing topped it off and made it an all-around solid book.  It really makes you think, and I can pretty much guarantee I will never forget it.  The ending was really good, albeit a little weird, and totally sad.  But I think it was the right ending for this book.

I loved Decker.  Oh my god.  *swoon*.  I felt like screaming at my book JUST TELL HER YOU LOVE HER!! multiple times, and I almost did a few times ;p.  He was so sweet and caring, and gosh...I love him!!
Now I'll flip that around and say I hate Troy.  What the heck is his problem?  He's mean, delusional, and has a mixed up view of justice.  I hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate him.
And then there's Delaney.  I love her.  She's strong, doesn't take any crap, and really tried to make what happened to her into a positive (unlike Troy).  She really cared, and I really appreciate that.

Anyone who reads this book will be left with the question "If you had one day left to live, what would you do?" and they will be thinking for a long time afterwards.

Giveaway Winners!!

This month I had my first ever giveaways and I'm so excited you all entered!!  So, without further ado, I will now announce the winners of this month's giveaways:


THE WINNER OF Carrier of the Mark IS:

CARRIE ARDOIN

THE WINNER OF Passion IS:

FIRESTARBOOKS

THE WINNER OF Rivals IS:

NATASHA

Congrats, winners!!  I have emailed you and you have 48 hours to reply before I pick a new winner.

In my Mailbox: (#12)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren, where we spotlight the books that we've received for review, swapped, or purchased that week.

BOUGHT:

Possession, by Elana Johnson

Blood Red Road, by Moira Young

Chasing Brooklyn, by Lisa Schroeder

BORROWED:

Across the Universe, by Beth Revis

Darkness Becomes Her, by Kelly Keaton

Review: The Iron Witch

Author: Karen Mahoney

Series: The Iron Witch #1
Pages: 289
Format: Paperback
Rating: 3/5

Summery:
Freak. That's what her classmates call seventeen-year-old Donna Underwood. When she was seven, a horrific fey attack killed her father and drove her mother mad. Donna's own nearly fatal injuries from the assault were fixed by magic—the iron tattoos branding her hands and arms. The child of alchemists, Donna feels cursed by the magical heritage that destroyed her parents and any chance she had for a normal life. The only thing that keeps her sane and grounded is her relationship with her best friend, Navin Sharma.
When the darkest outcasts of Faerie—the vicious wood elves—abduct Navin, Donna finally has to accept her role in the centuries old war between the humans and the fey. Assisted by Xan, a gorgeous half-fey dropout with secrets of his own, Donna races to save her friend—even if it means betraying everything her parents and the alchemist community fought to the death to protect.

Review:
It's really weird, but I don't usually like faery books.  I've read some of the Iron Fey series and I really like that, but I'm just not really into faeries.  And this book was just okay for me.

When I first started it I was like Ok, this has a great story line and is going to be super exciting! but then I kept reading and although it did have a good story line, it wasn't very complicated.  It was actually a really easy read and not really young adult.  There is only one task that has to be completed and that was done in twenty pages.  There weren't any climaxes, and the staging was obvious.  However, I do think it was really good writing, I just wish there was more going on.  And the ending wasn't as exciting or complex as I think it should have been.  In my opinion, the ending should have the reader on the edge of her seat, and that just wasn't an element in the book for me.

I really like Xan.  He sounds really sweet and nice and totally swoon-worthy.  And I like him better than Navin.
I also like Donna.  She's a strong female character and I really like that Mahoney wrote her like that.

All in all, kind of disappointing but a good read none the less.

P.S. I apologize for the short review.  I'm feeling spacey today and this is the best I can throw together. :P

In my Mailbox: (#11)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren, where we spotlight the books that we've received for review, swapped, or purchased that week.

BOUGHT:

Wildefire, by Karsten Knight

We'll Always Have Summer, by Jenny Han

Graceling, by Kristin Cashore

 

GIFTED:

The Nightmare Garden, by Caitlin Kittredge

BORROWED:

The Faerie Ring, by Kiki Hamilton