Monday YA Author Interview With Alethea Kontis

 

 

Where are you from?
I was born in Vermont and raised in South Carolina. After graduating college I lived in
Tennessee for ten years, and I currently live in Northern Virginia.

When and why did you begin writing?
I was a very dramatic child from a family of storytellers, and I loved reading books more
than anything else in the world. Somewhere around eight years old, when we started
doing poetry exercises in school, I just *knew* I was a writer. I haven't stopped since.

What books have most influenced your life most?
It's such a wide range of titles I can' even begin to describe them! But I did write
a post about my "21 Most Influential Books" which you can still find here: http://
aletheakontis.com/2009/06/my-21-most-influential-books/

If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
The best teachers of my writing life have been Sherrilyn Kenyon, Orson Scott Card, and
Andre Norton.

What book are you reading now?
Witchstruck, by Victoria Lamb

Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?
I wish! I don't read nearly as much as I used to, and I miss it. It's one of the toughest
trade-offs about being a full-time author. I actually feel more pressure to go back and
read the classics I missed than to find new authors, which surprises me.

Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?
Oh, man...I have too many favorite authors for different reasons. Jude Deveraux
and William Goldman for dialogue. Sharon Shinn & Meredith Ann Pierce & Anne
McCaffrey for world building. Robin McKinley & Tamora Pierce & L. Frank Baum for
kick-butt heroines. Diana Wynne Jones and Neil Gaiman for plain-old magic.

What was the hardest part of writing your book?

The actual "sitting down and writing" is the hardest part. Coming up with the story is
amazing, living in it while I struggle to get words on the page is magical, meeting fans
who have read it and loved it is one of the most wonderful feelings in the world. But
putting my butt in the chair every day is just like doing my homework in high school all
over again. Good thing I loved high school!

Have you been an avid reader your entire life? (since you could read)
Yes! My father read books to me every night from the time I was a baby, and I was
reading by the age of three. It was such a young age that I can't actually remember a time
in my life when I couldn't read...which is kind of awesome.

What character in your books do you relate to most?

 It sounds cliché to say, but I'm closest to whatever character I'm writing at the time. Each
one of my characters has such a significant amount of my own personal feelings and
experiences that it's almost difficult pulling away to write from another point of view.

Ok now some fun questions:
What is your favorite sport to watch and or play?
I was a big gymnast & figure skater as a kid (not anymore!) so I've always enjoyed those.
I'm a big fan of the Olympics. Saturday Woodcutter got a lot of her strength from the
women of the London Olympic Games.

Favorite Movie?
Toss up between The Princess Bride and The Hunt for Red October.

Chocolate or Vanilla?
Vanilla. Ben & Jerry's. With Heath Bars.

Puppies or Kittens?
I'm definitely a dog person.

Beach or Mountains?
Beach, though I'm a big tree lover so I'll probably end up living in a forest somewhere
with the fairies.

If you could be a color, what color would you be?
Green.

Favorite Dessert?
Homemade tiramisu. I've only ever had it once, and I we were all tipsy afterwards. It was
amazing.

If you could be a book character, what character would you be?
Aeriel from Meredith Ann Pierce's The Darkangel Trilogy.




Enchanted (goodreads link)
Published May 8th 2012 by Harcourt Children's Books            

It isn't easy being the rather overlooked and unhappy youngest sibling to sisters named for the other six days of the week. Sunday’s only comfort is writing stories, although what she writes has a terrible tendency to come true.

When Sunday meets an enchanted frog who asks about her stories, the two become friends. Soon that friendship deepens into something magical. One night Sunday kisses her frog goodbye and leaves, not realizing that her love has transformed him back into Rumbold, the crown prince of Arilland—and a man Sunday’s family despises.

The prince returns to his castle, intent on making Sunday fall in love with him as the man he is, not the frog he was. But Sunday is not so easy to woo. How can she feel such a strange, strong attraction for this prince she barely knows? And what twisted secrets lie hidden in his past - and hers?





Hero (goodreads link)
Published October 1st 2013 by Harcourt Books


Rough and tumble Saturday Woodcutter thinks she's the only one of her sisters without any magic—until the day she accidentally conjures an ocean in the backyard. With her sword in tow, Saturday sets sail on a pirate ship, only to find herself kidnapped and whisked off to the top of the world. Is Saturday powerful enough to kill the mountain witch who holds her captive and save the world from sure destruction? And, as she wonders grumpily, "Did romance have to be part of the adventure?" As in Enchanted, readers will revel in the fragments of fairy tales that embellish this action-packed story of adventure and, yes, romance.

Book Review: Venom - Fiona Paul

Title: Venom
Series: Secrets Of the Eternal Rose #1
Author: Fiona Paul
Source: ARCycling

Cassandra Caravello is one of Renaissance Venice’s lucky elite: with elegant gowns, sparkling jewels, 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.

When Cass stumbles upon a murdered woman—practically in her own backyard—she’s drawn into a dangerous world of courtesans, killers, and secret societies. 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?

Beauty, love, romance, and mystery weave together in a stunning novel that’s as seductive and surprising as the city of Venice itself.




Review:

I really liked the plot in this book, as it is a murder mystery in renaissance  ITALY!  And it is also a love story! What can get better than that!
Honestly, there are some things that the author could have explained for the plot to flow better, but most everything was explained well, and the different plot twists worked out.
The main character Cassandra, is not the best main character that I have come across, but she was still ok. I think that Cass didn't stand up for herself as much as I would have liked. And she also made some stupid decisions regarding where she should be at different times.
Example: Cass goes to a graveyard, alone, in the middle of the night. Daring or just plain stupid? Who knows. Some of the other things that she did, were either something that someone does who is seriously in love, or just seriously dumb. And seeing as how she doesn't act in love at other parts, I am leaning toward the seriously dumb.
The plot in this made the solid 4 stars for me. Not the characters, although I do think that the author did an amazing job with them, no matter how unlikeable they were they lacked the fall-in-love-with-me quality that I really like characters to have. The romance in this book is a love triangle, sort of. Cass is engaged to Luca who is studying in France, but she goes and meets interesting young artist Falco, who introduces her to newer more exciting things. Neither of the guys, were amazing or book boyfriend quality.
There were some mature things in this book that were a little too much for a young adult book and I think that the author could have left quite a few of the things out.
I usually can figure out a whole book after about half of it. But this one wasn't like that. The plot twists and turns were so incredible and I was never completely right! The way that the author caused the book to flow from one mystery to another was just plain beautiful. And although the characters were sub-par, the plot just did it for me. I could not put this down! Everything about it screamed for me to read it. Which is probably why I read it in the same day I got it in the mail :-)
4/5 stars to this amazing story line.

Want an ARC of Cress? Give the gift of Cinder.

Giving the gift of
To hopefully receive an ARC of

And it is the perfect opportunity to get a friend to read Cinder!


1.       Loan a friend a copy of Cinder.
2.       Write a blog post explaining why you gave that friend a copy of Cinder.
3.       Have your friend review Cinder on his/her blog OR on your blog.
4.       Share the review online using the #GiftOfCinder hashtag!
5.       Leave us the links for your blog post,(this blog post) review of Cinder, and social share on this post below!

Honestly, I am always disappointed when you ask a person what their favorite young adult book is and they respond "The Hunger Games" "Twilight" or "Harry Potter".
Those might be the top three read series in young adult history, but there are also so many hidden gems in other series starting with Cinder by Marissa Meyer. The fact of the matter is, not enough teens read more than those most popular series (if they have even read those). I wish that more of my friends read, to that I could convince them to read this book. But unfortunately again, reading is not as popular as I would like it to be.
So, I am not actually lending my friend the copy of Cinder, as she already has it. But I have been suggesting it to her since I read it.
I read this book about six months ago, and as soon as I did, I recommended it to her. She hadn't read it yet, but being the huge fan of the book as I am, I continued recommending it to her (on thread of disownment if she didn't read it) (*just kidding!)

My top five reasons are.

1. Montana is the only person I know in real life who reads as much as I do. I mean seriously, we both always read more that two hundred books (yes 200) a year. And we definitely fangirl over quite a few books.
2. The most obvious reason is that Cinder is such an unexpected gem. I did not expect to love it when I first read it, because I was extremely skeptical about the whole cyborg thing. But the cyborg thing absolutely did it for me. With it being so original, how could I NOT recommend it to her?
3.  Even if she doesn't love it as much as I did, she will still be honest about it all.
4. Refer to reason #2
5. Refer to reason #4.

The biggest reason is CINDER IS AMAZING! And if we are extremely lucky, and if we recommend it to everyone we meet, hopefully we will eventually get a movie out of it! *please* *pretty please movie makers?*

Montana's review is posted here.

Stacking The Shelves (11) + Weekly Summary

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

 

Here are the books I bought/received this week.

                            

Library:

Out Of The Easy - Ruta Sepetys

Bright Young Things - Anna Godbersen

Russian Roulette: The Story of an Assassin - Anthony Horowitz

A Corner Of White

Netgalley:
Aberrant - Ruth Silver
Moirai - Ruth Silver
 

Weekly Summary:

Torn Review

Monday Young Adult Author Interview With Jessica O'Gorek

Top Ten Most Anticipated Sequels
Waiting On Wednesday (8) On The Fence
Descendant Book Blitz + Giveaway
November Young Adult Releases
Pawn ARC Review

 

Pawn ARC Review

Pawn
Aimee Carter
Expected publication: November 26th 2013 by Harlequin Teen


YOU CAN BE A VII. IF YOU GIVE UP EVERYTHING.

For Kitty Doe, it seems like an easy choice. She can either spend her life as a III in misery, looked down upon by the higher ranks and forced to leave the people she loves, or she can become a VII and join the most powerful family in the country.

If she says yes, Kitty will be Masked—surgically transformed into Lila Hart, the Prime Minister's niece, who died under mysterious circumstances. As a member of the Hart family, she will be famous. She will be adored. And for the first time, she will matter.

There's only one catch. She must also stop the rebellion that Lila secretly fostered, the same one that got her killed …and one Kitty believes in. Faced with threats, conspiracies and a life that's not her own, she must decide which path to choose—and learn how to become more than a pawn in a twisted game she's only beginning to understand.

I will start by saying that this is my first Aimee Carter book. I have not read her Goddess Test series. But after hearing quite a bit floating around about Pawn, I decided to request it from Netgalley and see where it leads me.

If you have read The Selection by Kiera Cass, then expect a society a little like that. But determining what sector you are in, is a test given at the age of 17 which depending on how smart/clever/what the person giving the test feels like is what sector of the society you are put into. with VII being the highest and anything under that lower in the society.

The way that Aimee Carter set up the society is very interesting, and not exactly original but definitely a refreshing take on a dystopian society.

Kitty (anyone else think of Pride and Prejudice???? No just me OK) is brilliant, but she can't read so she scores very low on the test and gets sent to be a III. Kitty is mature for her age of 17, and was constantly surprising me in the book with her decisions. Kitty is told that she can either remain a III, or become a VII (with a mystery surrounding what she is actually to do once she becomes a VII)
Her love interest Benjy is also an interesting character, although he is not in much of the first book (maybe the second?). And one of the things I love about this romance is NO TRIANGLE!!! Let me say that again to make sure you got that, No Triangle. There is only the fresh love of Benjy and Kitty. No Benjy, Kitty, and some other 3rd person.
Benjy is also her best friend, which makes for the best kind of love.

Other than those two, I was left wondering throughout the book whether a character was evil, mean, greedy, or actually trying to do good. The different characters include the Prime Minister Daxon, his sister Celia, his mother Augusta, and the fiancé of the person Kitty is sent to impersonate, Knox. Those characters were the main ones that mystified me.

The plot had just the right amount of action, with it not being to overbearing. But also still having enough conversational parts to make it emotional.
By the end of the book, the already mature Kitty had grown to be even more mature and a completely respectable main character.
The ending of Pawn, left for a very obvious sequel with a nail-biting ending.

I can't wait for the sequel, I fell in love with everything about this book including certain quotes (that I won't mention because they might change, although I hope they won't) that could become my next favorite romantic lines.
4/5 But only because something happened that I was not happy with , but I won't post because it would be a spoiler.

I received this book from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I received no compensation (or chocolate) for this review

November Young Adult Releases.

Below I have compiled some November releases that are anticipated. I know I missed some, so feel free to tell me in the comments!

 

 

 

 

 

 
Pawn (Blackcoat Rebellion #1) Expected publication: November 26th 2013 by Harlequin Teen

 The Naturals  Published November 5th 2013 by Disney-Hyperion
 
Crash Into You Expected publication: November 26th 2013 by Harlequin Teen

Champion (Legend #3) Published November 5th 2013 by Putnam Juvenile

The Fiery Heart (Bloodlines #4) Expected publication: November 19th 2013 by Razorbill

Sentinel (Covenant #5) Published November 2nd 2013 by Spencer Hill Press

Palace Of Spies (Palace Of Spies #1) Published November 5th 2013 by HMH Books for Young Readers

Horizon (The Soul Seekers #4) Expected publication: November 19th 2013 by St. Martin's Griffin

The Captive Maiden (Fairy Tales #4) Expected publication: November 19th 2013 by Zondervan

Angel Fever (Angel #3) Expected publication: November 26th 2013 by Candlewick

Foul Trouble Expected publication: November 12th 2013 by Knopf Books for Young Readers

Ketchup Clouds Expected publication: November 12th 2013 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers







   

Descendant Book Blitz

 

Descendant by Nichole Giles

Published May 1st, 2013

Published by Rhemalda Publishing (now self published)

Genres: Ya, Fantasy

Seventeen-year-old Abigail Johnson is Gifted.

Blessed—or cursed—with Sight and Healing, Abby lives an unsettled life, moving from place to place and staying one step ahead of the darkness that hunts her. When she arrives in Jackson, Wyoming, she is desperate to maintain the illusion of normalcy, but she is plagued with visions of past lives mixed with frightening glimpses of her future. Then she meets Kye, a mysterious boy who seems so achingly familiar that Abby is drawn to him like he’s a missing piece of her own soul.

Before Abby can discover the reason for her feelings toward Kye, the darkness catches up to her and she is forced to flee again. But this time she’s not just running. She is fighting back with Kye at her side, and it’s not just Abby’s life at stake.

 

Excerpt:
“Sorry, gang. Running late, as always.” Mr. Akers sets down an armload of stuff and strips off his
oversized camouflage coat. Kye grasps my forearm and pulls me past him to sit next to the window.
“Best seat in the place.” His voice sounds rough, different. “More room, more privacy.”
“Oh.” I gulp, and my heart races. Privacy? With Kye? I like the idea, as much as it terrifies me.
While we ride in silence, I focus on how the descending sun lights the sky on fire, when what I
really want to do is stare at Kye. Something about him heats my blood, stirring feelings I’ve never
experienced and wouldn’t know how to describe. Even though I’m not looking at him, I feel his every
movement, hear the odd rhythm of his breathing that makes me wonder if his thoughts are as focused
on me as mine are on him. Part of me wants to believe he’s been plunged into the same type of turmoil
I’m currently experiencing.
When his knee bumps mine, a vision appears in a blinding flash

Fingers trailing over the bare skin of my arm, lips pressed against my throat, a hand caressing
the small of my back.

Kye taps my shoulder, bringing me out of my daze. “Akers has a cooler up there. You want a
drink?”
I realize my mouth is dry and nod.
The road is far from smooth, but he moves down the aisle easily, chatting and joking with Mr.
Akers like they’re best buds, and helping himself to the contents of the cooler like it belongs to him. A
few minutes later, Kye returns, handing me a can. “Here you go.”
“Thanks.” I pop the top and sip, needing something to do with my hands, something to cool the
flames I can still feel in my face.
“Will this be your first time?” He fidgets with the leather on his wrist.
I gasp, nearly choking on a mouthful. “Um, what?”
He purses his lips, doing battle with the urge to laugh. “I mean in Yellowstone.”
“Yes.” Relieved to realize he didn’t mean that, I twist a lock of hair around my finger, trying not
to think about what that would be like. “Can’t wait to see what all the hype is about.”
“You’ll enjoy it.” Something in his eyes tells me he’s talking about more than geysers and mud
pots, and twin feelings of anticipation and fear go to war in my stomach.
“I … I’m hoping to see a ….”
He tips his can up and knocks back the entire thing. My eyes follow the line of his throat as he
swallows, and once again, my own mouth goes dry. Needing the distraction, I take a long swig too,
chugging so hard that this time I do choke, doubling over while Kye pats my back.
“Breathe.” He chuckles. “You okay?”
I shake my head. “That went down wrong.” My back tingles where his hand touches a strip of
exposed skin, and a line of heat circles my core.

Lips, warm and soft on mine, teeth scraping against my tongue.

“Abby?” He removes his hand, bringing me back to my senses but leaving me feeling feverish.
“I’m okay.” I scoot toward the window, needing to put distance between us.
His hand curls into a fist on top of the armrest, but it’s his only reaction. “You were about to tell
me what you’re hoping to see.”
I fold my coat into a pillow and try to prop it against the seat behind my head, still holding my
empty can. “A buffalo.”

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17332031-descendant

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Descendant-Nichole-Giles/dp/1936850672

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/descendant-nichole-giles/1114967746?ean=2940148648581

About the Author:

Nichole Giles had early career plans that included becoming an actress or a rockstar, but she decided instead to have a family and then become a writer.

She was born in Nevada, the oldest of seven—a number which increased to eleven with the addition of four step brothers—and has lived in Utah, Nevada, Arizona, and South Texas. 

Her future aspirations include owning a home on a tropical island, even if it's just a vacation home. For now, she plans to travel to as many tropical locations as possible, scouting for her future paradise.

Currently, she lives with her husband, one of her two sons (the other is in college), two daughters, two golden retrievers, and one lucky bunny rabbit.

Writing is her passion, but she also loves to spend time with her family, travel to exotic destinations, drive in the rain with her convertible top down, and play music at full volume so she can sing along.    

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=128455014233

Twitter: https://twitter.com/nicholegiles

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/3384651-nichole-giles

Blog: http://www.nicholegiles.blogspot.com/

 

Nichole is offering a grand prize pack that includes a print copy of DESCENDANT, a signed poster and bookmark, a wrist band, DESCENDANT lip balm, and a healing crystal AND a $20 Amazon gift card.Then Nichole is also giving away another 1st edition print copy of DESCENDANT  and three e-book copies (which will be the new version with the bonus material).

After the giveaway exceeds 100 entries, Nichole will add another $20 giftcard, and after 50 more, another one, and so on for every 50 entries thereafter.

 

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