Friday 31 July 2015

Cover Reveal - Born of Treasure (Treasure Chronicles #2) by Jordan Elizabeth Mierek


BORN OF TREASURE



Clark used to be a miner, until he drank from a vial he swore was absinthe but was actually an invention to give him the ability to raise the dead. Now Clark seeks to fulfill his father's wishes to keep inventions away from Senator Horan and his beloved Amethyst is along for the ride.  Deceit, drama, romance, the insidious underbellies of gangs...How can she not be involved?

Clark can't hide behind the Treasure name forever and the army still wants him for his secret abilities. If Captain Greenwood can't snare Clark, then he'll use the Treasures as collateral. Saving his
father's inventions will just have to wait, especially now that the Treasures have been kicked off their ranch and driven into exile. Clark knows how to survive on the run, but that’s not the fate the Treasures deserve. He can surrender to the army or fight for his freedom, but Amethyst has other plans for fixing their troubles.

She’s come across another one of the vials that gave Clark his abilities, and it looks mighty tasty.








BORN OF TREASURE, book 2 of the Treasure Chronicles



This young adult fantasy turns the Wild West into a steampunk adventure.  It is released September 12, 2015, but in the meantime, enjoy the stunning cover, a contest, and an excerpt!



Enjoy the following excerpt…



Clark eased the door open enough to peer into the closet. Scratch that, make it a ballroom. Faded curtains with moth-chewed holes were fastened to the walls to display a stage. Forgotten props leaned against the back, a mixture of painted shrubbery and constructed balconies, as though the musty room couldn’t decide what it wanted to be.

This would be fun. He’d never come across a rundown, exotic hideout in the desert. Clark tucked his lock-picking kit into his jacket pocket and nudged the door shut behind him. His breath sounded too loud in the still room, but no ghosts appeared to haunt the memories. Dust motes floated in the sunbeams coming through the windows near the ceiling. One window, of stained glass, sent a distorted image of the late king onto the hardwood floor. He pictured the theater where he’d grown up back in Tangled Wire, a space in the corner of the saloon where alcohol hadn’t puckered the floorboards too much. Sometimes, the saloon owner had made his mother dance with the younger Tarnished Silvers.

“Mum would’ve shone on this stage,” Clark whispered. She could’ve worn her favorite green dress, to go along with the emerald shade of the curtains.

Tables covered what remained of the room, littered with piles of gears and cogs. Broken clocks glared at him through their cracked faces.

“Check near the stage.” The spirit of Clark’s father appeared beside him. Perfect, the ballroom needed a ghost. Black holes peered out instead of eyes, matching the space in his chest where a bullet had stolen his life. At last, a ghost to match the dismal space.

“Your inventions show up in the weirdest places.” Clark stepped over a heap of clock keys, but one crunched beneath the heel of his riding boot.

“Senator Horan never got this one, and he’s looked. Trust me, he’s looked. See, it was stolen right from my jacket! Never trust a girl wearing too much lip paint. She’ll slip her hand in your pocket and you’ll never see your watch or billfold again.”

This had to be the point where a son grew tired of his father’s rambling and zoned out. He’d seen it enough on ranches, especially when the father wanted the son to follow in reluctant footsteps.  “Senator Horan wanted to buy the pocket watch right after I finished it.” Eric waved his hands. “Nope, I told him. You’re too late. A pretty Tarnished Silver made off with it. He didn’t believe me, swore I was lying. He tried to pay me another small fortune in land.”

Clark grinned. He could listen to his father, Eric, all day and never grow weary of his words. His mother must’ve felt like that, getting lost in Eric’s passion.

Clark lifted the corner of a striped sheet thrown over a table, revealing glass plates for clock faces. “Don’t worry, your time travel device is safe.”

Eric floated closer. “I told you, son. It’s not time travel.”

“Right,” Clark teased, drawing out the word. At least if the pocket watch had to have been stolen, it hadn’t been tossed down a privy with other garbage. A clock collector—obsessed fellow, more likely—turned out to be a great alternative. “If I was going to collect something, I would definitely keep it in an old railroad station.” Not that he’d ever had the luxury of collecting anything. If he managed to own a second pair of shoes, he felt like a king.

“It’s a magnificent workspace,” his father said. “Pity I didn’t think of using an old ballroom. Perfect light from every angle, lots of room to spread-out.”

Clark studied the table closest to the stage. Pocket watches of various sizes ranged from thumbnail small to fist-size large, most dented. A polishing cloth had been thrown over a triangular-shaped one.

“This was the first train station in Hedlund,” Eric rambled. “All they had here was a mission and a few shacks. The mountains were just starting to be mined and the king was encouraging farmers to come out here to the land. They wanted this station to be the hubbub of life. A great encouragement to the weaklings back east.”

“Like you?” Clark lifted an oval pocket watch with diamonds on the front. The spaces of missing stones reminded him of a face scarred by the pox.

“As the rest of Hedlund built up and the main cities extended to the ocean, this little town became quite little. It’s still a stop on the main railroad, but people don’t want to stay for dancing or a show. Did I tell you I wanted to be a professor?”

The other gang members might not laugh if they knew Clark’s father was loaded—lots of the wealthy slept around with Tarnished Silvers—but they’d have a good roar over Brass Glass Clark having a professor for an old man. Univeristy brats hid behind books in shadowed libraries. They didn’t run around the desert with steamcycles and pistols.

They didn’t get shot by mercenaries hired by a senator, either.

Clark spotted a pocket watch with the Grisham family crest on the front: a swan with a key hanging from its beak. “Got it.” A tiny diamond winked from the swan’s eye.

 




Jordan Elizabeth, formally Jordan Elizabeth Mierek, is the author of ESCAPE FROM WITCHWOOD HOLLOW and a contributor to GEARS OF BRASS, both available from Curiosity Quills Press.  GEARS OF BRASS includes a short story featuring Amethyst Treasure, one of the main characters in the Treasure Chronicles.  Check out Jordan’s website for contests and book signings.  Jordan is represented by Belcastro Agency and President of the Utica Writers Club.

Don’t miss any of the Treasure Chronicles.  Book 1, TREASURE DARKLY, is on sale for 99 cents this week only!

Mark BORN OF TREASURE to read on GoodReads and check out the Facebook Release Party.  

Don’t miss your chance to win a heart-and-key necklace with matching earrings worthy of Amethyst Treasure.  
 Enter here: 



Thursday 30 July 2015

Caitlyn McFarland - "Soul of Smoke"

Caitlyn McFarland
Hello guys! This time I had the marvelous chance to interview Caitlyn McFarland. She wrote the book "Soul of Smoke". Here's the interview!

1) What inspired you to write "Soul of Smoke"?
This is hard for me to answer, because I'm not really sure. I've had the idea for a story about a college girl who falls in love with a shape shifting dragon since I was in college myself, meaning sometime around 2005. I'm a native of the Midwest, but I moved to Utah when I was 18. I can remember being astounded by how huge and wild the mountains were. Definitely large enough to hide a shapeshifting dragon king and his fun-loving best friend. The rest of the story grew from there.


2) How did you come up with the characters' names? Are their personalities based off your life?
Rhys and Kai are both names I wanted to name my kids but didn't use. Rhys, because I ended up with three daughters, and Kai because my husband didn't like it (though our third daughter ended up with a similar name). Everything else was Google. It felt more authentic to have dragons from all over the world, so I spent a lot of time scrolling through name websites looking for something that 1) Fit the character, 2) Gave an idea of which language/culture it was from, and 3) English speakers could maybe pronounce. I didn't realize I'd already given my male MC a name a lot of people were going to trip over, LOL. His name is pronounced REES, like Reese Witherspoon, but I've heard a lot of people call him RIS.
Some of my characters started off based on someone I've known, but as the story went on, they sort of became their own people. Juli's personality and Ffion's physical appearance were both pretty heavily influenced by two of my friends, though, and I'm sure there's a lot of me in both Kai and Rhys.


3) What power would you like to have as a dragon?
Huh. I've actually never thought about it before. I'd probably choose Azhdahā mind manipulation powers. Or maybe Deryn's water magic. I wasn't able to go into much detail about what she can do in the story, but I've always thought it would be awesome to be able to breathe underwater.


4) What have you learned from writing this book?
That writing books is hard, LOL. Maybe that sounds too simple, but I feel like everyone I meet either wants to write a book "in their spare time" or thinks writing isn't a real job. I guess the mentality is that anyone who can write a pretty sentence or a decent college paper can probably write a novel. That's just not true. You've got to be able to tell a story. Good storytelling is a rare gift, and not one I was born with. It took years of research and experimenting and a lifetime of avid reading to get where I am now. Except I still don't know what I'd doing. So...yeah.


5) What are you working on now? What is your next project?
I just finished a round of edits for book two, "Shadow of Flame," which comes out September 14th. After that, I've got to complete the third book, "Truth of Embers," which comes out November 9th. It's been so crazy trying to write both the second and third books in a year--not to mention live my real life--that I haven't been able to spend much time on side projects. However, I do have a few ideas I'm excited to pitch to my agent when I'm done with the trilogy!

Don't forget to check out my review for "Soul of Smoke" here.

Tuesday 28 July 2015

Soul of Smoke (Dragonsworn #1) by Caitlyn McFarland

Book Blurb (from Goodreads):
On a hike deep in the Rocky Mountains, Kai Monahan watches as a dozen dragons—actual freaking dragons—battle beneath a fat white moon. When one crashes nearly dead at her feet and transforms into a man, Kai does the only thing a decent person could: she grabs the nearest sword and saves his life.

As the dragon/man, Rhys, recovers from the attack, a chance brush of skin against skin binds him inextricably to Kai. Becoming heartsworn to a human—especially such a compelling one—is the last thing Rhys wants. But with an ancient enemy gathering to pit dragons against humanity and his strength nearly depleted, Kai has just become the one thing Rhys needs. A complete bond will give him the strength to fight; a denied bond means certain death.

Kai is terrified at the thought of allowing any dragon into her mind…or her heart. Accepting the heartswearing and staying with the dragons means sacrificing everything, and Kai must decide if her freedom is worth risking Rhys's life—a life more crucial to the fate of humanity than she could possibly know.
 


My Review


***I received the eBook free as a review copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review***

I really loved this book!
There were several reasons as to why I wanted to read this book. First of all, I loved the book blurb and the descriptions. The cover also looks amazing. Lastly, I can't resist a book that has something to do with dragons and magic.
This fantasy book is blending reality with dragons. A young woman, Kai Monahan, goes on a hike and saves a girl called Deryn. Kai brought her to her camp and gets caught up in a war between dragons. While hiding out, things get complicated when she gets heartsworn with Rhys, one of the dragons.
This was a really amazing book. There was plenty of action and the world-building was set at a good pace, it wasn't too slow or too fast. The world itself is also very interesting and I was intrigued by it. I just really felt that the plot was very repetitive and too focused on the heartswearing part. I am fully aware of the fact that the genre description also said that it was romance, but it  was way too repetitive and obsessive at times. Besides that it was really enjoyable.
I'll say right off the bat that some of the characters were pretty annoying. I could hardly empathize with Kai, the main character. I mean, I can understand some of her reasons for rejecting the heartswearing, but it was really annoying that she was too stubborn for her own good. After all that passed though, I started to warm up to Kai. Juli took annoying to a whole new level, but I did warm up to her as well after a while. When she refused to believe in dragons though, she seemed like such a know-it-all and it was just soooo frustrating! My favourite character was Cadoc because he was really nice to Kai and had a funny attitude.
This book left me wanting to have more. I absolutely loved this book, the only downside was all the repetition and that the characters were annoying at first. I definitely want to read the next book in the series and see what else is going to happen and see the relationship between Rhys and Kai grow.
Overall, I give this book 4 out of 5 stars!

Friday 24 July 2015

Siege and Storm (the Grisha #2) by Leigh Bardugo

14061955
Book Blurb (From Goodreads) 
Darkness never dies.

Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land. She finds starting new is not easy while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. She can’t outrun her past or her destiny for long.

The Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a terrifying new power and a dangerous plan that will test the very boundaries of the natural world. With the help of a notorious privateer, Alina returns to the country she abandoned, determined to fight the forces gathering against Ravka. But as her power grows, Alina slips deeper into the Darkling’s game of forbidden magic, and farther away from Mal. Somehow, she will have to choose between her country, her power, and the love she always thought would guide her--or risk losing everything to the oncoming storm.
 


My Review: 
Siege and Storm is the second book in the Grisha trilogy. I loved the first book so much and I don't really understand why I put off reading the second one so long since it was just sitting on my shelf but I think that the main reason was that I was unconscionably afraid that it was going to do that thing that second books do, start to get bad and then the third one is just this mess, but thankfully Siege and Storm managed to avoid that. 
The plot of this book allowed us to dive deeper into the Grisha world. We got to explore more areas which we had overlooked in the previous book and start to understand just what makes this world tick. Siege and Storm had more action and suspense then the first book which made a suspenseful and exciting read. The stakes are higher and there are so many twists and turns on the way to the books finish line. It sets up perfectly for the second book by leaving us with a cliffhanger and so many questions. 
Alina goes through quite the transformation in this book. It is hard to believe that just two books ago she was a weak, innocent girl because now she has become strong willed and determined but this determination once or twice made her do slightly twisted things that made me question her sanity. She seems to become more sick on power as it goes to her head, but if I know anything from the last book and now this one, she will come out on top. Mal, I though, sometimes became more of a pawn in this book. We didn't see as much of him near the end as he became a jealous love sick puppy. At times you understood what he was doing but other times you would think that he was drunk, 24/7 which he kind of was at some points.
All in all I give this book 4 out of 5 stars and I am pumped to read the next one, eventually. 


Thursday 23 July 2015

Bedtime Book Tag


Thank you for tagging us Megan and Cat, over at Books of Fascination! This is our second book tag and we absolutely love doing them. Thank you!

1. Book that kept you up all night reading
Angelina: I actually haven't read a book that kept me up all night because sadly I decide to go to sleep and read the next day again. But I have read a lot of books which I was very reluctant to put down. The one that comes to mind immediately would probably be Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass #1) by Sarah J. Maas. I didn't keep on reading this because it was terrifying, but because it was amazingly awesome! I always wanted to know what would happen next and I didn't feel tired at all reading this book.
Jessica: This book unlike Angelina actually did keep me up most of the night, crying mostly, but also reading. It is one of my favourite books of all time and I will never forget that adrenaline rush that it gave me.

2. Book that made you scared to go to sleep
Angelina: I want to start off by saying that I in fact don't read any horror books at all, so this choice was pretty difficult for me.  But I think that I would probably go with Vampire Academy because the Strigoi were described in really creepy ways and I always imagined them in my head. 

Jessica: The book which made me scared to go to sleep was Frozen Charlotte. These little dolls in the book stick pins in your eyes if you leave them lying around. I have pins in my room, a lot of pins. I was scared I was going to wake up blind one morning. Those little dolls are creepy.

3. Book that made you go to sleep
Angelina: I have a feeling that I'm lacking reading experience right now. I don't have much to say about falling asleep while reading because I've never done that. But I guess that for now I will go with the most boring book I have ever read. This one's easy: Wilhelm Tell by Friedrich Schiller. *sigh* We had to read that book for German class and it didn't help that it was written in script form. I felt like I really wanted to fall asleep every time I opened that book.

Jessica: This book didn't actually make me go to sleep but it did in fact bore  me out of my mind. This special book is Across the Universe. I did not like this book at all and it is one of the only books which I have ever given 1 star to so that is an achievement in itself. 

4. Book that left you tossing and turning in anticipation of its release
Angelina: I hardly ever keep up to date with the upcoming releases. But this is an exception. Right now I can't wait for The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan. It is the new series about Viking gods and until now I loved every single mythology book Rick Riordan has written.

Jessica: QUEEN OF SHADOWS! QUEEN OF SHADOWS! Hands down, go home. I cannot wait for this book to come out and I want to read it right now. As in right this second. Sarah J.Maas is such an amazing author and all of her book are breathtaking. QUEEN OF SHADOWS!!!

5. Book that has your dream boyfriend
Angelina: I don't really know who to pick... I feel kind of weird answering this question. But if I had to pick, I think I would choose Anthony Lockwood from The Screaming Staircase. He always seemed like a nice person, he makes jokes, is sarcastic and actually knows what he is doing (sometimes). Also add the fact that I am completely obsessed with this book. IT IS SO GOOD!!!

Jessica: Jessica feels to uncomfortable to answer this question. 

6. Book that would be your worst nightmare to live in
Angelina: The book that would be my worst nightmare to live in would probably be The 5th Wave by
Rick Yancey. Aliens have invaded the world, everyone you know is dead, you might be the only person left on Earth, you can't trust anyone and you could die at any given moment. I think those are plenty of reasons for me not to live there. 

Jessica: I would hate to live in the world of Trial by Fire. I am a bit of a science geek and not being able to practice science would break my mind. Also there are some pretty scary monsters which I hope that I will never encounter in real life.

7. Book that reminds you of the night time 
Angelina: My answer is probably affected by the fact that I just recently read this book, but The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong does remind me of night time. The characters always have to sneak around and try to survive. They do almost all of that in the night.

Jessica:  My answer to this is defiantly Strange Angels. Practically all of the best scenes took place at night so that is how I remember this book. 


8. Book that had a nightmarish cliffhanger
Angelina: This is going to be a kind of obvious answer, but I am going to choose The Mark of Athena, the third book in the Heroes of Olympus series. That cliffhanger had a real cliff and it was almost killing me because I wanted to find out what would happen next. Then Rick Riordan had the nerve to mention it during the dedication in the next book!

Jessica: The worst cliffhanger for me was in Wings of the Wicked the second book in the Angelfire trilogy. My favourite character was literally left dying with poison in him, and I didn't know f he was going to pull through. That was the last few pages, I still didn't know if he was going to pull though when the book ended. That killed me.

9. Book that you actually dreamed about
Angelina: I think I remember dreaming about the Warrior Cats, because I was a cat and everyone I
knew also turned into a cat and joined ThunderClan. It was a brief dream but it was still really awesome.

Jessica: For this question I am afraid that I am going to have to repeat an answer. I vaguely remember dreaming about Trial by Fire some time ago when I first read it. I don't remember the details exactly I only remember dreaming about it.

10. Book monster you would not want to find under your bed
Angelina: I definitely wouldn't want to find a Griever under my bed. It is a blobby, mechanical monster from The Maze Runner and it would be able to kill a person way too easily. 

Jessica: Again, another repeated answer. I would hate to find a frozen Charlotte from the book Frozen Charlotte under my bed. I have grown very attached to my eyes and I do not fancy having them pulled out.

WE TAG:
- Arya @ AryaTheFangirl
- Ashley @ Hyper Ashley 
- The Caffeine Cup 

Again, thanks for tagging us, we enjoy doing them! We're sorry that it took so long for us to finish this tag. It won't happen again!

Tuesday 21 July 2015

Maria Luisa Lang - "The Pharaoh's Cat"

Maria Luisa Lang
Hey guys! This time I have the opportunity to interview the author of "The Pharaoh's Cat". Here are Maria Luisa Lang's answers:

1) What inspired you to write "The Pharaoh's Cat"?
My love for cats and my fascination with ancient Egypt.

2) How did you come up with the characters' names? Are their personalities based off your life?
Personal associations, some too personal to mention. Elena was the name of a good friend of my mother. The Pharaoh’s name, Maat-Ba, is ancient Egyptian for Pure of Soul. The High Priest, Gato-Hamen, is the cat’s close friend, and Gato is Spanish for cat. The Vizier, Caca-Hamen, is evil and hates the cat, and caca is slang for excrement.

3) What was the hardest scene to write and why?
All of the first chapter because I had to do so much—establish not only the cat’s personality but that of the High Priest, the Vizier, and the Pharaoh, and set up the mystery of the cat’s human abilities.

4) What is your writing schedule?
I write in spurts, not on a schedule. It could be hours or minutes. I do most of my thinking at night when everything is quiet. There’s a lot of my sense of humor in the cat, and some of my personality in Elena. I use logic to ensure that each character remains true to his or her personality.

5) What are you working on now? What is your next project?

I’ve nearly finished the sequel to The Pharaoh’s Cat. It’s also set in ancient Egypt and New York City, but the cat also goes to Bath and Stonehenge in England as well. My working title is Lady of Mystery.
 
Don't forget to check out my review for "The Pharaoh's Cat" here.