Review + Author Interview: Bright Fire by @MJAustinBooks

Bright Fire by M.J. Austin

(Bright Fire #1)

Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy

[Goodreads | Amazon]

Delfia thought she was a normal girl about to
turn sixteen until her adoptive parents are
murdered by creatures from the underworld. Her life gets thrown into chaos as she teams up with her best friend, a strange guy, and a prophetess. She soon discovers her biological father, Hades, ordered the attack on her and her family because a prophecy names her as the one to take him down. She must first complete a set of tasks to free Persephone, her mother, from the underworld and defeat Hades. Will she be reunited with her mother or will she get sucked into the underworld?

  Hello, Greek Gods, amazing heroine, and a whole bunch of intrigue! Bright Fire was such a fun and quick read. It was definitely an amazing addition to my Greek reads list. It started off a bit unsteady, but the author finds her footing fairly quickly. You can't help but get lost in her world once that happens!

  Dell goes through a lot of development and changes in this book. It was very interesting to watch how she really bloomed in this book. I'm always a fan of strong characters and authors that know how to handle them. Bright Fire did not let me down in that respect!

  There are so many great elements to this story. The secondary characters are so fitting and a wonderful addition to the story. MJ Austin really knows how to paint a picture with her words, and I got so lost in her descriptions. The only real downside was the beginning for me like I said. There are a few other places that could be tweaked to flow better, but overall Bright Fire is solid. I enjoyed it so much, and I think YA fans will as well!

**I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review with no compensation.

1. Describe Bright Fire in one word.
Spunky

2. Where did the original idea for Bright Fire come from? What inspired you the most?
I was reading Everneath by Brodi Aston and loved her spin on Persephone. I have always wanted to write and I have always loved mythology, so it just fit. I was scared to even try because of all the statistics of failure with self publishing, but Amanda Hocking's story inspired me.

3. How similar are your main character, Delfia, and yourself?
I would say I infused a little of me in her. My eyes are my best asset and I have overcome some hard situations. And boy am I sassy.

4. Without giving away any spoilers, can you tell us what your favorite scene to write was?
My favorite scene was the drugging scene. No it's not as bad as you might think, it was only Melatonin, but still, her reaction is priceless. The ending comes in close second, only because of the reactions I have gotten.

5. Do you base any of your characters off of people that you know? If so, do they know?
Lyla is based off my best friend. Yes she knows and cried at my dedication. We did actually have Binge Nights as children. Cass and Alec are mixtures of people, so I don't think they know, if they doo they haven't said anything.

6. If you could take one character from Bright Side to dinner, who would you pick?
Endeis, because she is wicked smart, and I have a soft spot for Chiron.

7. Dog-eared pages or bookmarks?
Bookmarks, I use anything within reaching distance. I've even used a sock once. Clean of course. I have dog-eared, but it gets to me and i have to smooth it out.

8. What's up next for you? Any projects in the work or upcoming releases?
I am working on Book 2 and a novella featuring Cass.

M.J. Austin has always found the world of fantasy preferable to the real world. She channels this love of mystical worlds and creatures into her writing. She is an avid reader and proud bookworm. She has a Master's Degree in Project Management, but her true passion is writing. When she isn't working or writing she is diving into random projects as often as possible. She lives in Tennessee with three children, husband, and three dogs.

[Website | Twitter]

Page to Screen I'd Like to See

Hey, y'all! I love seeing my favorite books become movies. I know I'm not the only one!

But so many of my favorites haven't been made into a movie. Tragic, I know!

So today I'm sharing my top five choices for the big screen!

1. Impervious by Heather Letto

Step aside, Katniss! Fran's here! This book would make such an amazing dystopian movie. The world it's set in is so imaginative. I think it would transfer beautifully to the screen. And Fran is exactly the type of heroine that would shine and captivate audiences!

2. The Cure for Dreaming by Cat Winters

This book, y'all. This book could be an award winning movie. It would be powerful, amazing, and uniting. It's such a strong book that evoked so many emotions from me. I can only imagine how it would make me feel as a movie and seeing it on screen.

3. Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour
This book absolutely made my year. It's the book that started my love of Nina's work. It's a beautiful story, and I'd love to see it play out on screen. Emi and Ava already seem so real to me. I need this movie in my life!

4. Writing on the Wall by Tracey Ward

Forget The Walking Dead. The Survival Series would be the ultimate zombie series for television or the big screen. The characters are so amazing. I'd love to see them fighting zombies and falling in love again!

5. The Disenchantments by Nina LaCour

I know this is my second mention of Nina LaCour, but my love for her books goes deep. The way she writes is so beautiful and descriptive that I feel like I've already seen The Disenchantments as a movie. If this book was made into a movie, there's no way it wouldn't be a huge hit!

Alright, y'all. That's my list. Hate it? Love it?

Tell me your picks in the comments!

Quick Reviews: The Adventures of Monkey Girl and Tiger Kite & Living in Sin

The Adventures of Monkey Girl and Tiger Kite

by Kai Schalk

[Goodreads | Amazon]

High school would be a lot easier to deal with if Sunny
Wong did not have to balance schoolwork with
superhero shenanigans. But superhero she is, gifted the powers of Chinese folk hero Monkey, and when zombies start appearing it's up to her and her sidekick, Delia, to figure out who's responsible for raising the dead and why…

The Adventures of Monkey Girl and Tiger Kite is a short story of 11,000 words in length and contains no explicit content. The Adventures of Monkey Girl and Tiger Kite is part of LT3's Damsels in Distress collection, a group of books featuring strong LGBTQIA women who can find their own way out of trouble.

  I loved this story so much. The world needs more QUILTBAG super heroes, and Kai Schalk answered that call. Even though it was short, I really enjoyed Sunny and Delia's story. I truly wish that the author would write a full length novel about these two. I'd be the first in line to read it! The writing is solid, the characters are amazing, and the story is epic!

**I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review with no compensation.

Living in Sin by Anastasia Vitsky

[Goodreads | Amazon]

Come out to your family, or we're through!

Sick of playing "roommate" for the sake of her girlfriend's religious, tight-knit family, Audra issues an ultimatum: Tell your family, or I move out. After all, Audra's family supports her and loves Ciara as a second daughter. Why would Ciara’s family be any different? Audra's tired of hiding the reality of their lives. She puts Ciara first, so why can't Ciara do the same?

Caught between her family and her girlfriend, Ciara resents being forced to choose. She tries to keep the peace by accepting her aunt’s endless blind dates and comforting her mother who care for Ciara’s dying grandmother. How can Ciara shatter her family by forcing the truth on them? How can she face life without Audra if she does not?

Agonized and at her wit's end, Ciara receives an unexpected spirit visit that asks her hard questions. Does love require self-sacrifice? How much can she give up without losing herself?

Living in Sin is a short story of 11,000 words in length and contains no explicit content. Living in Sin is part of LT3's Damsels in Distress collection, a group of books featuring strong LGBTQIA women who can find their own way out of trouble.

  Living in Sin could have been such an amazing story. It deals with an issue every QUILTBAG person deals with; coming out. Everyone's story is different and powerful. But I feel like the author took the easy way out in the end, and I was so disappointed. Ciara doesn't need to come out only for her relationship; she needed to come out for herself. The author's writing style was good, but I was just so disappointed in the ending that it didn't matter.

**I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review with no compensation.

Tour + Review: The Core by @autr_katethomas @lastarkey

Title: The Core
Series: Equilibrium Series I
Author: Kate Thomas
Release Date: February 12th
Publisher: Patchwork Press

There’s something strange about David, something
that goes beyond the way he makes Ellie feel. He’s
wealthy, poised, and a complete enigma. With nothing to lose but her heart, Ellie goes in search of the truth — a search that leads her down an eye-opening path that reveals secrets about the world she thought she knew.The world’s order is held in careful balance, the essence of good and evil tilting the scale. When the fabric of reality is stripped away, Ellie is forced to make a decision to follow the path David’s constructed before her or simply walk away. The Core is missing and someone must step up and stand between the light and darkness, holding each back and maintaining equilibrium.

Goodreads | Amazon 

  First things first, I promise you've never read anything like The Core. As I started reading this book, I thought I had it figured out. But the author throws so many twists and turns that I was on the edge of my seat until the very last page! It was inventive and refreshing to read The Core.

  Ellie and David have a very unusual relationship. It's definitely a slow burn, and I enjoyed it. The ending came too soon, though. Just as I was cheering the two on, the story came to an end. I'm patiently waiting for the next book! I really like Ellie as a character. She was admirable and relatable, both of which are always good things! I do wish she would have asked questions more quickly, though. Curiosity was killing me!

 As I mentioned, I'm already chomping at the bit for the next book in this series! Just after reading The Core, I'm hooked! Readers will love the suspense of Ellie and David's unfolding story just as I have, I'm sure!

 

 

“You do realize that there is absolutely no chance of us actually getting away with this, right?” Ellie whispered loudly in the small confines of the car. 
“There’s no need to whisper. We’re in a car by ourselves, Elle.” Jacob kept his eyes on the car in front of them, the large figure of his sister’s boss moving languidly from the Lincoln to cross the busy street. “Besides, it’s the holidays, and it’s far too busy in this neighborhood for Mr. Kelley to notice us.”
A soft sigh resounded beside him, and sounds of fidgeting filled the air. Ellie was rarely the type to be nervous or overcome with emotion of any sort. If anyone was capable of a stakeout operation, it was most certainly his twin sister. She was only a few minutes older than him, but years ahead in maturity and intellectual curiosities, to be sure. He smiled as he felt the overwhelming heat of her stare. Paying her no attention would be more fun than giving in to her well-founded fits of worry. 
“I know you know I’m looking at you, Jacob.” Her punch was much too light to be anything but playful. 
He glanced her way only briefly, a smirk on his mouth his only response. He was used to responding non-verbally.
“It’s not me you should be watching, but your illustrious boss. I didn’t come out in the freezing cold to spend my night in a car, hanging out with my bratty older sister. I came to see if I could help you get a few answers. Pay attention!” He turned the heater up, and the previously fogged window cleared, showing a row of beautifully decorated mansions.
Christmas was in full effect on Ebert Street, and the wealthy citizens of the neighborhood spent loads outdoing their friends and family. Their study for the evening was a Mr. David Kelley, Ellie’s boss for the last two years. He was an investor of other people’s money, a financial advisor by some standards and a bookie by others. 
“I am paying attention, but I don’t know what you expect to find by sitting outside of a luxurious home in the middle of winter. It’s the holidays, so yes, David goes to parties and wines and dines the rich and famous. What did you think we would find tonight?” She added softly, “I didn’t even ask you to come.”
Jacob turned to face his sister. “You most certainly did ask me to come. You’ve been bitching for the last two years about your boss’s oddities, and it was you that wanted to start looking into his personal life.”
“Not his personal life, but I wanted to see what it is that he does with his time.” She turned to face him as well, a defiant look spreading across her features. “How does someone make more money than God and never really DO anything? Besides, you’ve been wanting a reason to see the Christmas lights in Westchester for years.”
“Christmas lights, pff …” He rolled his eyes. “I want to hear it or I’m leaving.”
“Hear what?” Confusion spread across her features. 
“I want to hear that you asked me to come, and that this is your operation.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Jacob.”
He turned to face the windshield and moved to put the car in reverse before her hand clamped down on his shoulder. “Fine. Fine. You’re such a child, but if I need to say it, I will. I wanted you to help me figure out who my boss really is and what he’s up to. There, I said it.”
Jacob put his hands in his lap and looked back at his sister. “Why?”
“Why what?”
He sighed before continuing. “Why did you want me to help you? You’ve been with Mr. Kelley for the last two years. Why now?”
Ellie began fidgeting again, her eyes moving from his face to focus somewhere in her lap as her fingers brushed by one another. She didn’t speak for a minute, and he didn’t give her comfort or afford her any alternative besides answering him. He’d been pulled into this unfounded operation, and he deserved a reason for the sudden change in her behavior. She glanced at him and then exhaled loudly, as if realizing that she was, in fact, going to have to share some information that she must’ve wanted to keep to herself. 
“Fine. I wanted to know what he was doing because he’s so mysterious, and I’ve yet to figure out what it is that he does. Not to mention that every time I see him I’m reminded of how unbelievably attractive he is. Maybe my only motive is that I just wanted to sit here and stare at him.”
“Liar. Sell that crap to someone else. Tell me the truth or my car and I are outta here.”
“What? He’s hot!” She paused and received a look from her brother that pushed her to continue. “God, you’re so difficult at times. I would totally do this with you if you asked, and I wouldn’t give a rat’s ass why you wanted me to.”
“That’s a lie too. You’d never do this in a million years with me, and you’d most likely call me creepy for wanting to do it. Enough … why are we here? What did you see? Or did you hear something?”
“Both. A few days ago I came in an hour early, and the smell of Clorox hit me in the face like nothing you’ve ever smelled. I dropped my things quietly and walked down to Mr. Kelley’s office, peeking in to see if everything was alright.” She paused and looked at Jacob and then back toward her hands, her large chestnut gaze filled with foreign emotion. “He was only in his slacks, and parts of his chest and back were covered in what looked like blood. There was blood on his floor and a bit on the walls.”
“Good God, Elle. Did you call the police? Was he hurt, or did someone get hurt?”
“That’s the weird part. I never saw anything but the blood and, being a bit overwhelmed by it, I simply left and called in sick that day. I wasn’t sure what to do about it. I can’t imagine him hurting someone, since he’s such a pillar of the community and such. Besides, what if it wasn’t blood, or what if he’d cut his finger or something?”
“Cut his finger? Don’t you think the amount of blood or whatever would be slightly less than what you’re describing from a papercut? Just because he gives to the people around him doesn’t mean he’s not a monster underneath all that Daddy Warbucks stuff.”
She nodded and sunk down in her seat as the large figure jogged back from the house toward his car. The man stopped before getting into the back seat of the Lincoln and focusing for a minute on Jacob’s car, the tilt of his head and bend of his neck telling Jacob one thing—he wasn’t looking at Jacob, but at Ellie. 
“We need to go,” she whispered and covered her face with her small hands. 

L.A. Starkey is the author of the upcoming Soul Keeper Series, a supernatural young adult series, and The Liarus Detective Series, a supernatural middle grade series. 

She is a CPA by trade, a church planter and entrepreneur at heart; however, writing and reading are passions she just can't help but indulge in. With more ideas than one person should be allowed, she is blessed to have a muse that doesn't seem to take a vacation and more energy that one might consider healthy.
She writes under the following pen names: L.A Starkey - YA/MG Paranormal
Kate Thomas - NA/Adult Paranormal
Isabella James - Sci-fi/Fantasy
Lauren Elizabeth - Adult Contemporary Romance

Author Links: 

Goodreads | Twitter  | Website

This tour was organized by Good Tales Book Tours. 

Spring Cleaning #Giveaway Hop

Welcome to the Spring Cleaning Giveaway Hop hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer.

I'm offering a stack of about 10 books. It's a mix of adult, new adult, and young adult titles. All are paperback. Some are signed. At least two are 2014 ARCs. For this giveaway, winner takes all! US only, please!

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Keep hopping to these blogs for more prizes!

Review Preview: Material Girls by Elaine Dimopoulos

In Marla Klein and Ivy Wilde’s world, teens are the
gatekeepers of culture. A top fashion label employs
sixteen-year-old Marla to dictate hot new clothing trends, while Ivy, a teen pop star, popularizes the garments that Marla approves. Both girls are pawns in a calculated but seductive system of corporate control, and both begin to question their world’s aggressive levels of consumption. Will their new “eco-chic” trend subversively resist and overturn the industry that controls every part of their lives?

Smart, provocative, and entertaining, this thrilling page-turner for teens questions the cult like mentality of fame and fashion. Are you in or are you out?

[Add Material Girls to Goodreads]

Full review to come in April!

If you love a good dystopian, then you're going to fall in love with Material Girls! From the very first page, I was rooting for Marla Klein. Each character has a strong and unique voice that I appreciated. The world that the author creates is as much a cautionary tale about the woes of consumerism as it is entertaining. Fans of the dystopian genre will be thrilled with this newest addition!

**I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review with no compensation.

Blitz + #Giveaway: Travel Glasses by @ChessDesalls

Title: Travel Glasses

Series: The Call to Search Everywhen

Author: Chess Desalls

Publication Date: May 7, 2014

Calla Winston’s mobile devices sit in a corner of her room,
covered in dust. Weeks ago, she shared photos and
laughs with her best online friend. Now, after having felt the sting of betrayal, she prefers being hidden and friendless. She equates privacy with security and technology with pain.

Then she meets Valcas, an otherworldly time traveler who traverses time and space with a pair of altered sunglasses. When an ethereal being knocks Calla to the ground near her family’s lakeside cottage, Valcas uses the Travel Glasses to help her escape. He offers his further protection in exchange for a promise. Intrigued by Valcas and the possibility of time travel, Calla accepts. That is until she learns that his search for her was no mere coincidence.

Calla sets off on her own, taking the Travel Glasses with her. Torn between searching for her estranged father and reuniting with the rest of her family, she tracks down the inventor of the Travel Glasses in hopes of discovering more about Valcas’ past and motivations. The Travel Glasses take Calla’s mistrust of technology to all new levels. But without them, she’ll never make it back home. With Valcas hot on her trail, Calla hopes to find what she’s looking for before he catches up.

Goodreads | Amazon 

  I waited until Valcas left the shelter before layering strips of gauze over my tights where my bloody knees poked through. Even if I were to reach the rowboat, there was no way I’d be able to find my way back home. Maybe some other living being was camping either outside or in another sod hut. I taped down the strips of gauze. Maybe the bright white light was out there too.
  I pulled back the canvas sheet that covered the doorway. My eyes adjusted to darkness broken by stars and moonlight. If Valcas thought I was going to quietly stay inside the sod hut all night, he was not only wrong but crazy. I held my breath as I stepped outside. Valcas would be well camouflaged in the dark. Tripping over him was the last thing I needed. I didn’t step on any arms or faces, so I picked up my pace.
  I felt along the hillside as I walked, hoping that someone else had thought to carve out a shelter like the one I’d escaped. There wasn’t a single tree above or around me. I was partially grateful for this because I needed all of the light of the open sky to see where I was going. After nearly a quarter of an hour of wandering, I found that the terrain was rocky with sloping hillsides and sandy beaches.
  Nobody was there to fill in the nothingness. I had no idea where I was or how to reach out to anyone who could help me. The irony of my situation crushed me like a frozen grape. I covered my face with my hands as I sank to the ground. I was finally away from anyone—disconnected from everyone—who could hurt me. I was finally alone. And I needed help.

Hi! I recently authored the first two installments of the YA time travel serial series, The Call to Search Everywhen. I'm a longtime reader of fantasy and sci-fi novels, particularly classics and young adult fiction. There's nothing quite like a good fairy tale or fable. When I'm not writing I enjoy traveling, reading and trying to stay in tune on my flute. 

Author Links: 

Goodreads | Twitter | Website

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This tour was organized by Good Tales Book Tours. 

Blitz + 2 #Giveaways: Impervious by @HLetto2

Impervious by Heather Letto

(Ascension #1)

Publication date: April 29th 2014

Genres: Dystopia, Young Adult

The residents of Impervious are the remnant, the
survivors of the war of Annihilation. And though the
city is chockfull of pleasures to tantalize and entertain, a beast lurks in the corners, haunting the residents with its presence. The Beast, a mysterious and terminal illness killed off most of Generations One, Two, and Three. And as Gen-Four prepares to take the stage, a provocative, yet questionable, new method to avoid an untimely death incites a cultural rage. But Fran lives counter-culture, off the grid in true rebel fashion. With a life far from opulent, she scurries through dark tunnels, searching for hot meals with Pete while ditching the holographic security team. To her, it's a healthy trade-off. Unaccountability means The Council can't steal her sliver of hope, a belief that she'll see The Epoch arrive before The Beast can pull her into its Fetid embrace.

[Add Impervious to Goodreads]
Purchase:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Hey there! Thank you, so much, for including me on your blog today and getting the word out about the re-release of Impervious. (Book 1 of The Ascension Series.)

You said re-release? Tell us about the Impervious journey.
Impervious first launched last year (almost to the day… wow!), by Bookfish Books. (Waving to friends at Bookfish!) They were a great team, and I’m so grateful for the springboard they lent me last year. However, we did part company in the fall of 2014 when we realized we were heading in different directions with The Ascension Series. So, after kicking around the idea for a bit, I decided… “What the heck..let’s go indie!”

Indie, huh? What do you think of independent publishing.
Although Indie publishing wasn’t originally on my bucket list, I can now say I’m happy to have gone down this path. The experience wasn’t as technically challenging as I feared it might be, and to be honest, learning to manage the ‘guts’ of the biz has given me extra nugget of satisfaction in my book.
One thing, I must admit, however… Sailing the immense Literature Ocean in a tiny self-made boat is a bit daunting (and lonely?) Therefore my advice to anyone seeking this path would be surround yourself with professionals and pick their brains… a lot!

Be honest… is there any Heather Letto in your main character?
Sighhhhh. Yes. Fran is snark. And being that I’m all grown up, I probably should have surpassed this particular quirk. However, I must admit, snarkdom is in my bones. I want to be nice, really I do…
But in all seriousness, Fran’s journey of discovery from Impervious to the Open Air was very similar to my own Christian journey. Whether you call Impervious an allegory (Like Narnia) or perhaps my testimony, both Fran and I have walked (or crawled?) a similar path.

What’s next?
Well, God-willing, the sequel to Impervious (Implanted—Book 2 in The Ascension Series) will be on the shelves June 1st! (Just in time for that poolside read). I’m hoping to have the final book in the series available for a spring 2016 release.

Last but not least, we need some dirt on you… Give us something weird!
Okay, weird or not, I’ll let you decide, but here’s a secret: My husband and I have run away from home! Seriously. Last year, we packed up our house (well, more like gave away half our belongings and stored the other half), and became full time RV’ers! Therefore, we live in a constant state of flux (and we love it!!) We call ourselves Gypsy Nerds. (He programs software, I write books… total nerds!). (If you care to follow along in our travels, feel free at www.lettotravels.wordpress.com)
So there you have it!

 

I’m a book-writing, selfie-taking, latte-drinking, social media gal. I’m living a good life on the road as a full-fledged Bedouin (Well, except, my tent is actually a fully-equipped RV.) Me and my partner-in-crime (Benj) tend to hunker down wherever the skies are clear and the temps stay in the 70’s. We call ourselves Gypsy Nerds because we aimlessly wander the U.S. with glasses perched upon our noses and faces jammed into computer screens (for the first half the day... The second half of the day is typically devoted to playing because we’re also somewhat immature.)

Like most authors, the characters I create are my extended family. And like most readers, when the story ends, I get a little sad. In real life, I have two handsome, hardworking, grown-up boys who know how to make their Mama proud! *Waves to Joey and Mike!*

The Ascension Series is my debut into the world of YA fiction.

I’m living what I love and loving what I live!

[Website | Twitter]

There are two giveaways for this blitz.

Good luck!

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