Cover Reveal- FAE, Emily White

If you are here for the blog hop see the previous post.

Fae
Not all fae'ri tales come with a happy ending.

Ella thought taking care of the ego-bloated Mamood god would be a sure way to bring peace to the galaxy and satisfy her taste for revenge.
But she was wrong.
Despite the fact their god is gone, the Mamood refuse to abandon their attack on the planet Soltak and Ella's own so-called friends start to turn against her. And with Soltak dying--its oceans drying up and its plants withering in the ground--Ella and Cailen suspect there's a new enemy at work. As more people die and more water is leached from the planet, they both prepare for something straight from a nightmare.

The fae are coming.



Title: Fae
Series: Auri #2
Author: Emily White

ISBN: 978-1-937053-26-0
Release Date: December 10, 2013
Formats: paper, e-book
Cover Design: Vic Caswell of Sketcher Girl

Freedom To Read Blog Hop

Hi Blog-hoppers! Welcome to The Book Addict. My name is Keshia Swaim, and I am an editor/author/reviewer. In other words--Book Addict. I blog about my journey as a fledgling author, (My debut YA novel Blood-Bound will be out next year!) books I'm editing, cover reveals, books I'm just reading for the fun of it... You get the picture. 

Now the good stuff. I am giving away two Spencer Hill Press SWAG packs including bookmarks, rack cards, bumper-stickers, magnets, Deity guitar picks, and more! To enter, you must be a follower of my blog. You get one entry for leaving a comment on this post telling me your favorite genre to read. An additional entry can be earned by "liking" my Facebook page or being my fan on Goodreads. (You can find links in the "Find Me" tab) I'll be using Rafflecopter to choose the winners, so make sure you add all your entries! Then scroll to the bottom of the page to hop to the next blog. Thanks for visiting!

In the Details

         Over the weekend I started reading a new book, which I probably won't post a review on. The plot is great, the suspense is perfect, but... I feel like I'm drowning in details. Every character,setting, is described so that I have no problem envisioning exactly what the author is talking about. For me, that is a problem. I like for a lot to be left up to my imagination to fill in the gaps. There are exceptions, of course. If the main character were suddenly attacked by aliens, I might want a bit more guidance in what they look like. But a hot high school boy with blue eyes and long black hair? I can take it from here, thanks.
     
        But I am just one reader in millions. What do you think? On a related note, once a description has been used, should you use it again, on the same character or any other? For example: if I say a girl has long silky blond hair so shiny it actually reflects the sun, should I say it again the next time she is in the story? Can any other girl have blond, sun-reflecting hair? As always, your comments are appreciated!

Cover Reveal: Triangles, Kimberly Ann Miller

A cruise ship. A beautiful island. Two sexy guys. What could possibly go wrong?




In the Bermuda Triangle--a lot.

Hoping to leave behind the reminders of her crappy life--her father's death years ago, her mother's medical problems, and the loser who's practically stalking her--seventeen-year-old Autumn Taylor hops on a ship with her sister for a little distraction. When she wakes up in the Bermuda Triangle, she fears she's gone nuts for more than one reason: that loser's suddenly claiming they're a happy couple... a hot guy is wrapping his arms around her and saying "Happy Anniversary"... and suddenly, she's full of bruises, losing her hair, and getting IV medication. Autumn visits the ship's doctor, hoping for a pill or a shot to make the craziness go away. Instead, she's warned that one of these "alternate realities" could become permanent.

She just has to ask herself one question--how the hell is she going to get out of this mess?



Title: Triangles

Author: Kimberly Ann Miller

Publisher: Spencer Hill Press (www.spencerhillpress.com)

ISBN: 978-1-937053-36-9

Release Date: June 18, 2013

Formats: Paper, e-book

Review: The Vision, Jen Nadol

Cassie Renfield knows the mark tells her when someone is going to die and that she can intervene and attempt to change fate. But she still doesn't understand the consequences, especially whether saving one life dooms another. With no family left to offer guidance, Cassie goes in search of others like her. But when she meets Demetria, a troubled girl who seems to have the power of the Fates, Cassie finds the truth isn't at all what she expected. And then there's her heady new romance with bad boy Zander. Dating him has much graver repercussions than she could ever have imagined, forcing Cassie to make choices that cut to the essence of who she is and what she believes.

I reviewed the first book in this series, The Mark, a little while ago, and while I wasn't overly impressed, the potential of a great story was enough to keep me going. I'm glad I did. The writing in The Vision flows much better, and the story feels complete. Not at all the rough draft feeling I had with The Mark. I still don't agree with all of Cassie's decisions, but it is an honest attempt on Nadol's part to answer an impossible question: If you know someone will die soon and there is nothing you can do to stop it, do you tell them, even if doing so may condemn another?

There were very few characters in The Vision, which is fine, given the short length. I would have liked to see a few of them developed a bit more, but all of the characters that were central to the story felt very real.

Rating 4/5 stars
YA notes: Strong language

Review: Betrayed, Ednah Walters

Lil isn't just an average teenager. She's one of the Nephilim--the descendants of humans and angels--which gives her some serious psi skills and a mission for redemption. Just when Lil thinks she's found a balance between her normal life with human friends and her training to become a Guardian, she's warned that someone close to her will betray her. When the boy she loves starts acting strangely and one of her human friends acquires a supernatural ability, Lil begins to realize that someone is manipulating the people she loves... and won't stop until she's been lured to the dark side. Goodreads

I loved this book (and the cover!). I will admit that I was a little lost the first chapter or so, but once I got sucked in Walters' world I never wanted to leave. The plot was fast-paced and never dragged, the characters were relateable, and the twists kept me guessing. I loved that right up to the end, I was never 100% sure who the bad guys really were.

I really felt a connection to Lil. Even though she's "the Chosen One," she still makes her own path, not bending to others' ideas of what she's supposed to be. But that doesn't mean she's always strong or sure of what she's supposed to do.That made her more real to me.

The romance: I will admit that Bran isn't my idea of a perfect date, but that doesn't mean I didn't like him and Lil together. Even though they are "meant to be together," they still have problems they need to work out, and have to learn to trust each other. Their connection is intense, but not so much so that it overshadows the bigger story, which happens a lot. I think it's great that while they are better together, they are able to function apart as well.

Rating 4.5/5 stars

YA notes: Mild Language

Note: I am a freelance editor for Spencer Hill Press. This in no way altered my review.

Progress

For those of you who missed my facebook updates, I have officially passed the halfway point on my new MS, and I found out earlier this week that I'll be working with Vic Caswell for the cover art on Blood-Bound. I'm making progress! We have out own ideas on what the cover should look like, but I'm wondering: when you think of the best cover ever, what o you see? Is it a character/scene from the book, or is it more symbolic? Do you prefer the simple or complex?

In other news, keep an eye on my blog at the end of the month. I'll be doing a hop/giveaway with some cool goodies.  Happy Friday!

Review: Song of the Nile, Stephanie Dray

Sorceress. Seductress. Schemer. Cleopatra's daughter is the one woman with the power to destroy an empire... 
Having survived her perilous childhood as a royal captive of Rome, Selene pledged her loyalty to Augustus and swore she would become his very own Cleopatra. Now the young queen faces an uncertain destiny in a foreign land.
The magic of Isis flowing through her veins is what makes her indispensable to the emperor. Against a backdrop of imperial politics and religious persecution, Cleopatra's daughter beguiles her way to the very precipice of power. She has never forgotten her birthright, but will the price of her mother's throne be more than she's willing to pay?  Goodreads


In sticking with my no spoilers policy, I really can't say much about the plot of this book, but I am completely blown away by Stephanie Dray. Her writing style sucks me in to the point I can't put the book down. This was even more impressive in Song of the Nile because unlike Monday's review, I wasn't actually rooting for Selene for most of the book. Instead, I spent half my time wishing I could shake some sense into her. Usually, when that happens I get frustrated and quit reading for a while. But I simply had to know what was going to happen next. After initially hating Juba, Selene's husband, I found myself taking his side a lot.

Since not a lot is known about Selene's teen years, Dray had to make up a lot of the political intrigue, and wow, she was good at it. I loved the way she crafted Helios's fate, and I'd like to believe it really happened that way. And the ending was perfect! So much is left open, so many possibilities of what could have happened next. I loved it. The only reason I can't give this one 5 stars is the amount of sexual content. I'm not at all debating the historical fact of sex-as-politics, I just wish it wasn't so...descriptive, being a YA book.

Rating 4/5 stars

YA notes: Sexual content

Review: Lily of the Nile, Stephanie Dray.

To Isis worshipers, Princess Selene and her twin brother Helios embody the divine celestial pair who will bring about a Golden Age. But when Selene's parents are vanquished by Rome, her auspicious birth becomes a curse. Trapped in an empire that reviles her heritage and suspects her faith, the young messianic princess struggles for survival in a Roman court of intrigue. She can't hide the hieroglyphics that carve themselves into her hands, nor can she stop the emperor from using her powers for his own ends. But faced with a new and ruthless Caesar who is obsessed with having a Cleopatra of his very own, Selene is determined to resurrect her mother's dreams. Can she succeed where her mother failed? And what will it cost her in a political game where the only rule is win-or die?

This was one of those books I just couldn't put down. If you are a fan of reading about Egypt, the Roman Empire, or historical fiction in general, you'll love this book!

If you are a history nerd (like me) there will be tense parts of the plot where you already know the outcome, so I'm going to try to do this review as spoiler-free as possible. I have to say that Selene broke my heart. I felt with her and for her throughout the whole novel. Stephanie Dray does a great job of getting inside her head, imagining her perception of the things she sees in Rome, instead of just what the history book tell us.

Although Dray never outright changes what happened to the real Selene, she does fudge some dates and uses a pretty slanted view of history at times to make her narrative work. But since this is fiction, that is okay. And I love that she is honest about her choices in the author's note, and tries to give a fuller picture of the time.

I did have a hard time remembering that Selene is supposed to be 10-13 or 14 in Lily of the Nile, but since her upbringing as future Queen of Egypt would have been quite different than a normal child's, it is very possible she acted that way. My only complaint is that the book is labeled YA historical fiction. In my opinion it should be a historical fiction/fantasy because Selene actually communes with Isis, rather dramatically at times. But since I love a good fantasy as well, I guess it isn't really a complaint at all.  :)


Rating 5/5 stars

YA notes: None

Scrambling

Hey guys, sorry about the lack of posts recently. We've been dealing with some family issues and I haven't been online much. BUT I just got home and noticed my copy of Betrayed by Ednah Walters in the mail, so look for a review soon!