Hi all! I thought I'd stop showering you guys with stuff about internet drama and bring you something you something pretty cool.
I've been aware that there are people doing books via blog entries, but I wasn't aware that there were web novels that you and I the reader could actively control. That's right. A book where you get to control what the heroine does. This is called an interactive novel or "wovel", and the idea is pretty sweet.
In any case, the one I'm going to pimp out to you is Mind the Thorns by Rob Osterman.
The story is just beginning and there's only about 7 chapters out so far, so there's no worries about having a ton of chapters to catch up with. The story is based around Regan, a young woman that wakes up in a coffin after having previously run away from her fiance Harrison at the altar. Of course you know this means that vampires will be involved and Regan has to try to figure out all of what's going on as well as try to learn the ins and outs of the undead community.
There's a good start here so far and I'm rather curious to see how this will unfold.
If you're curious about the book but prefer a print version you can purchase a copy of the first three chapters for $3.99 from Amazon. Or you can enter Rob's contest on Goodreads for a free copy of the book, but be warned that the contest closes in about half an hour.
Links:
*Mind the Thorns by Rob Osterman
*Fictional Omens, Rob's personal blog
*Mind the Thorns: Goodreads page (with link to contest)
*Mind the Thorns on Amazon
A blog where I review a little bit of everything, especially urban fantasy, anthropological thrillers, mysteries, and anything along the lines of James Rollins.
Showing posts with label vampires. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vampires. Show all posts
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Book Review: The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa
Title: The Immortal Rules (Blood of Eden #1)
Author: Julie Kagawa
Publisher: Harlequin Teen, Harlequin Teen UK
Release Date: 04/24/2012
ISBN: 0373210515
If you're wondering where you've heard the name "Julie Kagawa" before, it's from her bestselling Iron Fae series, which I absolutely recommend. It's because I absolutely loved that series that I picked up a copy of this book from Netgalley.
In a future world, vampires reign. Humans are blood cattle. And one girl will search for the key to save humanity.
Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten.
Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of them. The vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself is attacked—and given the ultimate choice. Die…or become one of the monsters.
Faced with her own mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must learn the rules of being immortal, including the most important: go long enough without human blood, and you will go mad.
Then Allie is forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls. There she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend—a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike.
But it isn't easy to pass for human. Especially not around Zeke, who might see past the monster inside her. And Allie soon must decide what—and who—is worth dying for.
The whole post-apocalypse thing has become rather popular in the last few years, but Kagawa takes it up a notch by adding in vampires. This hasn't been as fully explored in YA fiction as it has been in general fiction, so this should be still somewhat newish to some readers. For those who are pretty used to the mixing of vamps and gritty post-apocalyptic survival, rest assured that Kagawa brings enough creativity to the table to where you won't be constantly comparing it to what has come before. (Some comparison is to be expected, of course.)
I liked the characters in the book, especially Allison. She's tough, snarky, and unwilling to give up her humanity despite being undead. Allison might be a little "typical YA heroine" at times, but there's a reason that characters like this are so popular and that's because they're easy to commiserate with. I do wish that some of the other characters had been a little more fleshed out. Since the story is told from Allison's viewpoint we only get to see what she does, so many of her initial "friends" (if you can call Stick and the others friends) and later comrades are given relatively fleeting glances in comparison to Kanin and Zeke. It's frustrating because some of them seem like they could have been some pretty great characters to bring into the mix a little more, especially Ruth. She's given short shrift as she's mostly only jealous of Allison without doing much, which is a shame. She could've been made into a great rival character.
Overall though, this was a book that I just blasted my way through. I absolutely love Kagawa's work and the first books are always her strongest. The Immortal Rules is no exception to this and I look forward to the next book in the series. This isn't a perfect book, but I'm hoping that we get a deeper look into this world and its characters in the next entry. This is out now, so if you haven't picked up a book to take with you on that summer trip, this should absolutely be added to your reading pile.
Four out of Five stars
(ARC provided by Netgalley)
I liked the characters in the book, especially Allison. She's tough, snarky, and unwilling to give up her humanity despite being undead. Allison might be a little "typical YA heroine" at times, but there's a reason that characters like this are so popular and that's because they're easy to commiserate with. I do wish that some of the other characters had been a little more fleshed out. Since the story is told from Allison's viewpoint we only get to see what she does, so many of her initial "friends" (if you can call Stick and the others friends) and later comrades are given relatively fleeting glances in comparison to Kanin and Zeke. It's frustrating because some of them seem like they could have been some pretty great characters to bring into the mix a little more, especially Ruth. She's given short shrift as she's mostly only jealous of Allison without doing much, which is a shame. She could've been made into a great rival character.
Overall though, this was a book that I just blasted my way through. I absolutely love Kagawa's work and the first books are always her strongest. The Immortal Rules is no exception to this and I look forward to the next book in the series. This isn't a perfect book, but I'm hoping that we get a deeper look into this world and its characters in the next entry. This is out now, so if you haven't picked up a book to take with you on that summer trip, this should absolutely be added to your reading pile.
Four out of Five stars
(ARC provided by Netgalley)
Monday, June 20, 2011
Check it Out: K.A. Tucker
Hi everyone! I've got yet another great author to introduce (or re-introduce) to you! Today we have K.A. Tucker, author of Anathema!
A Writer’s Approach to Writing.
Every writer has their ‘right way’ to write a book. A way that makes sense to them, that’s comfortable, that (hopefully) saves them from months of agonizing revision and rewrites. The trick is discovering what that perfect method is.
So how did I find mine?
September 30th, 2009. That was the day I began writing what would become Anathema. My second daughter was 3 months old and had (finally) drifted off to sleep, and I was stretched out in the family room with an archaic second-hand Dell laptop and an idea. I began adding to that idea each day, during my girls’ naps and in the evenings, after they had gone to sleep. I had no method. I just wrote. It made sense for me at the time. It’s all I knew.
Until revision time came…
I started revising all wrong. I worked on line-editing - trying to smooth out sentences and correct typos, all while this little voice in the back of my mind kept nattering, “yes, you know the difference between their, there, and they’re… but is the actual story any good?”
I finally accepted that I had no sweet clue how to write a novel, even with 110 000 of my own words staring back at me. That’s when I decided I needed to get help. For some, that means going directly to an editor. For others, it’s a writers’ critique group. For me, it was an online course.
In August of 2010 I began a course by Holly Lisle, called “How to Revise your Novel.” I think the title is self-explanatory. It was online, it was at my own pace, and it was delivered in a very easy, non-English class format (you want to see my eyes glaze over? Start throwing terms like ‘predicative adjective’ and ‘reflective pronoun’ at me).
Every single night after my kids went to bed, I cracked the course lessons, as painful as some of them were. And believe me, some of them were downright stab-me-in-the-eye-with-a-fork painful. In the end, I had stripped out 50 000 words of meaningless, pointless crap from my manuscript and rebuilt with another 30 000 of ‘good stuff’ in. It was an eye-opening experience I don’t ever want to go through again.
Why do I mention this course here? It’s not meant to be a plug for Holly’s course (though I highly recommend it!). It’s because during this course, I also stumbled upon my perfect writing approach. The ‘right way’ for me to develop a story. It was derived from a combination of Holly’s teachings, common sense, and my own practicality.
How do I know I’ve found it? Because the night I sent Anathema to the editor, I began working on the second in the series using my newly discovered method. Within two weeks I had a solid outline and within two months the first draft. And the entire process was comfortable. It felt right. My new-found approach gives me the level of structure I need to effectively tie the plots and conflicts together from the beginning, all while not handcuffing my creativity. It’s my perfect balance. It may not work for others - in fact, I can guarantee it won’t for many - but it’s perfect for me.
I’m not going to sit here and outline my perfect writing approach. It’s mine. My precious.
Just kidding. :)
The purpose of this guest blog was simply to highlight that there is no one right way to approach writing a novel but there IS one right way for every individual writer. You all have a perfect approach waiting to be discovered and when you do, expect magic.
Have you found yours yet?
Thank you to Book Goggles for hosting me today :)
-----------------
Evangeline has spent her teenage years in obscurity. Her foster parents have the emotional aptitude of robots and her classmates barely acknowledge her existence. About to turn eighteen and feeling like a social pariah, she is desperate to connect with someone. Anyone.
When Evangeline meets Sofie after literally stumbling upon her café, she believes she’s found that connection. Willing to do anything to keep it, she accepts a job as Sofie’s assistant and drops everything to fly to Manhattan, where she is thrust into a luxurious world of Prada, diamonds, and limitless cash.
With such generosity and kindness, it’s easy for Evangeline to dismiss certain oddities . . . like Sofie’s erratic and sometimes violent behavior, and the monstrous guard dogs. She’s even willing to dismiss her vivid dreams of mob-style murders, beautiful homeless people living in caves, and white-eyed demons that haunt her each night as figments of her imagination—especially when one of those figments is the gorgeous Caden. When she wakes up with bite marks on her neck, the fairy tale quickly turns into a nightmare. She slowly unravels the mystery surrounding Sofie and friends, and the reality of the bites and the “dreams.” What she discovers is far more mysterious and terrible than anything she could have imagined.
In a world where everyone has motive to lie for personal gain, Evangeline must decide which deception is least likely to get her killed.
Just to let you know, you can buy K.A. Tucker's book on amazon, smashwords, & Barnes & Nobles!
Also, don't forget that there's a book giveaway!
A Writer’s Approach to Writing.
Every writer has their ‘right way’ to write a book. A way that makes sense to them, that’s comfortable, that (hopefully) saves them from months of agonizing revision and rewrites. The trick is discovering what that perfect method is.
So how did I find mine?
September 30th, 2009. That was the day I began writing what would become Anathema. My second daughter was 3 months old and had (finally) drifted off to sleep, and I was stretched out in the family room with an archaic second-hand Dell laptop and an idea. I began adding to that idea each day, during my girls’ naps and in the evenings, after they had gone to sleep. I had no method. I just wrote. It made sense for me at the time. It’s all I knew.
Until revision time came…
I started revising all wrong. I worked on line-editing - trying to smooth out sentences and correct typos, all while this little voice in the back of my mind kept nattering, “yes, you know the difference between their, there, and they’re… but is the actual story any good?”
I finally accepted that I had no sweet clue how to write a novel, even with 110 000 of my own words staring back at me. That’s when I decided I needed to get help. For some, that means going directly to an editor. For others, it’s a writers’ critique group. For me, it was an online course.
In August of 2010 I began a course by Holly Lisle, called “How to Revise your Novel.” I think the title is self-explanatory. It was online, it was at my own pace, and it was delivered in a very easy, non-English class format (you want to see my eyes glaze over? Start throwing terms like ‘predicative adjective’ and ‘reflective pronoun’ at me).
Every single night after my kids went to bed, I cracked the course lessons, as painful as some of them were. And believe me, some of them were downright stab-me-in-the-eye-with-a-fork painful. In the end, I had stripped out 50 000 words of meaningless, pointless crap from my manuscript and rebuilt with another 30 000 of ‘good stuff’ in. It was an eye-opening experience I don’t ever want to go through again.
Why do I mention this course here? It’s not meant to be a plug for Holly’s course (though I highly recommend it!). It’s because during this course, I also stumbled upon my perfect writing approach. The ‘right way’ for me to develop a story. It was derived from a combination of Holly’s teachings, common sense, and my own practicality.
How do I know I’ve found it? Because the night I sent Anathema to the editor, I began working on the second in the series using my newly discovered method. Within two weeks I had a solid outline and within two months the first draft. And the entire process was comfortable. It felt right. My new-found approach gives me the level of structure I need to effectively tie the plots and conflicts together from the beginning, all while not handcuffing my creativity. It’s my perfect balance. It may not work for others - in fact, I can guarantee it won’t for many - but it’s perfect for me.
I’m not going to sit here and outline my perfect writing approach. It’s mine. My precious.
Just kidding. :)
The purpose of this guest blog was simply to highlight that there is no one right way to approach writing a novel but there IS one right way for every individual writer. You all have a perfect approach waiting to be discovered and when you do, expect magic.
Have you found yours yet?
Thank you to Book Goggles for hosting me today :)
-----------------
Evangeline has spent her teenage years in obscurity. Her foster parents have the emotional aptitude of robots and her classmates barely acknowledge her existence. About to turn eighteen and feeling like a social pariah, she is desperate to connect with someone. Anyone.
When Evangeline meets Sofie after literally stumbling upon her café, she believes she’s found that connection. Willing to do anything to keep it, she accepts a job as Sofie’s assistant and drops everything to fly to Manhattan, where she is thrust into a luxurious world of Prada, diamonds, and limitless cash.
With such generosity and kindness, it’s easy for Evangeline to dismiss certain oddities . . . like Sofie’s erratic and sometimes violent behavior, and the monstrous guard dogs. She’s even willing to dismiss her vivid dreams of mob-style murders, beautiful homeless people living in caves, and white-eyed demons that haunt her each night as figments of her imagination—especially when one of those figments is the gorgeous Caden. When she wakes up with bite marks on her neck, the fairy tale quickly turns into a nightmare. She slowly unravels the mystery surrounding Sofie and friends, and the reality of the bites and the “dreams.” What she discovers is far more mysterious and terrible than anything she could have imagined.
In a world where everyone has motive to lie for personal gain, Evangeline must decide which deception is least likely to get her killed.
Just to let you know, you can buy K.A. Tucker's book on amazon, smashwords, & Barnes & Nobles!
Also, don't forget that there's a book giveaway!
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Book Review: Scary Godmother Comic Book Stories by Jill Thompson
Title: Scary Godmother: Comic Book Stories
Author: Jill Thompson
Publisher: Dark Horse
Release Date: 07/26/2011
ISBN: 1595827234
While I've never read the Scary Godmother series before, I was pleased to discover that I'd seen Thompson's work before via the Fables & Sandman series. She's got an incredibly playful touch that worked well with both series & I was delighted to be able to review this book for Netgalley.
Jill Thompson's award-winning children's series, Scary Godmother - widely known from the Cartoon Network animated feature - is back with more entertainment for readers of all ages in this complete comic-book collection! Join Scary Godmother and all her decidedly dreadful friends on the Fright Side as they bring their special touch of Halloween to otherwise-terrorless times for little Hannah Marie - Christmas, Valentine's Day, summer vacation, and more! This extensive collection will have Hannah planning thoughtful schemes to give the perfect holiday gifts; Ruby the vampire getting guidance in romance; Hannah and her mischievous cousin Jimmy encountering monsters at summer camp; and Scary Godmother dealing with someone from her past! Plus, favorite character Harry the werewolf stars in a story all his own! Also included is the Scary Godmother Activity Book, filled with tons of spooky fun, and a full-color sketchbook section featuring more of Jill's Scary Godmother goodies!
There's a lot to love about this comic book. For starters, you don't have to have read the book series to understand what's going on so if (like me) you haven't seen the SG series before you won't have any problem figuring out what's what & who's who. The artwork is easily one of the best parts of this book, with Thompson doing a very good job of capturing the playful natures of her characters.
What I really loved about the book was how dark the stories would occasionally get. Parents, don't worry- it doesn't get that dark, although if you're truly worried you can always sit & read this with your kids. There's nothing here that the average child or teen won't already be seeing on Cartoon Network. This hopefully won't deter people from getting this & will hopefully bring in a few of the older readers since this really has an incredibly wide appeal.
I do recommend reading this in smaller gulps than I did. This was very fun to read but I'll admit that a little goes a long way. There's a lot of wackyness in here & as such can be a little much all at once. (But I couldn't stop reading, so that says something for the addictiveness of this read.)
4 out of 5 stars
(ARC provided by Netgalley)
Monday, April 25, 2011
Check It Out: Jazmyn Douillard
Hi guys! Today's the last day to enter to win one of the goodies I have up for grabs in this month's contest! I've got a ton of cool ebooks to give away as well as an Amazon giftcard!
Now for what you're really reading this post for: Jazmyn Douillard. Unfortunately I didn't get a copy of my questions to her, so again we'll have to guess at what type of toppings she likes. (I'm going to guess olives. Those are yummy.)
Kat wakes up from a nightmare she's had many times before to find a dead laptop with no memory of her thesis for her final grades.
If only she knew that possibly failing out of college was going to be the least of her worries for the day. If it isn't humans pushing her in front of cars, it's an ancient race of beings who are thirsty for her link to a woman who's been dead for over two hundred years.
Can Kat survive the day on her own, or is she going to have to accept help from an unusual man who seems to pop in and out of her life with conspicuous timing?
And if she doesn't survive, will she stay dead?
A full length supernatural adventure novel that will take you around the world!
Warning: Contains adult situations, course language and sexual content.
When Jaz isn't looking awesomely stylish, she's working as a graphic artist & polishing up her books. A quick peek through her etsy shop (which you totally have to check out here) shows that she's got an incredibly vibrant imagination & a wonderful set of esthetics. Jaz writes, sews, AND writes- she's a creative triple threat! She's also contributed to The One Million Masterpiece, a site that accepts art from all over the world in an attempt to get an end result that is truly global! (See her contribution here.)
Friday, November 5, 2010
Book Review: Night of the Vampires by Heather Graham
Title: Night of the Vampires
Author: Heather Graham
Publisher: Harlequin
Release Date: 11/23/2010
ISBN: 0373774869
Author: Heather Graham
Publisher: Harlequin
Release Date: 11/23/2010
ISBN: 0373774869
As a soldier, Cole Granger fights to restore peace to a world divided by war and evil. His extraordinary talents are enlisted to prevent the president's horrific premonition from becoming reality. Nothing—and no one—will stop him from fulfilling his duty. Especially the mysterious young woman who claims to be his comrade's sister. Enemy or ally, he can't yet determine. But one thing he knows for certain is that he must keep her close. Very close.
Megan Fox's quest to uncover a family secret leads her to the center of vampire riots in West Virginia. To find the answers she needs—and clear herself of suspicion—she must join forces with Cole. They work undercover to bring justice, but they can't disguise the potent attraction and need that draw them together. Yet trust doesn't come easily for Cole…and when Megan unearths the grim, dark truth, can she trust him to believe her?
There’s just something about a heroine with the name “Megan Fox” that makes me take that character a little less seriously. I know it isn’t fair, but I can’t help but imagine the actress each time I read the book & wonder if Heather Graham had been watching trailers for Jonah Hex when she was inspired to write this book. Mercifully this book isn’t as horrible as Jonah Hex was. To Graham’s defense though, this is more of a re-imagining of history ala Pride, Prejudice, & Zombies, though. (But with vampires.)
Graham has managed to weave the supernatural & history together incredibly well, to the point where it is honestly believable. Readers will love the little history references as well as the interaction between Megan & Cole. Also interesting is the mini-rivalry between Megan & one of the other female characters in the book (not mentioning who due to spoiler issues later in the book)- unfortunately it is woefully underserved for the vast majority of the book.
Unfortunately this isn’t really amazing fare for Graham. She’s had better in the past & this is sort of mediocre for her. It’s good, but apart from the mixture of history & horror there isn’t much here that’s new for her. This just wasn’t Graham at her best.
Still, this is a worthwhile book & it was quite a bit of fun to read. True, it isn’t her best but I would still recommend it to fans of Graham or for those who like seeing things re-imagined.
(ARC provided by Netgalley)
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Book Review: Vampire Vacation by C.J. Ellisson
Title: Vampire Vacation (The V.V. Inn #1)
Author: C.J. Ellisson
Publisher: R.H. Publishing
Release Date: 10/10/2010
ISBN: 9780982661000
While there have been a lot of vampire books flooding the market, I can safely say that I haven’t seen a novel combine vampires, sex, mystery, AND innkeeping. Shoot, I’ve never seen a vampire hotel themed book before, so that element alone intrigued me.
Ancient vampire Vivian runs an Alaskan inn that caters to an ultra exclusive crowd, specializing in erotic pleasures. Money can’t buy your way in, nor will wearing the right clothing. No, to gain a room in this hotel you have to be an owner of a pair of fangs or at least be traveling with someone who does. Vivian’s pretty happy to spend her days quietly in the cold North, hiding her true powers from those would have her dead. When a dead body is found in one of the hotel rooms & old threats from the past threaten to re-emerge, it is going to take Vivian’s entire arsenal to figure out what is going on & to keep her precious peace from being disturbed.
Liberally sprinkling generous portions of red hot sex scenes in with a mystery that is slow to reveal its secrets, Ellisson gives the audience the usual vampire powers with just enough new additions to make the book interesting. Having a vampire run a hotel just for her fanged counterparts to freely romp in is something that isn’t usually seen, which works surprisingly well.
The only downfall of the book is that there’s a LOT of back story going on here, so much that some readers will wonder if they’ve picked up the second book in a series or if there are previous books out there further detailing Vivian’s exploits. Ellisson does her best to elaborate on Vivian’s past in brief glimpses, but it will still leave some readers feeling like they’re being left a little in the dark & looking for prequel novels.
Overall, this is a decent first novel by Ellisson. There are a few rough spots to work out here & there (mostly dealing with Vivian’s past as noted above), the spicy & lovingly written sex does make up for it.
I will let you guys know that while there is going to be a sequel dealing with things mentioned at the end of the book, the author has told me that there will be a prequel to the novels dealing with Vivian's past. So fear not- we'll eventually get a novel dealing with all of the past mentioned in the book!
(Reader copy provided by author)
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Book Review: Shadow of the Vampire by Meagan Hatfield
Title: Shadow of the VampireAuthor: Meagan Hatfield
Publisher: Harlequin
Release Date: 07/01/2010
ISBN: 0373775008
Are you a fan of steamy sex? Do you like vampires but are a little tired of some of the "stereotypical" types of vampires out there? Do you want something that's a little bit different? Even if you don't, you should still check out Hatfield's first entry into the paranormal romance field.
Alexia is not your average princess. For starters, she's not only a vampire but she's also a warrior who has been at battle with the dragons for more years than she can remember. Her days are filled not bloodshed she wishes she could avoid- along with her mother's creepy fiancee Lotharus. It isn't until she has a run in with the handsome dragon lord Declan that she feels true desire for the first time in her long life. Despite her vows to defend her country,eradicate the dragons, & kill their king, Alexia finds herself drawn to Declan even as she knows that she should torture him for the location of a magical crystal that could give her people the advantage in the war. Her desire is more than met by this fierce warrior king as he finds himself equally drawn to her. Is their desire an abomination destined to ruin their kingdoms... or destiny itself?
Despite being a newcomer to the field, Hatfield proves that she has the talent to not only write an enticing romance but to draw in readers who might not normally read paranormal romance. Readers will be seduced by the sizzling hot scenes between Declan & Alexia as well as enticed by the much of the world that Hatfield brings us. People who want a little action to their stories will also enjoy that Alexia is no shrinking violet- she knows how to defend herself as well as kick a good sized piece of butt. And the villain? Readers will enjoy seeing a villain that is evil for the sole purpose of being evil.
The only shortcomings to this book was that some readers might want a little more explanation about the world that these supernatural beings live in as well as have more development of the secondary characters & the social structure of the dragon world. There's signs of both races interacting with the human world (technology, guns), yet no explanation of how they can go undetected by humans- especially if they're having large battles like in the book. There's no human interaction with dragons or vampires in this book & as such the modern technology just felt a little out of place. (With today's modern technology you'd think that humans would have detected the dragons or the vampires.) As for the secondary characters & the dragon culture, we do get glimpses of them but not as much as we do the vampire characters & their world.
Overall though, the shortcomings don't really draw away from how incredibly fun this book was to read & with Hatfield bringing out more books set in this world, I'm certain that we'll get more explanation about the world & cultures of these people. I'm looking forward to seeing Hatfield flesh out the series as well as reading about the future adventures of Declan's sister Tallon. (Can't specify without revealing spoilers!)
(ARC provided by Netgalley)
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