Indelible Blog Tour Stop and Book Review

20 Sep, 2011 by in ARC tour, pendrell 12 comments

Fire and Ice is happy to be participating in the Indelible Blog Tour hosted by Once upon a Twilight and Lani Woodland. Today we are sharing our review of
The Yara Silva Trilogy #2
Indelibleby Lani Woodland
Hardcover, 416 pages
Expected publication: September 27th 2011
by Pendrell Publishing
ISBN 0982729723
4 stars
Yara is beginning to understand just how much her life will change now that her Waker abilities have emerged. She has come to terms with the fact that seeing ghosts is part of her life, but she isn’t ready to let being a Waker dictate her choices. All she wants is a ghost-free senior year with her boyfriend, Brent, and her best friend, Cherie. But Yara soon discovers that there are more dark secrets in her school’s history than just the curse she broke. While an angry ghost makes Yara question everything she thought she knew about spirits, she and Brent learn that there are long reaching consequences to last year’s adventures. As new enemies emerge and old ghosts resurface, Yara finds herself in the center of another deadly mystery, and this time she has to contend with the living as well as the dead.

Book one of the Yara Silva series, Intrinsical was one of my very favorite reads of last year, so of course I jumped on the chance to read the second book in the series. Lani does a wonderful job of creating suspenseful horror and historical ghost stories. Indelible picks up with Yara having returned to Pendrell Academy after spending the summer in Brazil with her grandmother and the matriarca of the Wakers, Vovo. Things swing into full motion quickly as she and Brent are pulled into yet another creepy mystery–this time involving the wife of Pendrell’s founder, the long red haired Sophia. And let me tell you….this ghost has a nasty temper!

Weaving historical facts from the local area into the storyline Lani Woodland introduces us to a mysterious group called “The Clutch” and the residual murder mystery that still haunts the alumni house. Meanwhile, Brent is fighting some demons of his own and he and Yara have to weather more than one storm physically and emotionally. We are introduced to a new character DJ who annoyingly calls Yara “cupcake” and are graced once again with the supernatural sleuth skills of Christy and Steve. There are layers upon layers of things going on in Indelible . It is one fast paced little ride.

I love that Lani gave Trader Joe’s a cameo appearance and I’m sure hoping we learn more about the American Waker Yara spotted there in book three. I won’t miss Inevitable which is set to come out next year. Thanks so much to Yara from Once Upon A Twilight and author Lani Woodland for giving us a sneak peek and inviting us to be a part of the Idelible blog tour. My suggestion: read this one with the light on and far away from a pool!

Content: Moderate violence, some blood and horror, making out. No swearing or sex. Recommended for teens 16 and older.

About the Author: Lani Woodland has been an avid reader since elementary school when she first discovered the Babysitters Club and Sweet Valley Twins series. In sixth grade she began writing plays and recruiting (with force when necessary) her friends to act them out. Most of these early works were inspired by She-Ra, the epitome of girl power to her young self.

She graduated from BYU with a BS in Family Science. Lani has always loved scary stories, and has a hard time enjoying any book without at least a little romance in it. She lives in Southern California with her husband, their two children and a large collection of board games. She has worked as a spot-welder, babysitter, janitor, photographer, gymnastics coach, and movie extra. She enjoys bonfires at the beach, hole-in-the-wall restaurants, speed talking, chocolate as a cure-all, and the word “precisely”.

Visit Lani at her Website / Blog / Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads

We have a couple of Intrinsical/ Indelible bookmarks to give away courtesy of the author, Lani Woodland. Simply comment below to enter. Open Internationally. Ends October 20, 2011.


Book Review -The Little Women Letters

17 Sep, 2011 by in book review 1 comment

The Little Women Letters
by Gabrielle Donnelly
Published June 7th, 2011
by Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 9781451617184
Page Count: 368
Book Source: Publisher
4.5 stars

Vibrant, fresh, and intelligent, The Little Women Letters explores the imagined lives of Jo March’s descendants—three sisters who are both thoroughly modern and thoroughly March. As uplifting and essential as Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, Gabrielle Donnelly’s novel will speak to anyone who’s ever fought with a sister, fallen in love with a fabulous pair of shoes, or wondered what on earth life had in store for her.
With her older sister, Emma, planning a wedding and her younger sister, Sophie, preparing to launch a career on the London stage, Lulu can’t help but feel like the failure of the Atwater family. Lulu loves her sisters dearly and wants nothing but the best for them, but she finds herself stuck in a rut, working dead-end jobs with no romantic prospects in sight. When her mother asks her to find a cache of old family recipes in the attic of her childhood home, Lulu stumbles across a collection of letters written by her great-great-grandmother Josephine March. In her letters, Jo writes in detail about every aspect of her life: her older sister, Meg’s, new home and family; her younger sister Amy’s many admirers; Beth’s illness and the family’s shared grief over losing her too soon; and the butterflies she feels when she meets a handsome young German. As Lulu delves deeper into the lives and secrets of the March sisters, she finds solace and guidance, but can the words of her great-great-grandmother help Lulu find a place for herself in a world so different from the one Jo knew? Vibrant, fresh, and intelligent, The Little Women Letters explores the imagined lives of Jo March’s descendants—three sisters who are both thoroughly modern and thoroughly March.

As uplifting and essential as Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, Gabrielle Donnelly’s novel will speak to anyone who’s ever fought with a sister, fallen in love with a fabulous pair of shoes, or wondered what on earth life had in store for her.

Some things, of course, remain unchanged: the stories and jokes that form a family’s history, the laughter over tea in the afternoon, the desire to do the right thing in spite of obstacles. And above all, of course, the fierce, undying, and often infuriating bond of sisterhood that links the Atwater women every bit as firmly as it did the March sisters all those years ago. Both a loving tribute to Little Women and a wonderful contemporary family story, The Little Women Letters is a heartwarming, funny, and wise novel for today.

I have to confess something…I am a big fan of the original Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. When I was pregnant with my oldest child (my first and only daughter, to be followed by four boys) I really wanted to name her Jo because of Little Women. I thought Josephine was a bit heavy for a young girl, so chose the name Joelle instead, intending to call her Jo.Well, she turned out to be very feminine and Jo just doesn’t fit, but the fact that she was named for THE Jo illustrates what a huge fan I am of the original book.

When this book arrived with three others, I chose to read it first. The concept drew me in and I had to get started right away. But, I have to admit that it started off a little bit slow. I struggled to connect, at first, with the characters. But I continued on, determined to finish, and something amazing happened. Bit by bit, I came to love each character. Emma’s sensible nature, Lulu’s desire never to settle until she found what she loved, and Sophie’s enthusiasm for life drew me in. Fee, the Marmee figure, was a fun, independent mother who taught her girls to be strong, loving women. The women (all descendants of Jo March who knew very little of her life) resemble the three surviving sisters in Little Women, yet they have their own quirks and their stories don’t always follow the path you think.

I love the mix of modern day with letters from the past. We see more of the original March sisters through letters written by Jo to her sisters or Marmee. Lulu slowly learns the story of the March sisters through these letters (in this book, Little Women does not exist) and embraces her heritage.

My love for this book didn’t develop like a traditional romance. It took time. You know the kind I mean, right? Where you meet someone and he seems like and alright guy, but just not for you. The next time you see him to you notice his expressive eyes and friendly smile, but no sparks. A few days later you run into each other at the store and when he shakes your hand you get that butterfly feeling in your stomach and it takes you by surprise. Next thing you know you are sitting together at dinner discussing the future.

Do you need to have read Little Women to enjoy this book? Probably. You need to understand the characters of Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy and Marmee to see their connection with the Atwater women. That isn’t to say that someone who hasn’t read Little Women would dislike this book, but your enjoyment would not be the same. You won’t be mentally drawing parallels and contrasting the events that occurred in the original with the story in The Little Women Letters.

My Rating: 4.5 stars (yes, I know, I said it was slow to start but when I finished I sighed and though…”wow that was a great book)

Content: Clean, possibly mild cursing, but nothing I noticed

I received a copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. No further compensation was received. Cover Image and synopsis from Goodreads.

Book Breview- In Dreams

16 Sep, 2011 by in book review, ya paranormal Leave a comment

In Dreams
by J. Sterling
Publication Date: Aug 1, 2011
ISBN 9781461078067
Page Count: 266
Source: author
3.75 stars

When Katherine Johns starts dreaming about a boy she doesn’t know, her college roommate Taylor is determined to find him. Convinced he must exist, Taylor is relentless… until she finds out exactly WHO he really is.

The realization rocks the girls to their core and sends them down a path of unimaginable heartbreak.

Follow Katherine & Taylor’s journey through love,
friendship and tragedy in the debut novel by J. Sterling.

What I loved: Cooper! He’s one of the best male YA characters I’ve seen written in a while. All-American, confident but put in his place by the right girl. I have to say if this were a YA contemporary novel without the paranormal element or other male character I would have been happy reading it that way. Austen, boy of her dreams is great but I just didn’t feel the same pull to him as I did Cooper, alive and in the flesh.

J. Sterling did an awesome job of fleshing out all of the characters and the friendship between two college roommates. I really enjoyed the hockey element, the setting and the concept behind the story.

I also like that the main girl is from California and is living in the East. There is a big difference between the two coasts (which I know since I’ve lived on both) and I liked the way Sterling added that into her book.

What I struggled with: The storyline is constantly shifting between the thoughts of all the characters which got a little confusing for me.

I received what I am guessing was an advanced reading copy from the author- there were several typoes, weird spacing and even font changes which are a bit distracting.

For some reason I just didn’t feel a connection to Austen so I think the pull in the story between two men didn’t carry the full emotional reaction it otherwise would have.

Content: Moderate swearing, college drinking and co-ed sleepovers. One small scene with a car accident and gunshot, very mild. No sex.

Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend reading In Dreams and I would read it again.

You may also like: Jennifer Laurens or Joy Preble’s YA series.

About the author: J. Sterling holds a Bachelor’s degree in Radio, TV, & Film.

She has worked for such companies as The Walt Disney Company & Lucasfilm Animation. The idea for In Dreams came to her one night over 10 years ago in her sleep.

She currently lives in California, where she drinks lots of chai tea lattes and eats far too much taco bell! 🙂

For more information, please visit her website!

Trailer Thursday-YA Book Releases Late 2011/2012

15 Sep, 2011 by in new YA fiction Leave a comment

I was out to dinner last night with author Brodi Ashton, whose debut Everneath is coming in January from Balzer & Bray/ Harper Collins and since her book is going to be made of awesome, I wanted to give you another glance at the cover. Luckily, I stumbled upon this trailer from BookLovingMcFlyFan. There are some gorgeous books coming out this year and next. Fire and Ice will be on the tour schedule for Everneath as well as Tempest by Julie Cross. So stay tuned! Meanwhile enjoy these beautiful book covers.

Book Review- Lydia by Wanda Luce

14 Sep, 2011 by in lydia, regency, walnut springs press, wnada luce 1 comment

Lydia
by Wanda Luce
Paperback, 358 pages
Published June 16th 2011
by Walnut Springs Press
ISBN 13978935217978
Source: publisher
4 stars

At six and twenty, the impoverished Lydia Hathaway has endured bleak years of heartbreak, longing for a love that never came. Her deceased father’s foolhardiness has left her family bankrupt, and Lydia is eventually left no alternative but to take a position as the companion and governess to Susan Ashcroft of Danbury Park in Surrey. During the first days at her post, Lydia pines bitterly for a life she believes forever lost. Anxious for peace, she rambles one morning across the muddy wilds of the Ashcroft estate where she has a most unimaginable encounter with the notorious Lord Connor Denton. As their paths continue to cross, Lydia falls ever deeper in love with the charming rogue while battling against his growing assault on her heart. In spite of his forward attentions, she considers his behavior toward her as nothing less than idle flirtation. And why should she think otherwise? As the wealthy son of an earl, Lord Denton may choose from among the most beautiful women of England’s first circles–none to which Lydia claims inclusion. In spite of her indignation over Lord Denton’s rakish maneuvering, she anguishes beneath the reality that he is forever beyond her reach. Tormented in a relentless battle to suppress a love she cannot overcome, Lydia resolves to leave the Ashcrofts and Danbury Park forever. After all, she is nothing to Denton–isn’t she?

I make no attempt to hide that I am a huge Jane Austen fan so when I got this one in the mail I had to read it right away. Lydia feels like a cross between Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility and is written in the language and style of the Regency Era. The landscape includes sweeping vistas of English countryside, old historic broken down castles, a bookstore with leather bound tomes and docks harboring slave ships. Everything about Lydia immerses you in the period it is written. It feels authentic and weaves historical fact and figures into the storyline without being dry. The language is flowery, at times slow paced, but with Lord Denton around to stir things up you’ll want to keep reading. He’s the perfect mix of gorgeous gentleman and fiery politician with a romantic side and witty sense of humor. He’s also way out of reach for Lydia as he’s in the highest social circles and she has been reduced to a governess after her father’s death. The two literally run into each other in the countryside as Lydia is returning from one of her adventurous jaunts in the woods. From then on you’ll be pining for them to run into each other even more. It also helps that Lydia has Charles around a resident at the Ashcroft’s. Brotherly kindness, absolute loyalty and endearing compliments make him a strong male character as well.

I easily lost myself in this one. It took me less than 24 hours to finish and I would recommend it to adults as a clean Regency romance. My only hesitation with it was that the ending seemed rushed and too neatly tied up. At times the main heroine’s self depricating and longing thoughts also seemed to drone on a little bit. I personally would have liked the book better without the Epilogue because I feel it tipped it out of something I would let my teen read into better suited for an adult. But overall, if you are a sucker for anything Jane Austen you will be a huge fan of Lydia. It would make a great movie and I’m hoping to see the author Wanda Luce release more books along the same vein. She makes history and social progress interesting as she mixes it with just the right sprinkle of romance. Thanks so much to Walnut Springs for another great release! Learn more at Wanda Luce’s website.

Glow Release Day ARC Giveaway

13 Sep, 2011 by in St martins griffin 9 comments

Happy Book Birthday to
Glow
by Amy Kathleen Ryan
Hardcover, 307 pages
Published September 13, 2011
by St. Martin’s Griffin
ISBN0312590563
series: Sky Chasers #1

What if you were bound for a new world, about to pledge your life to someone you’d been promised to since birth, and one unexpected violent attack made survival—not love—the issue?

Out in the murky nebula lurks an unseen enemy: the New Horizon. On its way to populate a distant planet in the wake of Earth’s collapse, the ship’s crew has been unable to conceive a generation to continue its mission. They need young girls desperately, or their zealous leader’s efforts will fail. Onboard their sister ship, the Empyrean, the unsuspecting families don’t know an attack is being mounted that could claim the most important among them…

Fifteen-year-old Waverly is part of the first generation to be successfully conceived in deep space; she was born on the Empyrean, and the large farming vessel is all she knows. Her concerns are those of any teenager—until Kieran Alden proposes to her. The handsome captain-to-be has everything Waverly could ever want in a husband, and with the pressure to start having children, everyone is sure he’s the best choice. Except for Waverly, who wants more from life than marriage—and is secretly intrigued by the shy, darkly brilliant Seth.

But when the Empyrean faces sudden attack by their assumed allies, they quickly find out that the enemies aren’t all from the outside.

Fire and Ice is giving away two ARC’s of Glow to our followers today to celebrate courtesy of St Martin’s Griffin. To enter click here and fill out the form.

Also: if you’re a Facebook user, please please do “like” the GLOW facebook page. There, you’ll find a 50-page excerpt from the book, sweepstakes, and more. Best of all, there’s a Facebook app (where users take a quiz to be placed on one of two spaceships and then compete with their friends to earn points for cool GLOW prizes). Good luck!

Fall 2011 Wish List

12 Sep, 2011 by in wish list, young adult fiction 29 comments

Okay folks I admit I am not a pro vlogger but every once in a while I get a wild hair in bookstores. So, I wanted to post some of my wish list titles for this fall in Children’s Young Readers and Young Adult. Comment on YouTube or leave one of your wish list titles below and you’ll be entered to win a surprise ARC from our shelves at Fire and Ice. Good Luck. Giveaway ends October 12, 2011!

Indelible Blog Tour- Playlist and ARC Giveaway

09 Sep, 2011 by in pendrell 55 comments

Fire and Ice is thrilled to be participating in two stops on the Indelible Blog Tour hosted by Once upon a Twilight and Lani Woodland. Today we are talking about the music that inspired Lani in her writing process…

She says “Intrinsical had a playlist, but Indelible really didn’t. I think music can be really important while writing. It can totally help set the mood. In high school, I did a science fair project on if music really affected us. It did. Listening to music raised and lowered the blood pressure. Sometimes it triggers the emotions that I need in the scene I’m working on. That is one of the reasons I like to have music on while I’m writing. For Indelible I had my whole music library play or I would sometimes select a random song that I was in the mood for in the moment. Of course all of the songs that I had on my Intrinsical playlist were part of what that larger library, so here are a few of the songs from Intrinsical’s playlist. I would be interested to know if any of you have heard songs that made you think of Indelible or its characters.”

1) My Immortal by Evanescence
2) Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls
3) Home by Michael Bublé
4) Sympathy by the Cranberries
5) Fire and Rain by James Taylor
6) You are My Sunshine
7) It Had to Be You by Harry Connick Jr
8) Wonderful World by James Morrison
9) You Make it Real by James Morrison
10) Bleeding Love by Leona Lewis
11) Follow You Into The Dark by Death Cab For Cutie

Click here for a pop out player of the playlist.

About the Book

Yara is beginning to understand just how much her life will change now that her Waker abilities have emerged. She has come to terms with the fact that seeing ghosts is part of her life, but she isn’t ready to let being a Waker dictate her choices. All she wants is a ghost-free senior year with her boyfriend, Brent, and her best friend, Cherie. But Yara soon discovers that there are more dark secrets in her school’s history than just the curse she broke. While an angry ghost makes Yara question everything she thought she knew about spirits, she and Brent learn that there are long reaching consequences to last year’s adventures. As new enemies emerge and old ghosts resurface, Yara finds herself in the center of another deadly mystery, and this time she has to contend with the living as well as the dead

About the Author: Lani Woodland has been an avid reader since elementary school when she first discovered the Babysitters Club and Sweet Valley Twins series. In sixth grade she began writing plays and recruiting (with force when necessary) her friends to act them out. Most of these early works were inspired by She-Ra, the epitome of girl power to her young self.

She graduated from BYU with a BS in Family Science. Lani has always loved scary stories, and has a hard time enjoying any book without at least a little romance in it. She lives in Southern California with her husband, their two children and a large collection of board games. She has worked as a spot-welder, babysitter, janitor, photographer, gymnastics coach, and movie extra. She enjoys bonfires at the beach, hole-in-the-wall restaurants, speed talking, chocolate as a cure-all, and the word “precisely”.

Visit Lani at her Website / Blog / Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads

The Giveaway: As part of the blog tour we are giving away one advanced reading copy of Indelible to our readers. It has been read by us as reviewers (so has minor shelf wear) but we wanted to pass it on to you, our loyal followers. To enter to win, simply comment below. Open Internationally and ends October 9, 2011.

LadyBird LadyBird Trailer Release and Giveaway

09 Sep, 2011 by in book trailer Leave a comment

Today we received the newly released book trailer for…


Ladybird, Ladybird
by Abra Ebner
Hardcover, 225 pages
Published June 1st 2011
by Crimson Oak Publishing
ISBN139781456577100
http://www.abraebner.blogspot.com/

Samantha was born on a full moon to a mother already dead. Revived by doctors and given to her unloving father, Samantha was raised a cursed child, her only friend the ghost of her mother who speaks to her through keys that open a secret box Sam hides under her bed.

From the inside out, Sam burns with life, a fire so vivid it keeps her peers at a distance, all except one. Leith, a quiet farm boy with a broken heart and demons of his own, enjoys the seclusion his classmates grant him, but the seclusion is all too familiar to Sam, drawing her interest.

For the first time in their lives, fate pushes them together, but when their worlds collide…fires burn.

Ladybird, Ladybird’s target market is Young Adult ages 13 and up. The setting for this book is rural, country America, a part of our nation that has changed little in the last fifty years, and a place the author, Abra Ebner, calls home. The country feel of this book melds well with late summer/harvest reads going into the fall holidays. Ladybird is a Paranormal/Ghost Romance with turbulent, yet poetic undertones. It will be released in Hardcover in September and E-Book this week (Nook, Kindle, iBooks). Hardcover Books will be available at Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and independant retailers, and are currently available for pre-order.

The Giveaway: As part of the Book Trailer and E-Book Release, they will be giving away five $50 American Express gift cards. Please provide your contact information to be entered in the giveaway. To be eligible for an additional entry, please re-tweet our contest phrase from your Twitter account.

Please remember to enter the name of our blog. (Fire and Ice) You may enter this contest twice by filling out the form and also re-tweeting our contest phrase. So head on over and fill out the form and be sure to tell them we sent you. They will be accepting entries until Friday, September 23rd at 11:59 PM Pacific time. Good Luck!