Posts Tagged: aprilynne pike

What’s Going on at Comic- Con 2013

19 Jul, 2013 by in SDCC Leave a comment

We were planning our trip to San Diego this year around Comic-Con, but alas it was not to be! Tickets sold out online in 90 minutes and the others that were not claimed went just as fast. Next year we are hoping to catch Star Wars, Hasbro and all of our favorite authors. But this year we just keep up vicariously through all of your friends who are there live. Here’s some of the books you can expect to see at #SDCC and how to win one of your own.



Penguin has a ton of titles featured at their booth, which can be found here. 

My top pick from them is Earthbound by Aprilynne Pike.



#1 New York Times bestselling author Aprilynne Pike has created a heart-stopping romance built on a love triangle like you’ve never seen before and filled with epic stakes and a centuries-long conspiracy. Give it to fans of Beautiful Creatures and Nightshade.

Tavia Michaels is the sole survivor of the plane crash that killed her parents. When she starts to see strange visions of a boy she’s never spoken with in real life, she begins to suspect that there’s much about her past that she isn’t being told. 

Tavia immediately searches for answers, desperate to determine why she feels so drawn to a boy she hardly knows. But when Tavia discovers that the aunt and uncle who took her in after her parents’ death may have actually been responsible for the plane crash that killed them–and that she may have been the true intended victim–she flees for the safety of Camden, Maine, where the boy she sees in her visions instructs her to go.


Now, Tavia is on the run with no one to trust. No one, that is, except for her best friend and longtime crush, Benson.  Tavia feels torn between the boy who mysteriously comes to her at night and the boy who has been by her side every step of the way. But what Tavia doesn’t know is that the world is literally falling apart and that to save it she will have to unite with the boy in her visions. Only problem? To do so would mean rejecting Benson’s love. And that’s the one thing Tavia Michaels swore she’d never do.


Penguin has a giveaway open to all of us! Enter HERE

ACE/ROC COMIC-CON® 2013 SWEEPSTAKES

Enter for a chance to win:
An Ace/Roc tote bag filled with the following books: The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancy;Orleans by Sherri L. Smith; Legend by Marie Lu; Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes; Earthbound by Joe Haldeman; Adventure Time Mad Libs®; Gameboard of the Gods by Richelle Mead; The Thousand Names by Django Wexler; Dark Storm by Christine Feehan; Marbles by Ellen Forney; Affliction by Laurell K. Hamilton; Blood of the Lamb by Sam Cabot, and two advance readers copies, including Frozen: Heart of Dread by Melissa de la Cruz and Michael Johnston and Grim Company by Luke Scull 

Random House Kids is featuring The Eye of Minds (The Mortality Doctrine) by James Dashner


From James Dashner, the author of the New York Times bestselling Maze Runner series, comes an all-new, edge-of-your seat adventure. The Eye of Minds is the first book in The Mortality Doctrine, a series set in a world of hyperadvanced technology, cyberterrorists, and gaming beyond your wildest dreams . . . and your worst nightmares.
 
Michael is a gamer. And like most gamers, he almost spends more time on the VirtNet than in the actual world. The VirtNet offers total mind and body immersion, and it’s addictive. Thanks to technology, anyone with enough money can experience fantasy worlds, risk their life without the chance of death, or just hang around with Virt-friends. And the more hacking skills you have, the more fun. Why bother following the rules when most of them are dumb, anyway?

But some rules were made for a reason. Some technology is too dangerous to fool with. And recent reports claim that one gamer is going beyond what any gamer has done before: he’s holding players hostage inside the VirtNet. The effects are horrific—the hostages have all been declared brain-dead. Yet the gamer’s motives are a mystery.

The government knows that to catch a hacker, you need a hacker.
And they’ve been watching Michael. They want him on their team. But the risk is enormous. If he accepts their challenge, Michael will need to go off the VirtNet grid. There are back alleys and corners in the system human eyes have never seen and predators he can’t even fathom—and there’s the possibility that the line between game and reality will be blurred forever.

James is giving away a signed copy when his Eye of Minds facebook page reaches 100 likes, so go enter here.


Scholastic uncovered the new cover to book 6, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Book 6) 
Read the full story here.


Chronicle Books has an awesome Comic-Con 6 book giveaway for those who can’t make it to San Diego. 

Grand Prize:

*Super Graphic ($18.95)


Enter on their facebook page here.

And last, but not least Harper Voyager is offering a free Comic-Con sampler! “With genres like science fiction, epic fantasy, urban and paranormal fantasy, military science fiction, supernatural, near-future thriller, and more, plus authors including Kim Harrison, Raymond E. Feist, Robin Hobb, Richard Kadrey, Vicki Pettersson, Ian Douglas, and newcomers like C. Robert Cargill, Nick Cole, among others.”

Download it for free here.

  • Huffington Post ran a story on what we missed in movie news for Divergent and Ender’s Game here. 
  • TheHobOrg is posting Hunger Games SDCC related news on their feed.
  • Plus, follow events live on twitter with one of our favorite bloggers,  @mundiemoms!
If you are an author or publisher with other SDCC book related news or giveaways, leave us a link in the comments, and we will add it on to our post.
What have you seen at Comic- Con so far and what were you most looking forward to?

Stacking the Shelves #2

18 May, 2012 by in saundra mitchell, simon audio, stacking shelves 1 comment

Stacking The Shelves is a meme started by Tynga’s Reviews “all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks.”
Here’s what’s new on my shelves this week…

A Hero For WondLa (WondLa #2) by

 

Bitterblue(Graceling Realm #3) by

Destined (Wings #4) by

 

Elemental Fairy Art Giveaway

29 Jun, 2010 by in Samantha Nowak, Spells 22 comments



In search of fairies and water elements after reading “Spells” by Aprilynne Pike and “Paranormalcy” by Kiersten White I ran across Samantha Nowak!
I am a freelancing illustrator/artist with a love for the fantasy genre. Here you will find Limited and Open Edition prints of my fantasy pieces, as well as my Enchanted Names~ which are customizable fantasy prints. Great gifts for children, fantasy lovers, and people who love customized art.
Samantha was kind enough to donate two 8×10 matted prints of the fairy of your choice and a bookmark for each winner

To enter to win
(there are two winners): Leave your name and email address below
additional entries
+1 visit her Art Website http://samanthanowak.com/
+1 become a fan an facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Samantha-Nowak-Illustrations/317019143645?ref=nf
+2 follow us on twitter @FireIcePhotos and http://twitter.com/sn_illustration
+1 for each retweet @FireIcePhotos
+5 for a post on your blog or adding our button to your site
Contest ends July 29, 2010 and is open Internationally. Good Luck!

Book review- Spells by Aprilynne Pike

23 Jun, 2010 by in new YA fiction, Spells 3 comments

published: May 4th 2010 by Harper Teen
details: Hardcover, 359 pages
characters: Laurel Sewell, David Lawson, Tamani
isbn 0061668060
3.5 Stars

Six months have passed since Laurel saved the gateway to the faerie realm of Avalon. Now she must spend her summer there, honing her skills as a Fall faerie. But her human family and friends are still in mortal danger–and the gateway to Avalon is more compromised than ever.
When it comes time to protect those she loves, will she depend on David, her human boyfriend, for help? Or will she turn to Tamani, the electrifying faerie with whom her connection is undeniable?

WARNING: Review contains spoilers…

Okay, I have to say that I waited a few days to write this review to see if Spells would seep in and entrance me like WINGS did and I have to say, not so much. I love Tamani, really love him, and felt much like I did during Eclipse and New Moon of the Twilight series. Enough with David already! He is great as far as humans go but I was Team Tamani from the start. Now I will have to read book three so I can see him win somehow. I got to the second to last chapter and was shouting “what is she thinking?!!” Pick the fae!

What I liked:
  • tinkering of the fairies and learning about herbs at the academy
  • The festival and kiss with Tamani
  • Kae and her men in black. Some serious Troll butt kicking!
  • The World Tree and meeting Tamani’s family
  • Seeing the feelings revealed between David and Chelsea…go get her David! Leave Laurel to Tamani.
  • The high speed, big action ending. Gotta say I loved the end of the book, Aprilynne amped it up quite a few notches
  • Her mother’s store and apothecary business

What I would Change:

  • Spells was a little too slow moving for me
  • Too much poinitng out of the class structure in fairy land. It doesn’t seem to bother anyone but Laurel
  • The mention of gong to bed with David in her joking with Chelsea, it seemed totally out of place. Why do so many YA authors feel they have to slip in sex somewhere?
  • I’d love to see more action and less of Laurel’s teen aged complaining and rants on social status.

Overall though, I am a huge fairy fan and will read the whole series I am sure! I am hoping the love triangle resolves itself in a suitable way *coughs* and kudos to Aprilynne Pike for another interesting book. With that cliff hanger end I will HAVE to wait to see what happens…

Browse inside SPELLS at HarperCollins http://www.harpercollins.com/books/Spells-Aprilynne-Pike/?isbn=9780061668067
Get to know Aprilynne Pike at her website here: http://www.aprilynnepike.com/Spells/
See our Wings inspired shop on Etsy here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/HeatherZahnGardner?section_id=6655519

In My Mailbox #15

18 Jun, 2010 by in Spells 6 comments

I went out to get the mail yesterday and lo and behold…Harper Teen sent me an ARC of Paranormalcy by Kiersten White. SWEET! I think I literally cheered in my driveway. SO excited to read this one and she was born in Utah!! I truly enjoy reading her blog http://kierstenwrites.blogspot.com/2009/11/everyone-has-book-inside.html. Luckily, I am reading Spells by Aprilynne Pike; any other book would have been pitched on site. But really who can resist the fae folk… especially Tamani? I am entranced. Reviews on these books coming soon because I can’t wait.

Waiting on Wednesday "Spells"

27 Jan, 2010 by in Spells 3 comments

Summary From Aprilynne Pike’s website:
Spells, the sequel to Aprilynne Pike’s #1 New York Times best-selling debut, continues the story of a not-so-ordinary girl named Laurel.

“I can’t just storm in and proclaim my intentions. I cant ‘steal’ you away. I just have to wait and hope that, someday, you’ll ask,” Tamani said.

“And if I don’t?” Laurel said, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Then I guess I’ll be waiting forever.”

Six months have passed since Laurel saved the gateway to the faerie realm of Avalon. Now she must spend her summer there, honing her skills as a Fall faerie. But her human family and friends are still in mortal danger–and the gateway to Avalon is more compromised than ever.

When it comes time to protect those she loves, will she depend on David, her human boyfriend, for help? Or will she turn to Tamani, the electrifying faerie with whom her connection is undeniable? Available from HarperTeen on May 4, 2010.

Praise for Spells

“Spells is brilliant and lovely. Aprilynne Pike’s talent just continues to bloom and I am almost afraid to see how awesome her next book will be.”

–Carrie Jones, author of the New York Times best-selling Need and Captivate

While we are waiting check out our Wings inspired jewelry in the Etsy store and watch these fun videos on Aprilynne’s first novel, Wings…