Posts Tagged: disney hyperion

CURSE OF THE SPECTER QUEEN by Jenny Elder Moke Tour and Giveaway

01 Jun, 2021 by in Uncategorized 1 comment

Fire and Ice is hosting today’s stop on the CURSE OF THE SPECTER QUEEN by  Jenny Elder Moke Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours.

 

About the Book:

Title: CURSE OF THE SPECTER QUEEN (A Samantha Knox Novel Volume 1)

Author: Jenny Elder Moke

Pub. Date: June 1, 2021

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Formats: Hardcover, eBook, audiobook

Pages: 352

Find it: GoodreadsAmazonKindle, AudibleB&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD, Bookshop.org

A female Indiana Jones meets Tomb Raider when Samantha Knox receives a mysterious field diary and finds herself thrust into a treacherous plot. After stealing a car and jumping on a train, chased by a group of dangerous pursuers, Sam finds out what’s so special about this book: it contains a cipher that leads to a cursed jade statue that could put an end to all mankind.

MAY THE HAZEL BRING YOU WISDOM AND THE ASPEN GUIDE AND PROTECT YOU…

Samantha Knox put away her childish fantasies of archaeological adventure the day her father didn’t return home from the Great War, retreating to the safety of the antique bookshop where she works. But when a mysterious package arrives with a damaged diary inside, Sam’s peaceful life is obliterated. Ruthless men intent on reclaiming the diary are after Sam, setting her and her best friend, along with her childhood crush, on a high-stakes adventure that lands them in the green hills outside Dublin, Ireland. Here they discover an ancient order with a dark purpose – to perform an occult ritual that will raise the Specter Queen, the Celtic goddess of vengeance and death, to bring about a war unlike any the world has ever seen. To stop them, Sam must solve a deviously complex cipher – one that will lead her on a treasure hunt to discover the ancient relic at the heart of the ritual: a bowl carved from the tree of life. Will she find the bowl and stop the curse of the Specter Queen, or will the ancient order bring about the end of the world?

Indiana Jones gets a refresh with this female-driven mystery adventure, set in the 1920s, full of ciphers, ancient relics, and heart-stopping action – the first in a brand-new series!

Advance praise for CURSE OF THE SPECTER QUEEN:
“Pure fun from start to finish. Curse of the Specter Queen is a delightful historical romp, riddled with cryptic puzzles, hints of romance, and an adventurous cast of characters. An ideal escape for fans of curses, magic, and mystery.”—Stephanie Garber, #1 New York Times best-selling author of the Caravel series

“This lush, high-stakes, adventure tale has it all—a rollicking plot, a sweet slow burn of a romance, and a heroine on an epic journey filled with ciphers, curses, and twists that kept me guessing at every turn. A delightful read from start to finish, Curse of the Specter Queen is one of my new favorites.”—Alyson Noël, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Immortals 

“Apocalyptic curses, blood-chilling demons, and a centuries-old treasure hunt with a brilliant bookish heroine. Curse of the Spector Queen had me feverishly turning pages until I finally arrived at the epic conclusion.”—Livia Blackburne, New York Times best-selling author of Rosemarked and Midnight Thief

 


About  Jenny Elder Moke:

Jenny Elder Moke writes young adult fiction in an attempt to recapture the shining infinity of youth. She worked for several years at an independent publisher in Austin, TX before realizing she would rather write the manuscripts than read them. She is a member of the Texas Writer’s League and has studied children’s writing with Liz Garton Scanlon. She was a finalist in the Austin Film Festival Fiction Podcast Competition in 2017 for her podcast script, Target. When she is not writing, she’s gathering story ideas from her daily adventures with her two irredeemable rapscallions and honing her ninja skills as a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. Jenny lives in Denver, CO with her husband and two children.

 

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads | Amazon


Giveaway Details:

3 winners will receive a finished copy of CURSE OF THE SPECTER QUEEN, US Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

6/1/2021

Fire and Ice

Excerpt

6/2/2021

Lisa Loves Literature

Review

6/3/2021

YA Books Central

Excerpt

6/4/2021

Jazzy Book Reviews

Excerpt

6/5/2021

Rajiv’s Reviews

Review

Week Two:

6/6/2021

The Reading Wordsmith

Review

6/7/2021

Kait Plus Books

Excerpt

6/8/2021

A Court of Coffee and Books

Review

6/9/2021

The Bookwyrm’s Den

Review

6/10/2021

Stuck in the Stacks

Review

6/11/2021

Do You Dog-ear?

Review

6/12/2021

Christen Krumm

Review

Week Three:

6/13/2021

What A Nerd Girl Says

Review

6/14/2021

Nay’s Pink Bookshelf

Review

6/15/2021

Thindbooks Blog

Review

6/16/2021

History from a Woman’s Perspective

Review

6/17/2021

Emelie’s Books

Review

6/18/2021

Eli to the nth

Review

6/19/2021

@fictitious.fox

Review

Week Four:

6/20/2021

Books Are Magic Too

Review

6/21/2021

Star-Crossed Book Blog

Review

6/22/2021

Book-Keeping

Review

6/23/2021

The Momma Spot

Review

6/24/2021

The Book View

Review

6/25/2021

Momfluenster

Review

6/26/2021

onemused

Review

Week Five:

6/27/2021

Book Briefs

Review

6/28/2021

Always Me

Review

6/29/2021

The Book Review Crew

Review

6/30/2021

celiamcmahonreads

Review

 


Excerpt


Chapter One
Sam let the first door chime go unanswered, occupied as she was with the stack of delicate books cradled in her arms. The second chime earned a grunt of displeasure from her as she scanned the shelves for the first edition of John Locke’s An Essay Concerning Human Understanding she had repaired last week. She spotted it, tucked safely between Kant and Machiavelli. The third chime rang so insistently that she tipped the book forward too hard and it dropped to the floor with an ominous crack.
“Oh dear,” she said, crouching down to retrieve the book. “Mr. Locke, I apologize. And I swear to you if it’s the butcher’s boys again, I will take the broad side of his cleaver to their rear ends myself.”
The spine appeared unmarred, which was more than Sam could say for her disposition as she stacked the book on top of the others and jostled to a standing position. She tottered to the front of the shop and set them down on the desk. In the window stood the rounded figure of Clement’s postman, his face pressed to the glass and obscuring the gold lettering across the door. She checked off each book on her inventory list, letting him freeze in the early January snows of rural Illinois, before crossing to the door and unlocking it. A blast of cold drove it open like an unwanted guest.
“Yes, Georgie, what is it you need?” she asked, shivering back from the chill.
“Got your mail,” Georgie huffed, bustling past her to drop his sack on the desk. He trod in drifts of snow across her pristine carpet and she swept the more offensive piles back out the door as she swung it shut.
“That’s why I had the package drop put in, Georgie,” Sam said.
“So you can leave them in a protected box without them getting soaked by the melting snow you’re tracking in.”
“It’s colder than a brass toilet seat in the arctic out there,” Georgie replied, leaning against his mailbag like he planned to stay. He peered into the stacks behind Sam. “It’s toasty in here, though. Must be nice for you, being tucked up in this place all day.”
“We keep the temperature stable for the books,” Sam said, her patient tone fraying at the edges. She had plenty to do before her long walk home in that same snow, and she couldn’t do it as long as Georgie was here chewing the cud. “Extreme heat and cold damage the leather. You said you had my mail?”
“Oh, sure.” Georgie ducked his head into the thick canvas sack. “Couple of these are too big, wouldn’t fit through the slot.”
Sam was sure his bell ringing had far more to do with the warm interior of the shop than with any oversize packages, but it was too late for that. Here he was already, invading her space and upending the careful equilibrium she maintained. He didn’t care that there was the rest of the inventory list to get to, plus the packages to prepare and send to Mr. Peltingham in London and Mr. Burnham in Oslo, never mind the repairs to the copy of Medieval Remedies for Cistercian Monks they had received at the shop last week. She didn’t have time for Georgie Heath and the trail of muddy snow he dragged everywhere.
He pulled a small collection of boxes from his sack—none of them, as Sam suspected, too large for the mail slot—with an exotic array of stamps across the front. Sam’s heart rate picked up when she spotted Mr. Studen’s scrawled handwriting. He always had the best finds in Paris. She grabbed her letter opener and sliced through the thick paper.
“Books,” Georgie said, in the same tone his father used when talking about the neighbor’s marauding hogs. “Always books, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” Sam said with a happy little sigh, extracting Mr. Studen’s letter along with his latest find. “We are a bookshop, Georgie.”
Oh, clever Mr. Studen. She smiled at the first few lines of introduction, a jumble of letters and pictographic marks. He’d sent her another cryptogram, with a small note dashed at the top that read I’m sure to stump you this time.
He wasn’t, but she appreciated the challenge.
Georgie gave a snort. “I don’t know what we need with a bookshop here in Clement, anyhow. We’ve already got a library.”
“A collection of old family bibles does not count as a library,” Sam said, reaching for a pencil and paper. It looked to be a straightforward monoalphabetic cipher despite the distraction of the pictographic marks, but she didn’t want to underestimate Mr. Studen so quickly.
Georgie shrugged. “I was happy enough to give that stuff up the second I walked out of Mrs. Iris’s schoolroom for good.”
“Madame Iris,” Sam corrected.
“Madame,” Georgie said in a gross mockery of the French madame’s accent. “Pa says a book is only good for propping open a door or knocking a fella out.”
“Well I would expect no less from the man who led a town-wide protest when Mr. Steeling hired a Frenchwoman to teach at the schoolhouse,” Sam murmured, making a list of the most frequent letter appearances and the most common letter groupings in the cipher. Georgie craned his neck around, squinting at Mr. Studen’s neat handwriting.
“What is that?” he asked. “Some kind of gibberish?”
“It’s a cipher,” Sam said. “A code. It’s meant to keep a message hidden.”
The last word she said pointedly, looking up at the intrusion of his person on her space. If Georgie noticed her intention—which Sam was positive he did not—he didn’t do anything to resolve it. Instead he scooted in closer, wrinkling up his nose like his father’s prize hog.
“Well, how do you know what it says?” Georgie asked.
“You need a key,” Sam murmured, writing out a few attempts at the letters she thought she might have deduced.
“Do you have the key?”
“No.”
“Well then how do you know what it says?”
Sam let out a sigh. “I don’t, Georgie. Not yet. I have to decrypt it, which would be much easier to do without so much distracting chatter.”
Georgie rocked back. “I get it, this is like those things you and Jo and Bennett used to do, out at the Manor, right? Those treasure hunts you’d make up.”
“We didn’t make them up, Mr. Steeling did,” Sam said, setting down her pencil and folding the letter closed along with her deciphering attempts, away from Georgie’s prying eyes. “And I haven’t done those in years, not since we were children.”
Georgie shrugged. “Maybe you and Joana can put one up now that she’s in Clement again.”
Sam drew back. “Jo’s in town?”
“Yeah, didn’t you know it? I figured she would have come to see you straightaway. You were the only one she ever bothered with. Maybe she’s too good for you now, too, after being at that fancy academy in Chicago.”
Joana Steeling was back in Clement and she hadn’t come to see Sam. So, she was still mad about the fight. Sam had tried so many times to explain why she couldn’t go to the academy with Joana—first in person, and after Joana left, through half-finished letters—but Joana couldn’t understand. It was so easy for her, the heiress of the Steeling fortune, to spend late nights in shady speakeasies flirting with the boys, getting into and out of trouble. But Sam could never live like that. Most likely Joana had found her people at Marquart Academy. It didn’t surprise her that Joana had moved on, but it did surprise her how much it hurt hearing about it from Georgie Heath.
“If you see Jo, tell her we’re out at the old barn most nights, me and Pete and the gang,” Georgie said, oblivious to Sam’s discomfort. “They might have those swanky speakeasies up in Chicago, but nobody’s calling the G-men on us. We do what we want, all night if we want it.”
“Sounds a dream,” Sam said tiredly. “But I’ve got work to do, if there’s nothing else.”
“Oh, right, got your newspaper here,” he said, ducking back into the bag and pulling out a copy of the Chicago Daily News. Sam’s attention snagged on a small headline tucked into the right corner of the front page: TUT OPERATIONS RESUMED.
“The curse of the mummy has been lifted,” she murmured, leaning closer to read the rest of the article.
“Are they still writing about that thing?” Georgie asked, glancing at the paper. “The grave or whatever?”
“Yes, they’re still writing about the tomb of Tutankhamen,” Sam said dryly. “It’s the greatest archaeological discovery of our time.”
Georgie waved her off. “I don’t see any point in all that old stuff, who cares? They’re all dead anyway.”
Sam had no intention of explaining the historical significance of Howard Carter’s recent discovery of Tutankhamen’s tomb. No one in Clement would understand, except her boss, Mr. Steeling. He shared Sam’s fascination with all things ancient and lost. He spent much of his time traveling overseas to exotic places like Greece to join archaeological excavations. Places she would only ever read about in the Daily News. She snapped the paper closed and placed it on the desk, looking at Georgie expectantly.
“Well, I suppose that’s all,” Georgie said, gazing forlornly out at the brutal white of the main street of Clement.
“Yes, well, enjoy your evening in the barn with the other boys,” Sam said, picking up his sack and putting it on his shoulder, using the movement to push the rest of him toward the front door. They both squinted against the cold wind that burst through the opening.
“All right, all right, I’m off,” Georgie said, the winter wind turning him chapped and irritable again. “You tell Jo—”
“Will do, thank you, Georgie,” Sam said, swinging the door shut and throwing the dead bolt.
She took a deep, cleansing breath of the temperature-controlled interior of the store, the soft scent of the oiled leather covers restoring her sense of self, before turning her attention to the stack of recent arrivals. Her eagerness to discover new friends outweighed her obligation to the packaging list or the pang in her gut about Joana returning home and not coming to see her.
She had just begun to sort the packages when a smaller one slipped out from the press of the others, the paper soiled and the corner torn away. It looked as if it had been through a monsoon, the writing so faded it was a wonder Georgie had known where to deliver it at all. And judging by the various interpretations of the address scribbled across the front, she wasn’t sure the bookshop had been the package’s first delivery attempt. How long had it been in the system, knocked from one place to the other, before it got to her? There was no return address. She held it up, a small puff of dry earth sifting onto the desk.
“What a terrible journey you’ve been through,” she tutted. “Let’s get you fixed up.”
She carried the package to the repair room in the back. The work lamp there glowing a bluish white. A humidifier hummed beside it, giving the occasional ping in the relative silence. She sat at the worktable and opened the package. A little avalanche of dust and desiccated plant parts came sliding out along with the enclosed item.
The book was small, barely larger than her hand, the cover in such disrepair that Sam feared it would disintegrate if she so much as gave it a stern look. She had seen plenty of books in a variety of conditions since she started working at Steeling’s Rare Antiquities, but this had to be the worst state of deterioration she’d ever witnessed. It looked as if the book had been buried in someone’s back field and dug up by a stray goat.
“Who would do such a thing to you?” she wondered, her chest aching at the violence the book had encountered on its journey. “Well, whatever ills have befallen you, you’re safe here now.”
There was nothing in the package to indicate where it had come from, no letter of provenance or introduction from a buyer explaining what the book was or why they had sent it. The mystery of it had her pulling out her tools, for the moment abandoning the other new arrivals. She took her brush and went to work, tilting it up to sweep softly along the outside edges, collecting a tidy pile of earth and sediment.
Already she knew it would need a rest in the humidifier to loosen up the pages and hopefully restore the faded writing within. Once she had sufficiently cleaned the outside, she began her preliminary inspection of the interior. The pages were so waterlogged she could hardly pry them apart, but with the aid of a scalpel and a level of patience bordering on stubbornness, she managed to loosen one enough to pull it open.
The writing was, as she suspected, faded and illegible in many places, but that wasn’t what drew her attention to the book. It was the hasty sketch of a cat on the open page, the graphite strokes thick and dark and tearing through the paper in some places. She could even see smudges where the lead must have broken. Whoever drew this cat must have had very strong feelings about it.
Except that, the longer she stared at the image, the less it actually looked like a cat. At least, not like any ordinary house cat. The proportions were all wrong—the ears too sharp and pointed, almost like horns; the jaw too long and narrow, more fitted to a dog. And then there were the eyes. They were nothing more than blank page, but the longer she stared, the more they seemed to burn, two desolate holes radiating a promise of danger. Awareness prickled down her legs and across her arms, as if a wayward slip of icy January wind had found its way into the shop. But it wasn’t the wind. It was the way the cat kept staring, even when she slid the book aside. Those sightless eyes were on her, always on her, and in a fit of fear she slammed the cover shut.
“Don’t be such a fool,” Sam muttered, though she made no attempt to open it again. “It’s only an old book. What’s the harm?”
Georgie was putting her on. He must be. This was exactly the kind of prank he and Pete and the other boys would pull back in Madame Iris’s schoolroom. Leaving notes with rude poems, knowing she would mistake them for clues to a new treasure hunt at Steeling Manor, the hunts Mr. Steeling created for his children and Sam. They must be bored to tears after the last snowstorm, getting pickled out there in his father’s barn every night. They were probably watching through the front window, waiting to see her come tearing out of there screaming.
But there was nothing at the door save the whistle of the winter wind and the last rays of a dying sun. The darkness looming outside made the malevolence emanating from the book so much worse, and Sam was acutely aware of how alone she was just then. She hovered in the doorway of the workroom, not wanting to come any closer to the odd little book.
“What are you?” she whispered.
But whatever secrets the book had, it held them as tightly as the dust wedged into its pages. Sam chewed at one corner of her lip, weighing her options. She could try to chase down Georgie, force the book back on him, and make him deliver it out to Steeling Manor. But the shop was the last stop on his route; he was probably halfway back to the barn by now, and halfway into a flask of his awful bathtub gin. The boy could be surprisingly agile when getting away from work. She could leave it until the next time Mr. Steeling came by to check on the new arrivals, but that could be weeks from now and Sam didn’t want it hanging around.
No, there was nothing for it. She would have to deliver it to Steeling Manor herself. Which meant facing her fears, and potentially her former best friend.
“Oh, Sammy girl, what have you gotten yourself into?” she sighed, tucking the book into her satchel and pulling the strap across her chest like a battle shield.

HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL: THE ROAD TRIP by Melissa de la Cruz Blog Tour

18 May, 2021 by in Uncategorized Leave a comment

 

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL: THE ROAD TRIP by Melissa de la Cruz Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

 

About the Book:

Title: HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL: THE ROAD TRIP

Author: Melissa de la Cruz

Pub. Date: May 4, 2021

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Formats: Hardcover, eBook

Pages: 272

Find it: GoodreadsAmazon, Kindle, B&NiBooks, KoboTBD, Bookshop.org

An original novel inspired by the hit Disney+ television series HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL: THE MUSICAL, by the #1 New York Times best-selling author of the Descendants series, Melissa de la Cruz.

Join everyone’s favorite Wildcats from the Disney+ smash hit original series High school Musical: The Musical: The Series in this novel by New York Times bestselling author Melissa de la Cruz.

On the heels of their wildly successful run of High School Musical, the gang learns of a can’t-miss opportunity—a High School Musical convention in the next state. There’s something for everyone: panels about mounting your next hit show, cafeteria-tray-dance workshops, Wildcat cosplay, and even a special appearance from the pooch who played Sharpay’s dog (well, one of her puppies, that is).

Ready to hit the road, the crew immediately begins making plans. Nini can’t wait to use the weekend to show how much she cares for Ricky (especially since they just got back together). Kourtney debates signing up for a singing workshop (especially if she’s maybe, just maybe, considering auditioning for the next show), and Gina and Ashlyn decide it’ll be the perfect trial run for living together (especially because Gina has never actually had a friendship last this long). Carlos can’t wait to help Miss Jenn prep for the spring musical, even if Seb has to stay behind to help with the family farm. But car breakdowns, late starts, and a lost E.J. throw a wrench in their plans. 

Will the East Highers get the weekend getaway of their dreams? Or will the bumps on the road get the better of them?

Praise For HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL: THE ROAD TRIP:

A breezy and fun read, the book contains chapters that offer pithy first-person accounts from each character, including quirky Miss Jenn; Carlos and his boyfriend, Seb; recently reunited couple Nini and Ricky and their BFFs, Kourtney and Big Red; popular senior E.J. and his songwriter cousin, Ashlyn; and talented triple threat Gina. The plot includes references to the series and themes straight from the musical: nurturing your talent, showing others how much they matter, and acknowledging the importance of teamwork. Although race isn’t mentioned overtly, the characters are cued as racially diverse, following the casting of the TV show. Fans will appreciate the inside jokes, but explanations in the text make it accessible even to those unfamiliar with the program.

 

A lighthearted and charming read.—Kirkus Reviews.

 

 

About Melissa:

Melissa de la Cruz (www.melissa-delacruz.com) is the author of the #1 New York Times best-selling Descendants series, as well as many other best-selling novels, including all the books in the Blue Bloods series: Blue BloodsMasqueradeRevelationsThe Van Alen Legacy, Keys to the Repository, Misguided Angel, Bloody Valentine, Lost in Time, and Gates of Paradise. She lives in Los Angeles, California, with her husband and daughter.

 

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Tumblr | Goodreads | Amazon

 

 

Giveaway Details:

 

3 winners will win a finished copy of HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL: THE ROAD TRIP, US Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

5/1/2021

jillpiscitello

Excerpt

Week Two:

5/2/2021

YA Books Central

Excerpt

5/3/2021

Living in a Bookworld

Excerpt

5/4/2021

BookHounds YA

Excerpt

5/5/2021

Perusewithcoffee (blog)

Review

5/6/2021

Musing of Souls

Review

5/7/2021

Kait Plus Books

Excerpt

5/8/2021

The Book View

Review

Week Three:

5/9/2021

onemused

Review

5/10/2021

Lifestyle of Me

Review

5/11/2021

Emelie’s Books

Review

5/12/2021

Midnightbooklover

Review

5/13/2021

Fire and Ice

Review

5/14/2021

Shelf Love

Review or Excerpt

5/15/2021

Jenguerdy

Review

Week Four:

5/16/2021

Margie’s Must Reads

Review

5/17/2021

Amani’s Reviews

Review

5/18/2021

two points of interest

Review

5/19/2021

Haunted By Books

Review

5/20/2021

booksaremagictoo

Review

5/21/2021

fictitious.fox

Review

5/22/2021

The Reading Wordsmith

Review

Week Five:

5/23/2021

Momfluenster

Review

5/24/2021

michellemengsbookblog

Review

5/25/2021

Rajiv’s Reviews

Review

5/26/2021

Struck by Stories

Review

5/27/2021

Fyrekatz Blog

Review

5/28/2021

BiancaBuysBooks

Review

5/29/2021

Do You Dog-ear?

Review

Week Six:

5/30/2021

A Dream Within A Dream

Excerpt

5/31/2021

Lady Hawkeye

Excerpt


Netgalley Free Ebook Review- Double Crossed by Ally Carter

09 Apr, 2013 by in netgalley Leave a comment

Double Crossed: A Spies and Thieves Story 
by Ally Carter
ebook, 60 pages
Published January 22nd 2013
by Disney Hyperion
ISBN1423187474
Heist Society #2.5, Gallagher Girls #5.5
Book Source: Netgalley
4 stars
Summary from Goodreads: Macey McHenry—Glamorous society girl or spy-in-training?
W.W. Hale V—Heir to an American dynasty or master thief?
There are two sides to every coin. Whether these two can work together is a tossup.
Born into privilege, Macey and Hale are experts at mingling with the upper class. But even if they’ve never raised an eyebrow at the glitz, neither teenager has ever felt at home with the glamour.
When Macey and Hale meet at a society gala, the party takes a dangerous turn. Suddenly they’re at the center of a hostage situation, and it’s up to them to stop the thugs from becoming hostile. Will Macey’s spy skills and Hale’s con-man ways be enough to outsmart a ruthless gang? Or will they have to seek out the ultimate inside girl to help?
The worlds of Heist Society and the Gallagher Girls collide in Ally Carter’s fast-paced, high-stakes and tantalizing new story. Get a behind the scenes glimpse as Ally delivers an irresistible thriller that is full of her signature style and savvy twists.
Review: Ally Carter is one of those automatic authors for me…I see a book she releases and I buy it. I was first introduced to her Heist Society series while browsing art at the Met Museum in NYC with Tales of A Ravenous Readr. Since reading Uncommon Criminals I’ve been hooked! When I saw this fun novella that blends both of her series characters into one setting I had to check it out.  I’ve never read the Gallagher Girls, but they are at the top of my wish list after sampling Macey’s personality in Double Crossed. I want to get to know Macey McHenry as well as I now know Hale. The aloof, ruffled, handsome Heister I know and love.
Macey and Hale are thrown into a high stake situation at a high society gala when the event is hijacked by men in masks. They have the jaws of life and don;t seem to be in much of a hurry to pull off the job–so what are they really after?  The banter between Macey and Hale makes me want to see much more interaction between these two series. Both are confident in their abilities and both have an air of “I know best.”  We also have some cameos by others from the books and the result is a mash up of awesome proportions.  If you haven;t discovered Ally Carter check this one out for free on Netgalley to wet your whistle and then dive right in!
Content: moderate violence, recommend for ages 16 and up

Author Bio from her website: I  was born and raised in Oklahoma. My mother was a teacher and my father a farmer and rancher. I have one older sister.
In high school, I was very active in a number of student organizations and graduated as co-valedictorian of my senior class. I then attended Oklahoma State University and Cornell University and worked for several years in the agricultural industry before writing full-time.
My first novel, Cheating at Solitaire (Berkley) was published in 2005. The following year I published the sequel to Solitaire, Learning to Play Gin. There are no more plans for future books in that series at this time.
My first novel for young adults, I’d Tell You I Love You but Then I’d Have to Kill You was published by Disney-Hyperion in April 2006. Love You Kill You (as we call it) was followed by Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy (October 2007), Don’t Judge a Girl By Her Cover (June 2009), Only the Good Spy Young (June 2010), Out of Sight, Out of Time (March 2012). Book six will be the final Gallagher Girls novel. Look for it in stores in 2013.
I am also the author of Heist Society (February 2010) and its sequels Uncommon Criminals (June 2011), and Perfect Scoundrels (February 2013).
My books have been published in more than twenty countries and have appeared on best-seller lists from the New York Times, USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, Barnes and Noble, IndieBound, and Bookscan. They have sold over two million copies.
I am one of the luckiest people in the world, and today, I’m able to do the job I wanted to do when I was a kid, and I am back living in Oklahoma.

Book Review- Putting Makeup on Dead People by Jennifer Violi

01 Oct, 2011 by in putting make up on dead people, young adult fiction 2 comments

Putting Makeup on Dead People
by Jennifer Violi
Hardcover, 336 Pages
Published May 24th 2011
by Hyperion Books
ISBN 1423134818
Book Source: publisher
3.5 stars

In the spring of her senior year, Donna Parisi finds new life in an unexpected place: a coffin.

Since her father’s death four years ago, Donna has gone through the motions of living: her friendships are empty, she’s clueless about what to do after high school graduation, and her grief keeps her isolated, cut off even from the one parent she has left. That is until she’s standing in front of the dead body of a classmate at Brighton Brothers’ Funeral Home. At that moment, Donna realizes what might just give her life purpose is comforting others in death. That maybe who she really wants to be is a mortician.

This discovery sets in motion a life Donna never imagined was possible. She befriends a charismatic new student, Liz, notices a boy, Charlie, and realizes that maybe he’s been noticing her, too, and finds herself trying things she hadn’t dreamed of trying before. By taking risks, Donna comes into her own, diving into her mortuary studies with a passion and skill she didn’t know she had in her. And she finally understands that moving forward doesn’t mean forgetting someone you love.

Jen Violi’s heartfelt and funny debut novel is a story of transformation—how one girl learns to grieve and say goodbye, turn loss into a gift, and let herself be exceptional…at loving, applying lipstick to corpses, and finding life in the wake of death.

This was an interesting read. It was somber in tone, as the main character was still mourning the death of her father, four years prior to the start of the book. She also could not understand how the rest of her family had been able to move on with the lives.

Donna is young and socially awkward. She isn’t sure how to create friendships or what relationships should feel like. You almost want to sit her down and have a little talk with her; tell her how life works, but as you continue to read, you find that she learns it all by herself.

One thing that bugged me about the book was the gradual increase in harsh language and sexual content. It wasn’t terrible, but the book starts out pretty clean and then adds in more as it progresses. As a mom to a tween daughter who is slowly outgrowing her young readers books and approaching the reading level that would transition into young adult, I would not want her reading this book, for a long time.

I did really connect with the characters, brought to happy tears as the book came to a close (I won’t say more; I don’t want to spoil it for you), but I am not sure it is one I would read again (which for me is my line between a 3 star book and a 4 star book, being the big fan that I am of re-reading favorites).

Content: Swearing, fairly descriptive sexual encounters between young adults. This is definitely for much older teens

I received a review copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. No further compensation was received. Summary and cover image from Goodreads.

Book Review-Original Sin by Beth McMullen

21 Sep, 2011 by in mystery Leave a comment

Original Sin
A Sally Sin Adventure
by Beth McMullen
Hardcover 304 Pages
Publication Date: July 12, 2011
by Hyperion
ISBN: 1401324215
Rating: 3 Stars
Source: Publisher

On the surface, Lucy Hamilton looks just like all the other stay-at-home San Francisco moms. She takes her three-year-old son, Theo, to the beach, to the playground and to the zoo. She feeds him organic applesauce and free-range chicken. She folds laundry and plays on the floor with Matchbox cars until her knees ache. What no one knows about Lucy, not even her adoring husband, is that for nine years Lucy was Sally Sin, a spy for the United States Agency for Weapons of Mass Destruction. And that’s just the way she wants to keep it – a secret. But when Lucy’s nemesis Ian Blackford, a notorious illegal arms dealer, hits the USAWMD’s radar, the Agency calls Sally Sin back to action to lure Blackford out into the open. Racing against time, Lucy must fight to save herself, her loving family – and, oh right – the world. Hilarious and resonant, ORIGINAL SIN is the story of one woman’s quest to find that most elusive work-life balance in the face of danger, intrigue, and proper recycling habits.

You know, I really do love a good mystery, and Original Sin has many of the characteristics of a good mystery: a strong lead, interesting characters, plenty of action and a well unraveled plot. Sally (or Lucy) looks to the world like every other paranoid, first time mother; with her purse filled to the brim with sippy cups and crackers, watching her 3 year old son’s every move. What everyone around her doesn’t realize is that her paranoia comes from experience, she has seen the worst the world can do and isn’t about to let it reach her precocious little boy (he is very clearly and only child).

I enjoyed the back and forth between current day and Sally’s past adventures with the USAWMD. You really get a picture of the whole Sally when you see both aspects of her life. Past and present begin to mingle and help you understand more of what is going one. The author does a great job of unraveling a little bit of the mystery at a time, building your knowledge of the big picture bit by bit. Even by the end of the book, you aren’t quite sure how everything fits together, leaving you to anticipate the next book in the series.

So, why if I enjoyed the mystery, do I only give this book a three star rating? This comes into content. I admit, I am a bit of a prude when it comes to the books that I read. To be honest, if I hadn’t been sent this book on review, I would likely have quit reading it after the 5th dropping of the “F-bomb” (about 2 chapters into the book). What I find curious about it’s use is that it appears to be the author‘s swear word of choice, because we see very little other swearing (a few other incidents here and there). There is also very limited sexual content (mostly all innuendo or a quick mention of what occurred, without much description). This leads me to ask, why include the aforementioned “F-bomb” so often if you kept the book fairly clean of anything else? I honestly really enjoyed the story-line and had it left out the swearing or limited it more I would easily have given this book a 4.5 star rating.

Content: quite a bit of the “F-bomb” and other minor swear words, mention of sex between adults and other somewhat sexual content (but fairly minor). See the paragraph above for more on the book’s content.

I received a copy of this book for review purposes. No other compensation was received.

Ally Carter Uncommon Criminals Event

27 Jun, 2011 by in Heather Gardner Photography 5 comments

Saturday June 25th I attended the Ally Carter signing and pre-event with several other Utah book bloggers at The King’s English book shop. We had a chance to sit down and ask Ally some exclusive questions. Here’s what we found out:

-The Heist Society books are episodic in nature and as of right now there’s no set number to the series
-Hale’s name comes from a name Ally saw at a museum on temple square during a visit to Utah she made with her employer. She wanted a last name that could also be used as a first name.
-Ally first heard about the Nazis stealing art on an episode of West Wing. She has since researched Holocaust art which is a common theme in her series. She recommends the documentary “The Rape of Europa” and book “The Monuments Men” to learn more
-Ally’s book feature a strong female protagonist and several external conflicts
-Her favorite authors in YA include Sara Zarr, Jennifer Lynn Barnes, ELockhart, Sara Rees Brennan and Holly Black
-The fifth book in the Gallagher Girls series is coming out soon with six planned so far.
-Ally previously wrote two adult titles, the first being called Cheating at Solitaire.

Fire and Ice would like to thank Courtney Lowe from the Provo Library and Disney Hyperion for the cool Uncommon Criminals sunglasses as well as he opportunity to meet Ally personally. Also, Emily from Emily’s Reading Room for organizing all of us bloggers and King’s English for hosting the event. In attendance were book bloggers Heather Zundel, Jennifer K Jovus from My Life With Books, Catie Skola from Book Bound, Mindy and Shanda from LDSWBR, Emily from EmsReadingRoom, Heather from Fire and Ice and the Friendly Reader. We are currently giving away and audio version of Uncommon Criminals which we had signed on Saturday, so check our right sidebar to enter!

All photos are copyright Heather Zahn Gardner http://www.heathergardnerphotography.com/

Uncommon Criminals Review and Audio Giveaway

22 Jun, 2011 by in uncommon criminlas 20 comments

Uncommon Criminalsby Ally Carter
Hardcover, 298 pages
Published June 21st 2011
by Hyperion Book
ISBN 1423147952
series: Heist Society #2

4.5 stars

Katarina Bishop has worn a lot of labels in her short life: Friend. Niece. Daughter. Thief. But for the last two months she’s simply been known as the girl who ran the crew that robbed the greatest museum in the world. That’s why Kat isn’t surprised when she’s asked to steal the infamous Cleopatra Emerald so it can be returned to its rightful owners.

There are only three problems. First, the gem hasn’t been seen in public in thirty years. Second, since the fall of the Egyptian empire and the suicide of Cleopatra, no one who holds the emerald keeps it for long — and in Kat’s world, history almost always repeats itself. But it’s the third problem that makes Kat’s crew the most nervous, and that is . . . the emerald is cursed.

Kat might be in way over her head, but she’s not going down without a fight. After all, she has her best friend — the gorgeous Hale — and the rest of her crew with her as they chase the Cleopatra around the globe, dodging curses and realizing that the same tricks and cons her family has used for centuries are useless this time.

Which means, this time, Katarina Bishop is making up her own rules.

Ally Carter has once again crafted a fun, quirky twisted tale of a girl raised criminal tuned to rightfully returning stolen items to their original owners. In book two Kat starts out on her own executing risky heists from the ex-KGB in Moscow and planning more jobs solo until Hale catches up to her and makes it very clear he wants “in.” Soon the old crew- Simon, Hamish, Angus, and Gabrielle are together, hired to get back a cursed emerald. But this job may very well be their last. Cleopatra’s Emerald hasn’t been seen for 30 years, it’s forbidden to steal it and after all the crew is “just kids”…up against the biggest con artist they have ever faced. Kat has her work cut out for her as the clock is ticking.

Ally’s writing style is the same as book one with meticulous details of each heist and amazing descriptions of character and setting. This is a series you’ll stay up late in the night to finish. Picture Oceans 11 with teens plus just the right dash of romance.

The love interests, Hale and Nick…how is one to decide? Chemistry is building between Kat and the two young men who wish to capture her attention when her heart is wrapped up in the thrill of the steal. I haven’t had this much fun with a love triangle in a long time! Hale is ever the perfect gentleman and loyal companion, while Nick seems to pop up unexpectedly to stir things up. Overall, Uncommon Criminals is a squeaky clean read I’d highly recommend to all readers ages 12 and up. Ally Carter is a master mind of deceit and twist of plot. Her clever style will capture you instantly, and if you haven’t picked up book one, Heist Society yet, get thee to your nearest store or library to get started today! Ally is coming to Utah this Saturday at The King’s English book shoppe from 2-5PM. I will be there to cover the event with my camera…so stay tuned.

Fire and Ice is giving away an MP3 Unabridged audiobook of Uncommon Criminals donated by Brilliance audio. To enter to win click here and fill out the form. Good luck!

ARC Tour- Mercy

16 May, 2011 by in rebecca lim, wolves of mercy falls Leave a comment

Mercy
by Rebecca Lim
Hardcover, 288 pages
Expected publication: May 17th 2011

by Hyperion Book CH
ISBN 1423145178

A fallen angel haunted by her past. Yearning for her immortal beloved. Forever searching for answers. Who will show her Mercy?

Mercy has lost herself. She can’t count how many times she’s “woken up” in a new body, and assumed a new life, only to move on again and again. During the day she survives in the human world on instinct and at night her dreams are haunted by him. Mercy’s heart would know him anywhere. But her memory refuses to cooperate.

But this time is different. When Mercy wakes up she meets Ryan, an eighteen year old reeling from the loss of his twin sister who was kidnapped two years ago. Everyone else has given up hope, but Ryan believes his sister is still alive. Using a power she doesn’t fully comprehend, Mercy realizes that Ryan is right. His sister is alive and together they can find her. For the first time since she can remember, Mercy has a purpose; she can help. So she doesn’t understand why the man in her dreams cautions her not to interfere. But as Ryan and Mercy come closer to solving the dark mystery of his sister’s disappearance, danger looms just one step behind.

Will Mercy be able to harness her true self and extraordinary power in time?

The first in a dazzling new series, Mercy masterfully weaves romance, mystery and the supernatural into a spell-binding tale.

To read and review Mercy as a part of out international ARC tour, fill out this form . Please take note of our rules before signing up.

Book Review- Dark Goddess

08 Mar, 2011 by in sarwat chadda Leave a comment

by Sarwat Chadda
Hardcover, 384 pages
Published January 25th 2011
by Hyperion Book
ISBN 1423127595
series Billi SanGreal #2
3.5 stars

New enemies, new romance, and new horrors,
Billi’s back, and it seems like the Unholy just can’t take a hint.
Still reeling from the death of her best friend, Kay, Billi’s thrust back into action when the Templars are called to investigate werewolf activity. And these werewolves are like nothing Bilil’s seen before.

They call themselves the Polenitsy – Man Killers. The ancient warrior women of Eastern Europe, supposedly wiped out centuries ago. But now they’re out of hiding and on the hunt for a Spring Child — an Oracle powerful enough to blow the volcano at Yellowstone — precipitating a Fimbulwinter that will wipe out humankind for good.

The Templars follow the stolen Spring Child to Russia, and the only people there who can help are the Bogatyrs, a group of knights who may have gone to the dark side. To reclaim the Spring Child and save the world, Billi needs to earn the trust of Ivan Romanov, an arrogant young Bogatyr whose suspicious of people in general, and of Billi in particular.

Dark Goddess is a page-turning, action-packed sequel that spans continents, from England to the Russian underworld and back. This is an adventure of folklore and myth become darkly real. Of the world running out of time. And of Billi SanGreal, the only one who can save it.

First of all I should say I am a huge fan of the first book in this series, Devil’s Kiss. That book inspired me to delve deeply into research about the Knights Templar and legends. So, when I was grocery shopping at a warehouse store last week and saw an ARC of Dark Goddess for sale in a box of truck abandoned books, I had to rescue it and take it home with me. I will admit it took me a while to get into this one. Probably because my heart was still with Kay who is now deceased. Though author Sarwat Chadda has taught “the dead need not linger”, I missed Kay. Billi seems completely emotionally detached in her mourning. And I was a bit taken aback by her treatment toward the child they rescue in the very first scene. Her loyalty to the Templar cause keeps her in my mind, a cold character, so at times I had a hard time relating to her.

I will say once Billi and her crew hit Russia the story picks up the pace. The Knights Templar are trying to find and save Vasilisa, Spring child who has the capability to interact with the earth’s elements. The world is suffering from a near apocalyptic volcanic explosion in Italy and Vasilisa is at the core of worsening or healing the damage. She is exactly what the Mother Russia, Baba Yaga is looking for to facilitate her world domination. The Templars must join forces with the Bogatyrs, their wealthy Russian warrior counterparts to protect the young Spring Child from a pack of werewolves sent to do Baba Yaga’s hunting. The Polinisty, ancient women werewolf warriors with their original Mongrol roots are one of my favorite parts of Dark Goddess. My other treasured scenes are those between Billi and Tsarovich Ivan Romanov. His introduction into the plot as he steps out of a Hummer is noteworthy. As well, the few vignettes where he and Billi are getting to know each other left me wanting more. I felt like yelling “stop action, emote!”

Overall, my feeling with this sequel… I was left hoping for chemistry and the fleshing out of Billi and Ivan’s relationship. I’m rooting for a resolution with Ivan in Billi’s love life. Dark Goddess is written like an action driven screen play, full gore and grit. It would make a great movie. Sarwat Chadda’s setting and detailed descriptions make for a tapestry of visual richness. I will pick up a book three if there is one because I find these books intriguing. Plus, I love Sarwat Chadda as a person. He is one of the first authors I met on twitter who will tweet you back & engage in conversation. If you’re a fan of The Lost Saint by Bree Despain or Dreaming Anastasia and Haunted by Joy Preble this one is for you! It is a great mix of Russian history, mythology and folklore that kept me entertained and engaged. Dark Goddess is rated PG-13 for violence.

Book Review- Deadly Little Games

30 Jan, 2011 by in book giveaway, book review 36 comments

Deadly Little Games
by Laurie Faria Stolarz

Hardcover, 304 pages
Published December 28th 2010

by Hyperion Book
ISBN 1423131606
series Touch #3
4.5 stars

Camelia and Ben have discovered a powerful bond: They both possess the power of psychometry, the ability to sense things through touch. For Ben, the gift is a frightening liability. When he senses a strong threat or betrayal, he risks losing control and hurting people. Camelia’s gift is more mysterious. When she works with clay, her hands sculpt messages her mind doesn’t yet comprehend.

Before either teen has a chance to fully grasp these abilities, an unresolved family tragedy resurfaces in Camelia’s life, irrevocably changing everything she cares about…

I will admit that Laurie Faria Stolarz has me wrapped around her finger with the Touch series. The covers are a little piece of heaven with raised designs and otherworldly photography. They are among my very favorites in YA. Laurie’s writing has the suspense the tension and the characters I can’t get enough of. Deadly Little Games follows many of the same plot patterns as the first two in the series but I was never bored. There’s just the right touch of creepy and mystery for me.

In this third installment Camelia has discovered her psychometry and the ability to sculpt events of the future into clay. Things are rocky between her and Ben due to the appearance of his old rival Adam. I grew to really love Ben (again). He has depth and layers that I have a feeling are about to unfold even further in book #4.

I got carried away into Camelia’s life with a health nut yoga teaching mom, her quirky sidekick best friends Wes and Kimmie and a truly caring father. Stolarz knows how to fully flesh out each person she introduces. There’s also more back story of her maternal aunt and the haunting gift she and Cameilia share. The elements that tie off the package for me are all of the pottery scenes and the gripping suspense. I will be reading book #4, as far as I’m concerned Laurie can just keep writing in the Touch sequence and I’ll never grow weary of Camelia and Ben.

Here’s your chance to start reading the Touch series and discover for yourself why I adore them. Comment below for your entry to win book one, Deadly Little Secret. Giveaway ends February 28, 2011 and is open internationally.