Publisher's Summary: One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.
Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.
New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth's much-anticipated second book of the dystopian Divergent series is another intoxicating thrill ride of a story, rich with hallmark twists, heartbreaks, romance, and powerful insights about human nature.
Hey Peeps! So Megg Jensen has stopped by Magical Urban Fantasy Reads for a guest post on her blog tour stop, to spread the word of the new release of her Cloud Prophet Trilogy, Severed!! You can find all of her stops by clicking on the pic below!
What Tae Kwon Do Taught Me about Writing
A while ago, I posted about my love of tae kwon do on this blog. My daughter took the class years ago and I helped her practice. Of course, in my imaginative mind, I thought I was an expert. When the hubby suggested we take the class together, I honestly believed it would be a piece of cake.
HA!
I nearly died the first day of class. It was so freaking hard. Here I was surrounded by a class composed of all children, except for the hubby and I. The kids were smiling. I thought that a call to 9-1-1 wouldn’t be out of the question. Exhausted, sore, and dehydrated, I dragged myself out of the gym and swore I’d never step foot in that class again.
It’s kind of like that when someone who’s never written before starts writing. Grab any book of a bookshelf and thumb through it. Well-constructed sentences, relevant analogies, and beautiful prose decorate the landscape - sounds simple enough for a native English speaker, right?
Again, I have to say, HA!
Most people quit writing before they really get going. Unfortunately, it doesn’t stop there. I’m a firm believer in constant study and improvement. Without these two, we’re all just boring and stunted. Yes, I’ve written many novels. I still have so much to learn.
The same goes for tae kwon do. Yes, I earned a yellow belt. No, that’s not the end of it. While I’d like to think I could kick someone’s a$$, I probably couldn’t. I know the moves, yes, but I don’t have the experience behind it to really do it justice.
Does that mean writers should put off publishing until they’re experts? Absolutely not. All writers get better with practice. Let your audience grow with you. Let them see how far you’ve come and how dedicated you are to your craft. Work your butt off on a book and then do it all over again.
Anathema Summary: Reychel is a slave girl surrounded by magic, lies and manipulation. Her best friend disappears in the middle of the night leaving Reychel to face her fifteenth birthday, the day her master burns his brand into the back of her bald head, alone. She's sheltered from the outside world and doesn't have any hope for escape, but when people desperate for freedom ask for her help can Reychel learn to believe in herself?
Oubliette Summary: Reychel thought she was finally free. She was wrong.
Everyone saw her gift of prophecy as a blessing, but her gift is uncontrollable. No one alive can teach her to manipulate her unique gift and the answers she needs lie buried within a madman’s journals.
She’s thrust in the midst of a brewing war and the only uniting factor for her people is their belief in the Prophet. Will Reychel learn to control her gift or will she be forced to deliver a false prophecy that could lead her people into a violent war?
Severed Summary: Reychel knows her gift of prophecy will lead to madness and now she is at her most vulnerable. The enemy army will attempt to sever her from everything she's ever known: her homeland, her friends, Mark, and her gift. Even at her weakest, she refuses to give up on her desire to end the war between the Malborn and the Serenians. Reychel would do anything, even come back from the dead, to conquer the enemy and reunite with Mark.
Author Summary: An adoptee raised in a foreign land, sixteen-year-old Lianne was content with her life as handmaiden to the queen, until a spell cast on her at birth activated. Now she's filled with uncontrollable rage and access to magic she thought had been bled from her people years ago. Even her years of secret training in elite hand-to-hand combat and meditation can’t calm the fires raging inside her.
Her heart is torn between two boys, the one she’s always loved and the one who always ignored her. But when the kingdom threatens to tear itself apart due to rumors surrounding the queen’s alleged affair, who will Lianne protect and who will she destroy?
Rylie's been bitten. She's changing. And now she has three months to find a cure before becoming a werewolf... forever.
Six Moon Summer by SM Reine will be republished by Red Iris Books, so it's getting a total makeover to celebrate! Six Moon Summer and its sequel, All Hallows' Moon, are coming out on January 6th, 2012 and will have new covers and NEW short stories.
To reveal the awesome new covers, we're holding a little scavenger hunt and swag giveaway! Here's how it works:
I've hidden two puzzle pieces somewhere on my blog. One is for the new Six Moon Summer cover, and one is for the new All Hallows' Moon cover. Once you've found them, leave a comment saying which pages you found them on and which puzzle piece belongs to which book. If you get it right, you'll be entered to win one of the prize packs!
The Mini Prize Pack has lip gloss, a wristband (with adorable werewolf paw prints on it), and Seasons of the Moon bookmarks. The GRAND Prize Pack has the same things as the mini prize pack, but it also comes with a signed copy of Six Moon Summer with the original cover and a leather diary just like Rylie's!
You can also hunt down the rest of the puzzle pieces on the other participating blogs:
If you find ALL the pieces, leave a comment on SM Reine's blog post here www.smreine.com to be entered to win the Grand Prize Pack! Winners will be announced on December 6, 2011 so you have about a week to find the pieces!
Important dates to remember!
November 29th: The scavenger hunt begins
December 6th: The scavenger hunt ends and we reveal the covers
The first round will start Thursday, December 1st! Advocates have been posted and "I" (you know...Mindy...HELLO???) am the advocate for Sophie in the fab-tab-u-lous series HEX HALL! She is one kick @ss chick!
Sophie first goes up against Luna from Harry Potter! And I have a good feeling about this first round!
I'm working on posting media for all of you #TeamSophie fans to post on your blogs for support!
Publisher's Summary: Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath. Now she’s returned—to her old life, her family, her boyfriend—before she’s banished back to the underworld . . . this time forever. She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can’t find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists.
Nikki longs to spend these precious months forgetting the Everneath and trying to reconnect with her boyfriend, Jack, the person most devastated by her disappearance—and the one person she loves more than anything. But there’s just one problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who enticed her to the Everneath in the first place, has followed Nikki home. Cole wants to take over the throne in the underworld and is convinced Nikki is the key to making it happen. And he’ll do whatever it takes to bring her back, this time as his queen.
As Nikki’s time on the Surface draws to a close and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she is forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole’s queen.
Everneath is a captivating story of love, loss, and immortality from debut author Brodi Ashton.
My Take: The moment I picked up and started reading Everneath by Brodi Ashton, I knew it would be a book I would gush over! Everneath begins with a very dark, extremely bizarre scene and from that point on I was really intrigued with this story.
Nikki returns to the Surface drawn by the only thing that can make her choose the Surface over a life of immortality…a single face that anchors her to her old life. Jack! When she first returns to the Surface, she only barely remembers his face and it is a real struggle to even recover his name! But she knows for certain that he is the reason she has chosen the soon to be horrible end for herself over a life of immortality. This is where my curiosity rose and I was thinking, “If he is THE boy she truly loves then why the heck did she even choose to follow Cole to the Everneath in the first place?” No worries, my questions were answered!
I’m not really sure how I feel about the characters in Everneath! We learn about each character after the protagonist (Nikki) has gone missing for 6 months and without anyone having the slightest idea of where the heck she’s been. Brodi Ashton did a remarkable job in finding the best time in the story to move back and forth between the past (before Nikki’s disappearance to the Everneath) and the present. By doing this, Brodi shows how much everyone, including Nikki herself, has changed due to her disappearance. And boy has she changed! When she first returns to the Surface, from the look of her severe malnourished state (and the fact that her disappearance is so unexplained), the only logical explanation is that she became a severe drug addict and had to undergo rehab. Not only that, but Nikki is as fragile as a beat down, emotionless puppy and, instead of worrying about what everyone is thinking of her, her only thought is that she wants to repair the destruction her disappearance has caused everyone! But after her return to the Surface, she is now truly all alone, and I thought, “Why wouldn’t she just give up?”
Throughout the book, I grew to admire and adore Nikki. I think her character is really strong because it would take a lot for most people to not just give in to the easiest way out in Nikki’s situation! So if we are talking teams right now, I’d say that I’m “Team Nikki!” I did fall in love with Jack; he's the sweet hottie that you wouldn't mind cuddling with! I’m still unsure about my feelings for Cole but he is sooo yummy! I think I’m star struck! To be completely honest, if “I” were Nikki, I would find it easy to overlook Cole’s motives and swoon over his bad boy rock star hotness! But I think I’m most unsure of Nikki’s father as well as her best friend…I truly don’t know how I feel about them…their reaction toward the whole thing is the weirdest for me. Nikki’s father did have one moment that I was thinking, “Oh! That is so sweet!”…with tears in my eyes! You would think based on their reaction to her strange behavior and even more bizarre disappearance, that their emotions would be way more extreme, one way or another. But I was barely getting that from them…especially her supposed best friend! But I don’t want to give away any spoilers, so I will have to debate this with someone who has already read Everneath.
But I am more than eager to find out what will happen next! There is a sequel right? There better be…or I’ll be extremely unhappy! And I better not have to wait long! Can I read it now? Please??? The turn in the end only makes me certain that this will be a series that I will be majorly obsessed with.
OMG! I almost left out the one thing I was determined to talk about the most! This book takes place in Park City UTAH! I loved reading a book that takes place in a city I grew up loving! HELLO! I'm from Utah! So I was always super excited when a friend who had a condo in Park City would invite me and some other friends to go stay up there! Park City is THE BEST place for tourists to go skiing! It is where a lot of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games were held! AND Brodi Ashton is from Utah! But...She didn't go to my fave college, GO COUGARS! She went to college at the University of Utah (Cougars rivals) booooo! LoL
Received review copy from the publisher for my honest review.
Expected Publish Date: March 13, 2012 Goodread's Summary: Hailed as “impossible to put down,” the Hex Hall series has both critics and teens cheering. With a winning combination of romance, action, magic and humor, this third volume will leave readers enchanted.
Just as Sophie Mercer has come to accept her extraordinary magical powers as a demon, the Prodigium Council strips them away. Now Sophie is defenseless, alone, and at the mercy of her sworn enemies—the Brannicks, a family of warrior women who hunt down the Prodigium. Or at least that’s what Sophie thinks, until she makes a surprising discovery. The Brannicks know an epic war is coming, and they believe Sophie is the only one powerful enough to stop the world from ending. But without her magic, Sophie isn’t as confident.
Sophie’s bound for one hell of a ride—can she get her powers back before it’s too late?
So, this is the first Top Ten Tuesday meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish that I’ll have participated in. I know I’m late, but I just couldn’t resist!!!
In honor of turkey day in 2 days, the topic this week is: Top Ten Authors I'd Love To Have At My Thanksgiving Feast. How could I resist?
So here is my list!
***NOTE***If you click on the picture of the author, it will take you to their blog! Check out Karsten Knight's blog, his most recent post is a vlog!
1. J.K. Rowling – This pick should be a completely obvious choice for the top spot on my list! The Harry Potter books are the VERY reason I am an obsessive reader! The only problem with this choice is that I would be sitting there at the dinner table, completely awestruck! I don’t think I could even form a conversation! Or eat!!!!
2. Karsten Knight – I loved Wildefire, but I’m an even bigger fan of Karsten’s vlogs! He TOTALLY cracks me up…even when I’m in a funk! I think he would be a VERY entertaining guest!
3. Melissa Marr – Have you ever seen her on tour?! If you have, then you would TOTALLY get why I would want to have her at Thanksgiving dinner! She is hilarious and, no matter the topic, she will always keep you entertained!
4. Cassandra Clare – Not only am I a major fan of her unbelievable creativity, but I hope I could convince her (with enough Thanksgiving wine LoL!) to write me into her book, have Jace break up with Clary and then choose ME instead!!!
5. Richelle Mead – Another fave author of mine! Not only that, but I would just HAVE to feed her to thank her for not only creating such great, multiple protagonists, but for also creating TWO completely different men who I’m so far beyond obsessed with that I can’t even begin to tell you!!! She seems super sweet too!
6. Tahereh Mafi – I had lunch with her before I read Shatter Me, and I became a crazy stalker fan. Not only that but she is one of the TOTALLY sweetest authors I’ve ever met. She was all about trying to really get to know us bloggers and she’s totally fascinated in the blogging process! I also DESPERATELY now want to talk with her about Shatter Me! I am so far beyond being pissed off at myself for not having read Shatter Me BEFORE I met Tahereh that I might even make myself eat alone at Thanksgiving!
7. Andrea Cremer – Because I’m obsessed with the Nightshade series and because she is THE very reason I blog! She did a twitter giveaway and I saw the world of book blogging during her giveaway. Plus, I need to talk to her about the end of Bloodrose! I need to know what possessed her to have THAT as the end!
8. K. A. Tucker – Because she totally rocks! And I’m totally in love with the majorly hot man in her series! Ahhh Caden! Did you know she wrote a short story about how I die? Check it out here! And we always talk about how, if she ever comes to NorCal, that she can totally crash on my couch!
9. Tiffany King – Because she is super sweet! Even though she broke my heart at the end of Forgotten Souls! I realized at that moment that she is not as sweet as she seems…there is an evil side to her! So I just might have to keep the turkey carving knife away from her! PLUS...She loves kids so maybe she'll find a way to keep the kids happy!
10. Megg Jensen – Because she is hilarious! I love all of her Facebook posts…I always look forward to reading them! She sometimes adds a silly pic of herself and comes up with the silliest topics! And…hello!!! Her books are AMAZING! Maybe if I invite her to dinner, she will let me try on a couple of her MANY pairs of shoes!
Mindy - Hi Piper! Thank you for stopping by Magical Urban Fantasy Reads! How do you feel about me asking you a few questions to get to know you and your book a little more? Piper – I’m delighted to be here today.
Mindy - Quickly give me 10 words to describe Acquainted with the Night. Piper – Vampires, romantic, mystery, anagrams, thriller, monastery, quest, biochemistry, clues, secrets.
Mindy's comment - Can you get any better than that?
Mindy - Which character in Acquainted with the Night did you enjoy writing about the most, or do you have a character that you grew the most attached to and why? Piper – I loved them all, but Moose Tipper was a stand-out. He’s a vampire and a BBBS—brilliant body bag specialist. He’s quirky, funny, dangerous, sincere. I never knew what he might say or do, and I didn’t ever try to censor him.
Mindy's comment - that is the funniest title I've ever heard of...Brilliant body bag specialist. That's brilliant in itself!
Mindy - Do you have a writing ritual? Piper – I write first drafts with black Flair pens on yellow legal pads. When I get stuck, I walk around the farm.
Mindy's comment - walking around a farm sounds relaxing.
Mindy - What is your guilty pleasure? Piper – Cornbread and milk—mixed together in a tall glass.
Mindy's comment - my first thought was, "Ugh!!" But I think I'll have to try it!
Mindy - If you weren’t a writer, what would be your ideal job? Piper – Archeology. I love dirt.
Mindy's comment - Dirt? I bet you love telling people that.
Mindy - Who are your Top 5 fictional heroes? Piper - Jamie Fraser, Stephanie Plum, Sookie Stackhouse, Gandalf, Frodo.
Mindy - Who are your Top 5 fictional villains? Piper – Hannibal Lecter, Jack Randall, Gollum, Dracula, Mrs. Danvers.
Mindy's comment - Ooooo...good ones!
Mindy - What are your Top 5 favorite books of all time? Piper – The Shell Seekers, Rebecca, Lord of the Rings, Pride and Prejudice, Wuthering Heights.
Mindy - Can you give us a list of books that you have read in the last year or two that you would highly recommend? Piper – Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling, The Welcome Home Garden Club by Lori Wilde, The Complete Stories of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Thank you so much for having me today!
Best,
Piper Maitland
Publisher's Summary: A woman's quest for the truth...A medieval icon that holds the clues...And an ancient book with the power to shake Christianity-and humanity itself.
London tour guide Caroline Clifford has never believe in vampires- until her uncle is brutally murdered at a Bulgarian archaeological site, and a vampire hunter who corresponded with him seeks her out.
Strange anagrams on her uncle's passport lead them to a cliff-top monastery in Greece, where a shattering revelation connects a relic Caro inherited to an age-old text on immortality-and an enigmatic prophecy that pits the forces of darkness and light in a showdown that could destroy all they know...
Dear followers, fans and peeps! Some of the books I review on Magical Urban Fantasy Reads are provided to me for free by either the publisher or author in exchange for my honest review. Please know that I am in NO WAY compensated for my reviews. All opinions are mine and I am not required to give a positive review in exchange for a free book! But some of the purchase links on my blog are monetized through places like Amazon, Book Depository or Barnes & Noble.
