Entangled Teen: November Book Blitz!

Discover new worlds in Entangled Teen's November books! From a Queen in a magical realm trying to fall in love while a war looms. To a young man trying figure out who he is amongst the turmoil in his family life. Or an orphaned girl taking a walk on the dark side, becoming involved with computer hackers and possibly losing her heart to the bad boy. And a finally a young man who has been raised by werewolves sets off to find his own path and figure out his mysterious destiny! There’s something for everyone!

Also make sure to follow along today at 9PM EST/6 PM PST for the monthly Entangled Twitter party! We’ve invited our New Adult authors along this time! We’ll chat about books, boys, TV, movies and everything that we’re thankful for this month of November. Make sure to follow this hashtag #EntagnledThanksgiving never been to a twitter party before? Go HERE to find out how to participate!

Infinity (The Chronicles of Nerissette #3)

by Andria Buchanan 

Publication: November 5th, 2013 by Entangled Teen

Although she’s still stuck in the magical world of Nerissette, Queen Allie is finally ready to build a relationship with the half hottie, half dragon next door, Winston. But all isn’t really fair in love and war. Unrest is quickly forming at the borders and soon Allie realizes that the Fate Maker wasn’t the only one who wanted her crown.

When her trusted aunt Bavasama sends her troops into Nerissette on a campaign of murder and mass destruction, Allie has a tough decision to make. She can’t take the chance of letting more people die or letting those she’s lost disappear from memory, but there is more at stake than even she knows.

Still, Allie has to do something. And in the process she’ll discover what she’s truly made of when faced with a series of options…each more horrible than the last.

GoodReads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble

In the Blood 

by Sara Hantz

Publication: November 5th, 2013 by Entangled Teen

For seventeen years Jed Franklin’s life was normal. Then his father was charged with the abuse and murder of four young boys and normal became a nightmare.

His mom’s practically a walking zombie, he’s lost most of his friends, and the press camps out on his lawn. The only things that keep him sane are his little sis; his best friend and dream girl, Summer; and the alcohol he stashes in his room. But after Jed wakes up from a total blackout to discover a local kid has gone missing—a kid he was last seen talking to—he’s forced to face his greatest fear: that he could somehow be responsible.

In a life that’s spiraled out of control, Jed must decide if he chooses his own destiny with Summer by his side or if the violent urges that plagued his father are truly in the blood…

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Spring Moon (Indiana Teller)

by HRH Princess Sophie Audouin-Mamikonian

Publication: November 5th, 2013 by Entangled Teen 

Amid the expansive plains of Montana, the Lykos Ranch stretches for miles. The inhabitants who live in near isolation from the outside world are members of the most powerful clan of werewolves in North America. Among them lives just one human: Indiana Teller.

Grandson of the clan’s leader and offspring of a werewolf father and a mysterious yet human mother, Indiana is rejected by his peers and heads to the University of Montana to find a normal life. Despite warnings from his grandparents, he falls in love with a beautiful human, Katerina.

Before too long, he is the victim of an accident that would have killed him had he not miraculously vanished at the moment of impact. Are these strange occurrences just chance or the machinations of a hidden enemy out to destroy him? Facing his destiny, Indiana will have to choose who to believe, and who to love.

GoodReads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble 

Olivia Twisted

by Vivi Barnes

Publication: November 5th, 2013 by Entangled Teen 

Olivia

He tilts my chin up so my eyes meet his, his thumb brushing lightly across my lips. I close my eyes. I know Z is trouble. I know that being with him is going to get me into trouble. I don’t care.

At least at this moment, I don’t care.

Tossed from foster home to foster home, Olivia’s seen a lot in her sixteen years. She’s hardened, sure, though mostly just wants to fly under the radar until graduation. But her natural ability with computers catches the eye of Z, a mysterious guy at her new school. Soon, Z has brought Liv into his team of hacker elite—break into a few bank accounts, and voila, he drives a motorcycle. Follow his lead, and Olivia might even be able to escape from her oppressive foster parents. As Olivia and Z grow closer, though, so does the watchful eye of Bill Sykes, Z’s boss. And he’s got bigger plans for Liv…

Z
I can picture Liv’s face: wide-eyed, trusting. Her smooth lips that taste like strawberry Fanta.
It was just a kiss. That’s all. She’s just like any other girl.
Except that she’s not.
Thanks to Z, Olivia’s about to get twisted.

GoodReads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble 

YALLFest 2013: An Interview with Michelle Hodkin!

I'm honored to participate in the blog tour for this year's YALLfest Authors. For those who don't know what YALLfest is, you can find out more about the awesomeness and the all-star list of authors participating by clicking here. And if you live in the Carolinas or within driving distance of Charleston, SC, mark your calendar for November 9th! I want to hug all of you!!

About the Author

At the age of sixteen, Michelle Hodkin lost the rights to her soul in a poker game with pirates just south of Natchez. Shortly thereafter, she joined an acting troupe and traveled the world performing feats of wonder and mischief. She has been seen on stages nationwide and earned rave reviews for her one woman performance of Titus Andronicus before writing the New York Times bestselling Mara Dyer Trilogy. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer and its sequel, The Evolution of Mara Dyer are available now, and the third book in the trilogy, The Retribution of Mara Dyer, hits shelves in 2014. Michelle currently lives with her three pets and may or may not be a reliable narrator of her own life.

You can visit her online at:

http://www.michellehodkin.com/
http://twitter.com/MichelleHodkin
http://pinterest.com/michellehodkin/
http://michellehodkin.tumblr.com/

About THE UNBECOMING OF MARA DYER

Mara Dyer doesn't believe life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there. It can.                                                                                                                                                  

She believes there must be more to the accident she can't remember that killed her friends and left her strangely unharmed. There is.       

                                                                                                

She doesn't believe that after everything she's been through, she can fall in love. She's wrong.

Fall for the new NA Campaign!

Fall for the new New Adult: a campaign to spread the word that New Adult is expanding into new and exciting categories like Historical, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Gothic, and more! Follow along to find out why best-selling NA authors & NA bloggers are excited to see New Adult expand outside of contemporary. (Full schedule can be found here.) And as an incentive to give the new NA a try, the Fall for New Adult bundle set will be available for a limited time. Set includes 4 great non-contemporary NA novels for only $3.99!

So at the risk of admitting how incredibly old I am, when I was a member of the YA target audience, there was no such thing as Young Adult. We pretty much went from The Babysitters' Club to Flowers in the Attic (which is now shelved in YA anyway, but that's a debate for a different post.) And as far as reading genre fiction with teen protagonists? Forget it. There was no Twilight. There was no such thing as Harry Potter. 

It was a deprived childhood. 

Fast forward to college, and Harry Potter became a thing. It wasn't a THING yet, but it was a thing. I gobbled it up, SO excited to re-embrace my love of reading, but all the while wishing I'd had something like Harry to grow up with.

And yearning for a college-age equivalent I could relate to now. 

While I was in love with Harry, it was really the only source of pleasure-reading I was interested in. I was still missing a *me* from the books I liked to read. I'm still not a fan of bodice-rippers or chick lit that publishers seemed to think I *should* be reading at my age, but back then, those were my only options if I didn't want to read "kids books." And let's be real, people. The grownup sci-fi section of Barnes & Noble can be Creeperville for a cute college girl. 

In my day job, we call this sort of thing a "service gap": a need that's not being met in the mental health agencies that serve a community. For a long time, I've felt there was a service gap in fiction--books for and about the lives of older teens and early twenty-somethings. I've been lucky enough to be a big fan of contemporary fiction, so I've been one of the first to benefit from the New Adult category. Until recently, though, that's been the only option. In a time when genre fiction seems to know no bounds, there haven't been a lot of books outside of contemporary in New Adult. 

It's an interesting conundrum. We want girls to be into science and math, but we don't always see a lot of books that engage teen and college women in the pursuit of science. 

Until now. 

Take Kimberly P. Chase's THE APOLLO ACADEMY series. When I first read Book 1, I said it would blaze a trail for New Adult genre fic, and I'm so excited to see NA expanding its horizons. Not because it means I was right. Well, not only because it means I was right. 

So here's to New Adult genre fiction closing that service gap. And to twenty-something characters reaching for the stars. 






Purchase the Fall for New Adult bundle set here! 

We want to know why YOU want to see NA expand too! Join the campaign by grabbing the gif. above and blogging/tweeting about why YOU want to see NA expand! #NACampaign

Back to School Blog Tour: An Interview with Cassie Mae and Linda Budzinkski

It's dueling author interview day here on the blog, and I'm excited to be chatting with HOW TO DATE A NERD's Cassie Mae and THE FUNERAL SINGER's Linda Budzinkski. First a little about these lovely ladies and their brand new Swoon Romance book babies!

About Cassie Mae

Cassie Mae is a nerd to the core from Utah, who likes to write about other nerds who find love. Her angel children and perfect husband fan her and feed her grapes while she clacks away on the keyboard. Then she wakes up from that dream world and manages to get a few words on the computer while the house explodes around her. When she’s not writing, she’s spending time with the youth in her community as a volleyball and basketball coach, or searching the house desperately for chocolate.

Cassie Mae is an Amazon.com bestselling author of the teen contemporary romance novel REASONS I FELL FOR THE FUNNY FAT FRIEND, which she self-published. In addition to publishing with Swoon Romance, she is published by Random House Flirt.

       

About HOW TO DATE A NERD:

Zoe has a great pair of legs, perky boobs, and wears exactly what she needs to show it all off. She works hard for the easy sleazy ‘you only wish you were me’ reputation, burying who she really is—an all-out nerd.

The only time Zoe gets to be herself is when she hides under her comforter to read X-Men comics, sending jealousy stabs at everyone who attends Comic-Con. Keeping up her popular rep is too important, and she’s so damn insecure to care about the consequences. But when Zoe’s sister takes her car for a ‘crash and burn into a tree’ joyride, her parents get her a replacement. A manual. Something she doesn’t know how to operate, but her next door neighbor Zak sure as heck does.

Zak’s a geek to the core, shunned by everyone in school for playing Dungeons and Dragons at lunch and wearing “Use the Force” t-shirts. And Zoe’s got it bad for the boy. Only Zak doesn’t want Popular Zoe. He wants Geek Zoe.

She has to shove her insecurities and the fear of dropping a few rungs on the social ladder aside to prove to Zak who she really is and who she wants to be… if she can figure it out herself to get it -- and her -- in the process.

About Linda Budzinkski

Linda Acorn Budzinski decided in the second grade that she wanted to be a “Paperback Writer,” just like in the Beatles song. She majored in journalism in college and now works in marketing and communications. She spent 18 years at a trade association in the funeral service industry, where she discovered that funeral directors are some of the bravest and most compassionate people on earth. Linda lives in Northern Virginia with her husband, Joe, and their chihuahua, Demitria. She has two step-daughters, Eris and Sarah. THE FUNERAL SINGER is her debut novel. She is represented by Andrea Somberg of Harvey Klinger Inc.

THE FUNERAL SINGER is Linda Budzinski's first novel.

About THE FUNERAL SINGER

Being a funeral singer was a dead-end job until it led her to him ...

Seventeen-year-old Melanie Martin has witnessed her share of lame eulogies and uninspired epitaphs while singing part-time at her dad's funeral home. She's determined to be more than a funeral singer, more than just someone's "beloved wife" or "loving mother." 

When Mel's impromptu rendition of "Amazing Grace" at a local rock star's graveside service goes viral on YouTube, she becomes an Internet sensation, gains thousands of fans and followers, and snags a hot rock star boyfriend--Zed Logan, bass player for The Grime. 

But instant fame isn’t easy—and neither is love. Especially when Mel realizes she’s falling for another guy—one who may just want her heart more than her voice 




Tell us a little about your writer's journey so far:

CASSIE: It’s been crazysauce. I’ll try to keep it short…Lots of writing and waiting the first year. Lots of writing and waiting the second year. Then a bunch of contracts and deadlines the third year where I wonder what happened to the waiting part!

Linda: Long story short: 10 years of blood, sweat, and tears, followed by a year of close-but-no-cigar (and a few more tears), followed by a “Yes!” (and still more tears).

Okay, let's hear your Twitter Pitch! (140 characters or less.)

Linda: Part-time funeral singer becomes overnight star when "Amazing Grace" video goes viral, but one wrong move can put the nail in fame's coffin.

CASSIE: No. Haha! I kid. I do hate these things though ;)

Closet nerd Zoe has the hots for her Star Wars obsessed neighbor and must decide if he’s worth sacrificing her uber-popular reputation.

What inspired you to write this book? How is it a book only you could write?

CASSIE: I was bored out of my mind, writing only fantasy at the time and had no new ideas, and I spotted my Harry Potter Scene-It game and said, I’m going to play till I get an answer wrong! Four hours later, I was still going strong and hubby came home and said he loves how geeky I am. And I thought, yanno, I should write a nerd love story.

Linda: A number of years ago, I was at an Eastern Pennsylvania SCBWI conference, and the keynote speaker was T.A. Barron, author of the very popular middle-grade Merlin series. He told us about a project he was working on featuring everyday heroes, and he made the comment that kids and teens today have a very skewed concept of heroism.

That remark really resonated with me, and I decided on the drive home from that event to write a book about a girl who becomes a “hero” both in the pop-culture sense and in the real-world sense, and the differences between those two forms of heroism.

At the time, I was working for a non-profit organization in the funeral industry, and I had becomes friends with many funeral directors I consider everyday heroes, so that seemed like a natural setting for the story.

What's your favorite thing about writing?

Linda: Having written. (Hat tip to Dorothy Parker.)

CASSIE: Changes all the time. Sometimes it’s my characters, sometimes the plot, sometimes the opportunity to escape into a world that’s not mine… I love my readers though. I think that’s the most rewarding thing. To build connections with people around the world.

What's your least favorite thing?

CASSIE: Changes all the time, lol! Sometimes it’s my characters that won’t speak up when I need them to, sometimes the plot holes I can’t seem to fill, and sometimes it’s when it takes up so much headspace I don’t realize I’m putting my pants on backwards when I’m trying to get ready for the day ;)

Linda: Actually writing.

Now it's time to brag a little--What do you love most about your book?

Linda: I love that even though I’ve read it at least a dozen times, I still cry a little at the end. And that’s about all I can say without revealing spoilers.

CASSIE: How dang hard I worked to get it where it is. How to Date a Nerd is my baby. It’s been written and rewritten so many times I have about ten different folders for it. I spent so much time making it the book it is. Went through 3 Revise & Resubmits during querying. It’s been stretched, pulled, plotted, and DRAINED me. But I look at the finished product now and I’m so proud of it, because I know where it started. I saw myself grow as a writer, and because I spent so much time with my main characters, they became so very real to me. So this book will always be the one that started it all, even if it wasn’t the first book I ever wrote.

What has surprised you most about publishing post-agent (in other words, something unpublished writers may not know about how the process goes after you get an agent)?

CASSIE: That submission is a lot like querying. You wait A LOT. And not all offers are worth it, even though sometimes you just want to take what comes at you because it means you’ll get published. Nerd received multiple offers, but I had to restrain my antsy fingers and wait for the RIGHT one.

Okay, now a little about you. (And yes, I stole these questions from In the Actor's Studio with James Lipton.)

What is your favorite word?

Linda: Feckless. Such a stinging insult, yet so underused!

CASSIE: Nerdiculous (It’s a word, I promise)

What is your least favorite word?

CASSIE: Booger

Linda: Uvula. I don’t like the sound of it.

What turns you on?

CASSIE: Hubby in a Ninja Turtles shirt.

Linda: Smart humor.

What turns you off?

Linda: Crass humor.

CASSIE: Boogers

What sound or noise do you love?

Linda: My chihuahua’s snoring.

CASSIE: The noise my Facebook IM makes :)

What sound or noise do you hate?

CASSIE: My alarm clock.

Linda: The sound of a Redskins fan cheering. (I’m all about the Eagles.)

What profession, other than your own, would you most like to attempt?

Linda: I’d love to work on Broadway … anything that didn’t require me to be on stage. Set designer? Director? Janitor? I just love the atmosphere surrounding theater.

CASSIE: Graphic design. Or editing. Or marketing. Pretty much all the other publishing jobs out there besides author, haha!

If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear G-d say when you arrive at the pearly gates?

CASSIE: “Sup?”

Linda: “Come on in and join the party … Marvin Gaye and Elvis will be first up on the main stage.”

Finally, what's the one question you've always wanted to answer in an interview? (And of course, you have to answer it!)

Linda: Question: Who would play Mel if THE FUNERAL SINGER were made into a movie?

Answer: A complete unknown—a smart, strong, talented girl with an amazing voice who would be discovered (of course) through a chance performance that was videotaped and went viral. 

CASSIE: Hmm… I don’t know! I’ll keep in the theme of Nerd here and ask myself a nerdy question: So, Cassie, who’s your favorite X-Men character?

Well, if we go female, I like Rogue (but only the cartoon Rogue, not the movie Rogue). And favorite male X-Men, Havok (both in movie and cartoon…though Gambit is a CLOSE second.)

And I’d invite anyone else to share their fave X-Men character too :)

Alright, peeps, you've got your marching orders from Cassie! Who's your favorite X-Men/Woman? And don't forget to add both these ladies' books to your TBR lists!

YALLFest 2013: An Interview with Sean Williams

I'm honored to participate in the blog tour for this year's YALLfest Authors. For those who don't know what YALLfest is, you can find out more about the awesomeness and the all-star list of authors participating by clicking here. And if you live in the Carolinas or within driving distance of Charleston, SC, mark your calendar for November 9th! I want to hug all of you!!


Today's interview is with Sean Williams, who has written more bestselling SciFi/Fantasy novels and short stories than I can count. Here's a little bit about Sean and his books! 

About Sean

Sean Williams was born in the dry, flat lands of South Australia, where he still lives with his wife and family. He has been called "the premier Australian speculative fiction writer of the age", the "Emperor of Sci-Fi", and the "King of Chameleons" for the diversity of his output. That award-winning output includes over thirty-five novels for readers all ages, seventy-plus short stories across numerous genres, the odd published poem, and even a sci-fi musical. 

A series for young readers, The Fixers, pitted an increasingly lost protagonist against zombies, cyborgs, and vampires across numerous universes. His most recent releases in the Star Wars universe are The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance and The Force Unleashed 2.

When he’s not writing or in meetings, he likes to cook and DJ, but never at the same time.

What one thing do you need to have when you write?

The right music. And chocolate as a reward when I finish.

Describe your book in 5 words

Jump meets Uglies. But different.

What is the hardest line to write- the first or the last?

The first line is often the hardest to write, but I like a good challenge. The line I like writing the least is the last because it means I have a whole load of rewriting ahead of me.

Best writing tip you ever received?

Give up. If you can do that, you’ll be happier and probably better off as a result. If you can’t, then you know writing is exactly the right thing for you!

Tell us 5 random facts about yourself.

1) I live in Adelaide, South Australia, a place that’s home to about a million other people but somehow feels like a small town, which is why I love it.

2) I still think music from the 1980s is cool.

3) My stepson has situs invertus, which means his heart is on the wrong side of his body. That’s not really about me, but it is pretty random.

4) I’m a huge fan of Doctor Who.

5) I’m minding a pair of green tree frogs, Skipper and Jumpy, for a young friend while she’s overseas with her family. You can see pictures of them on my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/seanwilliamsauthor/.

Where's your favorite place to write?

In my study, a lovely upstairs nook containing all my favorite book-related things, but I’ve trained myself to write anywhere as long as I have my headphones and some music. I quite like writing in hotels, probably because someone else does all the household chores.

What are you working on now?

Crashland, the sequel to Twinmaker.

About Twinmaker

High-stakes action combines with issues of friendship and body image in this timely and thought-provoking exploration of the intersection of technology and identity.

You can be Improved....

In a near-future world in which technology can transport you anywhere instantly, can a coded note enable you to change your body—to become taller, stronger, more beautiful? Clair is pretty sure the offer is too good to be true. But her best friend, Libby, is determined to give it a try, longing for a new, improved version of herself.

What starts as Libby’s dream turns into Clair’s nightmare when Libby falls foul of a deadly trap. With the help of Jesse, the school freak, and a mysterious—but powerful—stranger called Q, Clair’s attempt to protect Libby leads her to an unimagined world of conspiracies and cover-ups. Soon her own life is at risk, and Clair is chased across the world in a desperate race against time.

Action and danger fuel Sean Williams’ tale of technology, identity, and the lengths to which one girl will go to save her best friend.  

Links to TWINMAKER and Sean's collection of other works can be found below! 

Fangirl Friday: Promise Me Something by Sara Kocek

Fangirl Friday is a feature here on the blog where I talk about kickass reads and what I like about them. And this time, I'm also including a giveaway courtesy of the author and the awesome people at Albert Whitman Teen. Stay tuned for more info at the end of this post! 

PROMISE ME SOMETHING by Sara Kocek

Author's Website   Goodreads   Twitter   Facebook

ARC from Albert Whitman Teen in exchange for an honest review. e-Books are made available via Open Road Media.

Pub Date: September 1, 2013

Dannie says: Promise me you'll read this one because it's just so good. 

Book Blurb:

As if starting high school weren't bad enough, Reyna Fey has to do so at a new school without her best friends. Reyna's plan is to keep her head down, help her father recover from the car accident that almost took his life, and maybe even make some friends. And then Olive Barton notices her. Olive is not exactly the kind of new friend Reyna has in mind. The boys make fun of her, the girls want to fight her, and Olive seems to welcome the challenge. There's something about Olive that Reyna can't help but like. But when Reyna learns Olive's secret, she must decide whether it's better to be good friends with an outcast or fake friends with the popular kids. . . .before she loses Olive forever.

Just for starters let me say that despite having to be up at 7AM with the one-year-old, once I started reading this around midnight, I didn't put it down until I finished. The next morning hurt.

Worth it.

What I liked:

Tim, for starters. He ended up being one of my favorite characters. I would have loved to see Reyna become friends with him earlier in the book. As is, it felt like she was using him to a certain extent, and I would have liked to see their relationship grow more gradually.

I liked and wanted more denouement where Reyna's feelings of guilt were concerned. I think survivor's guilt and self-blame is a huge factor when teens' friends attempt or commit suicide. And I would have liked more "on-screen" resolution as far as that went. But that's the therapist in me more than the reader.

I also dug the way the subject matter was handled. I felt that Reyna's reactions to the sexual identity issues that came into play were very authentic and courageous on the author's part, though I did not always follow her thought process.

What I loved:

First and foremost, the characters. I loved Reyna's journey as far as identifying the values and characteristics she wanted in people she called friends. I liked that none of the characters were cookie-cutter-cliches. Even the minor players were multi-faceted. I especially felt that Reyna was a very tangible and sympathetic MC, and I enjoyed reading her story.

As a mom and a therapist, I felt that Kocek did a great job of confronting the realities of suicidal ideation in one's friends without crossing the line into preaching. And I think it's super important that the book addressed the legal consequences of some of Olive's choices. That's not something I've seen done much in YA and I was glad to see it here. And while I wasn't surprised at the plot twists, I think that's writer and adult bias that won't apply to much of Kocek's target audience.

Finally, I loved that Reyna's values were portrayed in a way that was fair and allowed her to be a character either side of the aisle could rally behind. I think when we see conservative/moderate teens in YA, they tend to be portrayed in an extremist way that isn't an accurate reflection of these youth. And I loved that part of Reyna's journey included a though exploration of her own belief system.

What I wanted more of: WARNING SECTION CONTAINS SPOILERS

I felt like it was too convenient for Levi's parents to be gay. I also think his perspective would have made more impact were that not the case. Instead, it almost seems like the only people who empathize with gay kids in this read are other gay teens and teens with gay parents. That probably was true about five to ten years ago, but that's not my experience with the teens I see at work.

I wasn't crazy about the way things were resolved between Reyna and her parents. My reading left the impression that Reyna's dad and would-be-stepmom were right about everything and Reyna's feelings were invalid, which I found to be both unrealistic and inaccurate. For me, the better ending would have been one without resolution. Sometimes our parents do things we don't understand, things that feel really unfair, and we don't have to agree with them or apologize for our feelings. We just have to learn how to deal.

I wanted more resolution where the besties were concerned. Not externally with the girls themselves so much as within Reyna. It felt, for me, like a loose end.

I wanted to be in Reyna's head a little more where the sexual identity issues were concerned. Like I said before, I loved that we saw a character arc that included her questioning and identifying her own moral code. But I feel like, particularly in a late Middle Grade or young YA book, that sexual identity is a major developmental issue, and I would have liked to see Reyna's cognitive dissonance regarding the conflict between her faith and her friends' sexual identity. Despite Olive confronting her on the matter, I didn't feel like we experienced Reyna's thought process enough there.


Short story long:

I really loved this book. I think the perspective is original, the characters are complex and engaging, and the plot has some great twists and turns. The pace is just right, and the social concerns are handled in a way that is both age-appropriate and pertinent to today's young readers. Good stuff, people! Add it to your Goodreads and pre-order now via the links below.

Tomorrow you can check out another review and giveaway over at The Random Thoughts of Crazy Mandy and an interview with Sara at Starry-Eyed Heart Book Blog. You can find the entire roster of blogs included in the Sara Squared Book Tour HERE. And don't forget to enter the rafflecopter drawing to win an autographed copy of this kickass read! (Sorry international peeps--USA and Canada only for the raffle on this one.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

FAE by C.J. Abedi: Review & eBook Giveaway!

Don't forget to check out the eBook giveaway at the bottom of the post!

FAE by C.J. Abedi 

Website        Goodreads

Facebook      Pinterest 


Arc received from Diversion Books in exchange for an honest review. 


Pub Date: Available now via the links below!


Dannie says: frozen hell, I enjoyed a book with historical elements--and? I wanted more!

Purchase and Bookmark Links:

Or purchase direct from publisher HERE. 

What I Liked:

The MCs: I found Devilyn to be a well developed and intentionally complex character, but I wanted more from Caroline than I got. As the would-be queen of the light Fae, I expected her to embody those characteristics more than she did. Though in the interest of fairness it should be noted that I am particularly critical of female MCs who are rescued. 

I was so frustrated by the cliffhanger ending, but in a good way. It definitely made me eager to read the next installment, which tells you the authors did a lot more right than they're given credit for on some Goodreads reviews. And boo hiss to the blogger who wrote a nasty review after only reading 6%! May your comment box be inundated with spam and all your requested galleys sent to me instead!

What I Loved:

The intensity of the opening scenes. The hook definitely did its job, and I finished reading in less than two days as a result. 

The Roanoke legend connection/concept. A nice twist on the fae mythology. I actually was really engaged in this idea--which is a true credit to the authors since on the whole I loathe historical fiction to the point I refuse to review it because that's just not fair to the authors. I wanted to see more Roanoke than I got so I'm hoping there's more of that to come in future installments.

I really enjoyed the minor characters, in whom the authors clearly devoted a great deal of energy. I felt good about the way they were engaging without overshadowing the MCs. Okay, Famous may have overshadowed Caroline a bit at times. It's been a while since I've read a YA with a featured creature character, and as an animal fangirl that was refreshing for me to meet one who wasn't campy.

What I Wanted More Of:

Some practical stuff didn't seem well vetted--like the diner closing for the night around 7 or 8 pm according to the story timeline or football practice in the middle of the school day. I felt there was too much data-dump. I think that's one thing M. Marr does really well that I felt might have been overworked in these pages. After the prologue, I felt the backstory scenes were a distraction that slowed the pace for me.  

**spoiler alert next paragraph only* 

I did not like Caroline having to be rescued by Devilyn at the end. I had hoped that she would take control of the situation, but I also get that it's probably too early in the series for that to happen. So the jury is still out on Caroline but I am definitely Team Devilyn!

Short story long--if you like Fae lore, loved that sparkly vampire nonsense, or enjoy historical fantasy, you will love Fae. And you should probably check out the rafflecopter giveaway below!

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