Hedanicreations

INBETWEEN (Kissed by Death, #1) by Tara Fuller (August 7, 2012)

Image courtesy of Entangled Publishing, LLC

Since the car crash that took her father’s life three years ago, Emma’s life has been a freaky—and unending—lesson in caution. Surviving “accidents” has taken priority over being a normal seventeen-year-old, so Emma spends her days taking pictures of life instead of living it. Falling in love with a boy was never part of the plan. Falling for a reaper who makes her chest ache and her head spin? Not an option.

It’s not easy being dead, especially for a reaper in love with a girl fate has put on his list not once, but twice. Finn’s fellow reapers give him hell about spending time with Emma, but Finn couldn’t let her die before, and he’s not about to let her die now. He will protect the girl he loves from the evil he accidentally unleashed, even if it means sacrificing the only thing he has left…his soul.

Paperback Available for Pre-Order from Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Inbetween-Tara-Fuller/dp/1620610833/ref=lh_ni_t

Add to your Goodreads TBR:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13055677-inbetween

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It’s always tricky to create new worlds and realities. I’ve seen lots of cases where authors fail, but many more where they succeed. “Exiled” (Book One in the Immortal Essence Series) by RaShelle Workman definitely sits in the success pile. Once I found some time to read, I couldn’t put it down.

Graphic designer Steven Novak gets credit for this masterpiece. The cover is one of my favorite aspects of this book. Beautiful!

Here’s why:

Complex novels with great prose and multiple layers are my favorite to read, and Workman’s novel is definitely complex. From language, to religion and technology, and straight on to biology, she’s crafted a culture that is different yet similar to what you would find on Earth. It gives the reader a way to connect with the alien culture, but also creates intrigue as you discover the differences of the heroine, Venus’ people.

Some of the cultural aspects I loved are: The children completely silver until they gain immortality; their connection with their gods and the history of their planet; the difference in technology; the clothing style; and the teaching of Earth studies. I found a great deal of humor in the “I learned that in Earth studies” comments from Venus, as well as some of the revised history Workman crafted. I think the only thing that threw me off in the start was the use of alien words without explanation. Those words are explained, but not until much later. As a reader, my preference is to have that early in order to absorb the culture. However, when they are explained toward the end of the book, I love the interaction between Venus and Michael in that scene–so I’m a little torn between my initial thought and my reaction toward that scene.

My favorite complexity of the novel is actually in the plot twists and character threads. There are so many forces acting against Venus, and Workman does not waste characters for filler. Each character, right down to Michael’s horrible mother and father, plays an intricate roll in the history that brought the characters to their current situation and in the progression of the story. As Workman reveals those threads, I actually felt excited as I tried to guess where she was taking the story.

Did I guess correctly? I could say, but I’m not going to give away the ending. I will say that Workman had me rooting for Venus and Michael by the end of the novel, and I’ll keep rooting for them when I pick up the next book.

Check out “Exiled” by RaShelle Workman

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“Money makes the world go ‘round.”

“You reap what you sow.”

“Life isn’t fair.”

After reading the latest novel by Karly Kirkpatrick, “The Green,” these were the phrases that came to mind. Although they are cliché, the novel is anything but. In fact, for anyone who has faced adversity, it is easy to related to the dreams and desires of Kirkpatrick’s heroine, Ari—although most wouldn’t agree with how she goes about reaching her goals.

Ari Pisa is a seventeen-year-old honor student at Cambridge High School with dreams of attending Northwestern University. When it comes to academics, Ari has it all, but she doesn’t come from the same economic background as her peers at school. Her mom works two jobs so that Ari can stay in the Cambridge district, and her brother is a couch potato, who lacks moral fiber. When her brother decides to take off, Ari thinks it is a blessing in disguise until she finds out her brother’s job as a drug dealer was what kept them in their basement apartment. Desperate not to lose her dreams when they are within her grasp, she takes over her brother’s job.

It is what happens after she strikes a bargain with the devil that she gets a true taste of the dark side of life. As her extracurricular job grows more demanding, it begins to take a toll on her school life and personal relationships. She teeters on the edge, until finally, it all comes crashing down around her.

What I love about Ari’s story is the simple truth that there are no easy roads in life, and when you find one that seems too good to be true, it is. Ari is a driven heroine. She knows hard work is the key to her success, yet she takes the easy road to get “the green” out of desperation. What I also love about the story is that she always tries to do everything on her own, like she’s the adult. She doesn’t ask for help, and I think it’s a great lesson she learns by the end of the novel. We all need a little help, either from friends and family or through financial assistant for higher education. No one can stand alone; you just have to put your trust in the right place—and not just with where the money is.

“The Green” is Kirkpatrick’s best novel to date. She really nails Ari’s struggle in a realistic story that even adults could learn a lesson from.

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I think I’ve said it before when I’ve reviewed Cassandra Clare’s work: I’ve always loved the emotion, the characters, the masterpiece that comes from her writing. Her poorest quality writing is still a sparkling gem against others and I’ve come to expect it. But I think this time around Clare has blown away even her other novels.

Not since I finished “City of Glass” — just after it was released – have I felt so much from Clare. I loved her last two novels – “Clockwork Angel” and “City of Fallen Angels” respectively – but next to “Clockwork Prince” they feel like first drafts, only good next to something great.

In “Clockwork Prince,” the search for the Magister continues for the Shadowhunters of the London Institute. Only this time, the price is high when the council decides to give Charlotte only two weeks to find the Magister or forfeit her leadership of the London Institute at the behest of the Lightwoods. What they find in their search sheds light on the Magister’s vendetta against the Shadowhunters; reveals a traitor in a trusted ally; and gives them more pieces of a puzzle that could explain the truth about Tessa Gray’s parentage.

As if the quest for the Magister isn’t spellbinding enough, Clare layers her novel with revelations regarding Will’s past that explain his self-destructive, coarse behavior. His anguish feels tangible, and never more so than by the time you reach the end of the novel and it feels as if his efforts have been for naught.

She’ll break your heart repeatedly in “Clockwork Prince” – for Will, for Tessa, for Jem, and for Jessamine — but she’ll never disappoint.

So, in Will and Tessa’s honor and in honor of Clare’s use of poetry at the start of every chapter, here’s a little something from me inspired by them:

Divided is my heart, on this thing called love; divided is my mind, because I cannot tear it apart; divided are the hours, that I look upon your face; because divided is my heart against your warm embrace. – H. Danielle Crabtree

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Books often hook me on the first words, but I have to say the last lines of Megg Jensen’s “The Initiate” gave me pause.

Although I will leave them for other readers to discover, they serve as true in real life as they do for the two series this short story bridges – The Swarm Trilogy and The Cloud Prophet Trilogy.

In the story, every ten years, ten girls are sacrificed in the hopes that the gods will choose a chosen one, but no one ever survives the trial by fire. Eloh, who does not believe in the gods, is one such initiate.

Her fate in this story is a blessing and a curse, and fans of Jensen will easily pick up the threads that connect it with her two series. However, even if you haven’t experienced her other books, “The Initiate” can easily stand alone. But, when you read it, you’ll definitely want to discover the affect this one event has on the rest of Jensen’s universe.

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Introducing the new artwork for Megg Jensen’s bestselling novel SLEEPERS!

To celebrate the re-launch of SLEEPERS in January of 2012, Megg is giving it a new cover with artwork from the incredible PhatPuppy.

Synopsis: 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?

On sale now for only 99 cents!

Check out my review in the Arizona Daily Sun’s Sun Spots Column: Sun Spots: The ‘Sleepers’ awake

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I actually picked up this volume several years ago, but always had other books I wanted to read first. What resulted is a long delay in getting to a book that had already been out for a while. I’m not going to say I didn’t like the books. On the contrary, there were parts I was so invested in that I didn’t want to be disturbed. However, there are several things about the books that bothered me.

I didn’t much care for the writing style. The story was constantly jumping from character to character, from dreamscape to real world, and from century to century. It just made it hard to follow the story arc. I also didn’t see the point of having a character’s point of view for a page and a half with absolutely no progression of the plot other than they are watching someone else. It felt pointless and actually disruptive. When I read a story, I want to follow the story, not get lost in some dream and when I’m done be left thinking, “and the point of that was?”

In the first part of the volume, book one “Witch,” I actually liked some of the characters, and I found most of my vested interest was in the first book. However, by the second book, “Curse,” the characters start morphing into completely unlikeable beings. Holly’s progression as a character of light to something a bit twisted just made me not like her at all as she blurred lines that shouldn’t be crossed near the end.

I guess my biggest issue with the series thus far is that there was just a great deal of “pointless” things that didn’t advance the story and only muddled what would have been a clear and beautiful work of writing.

I have the second volume with books three and four. It may be sitting on my shelf a bit longer. My only curiosity left for this series is if any of these characters will find redemption.

Wicked: Witch & Curse by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie

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There is one question on my mind after reading “Weaving Destiny” by G.P. Ching and it is: Why aren’t her novels N.Y. Times bestsellers?

There are no “why nots” on my list as I ponder her writing.

Her word crafting and stories flow with the same magic I’ve found in my favorite authors, who are bestsellers. I noticed her craftsmanship in the first novel of the series “The Soulkeepers.” And like in “Soulkeepers” as she tells Jacob’s story, the same can be said about Malini’s story of self-discovery in “Weaving Destiny. Her writing voice takes an other-worldly quality that makes you feel as if you’re in the story – the same I’ve found with Cassandra Clare or Cinda Williams Chima.

Her characters are also distinct and possess the human qualities that make readers love them. One of my favorite things from this book was Malini’s varying emotions. She’s uncertain, she’s afraid, she’s questioning her role with the Soulkeepers, and yet, she is strong, she is brave and she puts it all out there – no holding back despite that fear.

I also like that Ching’s characters are multicultural. Jacob is Caucasian and Chinese; Malini is Indian. So, not only do her characters struggle with wants and desires, Malini especially struggles with cultural expectations from her parents. Ching also weaves those cultural differences into Malini’s journey in the novel and I love the things she learns from her heritage. It gives the story a bit of spice.

Her plots are in engaging, surprising and there are no dull moments that make the reader want to toss it from boredom. Part of the reason for this is that the novel is fairly short. I’ve noticed a good number of YA ebooks are just around 200 pages – about half the length of the published tomes. But, she doesn’t waste a single page; there isn’t any filler or slow transitions. She does in 200 pages what other authors do in 400 pages – tells a complete story arc that is an engaging read.

Since there are no “why nots” for G.P. Ching’s Soulkeeper Series, it means a great number of people are missing out on an author who rivals the best and belongs on that coveted list.

Check out “Soulkeepers” and “Weaving Destiny” by G.P. Ching.

*All images are linked, not hosted.

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I know every writer has their own approach to writing. Mine has always been write, edit, write some more, edit some more. But that doesn’t work when you’re trying to hit the magic word count for NaNoWriMo.

I was actually doing really well to start off – about 2,000 words per day – before the editor in me rear her head and refused to let me go on. Now, it isn’t just that side of my personality that stalled my forward momentum. There has been some personal stuff that was thrown into the mix, which demanded my attention and frankly took priority. But now, I’m deadlocked. Do I push forward and try to write the base draft of a NaNo novel when the editor in me is having a fit over what I have written?

In the spirit of NaNoWriMo, my answer to that is yes, but I still cannot break past that editor’s wall. Bottom line, the editor in me tells me that the first part doesn’t mesh the way it’s suppose to because of my speed writing and until it meshes I’ll be stuck hovering at 9,000 words. I didn’t think I’d actually hit 50,000 by the end of the month, but I thought I’d be at least halfway there. I still have twelve days to go, so I’m not going to give up hope, but I have to say the NaNo approach just isn’t my approach at all.

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The last book I read that everyone “loved,” I found that I didn’t share their enthusiasm — not only with that book but with the entire series. So, with a movie in the works and all the “love” out there for “The Hunger Games,” I was a little hesitant to touch the Suzanne Collins series. However, this is one series that does deserve the hype, the praise and the silver screen.

Humanity at its darkest is never a beautiful thing and Collins’ dystopian society leaves a bitter taste in anyone’s mouth who values humanity. People are allowed to starve to death and surviving means death if caught “poaching.” There is a level of government control and lack of compassion that is beyond disturbing, and even more so when the nature of the games is spelled out in print. Children, from age 12 to 18, are entered into a lottery for the games. One boy, one girl from every district and only one can survive.

How do you balance humanity when your survival means murdering other children? Your life or theirs? How would you react if put into that kind of situation? The games push the extreme. They bring out the worst, but they can also bring out the best.

Collins uses the games to bring out the best in Katniss. While others sink to the lowest rungs of humanity, Katniss rises above it. She takes life, but she also honors it. She does what she needs to survive, but her very survival goes against the will of the Capitol, which oppresses the districts. The games change her, but those changes are so subtle that you don’t even realize how deeply they have affected her until the very end of the book. And once you reach it, you hunger for more of the girl on fire.

Finally, a series worthy of the hype. I just hope that holds true in “Catching Fire,” the second book.

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