Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Wishlist Wednesday #31


*Wishlist Wednesday is where you show a book that has been on your wishlist/TBR list for a while, the meme is hosted by Pen to Paper*



The Game of Love and Death by Micol Ostow


PublisherArthur A. Levine Books 
Release Date: April 28, 2015
Pages: 352

The Story:

Not since THE BOOK THIEF has the character of Death played such an original and affecting part in a book for young people.

Flora and Henry were born a few blocks from each other, innocent of the forces that might keep a white boy and an African American girl apart; years later they meet again and their mutual love of music sparks an even more powerful connection. But what Flora and Henry don't know is that they are pawns in a game played by the eternal adversaries Love and Death, here brilliantly reimagined as two extremely sympathetic and fascinating characters. Can their hearts and their wills overcome not only their earthly circumstances, but forces that have battled throughout history? In the rainy Seattle of the 1920's, romance blooms among the jazz clubs, the mansions of the wealthy, and the shanty towns of the poor. But what is more powerful: love? Or death?


-via Amazon

Want to see my entire Wishlist? Check it out on Amazon: Books I Dream About

Happy Reading!

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Into the Dark series Ambassador: The Eternity Key Release Day!

Hey Bookies! Today is the day! Today is the release day for The Eternity Key!

I am still working with Bree Despain as an Into the Dark Series Ambassador.
Having said that, The Eternity Key, the sequel to The Shadow Prince. So, I have some exciting news! I was emailed a nice treat to share with you guys :) 

A book trailer for The Eternity Key!

Want to help a favorite author and spread the word? Use #IntoTheDark #TheShadowPrince #BreeDespain in related posts on your social media accounts. 

Haven't read Into the Dark or even heard of the series, no fret. Take a look below:

PublisherEgmontUSA
Release Date: March 11, 2014
Pages: 496

The Story:

From Bree Despain, the fan-favorite author of The Dark Divine trilogy, comes her highly anticipated second young adult series: a contemporary adventure inspired by the Greek myth of Persephone and Hades.

Haden Lord, the disgraced prince of the Underrealm, has been sent to the mortal world for six months in order to convince Daphne Raines to return with him to the land of the dead. 

The best way to do this, Haden is told, is to get Daphne to fall in love with him. But getting a teenage girl to fall in love with you isn't easy, especially when Haden's life and more depends on the success of his quest. Little does he know that the tenuous peace between the Greek god of the Underrealm and the Greek god of the Sky is breaking and war is imminent.

If Haden succeeds, his honor and standing will be restored in the royal court, and Daphne will be sacrificed to save us all.

The complication he didn't see coming: he's the one who falls in love.

Now Haden must choose to either fulfill his sacred duty or to follow his heart and find a way to rewrite his and Daphne's destinies.
via Amazon

PublisherEgmontUSA
Release Date: April 28, 2015
Pages: 368

The Story:

Fan-favorite author Bree Despain continues her modern-day romance trilogy inspired by the Greek myth of Persephone and Hades with this second book in her Into the Dark series.  
 
Haden Lord, the disgraced Prince of the Underrealm, has chosen love over honor and will do everything in his power to protect Daphne Raines, the human girl he was supposed to bring to the Underrealm. Haden’s choice is put to the test as the Skylords and a figure from his past arrive in Olympus Hills with a plan that could destroy all of the realms.

Embracing her destiny as the Cypher, Daphne begins to understand the immense power of her musical ability to control the elements, but she must come to terms with her feelings for Haden and what she must sacrifice in order to protect him and her friends.

Believing the Key of Hades is the only thing that can stop the Underrealm Court from releasing the monstrous Keres on the mortal world, Haden, Daphne, and their friends set out to find the Key before Persephone’s Gate opens again on the spring equinox.
via Amazon

Meet the Author:

The Short: Bree Despain is the author of the Dark Divine trilogy and the Into The Dark trilogy. Bree rediscovered her childhood love for creating stories when she took a semester off college to write and direct plays for at-risk, inner-city teens from Philadelphia and New York. She currently lives in Salt Lake City, Utah with her husband, two young sons, and her beloved TiVo.

The Long: As a kid, Bree would staple folded papers to make her own "novels." As a teen, she wrote stories in notebooks while her friends waited for the next page to be finished. Her teachers told her she should be a writer. But Bree thought only specialpeople could be writers, so as the years past, she settled into the idea of becoming a lawyer instead.

Bree rediscovered her childhood love for creating stories when she took a semester off college to write and direct plays for at-risk, inner city teens from Philadelphia and New York. With a renewed passion for story, and the young adult audience, she returned to Brigham Young University, filled her schedule with creative writing and literature classes, and started writing stories again. But regular life kicked in, and she soon found herself married with a new baby, working full-time, and with very little writing done.

That’s when the universe threw a pick-up truck in her path. The car accident left Bree with an understanding that life was too short to not do what you absolutely love. A few days later, her husband brought home a used laptop computer, placed it by her bedside, and said, “You’d better start writing.” Her life has never been the same since.

In a moment of karmic perfection, Bree received the offer to purchase her debut novel, The Dark Divine, on the 6th anniversary of the car accident that put her back on the path to becoming an author.
 ​

***

So, now, the moment you have all been waiting for! A sneak peek into the dark (hehe, see what I did there?) at The Eternity Key . . . 

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Happy Reading!
Friday, April 24, 2015

Into the Dark Series Ambassador: Sneak Peek at The Eternity Key

Hey Bookies! I am still working with Bree Despain as an Into the Dark Series Ambassador.
Having said that, this week Ambassadors received a few excerpts to share with fellow bookies in anticipation of The Eternity Key, the sequel to The Shadow Prince, release on April 28, 2015. Today, I will share just one teaser excerpt here, on The Tattered Page, however . . . between now and this Sunday, I will drop the remaining two teaser excerpts on my other social media accounts (the buttons for said accounts can be located to the right of the screen beneath my About Me photo). So, keep your book hungry eyes peeled!

Want to help a favorite author and spread the word? Use #IntoTheDark #TheShadowPrince #BreeDespain in related posts on your social media accounts. 

Haven't read Into the Dark or even heard of the series, no fret. Take a look below:

PublisherEgmontUSA
Release Date: March 11, 2014
Pages: 496

The Story:

From Bree Despain, the fan-favorite author of The Dark Divine trilogy, comes her highly anticipated second young adult series: a contemporary adventure inspired by the Greek myth of Persephone and Hades.

Haden Lord, the disgraced prince of the Underrealm, has been sent to the mortal world for six months in order to convince Daphne Raines to return with him to the land of the dead. 

The best way to do this, Haden is told, is to get Daphne to fall in love with him. But getting a teenage girl to fall in love with you isn't easy, especially when Haden's life and more depends on the success of his quest. Little does he know that the tenuous peace between the Greek god of the Underrealm and the Greek god of the Sky is breaking and war is imminent.

If Haden succeeds, his honor and standing will be restored in the royal court, and Daphne will be sacrificed to save us all.

The complication he didn't see coming: he's the one who falls in love.

Now Haden must choose to either fulfill his sacred duty or to follow his heart and find a way to rewrite his and Daphne's destinies.
via Amazon

PublisherEgmontUSA
Release Date: April 28, 2015
Pages: 368

The Story:

Fan-favorite author Bree Despain continues her modern-day romance trilogy inspired by the Greek myth of Persephone and Hades with this second book in her Into the Dark series.  
 
Haden Lord, the disgraced Prince of the Underrealm, has chosen love over honor and will do everything in his power to protect Daphne Raines, the human girl he was supposed to bring to the Underrealm. Haden’s choice is put to the test as the Skylords and a figure from his past arrive in Olympus Hills with a plan that could destroy all of the realms.

Embracing her destiny as the Cypher, Daphne begins to understand the immense power of her musical ability to control the elements, but she must come to terms with her feelings for Haden and what she must sacrifice in order to protect him and her friends.

Believing the Key of Hades is the only thing that can stop the Underrealm Court from releasing the monstrous Keres on the mortal world, Haden, Daphne, and their friends set out to find the Key before Persephone’s Gate opens again on the spring equinox.
via Amazon

Meet the Author:

The Short: Bree Despain is the author of the Dark Divine trilogy and the Into The Dark trilogy. Bree rediscovered her childhood love for creating stories when she took a semester off college to write and direct plays for at-risk, inner-city teens from Philadelphia and New York. She currently lives in Salt Lake City, Utah with her husband, two young sons, and her beloved TiVo.

The Long: As a kid, Bree would staple folded papers to make her own "novels." As a teen, she wrote stories in notebooks while her friends waited for the next page to be finished. Her teachers told her she should be a writer. But Bree thought only specialpeople could be writers, so as the years past, she settled into the idea of becoming a lawyer instead.

Bree rediscovered her childhood love for creating stories when she took a semester off college to write and direct plays for at-risk, inner city teens from Philadelphia and New York. With a renewed passion for story, and the young adult audience, she returned to Brigham Young University, filled her schedule with creative writing and literature classes, and started writing stories again. But regular life kicked in, and she soon found herself married with a new baby, working full-time, and with very little writing done.

That’s when the universe threw a pick-up truck in her path. The car accident left Bree with an understanding that life was too short to not do what you absolutely love. A few days later, her husband brought home a used laptop computer, placed it by her bedside, and said, “You’d better start writing.” Her life has never been the same since.

In a moment of karmic perfection, Bree received the offer to purchase her debut novel, The Dark Divine, on the 6th anniversary of the car accident that put her back on the path to becoming an author.
 ​

***

So, now, the moment you have all been waiting for! A sneak peek into the dark (hehe, see what I did there?) at The Eternity Key . . . 

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Happy Reading!
Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Wishlist Wednesday #30


*Wishlist Wednesday is where you show a book that has been on your wishlist/TBR list for a while, the meme is hosted by Pen to Paper*


Poisoned Apples by Christine Heppermann

PublisherGreenwillow Books 
Release Date: September 23, 2014
Pages: 128

The Story:

Every little girl goes through her princess phase, whether she wants to be Snow White or Cinderella, Belle or Ariel. But then we grow up. And life is not a fairy tale.
Christine Heppermann's collection of fifty poems puts the ideals of fairy tales right beside the life of the modern teenage girl. With piercing truths reminiscent of Laurie Halse Anderson and Ellen Hopkins, this is a powerful and provocative book for every young woman. E. Lockhart, author ofWe Were Liars, calls it "a bloody poetic attack on the beauty myth that's caustic, funny, and heartbreaking."
Cruelties come not just from wicked stepmothers, but also from ourselves. There are expectations, pressures, judgment, and criticism. Self-doubt and self-confidence. But there are also friends, and sisters, and a whole hell of a lot of power there for the taking. In fifty poems, Christine Heppermann confronts society head on. Using fairy tale characters and tropes,Poisoned Apples explores how girls are taught to think about themselves, their bodies, and their friends. The poems range from contemporary retellings to first-person accounts set within the original tales, and from deadly funny to deadly serious. Complemented throughout with black-and-white photographs from up-and-coming artists, this is a stunning and sophisticated book to be treasured, shared, and paged through again and again.
-via Amazon


More About the Author:

Christine Heppermann writes fiction, poetry, and criticism. Her books include Poisoned Apples: Poems for You, My Pretty (2014), City Chickens (2012), and Backyard Witch (with Ron Koertge, forthcoming). She currently reviews young adult books for the Chicago Tribune.

Christine grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, where she attended an all-girls Catholic high school. As an undergraduate she studied philosophy and literature at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. She has a masters degree in children's literature from Simmons College in Boston, Massachusetts, and an MFA in writing for children and young adults from Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Christine lives in New York's Hudson Valley with her two daughters, two cats, and one husband.


Want to see my entire Wishlist? Check it out on Amazon: Books I Dream About

Happy Reading!

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Review : Low Red Moon by Ivy Devlin


*Warning: This review may contain spoilers. Read at your own risk.

Publisher: Bloomsbury Children's Book
Release Date: September 14, 2010
Pages: 256
Source: Own


The Story:

Avery witnessed her parents' death-but as much as she wants to remember who killed them, her mind is a blank. Then Avery meets Ben, mysterious and beautiful, with whom she feels an intense connection. When Ben reveals he's a werewolf, Avery still trusts him-until she learns that he, too, can't remember the night her parents died. This must-read for teen paranormal fans combines the breathless romance of Twilight with a moving tale of loss-and a compelling mystery to boot


via Barnes & Noble

RatingFOUR Gold Stars!!!!

My Review


Low Red Moon is one of my favorite YA werewolf stories. I was ecstatic about hearing there is a sequel coming out, Moonrise. Alas, the release date was scheduled for January 2012 but I haven't heard any news about it. Moving on  . . .

Opening Line:

I was covered in blood when the police found me. 

Plot:

The way Low Red Moon started -- I mean read the opening line --, if that isn't enough to get you to read it, then here's what should: Read Low Red Moon!

While the suspense of finding out whom murdered Avery's parents wasn't played up to the maximum, the suspense of the story was still good. The story didn't drag and held a good pace. The plot unfurled nicely and I enjoyed being able to tag along Avery's journey of dealing with her parents' deaths, unlocking her forgotten memories as well as navigating the attraction to Ben and dealing with his own dark secret.

What I didn't like was how generic Avery and Ben's first meeting was. Avery is sick, she gets sent to the nurse's office, Ben pops up in the Principal's office then low and behold Avery is asked to be his welcoming wagon.

Overall, I really enjoyed Low Red Moon. It is a wonderful blend of mystery, paranormal monsters and romance. My only regret is that the sequel has not been released. I hope the book gods hears my prays.


***Check out Ivy Devlin's website for more information about her and the Low Red Moon: HERE


Happy Reading!

Thursday, April 16, 2015

Into the Dark Series Ambassador : Character Profiles - Tobin Oshiro-Winters

Hey fellow bookies! As I mentioned in a previous post (Good News: I am an Ambassador!I am an Ambassadors for Bree Despain's Into the Dark Series. Every week Despain sends material to share with fellow bibliophiles. And this week I have character profiles for you!

First character profile up: Tobin Oshiro-Winters. Take a look . . .

Releasing in paperback 4/14/2015!
Name: Tobin Oshiro-Winters (a.k.a. Toby--but only his mother calls him that, and he hates it).Hair color: Black

Eyes: Brown

Height: 5'6"

Build: Slim but toned and muscular from years of dance training.

Favorite food: The Oshiro family's infamous spider roll . . . or Swedish Fish.

Favorite drink: Mountain Dew Code Red

Special Skills: Singing, dance, sailing, amateur conspiracy theorist, occasional hacker and code breaker.

Weaknesses: Under the thumb of a controlling mother, overly obsessed with exposing conspiracies surrounding strange disappearances of teenaged girls from his town,  jumps to quick conclusions.

Life goal:  Become the next Bruno Mars--and find his missing sister, Abbie.

Character inspirations: Xander Harris fromBuffy the Vampire Slayer, Christian Reed fromDance Academy, and Sammy Lieberman fromDance Academy. 


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*NOTE: Why is Despain doing all in this in the first place? Well, it is not simply the regular getting her book out there but whether or not Book 3 in the trilogy gets published is contingent on how badly readers want to get their hands on it. Remember: If you want to help a favorite author and spread the word? Use #IntoTheDark #TheShadowPrince #BreeDespain in related posts on your social media accounts. 


Haven't read Into the Dark or even heard of the series, no fret. Take a look below:

PublisherEgmontUSA
Release Date: March 11, 2014
Pages: 496

The Story:

From Bree Despain, the fan-favorite author of The Dark Divine trilogy, comes her highly anticipated second young adult series: a contemporary adventure inspired by the Greek myth of Persephone and Hades.

Haden Lord, the disgraced prince of the Underrealm, has been sent to the mortal world for six months in order to convince Daphne Raines to return with him to the land of the dead. 

The best way to do this, Haden is told, is to get Daphne to fall in love with him. But getting a teenage girl to fall in love with you isn't easy, especially when Haden's life and more depends on the success of his quest. Little does he know that the tenuous peace between the Greek god of the Underrealm and the Greek god of the Sky is breaking and war is imminent.

If Haden succeeds, his honor and standing will be restored in the royal court, and Daphne will be sacrificed to save us all.

The complication he didn't see coming: he's the one who falls in love.

Now Haden must choose to either fulfill his sacred duty or to follow his heart and find a way to rewrite his and Daphne's destinies.
via Amazon

PublisherEgmontUSA
Release Date: April 28, 2015
Pages: 368

The Story:

Fan-favorite author Bree Despain continues her modern-day romance trilogy inspired by the Greek myth of Persephone and Hades with this second book in her Into the Dark series.  
 
Haden Lord, the disgraced Prince of the Underrealm, has chosen love over honor and will do everything in his power to protect Daphne Raines, the human girl he was supposed to bring to the Underrealm. Haden’s choice is put to the test as the Skylords and a figure from his past arrive in Olympus Hills with a plan that could destroy all of the realms.

Embracing her destiny as the Cypher, Daphne begins to understand the immense power of her musical ability to control the elements, but she must come to terms with her feelings for Haden and what she must sacrifice in order to protect him and her friends.

Believing the Key of Hades is the only thing that can stop the Underrealm Court from releasing the monstrous Keres on the mortal world, Haden, Daphne, and their friends set out to find the Key before Persephone’s Gate opens again on the spring equinox.
via Amazon

Meet the Author:

The Short: Bree Despain is the author of the Dark Divine trilogy and the Into The Dark trilogy. Bree rediscovered her childhood love for creating stories when she took a semester off college to write and direct plays for at-risk, inner-city teens from Philadelphia and New York. She currently lives in Salt Lake City, Utah with her husband, two young sons, and her beloved TiVo.

The Long: As a kid, Bree would staple folded papers to make her own "novels." As a teen, she wrote stories in notebooks while her friends waited for the next page to be finished. Her teachers told her she should be a writer. But Bree thought only specialpeople could be writers, so as the years past, she settled into the idea of becoming a lawyer instead.

Bree rediscovered her childhood love for creating stories when she took a semester off college to write and direct plays for at-risk, inner city teens from Philadelphia and New York. With a renewed passion for story, and the young adult audience, she returned to Brigham Young University, filled her schedule with creative writing and literature classes, and started writing stories again. But regular life kicked in, and she soon found herself married with a new baby, working full-time, and with very little writing done.

That’s when the universe threw a pick-up truck in her path. The car accident left Bree with an understanding that life was too short to not do what you absolutely love. A few days later, her husband brought home a used laptop computer, placed it by her bedside, and said, “You’d better start writing.” Her life has never been the same since.

In a moment of karmic perfection, Bree received the offer to purchase her debut novel, The Dark Divine, on the 6th anniversary of the car accident that put her back on the path to becoming an author.
 ​

Happy Reading!
Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Into the Dark Series Ambassador : Character Profiles - Daphne Raines

Hey fellow bookies! As I mentioned in a previous post (Good News: I am an Ambassador!I am an Ambassadors for Bree Despain's Into the Dark Series. Every week Despain sends material to share with fellow bibliophiles. And this week I have character profiles for you!

First character profile up: Daphne Raines. Take a look . . .

Releasing in paperback 4/14/2015!
Name: Daphne Raines (a.k.a. The Cypher)

Hair color: Golden blonde

Eye color: blue

Height: Just little over 6 feet

Build: Tall and curvy--often described as looking like an amazon.

Favorite food: BBQ bacon cheese burger with avocado and a single onion ring.

Favorite drink: Rootbeer!

Special skills: singing, guitar, floral design, animal charming, can hear special tones and music put off by all living/organic things. Uses these tones and sounds to read people and situations. (May be able to do even more with this ability--like control the elements.)

Weaknesses: Abandonment issues from being raised without her father, has difficulty letting people in, overly focused on her goals, can't drive.  

Life goal: Become a world famous musician on her own merit--not because her father is a Joe Vince "the God of Rock."  
Character inspirations: Taylor Swift meets Dean Winchester from Supernatural Katara from Avatar: The Last Airbender. 


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*NOTE: Why is Despain doing all in this in the first place? Well, it is not simply the regular getting her book out there but whether or not Book 3 in the trilogy gets published is contingent on how badly readers want to get their hands on it. Remember: If you want to help a favorite author and spread the word? Use #IntoTheDark #TheShadowPrince #BreeDespain in related posts on your social media accounts. 


Haven't read Into the Dark or even heard of the series, no fret. Take a look below:

PublisherEgmontUSA
Release Date: March 11, 2014
Pages: 496

The Story:

From Bree Despain, the fan-favorite author of The Dark Divine trilogy, comes her highly anticipated second young adult series: a contemporary adventure inspired by the Greek myth of Persephone and Hades.

Haden Lord, the disgraced prince of the Underrealm, has been sent to the mortal world for six months in order to convince Daphne Raines to return with him to the land of the dead. 

The best way to do this, Haden is told, is to get Daphne to fall in love with him. But getting a teenage girl to fall in love with you isn't easy, especially when Haden's life and more depends on the success of his quest. Little does he know that the tenuous peace between the Greek god of the Underrealm and the Greek god of the Sky is breaking and war is imminent.

If Haden succeeds, his honor and standing will be restored in the royal court, and Daphne will be sacrificed to save us all.

The complication he didn't see coming: he's the one who falls in love.

Now Haden must choose to either fulfill his sacred duty or to follow his heart and find a way to rewrite his and Daphne's destinies.
via Amazon

PublisherEgmontUSA
Release Date: April 28, 2015
Pages: 368

The Story:

Fan-favorite author Bree Despain continues her modern-day romance trilogy inspired by the Greek myth of Persephone and Hades with this second book in her Into the Dark series.  
 
Haden Lord, the disgraced Prince of the Underrealm, has chosen love over honor and will do everything in his power to protect Daphne Raines, the human girl he was supposed to bring to the Underrealm. Haden’s choice is put to the test as the Skylords and a figure from his past arrive in Olympus Hills with a plan that could destroy all of the realms.

Embracing her destiny as the Cypher, Daphne begins to understand the immense power of her musical ability to control the elements, but she must come to terms with her feelings for Haden and what she must sacrifice in order to protect him and her friends.

Believing the Key of Hades is the only thing that can stop the Underrealm Court from releasing the monstrous Keres on the mortal world, Haden, Daphne, and their friends set out to find the Key before Persephone’s Gate opens again on the spring equinox.
via Amazon

Meet the Author:

The Short: Bree Despain is the author of the Dark Divine trilogy and the Into The Dark trilogy. Bree rediscovered her childhood love for creating stories when she took a semester off college to write and direct plays for at-risk, inner-city teens from Philadelphia and New York. She currently lives in Salt Lake City, Utah with her husband, two young sons, and her beloved TiVo.

The Long: As a kid, Bree would staple folded papers to make her own "novels." As a teen, she wrote stories in notebooks while her friends waited for the next page to be finished. Her teachers told her she should be a writer. But Bree thought only specialpeople could be writers, so as the years past, she settled into the idea of becoming a lawyer instead.

Bree rediscovered her childhood love for creating stories when she took a semester off college to write and direct plays for at-risk, inner city teens from Philadelphia and New York. With a renewed passion for story, and the young adult audience, she returned to Brigham Young University, filled her schedule with creative writing and literature classes, and started writing stories again. But regular life kicked in, and she soon found herself married with a new baby, working full-time, and with very little writing done.

That’s when the universe threw a pick-up truck in her path. The car accident left Bree with an understanding that life was too short to not do what you absolutely love. A few days later, her husband brought home a used laptop computer, placed it by her bedside, and said, “You’d better start writing.” Her life has never been the same since.

In a moment of karmic perfection, Bree received the offer to purchase her debut novel, The Dark Divine, on the 6th anniversary of the car accident that put her back on the path to becoming an author.
 ​

Happy Reading!