Upcoming Release: TITANS by Victoria Scott

We are stoked about the upcoming release of TITANS by Victoria Scott! Hold your horses (pun intended) this book isn't unleashed into the wild until February 23, 2016. But let me assure you, it's one you want to add to your TBR list. If you're anything like me and can't stand waiting, I've added a pre-order link just for you!

TITANS by Victoria Scott

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Publication Date:February 23, 2016 

Pre-Order Link: B&N  Amazon  ibooks

From Victoria Scott, author of FIRE & FLOOD, comes a thrilling story of impossible odds.

Ever since the Titans first appeared in her Detroit neighborhood, Astrid Sullivan’s world has revolved around the mechanical horses. She and her best friend have spent countless hours watching them and their jockeys practice on the track. It’s not just the thrill of the race. It’s the engineering of the horses and the way they’re programmed to seem so lifelike. The Titans are everything that fascinates Astrid, and nothing she’ll ever touch.

She hates them a little, too. Her dad lost everything betting on the Titans. And the races are a reminder of the gap between the rich jockeys who can afford the expensive machines to ride, and the working class friends and neighbors of Astrid’s who wager on them.

But when Astrid’s offered a chance to enter an early model Titan in this year’s derby, well, she decides to risk it all. Because for a girl from the wrong side of the tracks, it’s more than a chance at fame or money. Betting on herself is the only way she can see to hang on to everyone in the world she cares about.

The Game of Love & Death by Martha Brockenbrough: Review & Giveaway * Rockstar Book Tour*

Hello all! I'm very excited to be a part of this unique book and this awesome tour!

THE GAME OF LOVE AND DEATH Martha Brockenbrough
Pub. Date: April 28, 2015
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books (Scholastic)
Pages: 352

Antony and Cleopatra. Helen of Troy and Paris. Romeo and Juliet. And now . . . Henry and Flora.
For centuries Love and Death have chosen their players. They have set the rules, rolled the dice, and kept close, ready to influence, angling for supremacy. And Death has always won. Always.
Could there ever be one time, one place, one pair whose love would truly tip the balance?
Meet Flora Saudade, an African-American girl who dreams of becoming the next Amelia Earhart by day and sings in the smoky jazz clubs of Seattle by night. Meet Henry Bishop, born a few blocks and a million worlds away, a white boy with his future assured — a wealthy adoptive family in the midst of the Great Depression, a college scholarship, and all the opportunities in the world seemingly available to him.
The players have been chosen. The dice have been rolled. But when human beings make moves of their own, what happens next is anyone’s guess.
Achingly romantic and brilliantly imagined, The Game of Love and Death is a love story you will never forget. 

My Thoughts

"She Whispered this into the baby’s ear: Someday, everyone you love will die. Everything you love will crumble to ruin. This is the price of life. This is the price of love. It is the only ending for every true story." 

This tale literally blew my mind. I have never ever read a thing like it! The whole book is based on the premise of the LOVE & DEATH, in a very human like guises, making a friendly little wager. Only they deal in human lives. The tale is told in alternating first person perspectives between Love, Death, Flora, and Henry. Each characters lives it's own tale unaware of how they wander further and further into the messy trap that has been laid before them since there very birth. There was so much pain staking detail put into the time lines of each Henry and Flora's life that I can't help but marvel at Martha's talent.

Not only is it a brilliant story about Love and Death but there is another perhaps more important story within regarding racism in the early 1930's. Flora wants nothing more than to fly her own plane but knows all to well what anyone would think of that. A female let alone of of her "color" would never ever be taken seriously, even though she is more talented than the lot of them. Henry knows he is just a friendship away from being a broke orphan so he does what he must to keep his adopted family happy included being wooed by an evil conniving woman. When a few chance encounters ( or maybe not so chance since death and Love seem to have their little fingers in everything) put these two on a collision course the spark that fly are so brilliant. I couldn't get enough of these sweet courtship. Henry and Flora are both the most outstanding characters! It is heart breaking since I wanted things to so badly go right for both of them but that doesn't seem to be  part of the game!

If the story line isn't enough to hook you, Martha really goes out of her way with some stunning and poignant prose. I was devouring this book since the writing was sheer BRILLIANCE! There is so much more I wish to say but can't give to much away so I'll leave you with this. If you are a fan of historical fiction/fantasy.THIS IS A MUST READ!! There is so much goodness here that it is a bit overwhelming. My feels are still recovering!

Blizzard Read!!!!!

 Find it:
 Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads

About Martha:     

Martha Brockenbrough (rhymes with broken toe) is the author of two books for adults and five books for young readers.

She's the founder of National Grammar Day (every March 4), and she's written game questions for Cranium and Trivial Pursuit. The former editor of MSN.com, Martha has interviewed lots of celebrities, including the Jonas Brothers and Slash (his favorite dinosaur is the diplodocus). Her work has been published in a variety of places, including The New York Times. She also wrote an educational humor column for the online encyclopedia Encarta for nine years.

She lives in Seattle with her family. Her favorite kind of food is Indian, although Thai runs a close second. Besides writing, she likes board games, playing music with the family band, travel to places far and near, drinking lots of coffee, and working out really hard at the gym.

Website  | Blog | Twitter  | Facebook | Pinterest | Tumblr | Goodreads

5 winners will receive a finished copy of THE GAME OF LOVE AND DEATH! US Only.

 a Rafflecopter giveaway 

Follow the Tour 

Week One:

4/20/2015- Alice Marvels- Interview

4/21/2015- Books, Bones & Buffy- Review

4/22/2015- A Glass Of Wine- Guest Post

4/23/2015- Jump Into Books- Review

4/24/2015- IceyBooks- Interview

Week Two:

4/27/2015- Fiction Freak- Review

4/28/2015- Nerdophiles- Guest Post

4/29/2015- The Starry-Eyed Revue- Review

4/30/2015- Seeing Double In Neverland- Interview

5/1/2015- Winterhaven Books- Review

Rook by Sharon Cameron - Review & Giveaway *Rockstar Book Tour *

ROOK

by Sharon Cameron
Pub. Date: April 28, 2015
Publisher: Scholastic
Pages: 464
Formats: Hardcover, eBook

History has a way of repeating itself. In the Sunken City that was once Paris, all who oppose the new revolution are being put to the blade. Except for those who disappear from their prison cells, a red-tipped rook feather left in their place. Is the mysterious Red Rook a savior of the innocent or a criminal?
Meanwhile, across the sea in the Commonwealth, Sophia Bellamy’s arranged marriage to the wealthy René Hasard is the last chance to save her family from ruin. But when the search for the Red Rook comes straight to her doorstep, Sophia discovers that her fiancé is not all he seems. Which is only fair, because neither is she.
As the Red Rook grows bolder and the stakes grow higher, Sophia and René find themselves locked in a tantalizing game of cat and mouse.

My Thoughts

* I was given this book in exchange for an honest review and this holds no sway on my opinion.*

This book is a juggernaut if I ever saw one. what started out to be a bit slow and overly worded turned into a well thought out creation involving loyalties and learning to trust your heart. 

Rook had such an interesting setting. It takes place in the far future where a collapse of technology has essentially put the world back into the dark ages. Since the great death all technology has been banned since the rulers claim it makes people less self sufficient. The wealthy are now being executed for having the means to build any type of machinery. See where this is headed?  It was really quite an interesting take on a dystopian. I found myself riveted as the characters marveled over things made of plastic such as a nintendo controller. There is also a crazy dictator who seeks power but claims he is an instrument of the goddess fate. We know how well men acting on the advice of goddess' has worked out. LeBlancs methods are also rather unorthodox as he takes what i assume are hilton hotel shampoo/conditioner bottles, drops them into a pot with boiling blood/water and which ever one burst first decides the fate of the prisoner. Can you say CRAZY TRAIN? The catacombs of Paris are where the prisoners are held and if you know anything about this enormous system of graves and tombs running under the city of Paris, you'll have a really good idea of how awful life must be for someone being held in those rooms. 

The characters were another bright spot in this tale. Sophia Bellamy isn't your typical lady and her brother Tom isn't the weak man he seems to be. The relationships slowly come to light. Once you get a glimpse of just how much these siblings care about each other, you can't help but have a deep respect for both of them. They are both on a constant mission to save the other one. When Sophia must marry to clear her father's debt (awful I know) in steps the pompous René Hasard. i knew from the start he there was more to him than meets the eye, but boy did I get more than I bargained for. Sophia and René's witty banter and sly game of cat and mouse quickly became my focal point of the story. There was quite a few other breakneck plot twists that I didn't see coming. 

Once this book picked up it was literally full steam ahead until the very end. This book would be perfect if you enjoy historical fiction or just a unique dystopian, or a kick ass hero! I am so glad i got to read this amazingness and would like to thank Scholastic and Rockstar Book Tours for providing me with a copy.

4 Snowflakes

Find it: 

Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads

Book Trailer:

Link:

https://youtu.be/GlSDsV8SuMs

About Sharon: 

Sharon Cameron was awarded the 2009 Sue Alexander Most Promising New Work Award by the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators for her debut novel, The Dark Unwinding. When not writing Sharon can be found thumbing dusty tomes, shooting her longbow, or indulging in her lifelong search for secret passages. She lives with her family in Nashville, Tennessee.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

5 winners will receive a finished copy of ROOK courtesy of Scholastic. 

US Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Follow The Tour

Week One:

4/20/2015- Xpresso Reads- Interview

4/21/2015- The Starry-Eyed Revue- Review

4/22/2015- The Eater of Books!- Guest Post

4/23/2015- Mundie Moms- Review

4/24/2015- Two Chicks on Books- Guest Post

Week Two:

4/27/2015- Fiktshun- Review

4/28/2015- Bookish- Guest Post

4/29/2015- Bumbles and Fairy-Tales- Review

4/30/2015- Chapter by Chapter- Interview

5/1/2015- Winterhaven Books- Review

Review: The Iron Trial by Holly Black & Cassandra Clare

The Iron Trial 

by Holly Black & Cassandra Clare

Publisher- Scholastic

Realeased- Sept 9th 2014

Pre-Order- Amazon / B & N 

From NEW YORK TIMES bestselling authors Holly Black and Cassandra Clare comes a riveting new series that defies what you think you know about the world of magic.
From two bestselling superstars, a dazzling and magical middle-grade collaboration centering on the students of the Magisterium, an academy for those with a propensity toward magic. In this first book, a new student comes to the Magisterium against his will -- is it because he is destined to be a powerful magician, or is the truth more twisted than that? It's a journey that will thrill you, surprise you, and make you wonder about the clear-cut distinction usually made between good and evil.

My Thoughts: 

The Iron Trial, is the first book in the Magisterium series and what  I believe is a strong and promising start to a brilliant dark magical world. I've read a few books by Holly Black and I'm already a mega-huge fan of Cassandra Clare's Shadowhunter world, so I couldn't wait to see what these two authors together would bring into the written world. I don't read very many middle-grade books, with only the HP and Percy Jackson books amongst my favourites, but the minute I heard that Clare and Black were tackling magic for kids, I knew I had to get my grabby hands on the first installment. This book was such a blast and instantly loved!

First off, the storyline was made of awesome! Clare and Black took there time coming up with a fantastic story making it a shinny and new universe to want to play in. They make an amazing team. The writing is smooth, the pacing and flow of the story was perfectly pitched and I couldn't tell from one author to the next who wrote what. It was in-sync and blended strongly and beautifully throughout the entire length of the novel. There were some moments and similarities that did reminded me of the great boy wizard, but it didn't take anything away from my overall entertainment and experience. World will inevitably collide when writing about magic in a magical school setting, but I still think that this book is entirely it's own. I loved the concept of bending the elements of air, fire, water, earth and chaos with magical control. The history, secrets and prophecy were mysterious and alluring. The Devoured souls and chaos-ridden animals were a fantastical touch to the already dark and haunting setting and the Magisterium itself was filled with creepy wonderment. 

The moment I meet Callum, I knew I was going to love him. He's the kind of kid that makes life interesting and has a great voice and personality. Even though he has a bad leg and practically a social-leper at school, he still has this amusing sarcastic side to him that's funny instead of bitter. He's always been taught that the school is a place of monsters, and yet apart of him wants to believe it may be a good place for someone like him despite his fears and insecurities. Aaron is one of those great characters that is good, kind, supportive, loyal and believes in you no matter what anyone says. He's got the most to prove, but no one really to prove it too. Tamara was a bit cold and unfeeling at the start of the book so it wasn't always easy to like her. She's under a lot of pressure from her family to succeed , but eventually Tamara becomes her own person and I love what she brought into the trio. Together, Callum, Aaron and Tamara make an amazing team. They already have each others back during some of their more challenging adventures and have great chemistry and witty banter. There are also a lot of other characters that I loved, each of them bringing in the perfect blend of conflicts and friendships. It's gonna be a fun five years at the Magisterium with this lot. I really loved that ending. What a shocker! I was surprised we learned the big revelation at the end of this book, but I think it makes for a rather clever and intriguing turn of events. I think we're not getting the entire picture mind you, but still, it makes me wonder just how Callum will play this out in future books and how it will impact the other characters. Very interesting indeed.

All in all, I couldn't have loved a book more! The twist and turns were crazy fun, gripping and unpredictable. The world building was remarkably creative, the writing was brilliant and these characters stole my heart from minute one. Fast paced and blast to read, The Magisterium is my new favourite world!

Find the authors:

Holly Black- Goodreads / Website

Cassandra Clare- Goodreads / Website

                                                                            

                                                                           5 Snowflakes