Blog Tour: Interview with Alison Goodman!

 Today on WinterHaven Books I am participating in the blog tour for Alison Goodman!  Her latest novel The Dark Days Club hit shelves this week and if you haven't stalked your local bookstore then you must do so now!!  For our stop on this amazing tour Alison is stopping by to answer a few of our questions!

1. Please describe The Dark Days Club in five words or less.
Demon hunting in Regency high society.  I know that’s six words…but it’s a big book.

2. Which character was your favorite to write?
Lady Helen has to be my favorite, but a close second is Lord Carlston. He is mysterious and not altogether respectable–an excellent Regency hero–and it was so much fun writing the banter between him and Lady Helen. I also enjoyed creating Mr Benchley who is quite a nasty piece of work; villainous types are always great to write.

3. I love that Helen will be hunting demons! Did you always plan for her to hunt demons or did your writing turn this way halfway through?
I am a planner, so I always knew Helen would discover that there was a shadowy world of demonic creatures hidden within Regency society. However, at the beginning of the novel, she is not aware of them. Nor is she aware of her own extraordinary abilities–they are only just starting to develop. As the book progresses, the truth about her abilities gradually emerges and she must face enormous danger and terrible choices.

4. Do you have any writing rituals?
When I sit down to start a new day of writing, I always read what I wrote the day before, edit it, and then start on the new section. In that way I retrieve the flow of the writing and the tone, and “warm up” for the day ahead.

5. Can you share what you are working on next?
I am currently working on Book 3 of the Lady Helen series, which is set in Bath in the winter social season. I’m also writing another project set in the Regency: a short story titled “The Benevolent Society of Ill Mannered Ladies”. It is for a new anthology called And Then…The Great Big Book of Awesome Adventure Tales, which will be published this year by Clan Destine Press.

Alison thanks so much for stopping by!  I can't wait to dive into this amazing adventure!!

The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman

Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers

Release Date: January 26th, 2016

Purchase: Amazon

New York Times bestseller Alison Goodman’s eagerly awaited new project: a Regency adventure starring a stylish and intrepid demon-hunter!

London, April 1812. On the eve of eighteen-year-old Lady Helen Wrexhall’s presentation to the queen, one of her family’s housemaids disappears-and Helen is drawn into the shadows of Regency London. There, she meets Lord Carlston, one of the few who can stop the perpetrators: a cabal of demons infiltrating every level of society. Dare she ask for his help, when his reputation is almost as black as his lingering eyes? And will her intelligence and headstrong curiosity wind up leading them into a death trap?

Find Alison

Website / Twitter / Facebook / Instagram / Goodreads

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Blog Tour Review: Shutdown by Heather Anastaisu

Today WinterHaven Books is participating in the blog tour for Shutdown by Heather Anastasiu hosted by Itching for Books. We have a very special giveaway to share with you as well so don't forget to check that out!

Shutdown (Glitch #3) by Heather Anastaisu

Publisher: St. Martins Griffin

Release Date: July 2, 2013

Purchase: Amazon / Barnes and Noble

The battle is all but over, and hope seems to be lost. Zoe and her fellow Resistance fighters are on the run, having lost their home, their protection, and their leader. They are outnumbered and outmatched by the powerful corporation that controls the world, and the cruel Chancellor is inches away from completing a scheme that would kill most of humanity. Zoe's only remaining option is to chase the impossible dream of upending the Link system, freeing the world from the hardware that controls their thoughts and emotions, and hope it will trigger a revolution.

The plot requires a nearly impossible mission to infiltrate the dangerous Community, and it is a task that Zoe must unfortunately complete alone. With challenges and surprises at every turn, nothing goes according to plan. Adrien's visions of the future now show two possible outcomes: one in which they succeed, and one in which humanity falls. It all lies in Zoe's hands.

Full of romance, high-adrenaline action and shocking twists, Shutdown is a heart-pounding conclusion to an exciting sci-fi adventure trilogy for young adults.

The thrilling conclusion to an action-packed sci-fi trilogy

My Thoughts:
This was a great conclusion to what has become one of my favorite series of all time.  Heather Anastasiu delivers a stunning ending that leaves her readers filled with hope for her characters and the world that she created.

Shutdown takes off almost right where Override left off.  Zoe is now the head of the Rez and nothing is as it was before.  Everything is slowly falling apart and her attempt at a mission that would free the drones fails.  She isn't sure how she will end the war and save the millions of people that need her help.  To go along with this pressure Adrien, her love, has just come back after being rescued from the Chancellor only he isn't who he once was.  After enduring endless torture Adrien has no feelings anymore, he remembers the past but he just has no emotions toward these memories.  That is tough for Zoe since he was the one that taught her how to love. Zoe has to find a way to save her people and make Adrien love her again, not so simple.

I love this authors writing.  With just a few simple words I was completely sucked into the story again and I didn't stop reading until I read the very last word.  This never happens to me.  Typically I put a book down to think, but I just couldn't with this one.  I had to know what was going to happen it was all too important.

Even though I truly did love this book I did feel there were a few storyline points that I wished had been different.  One was the resolution between Zoe and Adrien.  I really wanted more from that conclusion and in the end it all felt a bit rushed. I understand what the point was, but I really wanted more discussion between the two.  Adrien was different and that needed to be addressed more.

Another small point that bothered me was Max and his conclusion.  Now I know these all have to do with the main characters, but in the overall story these things really did seem minor to me.  For Max I really wanted something different for him. I really can't go into what happens to him or really anything about his scenes, but if you read this you will understand.  I think this book felt a little rushed and that is why they endings weren't what I had expected.  Well let me clarify, the endings I guess don't really bother me its just the lead up to those endings.  I wanted more explanations and more interaction that dealt with the relationship problems.  I think if there had been more of those scenes I would have understood the conclusions a little better.

With all of that being said I really did enjoy the story and the writing.  It was a great ending to the overall story and like I said it leaves me with hope and a feeling of closure with the characters.  What they all went through was not easy and what they have to look forward to next won't be easy, but in the end I really couldn't have asked for a better ending.

4 snowflakes

About the Author:

  Heather Anastasiu grew up in Texas and recently moved to Minneapolis with her family. When she's not busy getting lost exploring the new city, she spends most days writing at a café or daydreaming about getting a new tattoo.

Website / Twitter

Other books in the Glitch series:

For this blog tour we are excited to share an amazing tour wide giveaway!  One lucky reader will win all three books in the Glitch series!  Just fill out the rafflecopter form below!
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Blog tour: Betwixt by Melissa Pearl

Today WinterHaven Books has the wonderful opportunity to review Betwixt by Melissa Pearl. Special thanks to AToMR for hosting this blog tour as well as allowing us to participate!

Betwixt by Melissa Pearl
Release date-Nov 1st 2012
Publisher-CreateSpace Independent Publishing 
Purchase- Amazon / B & N

Beautiful, wild-child Nicole Tepper is hit by a car and left for dead. But when she wakes the next morning, Nicole finds herself in bed without a scratch. Perhaps she was more intoxicated than usual, as her mother is giving her the silent treatment and her friends are ignoring her as well.Things take a turn for the weird when Nicole soon discovers she is actually hovering between life and death. Her body is lying in the forest while her spirit is searching for anyone who can hear her. Unfortunately the only person who can is Dale Finnigan, the guy she publicly humiliated with a sharp-tongued insult that has left him branded. Desperate, Nicole has no choice but to haunt Dale and convince the freaked-out senior to help her. Will he find her body before it's too late? Or will the guy who tried to kill her with his car, beat him there and finish her off before anyone finds out?

My Thoughts:
Betwixt is a quick engaging read about a girl named Nicole who was stranded by her boyfriend in the middle of no where and gets hit by a car, leaving her for dead.
Nicole is in between living and dying. While her body is on the forest floor, her mind wanders to her usual life of home and school. But no one can hear her, that is, no one but Dale Finnigan, the guy she humiliated by calling him scarface, a nickname that rapidly spread throughout the entire school. A guy that was suppose to hate her, ends up being the one that can hear Nicole and the only guy that can help. Together they have to quickly find Nicole's body before someone else does and before it's to late.

Color me impressed! I really just loved this book! It's spiritually inspiring, surprisingly touching and beautifully told. I'm always a little skeptical of short reads. I always feel like I need more after finishing the story, but it wasn't like that for this book. It has everything it needs for it to be a fulfilling experience. I honestly can't think of a single element I didn't enjoy.  

Nicole Tepper gets the wake-up call of her life. She's the kind of girl that's beautiful and rich and popular. Girls want to be her and guys want to date her. She's your average wild child and brat. Gets what she wants and doesn't care who she hurts in the process. Normally I don't usually find this kind of character likable, but there is more to Nicole, something deeper that makes the reader want to hold on to her just a little bit longer. And when we find out the reason why she is the way she is, it'll change your entire outlook and break your heart at the same time.
But I think it was Dale who owned me. He is instantly easy to like and connect with. He is such good people with such a brilliant heart. He has his own hard past to deal with, but unlike Nicole he chose a positive path instead of the destructive road he was already on. I love his personality, quick wit and determination. The way he goes out of his way to find Nicole was fierce and so dame sweet it hurt. He makes it easy to smile when ever he was in a scene and gave Nicole and the reader the encouragement and hope when the situation felt it's most messy or emotional.
I loved those moments when it was just Nicole and Dale. Their chemistry felt natural even though it should have been complicated. Their banter and fire made me laugh. It added perfectly to the charm and ease of their growing friendship.

Melissa Pearl's writing is simply wonderful. It was easy to get sucked into the story line with it's to-the-point start right up to it's tearful conclusion. While this particular concept isn't anything new, I still adore what Pearl brought into this book. I was constantly curious how things would play out, completely invested with these characters and was fascinated by the entire story line. There was one moment in the very end that had me in tears, it was just so beautifully done and touching. Sincerely a wonderful touch making this experience even greater.

All in all, I thought this was a really great great book and very much worth the read. It's a beautiful thought provoking story balancing the lines of life and living, death and dying, second chances and in the end, finally being able to do it right. 

Instant favorite!

Find the author:
Goodreads / Website                                  5 Snowflakes

Be sure to visit these other amazing blogs that are joining in this tour!

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Unbreak My Heart by Melissa C Walker review and guest post

We are very VERY excited to participate in the blog tour for Unbreak My Heart.  Melissa was awesome enough to not only send us a guest post with her Blizzard Reads (if you don't know what that is then look here), but she even sent us a video!!  Woohoo!  Melissa you rock!  Watch this everybody!

Melissa's picks!
Trapped by Michael Northorp
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
How to Survive Anything by Rachel Buchholz

*bouncing in our seats*  Thank you so much Melissa for sending this!  Trapped sounds awesome and Gone with the Wind is a classic definitely can't go wrong there!  Every time we do this we never think about survival you made a very good point!  Great picks Melissa you rock!!
 


Now for our review!

Unbreak My Heart by Melissa C. Walker
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
Release Date: May 22, 2012

Blurb(GR):
Sophomore year broke Clementine Williams’ heart. She fell for her best friend’s boyfriend and long story short: he’s excused, but Clem is vilified and she heads into summer with zero social life. Enter her parents’ plan to spend the summer on their sailboat. Normally the idea of being stuck on a tiny boat with her parents and little sister would make Clem break out in hives, but floating away sounds pretty good right now. Then she meets James at one of their first stops along the river. He and his dad are sailing for the summer and he’s just the distraction Clem needs. Can he break down Clem’s walls and heal her broken heart? Told in alternating chapters that chronicle the year that broke Clem’s heart and the summer that healed it, Unbreak My Heart is a wonderful dual love story that fans of Sarah Dessen, Deb Caletti, and Susane Colasanti will flock to

My thoughts:
I think every teenage girl should read this book.  I can remember being sixteen and thinking the world was going to end if a boy didn't like me or if my friends were mad at me when in reality things like that aren't as important as other things.
In this story Clem has to set sail with her family for three months.  This means not having any contact with her friends via cell phone or computer.  Normally this would be a huge inconvenience for Clem and she would have begged and pleaded with her parents to let her stay at home, but since things with her friends have gone south she is left with no other option but to join her family.  Something huge happened between Clem and her BFF and when I say big I mean BIG for a sixteen year old girl.  You remember being that age how awkward it was right?? Well Clem commits the ultimate sin between girlfriends and learns the hard way what is important in life.  So begins her summer on the water and it is definitely a bumpy ride.
I really enjoyed this book and I wish that I had it when I was sixteen.  There are wonderful life lessons throughout this book and I loved it to pieces.  Melissa did a wonderful job unraveling Clem's story and my heart broke for her several times.  I could totally feel her pain when she let everything out and I just wanted to hug her and tell her it would be alright.  Clem is definitely one of my favorite characters.  She owned up to what was her fault and the growth that she shows by the end of the book was just amazing.  I have high hopes for her and her BFF, Amanda.  I also really loved Olive her sister and James the boy see meets while sailing.  They were fantastic additions to this story and I loved them both to pieces for being there for Clem.
Please read this book you won't regret it and if you have a teenage daughter hand this to them, they need it I promise.
Awesome AWESOME book!
Thank you Bridget at Bloomsbury for sending Unbreak My Heart our way!

Find Melissa
Twitter      Blog      Facebook   Website

To preorder:
Barnes and Noble          Amazon

5 huge Snowflakes