WinterHaven Books

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Waiting On Wednesday - Silver In the Blood by Jessica Day George

Welcome to Waiting On Wednesday here at

Winterhaven Books!

This is a feature created by Jill at Breaking The Spine where we share some books we are anxiously awaiting.

Britt's Pick...

Silver In the Blood by Jessica Day George
Expected Publication: July 7, 2015 by Bloomsbury Children's USA

A New York Times bestselling author brings dark secrets to life in a lush new YA perfect for fans of Libba Bray or Cassandra Clare. Society girls from New York City circa 1890, Dacia and Lou never desired to know more about their lineage, instead preferring to gossip about the mysterious Romanian family that they barely knew. But upon turning seventeen, the girls must return to their homeland to meet their relatives, find proper husbands, and—most terrifyingly—learn the deep family secrets of The Claw, The Wing, and The Smoke. The Florescus, after all, are shape-shifters, and it is time for Dacia and Lou to fulfill the prophecy that demands their acceptance of this fate . . . or fight against this cruel inheritance with all their might. With a gorgeous Romanian setting, stunning Parisian gowns, and dark brooding young men, readers will be swept up by this epic adventure of two girls in a battle for their lives.

I am the (probably) the most fanatical fantasy lover you will ever meet! Jessica Day George has been a huge favorite of mine since her Princess of the Midnight Ball series. She really knows how to navigate a retelling while keeping it interesting. I am stoked to see what she can do with a Romanian setting! Let the Persian gowns flow!!

What book are you waiting on?

Leave us a comment and let us know!

Teaser Tuesday #83 Frostfire by Amanda Hocking

Welcome to Teaser Tuesdays! Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: Grab your current read Open to a random page Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! My Teaser Tuesday is for the following...

Frostfire by Amanda Hocking
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Publication Date: January 6, 2015
Blurb:
Bryn Aven is an outcast among the Kanin, the most powerful of the troll tribes.
Set apart by her heritage and her past, Bryn is a tracker who's determined to become a respected part of her world. She has just one goal: become a member of the elite King’s Guard to protect the royal family. She's not going to let anything stand in her way, not even a forbidden romance with her boss Ridley Dresden.
But all her plans for the future are put on hold when Konstantin– a fallen hero she once loved – begins kidnapping changelings. Bryn is sent in to help stop him, but will she lose her heart in the process? k

Teasers from book page: 138
"I'm not saying that people don't fall in love. People fall madly in love with each other all the time. But that right there"--Ridley gestured behind him, toward where King Evert and Queen Mina were seated--"that was all an act."

Teaser from book page: 139
Would you do that?" Ridley asked. "Would you marry someone you didn't love to advance your life or your career?"
"No, of course I wouldn't," I said.
"Would you even marry someone if you did love them?" he asked. I could feel his eyes on me, but I refused to look at him, preferring to finish my wine in big gulps.

*PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Teaser Tuesdays post, or share your ‘teasers’ in a comment here if you don’t have a blog Thanks!

Monday, January 19, 2015

Blog Tour: Shoalman Immortal by Toni Decker

Today on WinterHaven Books I am joining in the blog tour fun for the Shoalman Immortal by Kira Decker & Toni Picker! This book looks amazing and after reading this chapter I am even more excited about it! Take a look!!

Chapter 3

Shoalman Immortal (The Shoalman Chronicles book 2)

Author: Toni Decker

Release Date: January 16, 2015

Falling in love was never supposed to be part of the picture.

Kyrissa Spears was born with a powerful, and deadly, gift. When she paints, she captures emotions so strong they cankill.Desperate to find a teacher capable ofhelping her unlock and controlher abilities, Kyrissa'ssearch leads her toan artist who may be able to help her.And he's the one person she can't accidentally kill.

After five centuries of pain and loneliness, Robert Shoalman craves release from his immortality. He's all but given up hope until he meets the beautiful and intriguing Kyrissa.She could paint his death and break the curse, but at the cost of destroying her gift and being lost to him forever—none of which will matter if the demon hunting him finds them first.

About Toni Decker:

Who is Toni Decker?

Two authors telling one sizzling story after another about twenty-somethings getting along in their own crazy, fantastical worlds. Both women are wives and mothers, sharing brain cells and characters as if they only exist with the other.

Toni, one half of the Toni Decker brain, is an avid reader of all things Young and New Adult while Kira, the Decker half of Toni Decker brain, devours fantasy for midnight snacks.

Together, their stories are one part New Adult, one part Fantasy and three parts of Holy Hotness.

We leave it up to the readers to decide who writes which character.

You can follow our journey on:

Twitter: ToniDeckerBooks / Toni Picker / Kira Decker

Facebook: Toni Decker Books / Kira Decker / Toni Picker

Tumblr / Goodreads / Wordpress

Email: ToniDeckerBooks

Giveaway! As part of this amazing tour we get to offer one lucky person signed paperback copies of books 1 & 2 plus Swag!!

Enter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour Schedule:
Week 1:
Jan. 12 - Krista's Dust Jacket / Guest Post
Jan. 13 - Poisoned Rationality / Chapter Reveal
Jan. 14 - The Book Swarm / Guest Post
Jan. 15 - BookShelfery / Chapter Reveal
Jan. 16 - Step Into Fiction / Guest Post

Week 2:
Jan. 19 - Winterhaven Books / Chapter Reveal
Jan. 20 - Jenuine Cupcakes / Guest Post
Jan. 21 - Reads All The Books / Chapter Reveal
Jan. 22 - Read-Love-Blog / Guest Post
Jan. 23 - The Irish Banana Review / Chapter Reveal

On sale now until end of blog hop - Jan 23rd - for $0.99
SHOALMAN IMMORTAL, Book 2 - Amazon only (for now)
IMAGES ETERNAL, Book 1 -Amazon / Nook / Kobo

Saturday, January 17, 2015

Review: The Glass Arrow by Kristen Simmons

The Glass Arrow by Kristen Simmons
Expected Publication: February 10th
Publisher: Tor Teen

The Handmaid’s Tale meets Blood Red Road in Glass Arrow, the story of Aya, who lives with a small group of women on the run from the men who hunt them, men who want to auction off breeding rights to the highest bidder.
In a world where females are scarce and are hunted, then bought and sold at market for their breeding rights, 15-year old Aya has learned how to hide. With a ragtag bunch of other women and girls, she has successfully avoided capture and eked out a nomadic but free existence in the mountains. But when Aya’s luck runs out and she’s caught by a group of businessmen on a hunting expedition, fighting to survive takes on a whole new meaning.

My Thoughts:

GIRL POWER!

This story isn't all about that of course but, it did give me the same shiver of rebellion that The Handmaiden's Tale did. The shiver comes from women empowering themselves to survive under extreme duress while living in a society where they are raised and breed like cattle & tossed away when they are no longer needed. Mrs. Simmons has once again captured those feelings that accompany the choices that need to be made when doing the right thing or just getting by. There is a phrase near the end of the book that has stuck with me all this time. I won't reveal who says it but it goes...

"We are just women. Why must you always try to be more?"

I'm sure the intended effect was the soul burning anger I felt at these woman and the resolution the way they have resigned themselves to be nothing more. The girls like the M.C. Aya, are few and far between. Most girls have been groomed and prepped for this their whole live. They are looking forward to going to "auction" to be brought by wealthy merchants. They will have a home and food (well food supplement pills really since apparently real food is only a thing for the extraordinarily wealthy) for a time being. Aya wasn't raised like these girls. She was raised wild in the mountains and knows how to take care of herself and her adopted rag tag family. It is no surprise that once she does get captured she will do anything to stop herself from going to auction. She is wild and hasn't been affected by the side effects of food supplement pills which makes her more susceptible to breeding and bearing a male child. Can you see the female oppression here? The history of how this world came to be was expertly woven into the story so when reading you really grasp the gravity of the situation. The world building is superb even though it seemed a bit weird in the beginning of the book.

I have been categorizing this as a fantasy for the longest time. It was only recently while talking with a friend that I realized this is more of a post apocalyptic/dystopian than anything. There is no magic in this world. Just some high tech beauty treatments that remold figures and removed freckles and of course the meal pills. There is also some crazy genetically mutated people that were very Hunger Games reminiscent.The only magic in this story was the determination and bravery of the characters and that was more than enough to hook me. There was a few who I did not like at all to begin with and just as they grow on Aya, they also grew on me. I really felt very connected to her for some reason. She was very transparent and the narration allowed for complete access to all her thoughts and emotions.

I also am a huge fan of any book that the author is able to conclude in one volume. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy the series' but this was paced perfectly. I was RIVETED from start to finish. There was this amazing flow where the drama and intensity would build up to almost unbearable then break only to happen again in another situation. There is so much mystery surrounding Aya's past and all seems to reveal itself in time. The ending was absolutely BRILLIANT! If you read this book give yourself about 1/3 of the way in to really see what is going on. I promise you won't be disappointed.

5 snowflakes

Stacking the Shelves #69

A weekly meme hosted by, Tynga's Reviews, that features the books we bought, borrowed, were gifted, and were given for review.

We've had a very exciting week with our new roomies! Milka and Brittany have been amazing and we are so excited to have them on board! Their first reviews for us went up so you won't want to miss those because they are awesome! Here's our recap of the week!

Reviews:

This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

The Start of You and Me by Emery Lord

The Way We Bared Our Souls by Willa Strayhorn

Cover Reveals:

Halfway Perfect by Juile Cross & Mark Perini

Giveaways:

Halfway Perfect by Juile Cross & Mark Perini

WinterHaven Fun:

New Roomie Announcement

Memes: