Buy Torn on Amazon

Isadora Rivers feels trapped. Her small town high school is suffocating her. Another day of wannabe gangsters, dumb jocks, and Barbie clones, and she’ll just lose it. Her keen emotional sensitivity is to blame. She sees through all of the poser behavior to the pain and insecurity simmering just below the surface, and it’s overwhelming. She feels like she’s literally drowning in other people’s emotions.

This same sensitivity, however, makes her a great actress. Suffocating or not, her high school is one of the top arts schools in the country. Acting is not only her passion, but it also looks like her way out. If she can just score the lead role in the school play, she might get herself noticed by a Hollywood agent. But she’s got a strong reckless streak, and it keeps getting her in trouble and jeopardizing her chances.

Riding her bike at top speed, she swerves in front of a car and nearly gets hit. The driver, Tristan Blake, turns out to be the mysterious new boy at school. He’s rebellious, broody, and wise beyond his years. He’s also devastatingly gorgeous. From the moment their eyes meet, Isadora is irresistibly drawn to him. But as soon as he enters her life, things go horribly wrong. She begins having disturbing visions full of unimaginable glamour and unbearable darkness. He knows things about her he shouldn’t. And he’s somehow so familiar. As he at turns pulls her close, and then pushes her away, Isadora feels like her heart is being twisted and torn.

She soon discovers that her whole future is in jeopardy, and her only hope is to stay away from Tristan. But how can she turn away from the only boy she has ever loved? As a harrowing event looms closer, one that threatens to rip apart her psyche, Isadora must reach deep inside herself and find the strength to change her own destiny. But is she strong enough to do it?

What do you get when you mix up a reckless heroine, a strangely familiar yet typically broody love interest, and a series of creepy flashes that ultimately string our characters’ fates together? Well, my friends, you get Torn: the book that you thought was a contemporary until, suddenly, it wasn’t. Dun, dun, dun.

Isadora’s number one issue is simply that she feels too much. She leads with her emotions and, consequently, is impulsive to the point of recklessness. Although in Torn this trait is portrayed as her Achilles’ heel, for me it made her character; an analytical Isadora is an Isadora that I’m not sure I would have liked getting to know. At some points in this novel I did feel like strangling our protagonist, it’s true, but I thoroughly enjoyed living through a character so fully-developed that I felt that strongly towards her.

My favourite part of Isadora, though, isn’t her reckless streak: it’s her supporting cast. I’ve encoutered many a YA heroine who, when confronted with the ‘dying’ part of their undying romance, become isolated and friendless (*cough* Bella *cough*).  Isadora, however, remains surrounded by her loving family and wholly supportive best friend through all of her obstacles. I really enjoyed this–  so much so that you’d think that YA authors as a whole would convene and unanimously decide that protagonists with no friends or parents are, in fact, unhealthy and should therefore be avoided in most situations as they set a bad example to the teenage population.

It was easy for me to get sucked into this book, and easy for me to get sucked out of it. While I was reading Torn, it proved to be incredibly riveting. However, I had to stop reading halfway through in order to begin my fervent leaf-through of Ruby, and although I had left Torn at a critical point in the plot, I did not think about it once over the next few days. Isadora’s world was, to me, an escape– nothing more, nothing less.

In fact, this was such an easy read that I’m surprised at the strong messages that it conveyed, one of which has to do with fame and its negative ramifications. When Isadora, an aspiring actress, starts having glimpses at what it’s really like in Hollywood, we readers become more acquainted with L.A.’s celebrity hub’s dismal and sinister angle than the picturesque place we see in some books. And yes, this dismal, sinister angle of which I’m speaking does involve drugged-up, synthetic starlets– if Torn had a theme song, that song would definitely be Californication.

Maybe Miss Morgan’s loud voice on these matters is why I’m so disappointed that, after finishing it, I look back on Torn as such a trivial read. Filled with strong, supported protagonists and controversial topics that do need to be confronted, Torn clearly contains all of the right ingredients to cook up a novel that stays with you. But it didn’t stay with me. It didn’t really have enough presence to stay with anything at all. It could have, but it didn’t.  As I mentioned before, it was an undemanding read that barely required any mental effort.

One other point on which Torn failed to sell me is its predictability. I must admit that I did not see the twist coming in the least, and that was refreshing. Nevertheless, I feel as though I’ve read this plot over a million times before– giving it a new, twisted face doesn’t change the basics. Perhaps that’s why I seem to attribute such an inconsequence to this book. And maybe it’s because I’m having a new obsession with a different book blog, Anna Reads, or maybe it’s because I have work to do and I’m procrastinating, or maybe it’s because I’m so downright creative, but I’ve drawn out the afore-mentioned basics for you.

(As a side note, I am sorry to subject you all to my horribly disproportionate stick figures. I simply can’t help myself.)

All in all, I give Torn a solid 3.3/5 stars. For fans of reckless heroines, the dark side of Hollywood, and  the effects of should-be YA author conventions.

I’ll keep you posted,

Buy Ruby on Amazon

When Ruby is sent to live in a huge manor with her distant grandmother, she has no idea what the future holds. It’s hard enough to deal with a new town and a mysterious boy. Little does she know that she’s part of a prophecy that dates back to the Salem Witch Hunts.

Years ago, a witch cast a spell on the one child who could save the world from darkness – and it’s Ruby’s job to protect it.

Yes, this is another blog tour! My stop was actually scheduled for August 18^th— a day that officially ended about 45 minutes ago. However, yesterday morning I still hadn’t finished reading Ruby. In fact, according to my Kindle application, I was only 35% percent into it. I debated on writing a short blurb on the novel based on what I had read but ultimately decided that that would be unfair to Ruby, and so I forsook the schedule and finished the book. I even sacrificed my Spider-Man movie marathon to do so. Yes, it was that intense.

To start this review off on a positive note, the fact that I read most of Ruby in less than 24 hours is proof enough that this read is light, entertaining, and easy. You could effortlessly read the whole of it during a weekend getaway or, if you’re committed, in one sitting. I, of course, read it in over the course of a day and found whole thing to be easy to follow and seamless.

Furthermore, Ruby‘s characters, although perhaps a tad two-dimensional, had me emotionally invested in them by the end of the novel. I nearly cried when one of the cast was thrust into mortal danger, and Ruby’s grandmother, Esther, was absolutely lovely. I’ll admit that I’ll miss her in the next few days.

Nonetheless, I would like to dwell on one issue that I had with Ruby, mostly because I find it to be somewhat of a trend within YA novels recently and it’s one that I’m not a fan of. This book, however, takes that trend to a whole new level. When romance is instantaneous, I usually call it Spray Tan Love. But this, I don’t know what to call. Tanning Bed Romance, maybe? Fake Nail Fondness? Irritating infatuation? I can’t decide. What do you call a romance that only takes roughly 2% of the novel to come to a very passionate life? Hmm, how about ‘fake’?

But that’s enough with the criticism. To move forward, I highly enjoyed Miss Burke’s plot. Although it involved many overused elements—witches, warlocks, and demons, to name a few—she managed to weave her tale into something original. I especially enjoyed the way she made even her magically adept characters vulnerable to human illnesses; it gave Ruby an authenticity that it may have lacked otherwise.

I did not see the grand-finale plot twist coming in the least. In fact, to be honest, I still don’t fully understand it. But this lack of understanding is more of a reel-er-in-er than a cliffhanging annoyance.

I’m giving Ruby 2.9/5 stars. This one is for fans of lovely grandmothers, new spins on overly-told tales, and Fake Nail Fondness.

And now, dear friends, I would like to welcome you to WhatYAReading.com’s very first guest post!  Again, I would like to thank TBG Tours not only for including me in the tour, but for making this guest post happen. A few of you, however, may be wondering of what exactly this post consists. Written by our very own author of Ruby, Amanda Burke, we have a Top Five Favourite Quotes! And without further ado, here it is:

The books from where these quotes came were ones that I read in my teens and shaped the kind of writer I wanted to be. Each one is a favourite of mine and I try to reread them all at least once a year.

1. “If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be; and if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the universe would turn to a mighty stranger: I should not seem a part of it.”

– Emily Bronte, Wuthering Heights“

2. The place where you made your stand never mattered. Only that you were there…and still on your feet.”

― Stephen King, The Stand

3. “Laugh as much as you choose, but you will not laugh me out of my opinion.”

― Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

4. “We are each the authors of our own lives, Emma. We live in what we have created. There is no way to shift the blame and no one else to accept the accolades.”– Barbara Taylor Bradford, A Woman of Substance

5. This one doesn’t come from a book, but from my favorite writer of all time, Wilbur Smith. ‘Write for yourself and about what you know best.’

This advice has been wonderful for me and I think of it often.

Thank you, Miss Burke, for the guest post! I’m a bit of a quote collector, myself, and so thoroughly enjoyed your list. I’ll have to make note of a few of those for further use. In the meantime, though, I’ll be happy to present you all with one heck of a giveaway– just see for yourself:

As you may or may not have guessed by looking at the picture above and giveaway below, this is one huge grand-prize giveaway. It includes one paperback copy of Ruby, one vial of red nail polish, 7 sticker/ card packs, and… one 10$ Amazon giftcard! Yes; our contributors are feeling generous! So a big thank you goes out to Miss Amanda Burke herself for providing us with these lovely prizes.

What are you waiting for? Scroll down and get ready to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I’ll keep you posted,

Ananna of the Tanarau abandons ship when her parents try to marry her off to an allying pirate clan. But that only prompts the scorned clan to send an assassin after her. And when Ananna faces him down one night, armed with magic she doesn’t really know how to use, she accidentally activates a curse binding them together.

To break the curse, Ananna and the assassin must complete three impossible tasks—all while grappling with evil wizards, floating islands, haughty manticores, runaway nobility, strange magic, and the growing romantic tension between them.

Please note that I received an ARC (advanced reading copy) of The Assassin’s Curse from the publisher, and so all of the aspects on which I am commenting are subject to change. This book’s expected release date is October 2nd (US), so be sure to look out for it!

To begin with a little insight on my writing process, I usually  start writing a review by reading over a few of my reviews of similar books. This kick-starts my inspiration, helps get the creative juices flowing, is a great way to procrastinate…  it’s a great process, really. However, I was scrolling down my Reviews page earlier this morning when I suddenly realized that I had run out of reviews to scroll through, and still had none with which I could compare The Assassin’s Curse. That’s the thing, I guess, about this book: it’s incomparable.

As if the pirates, assassins, and getaway camels– all introduced within the first chapter– weren’t enough, us readers are also graced with alluding night markets, near-indestructible war machines, and– wait for it– disappearing shacks. I mean, come on! When’s the last time you read a book involving a disappearing shack? If for nothing else, Miss Rose Clarke is definitely getting my points for originality.

Oh, wait– make that points for originality and world building. In the realm of fantasy literature, world building is of the utmost importance; it’s the difference between a good book and a book that you can live in. Given the choice, I would doubtless choose to live in Cassandra Rose Clarke’s world. A pirate confederation, an order of assassins, and an almost Persian-like Empire? Sign me up! My only complaint in this field is the lack of provided intricacies. A pirate custom or example of a pirate clan’s colors here and there wouldn’t have hurt.

Ananna of the Tanarau is my kind of protagonist. Taking after her father, an influential pirate captain, she’s bold, she’s sassy, and she’s one helluva of a good pickpocket. Her dream, to become a prominent captain with her own ship and crew, is her top priority– it’s what first drives her to run from an arranged marriage which would limit her choices and her audacity. Ananna is a true, bad-grammar-and-cuss-words-spitting pirate, and she is only ever ashamed for feeling shame for who she is.

Her bad grammar actually took a bit of getting used to. I couldn’t stand her narrative for the first few chapters, and still wasn’t completely sold on her linguistics  by the end of the novel. I think that Ananna only ever used “isn’t” instead of “ain’t” once in The Assassin’s Curse‘s whole 267 pages; needless to say, I was so elated that I vigorously dog-eared that page and committed the sentence to memory.

I greatly enjoyed the fact that, although Ananna herself is just as self-confident as your typical YA love interest, Naji has the low self-esteem of your classic YA heroine. This role reversal is undeniably a much-needed refresher in YA literature, as it provided our two main characters with a certain depth and sparkle.

Naji’s lack of self-assurance stems from a terrible scar marring half of his face. Other than this important detail, however, and his blatant mysteriousness, we don’t discover all that much about Naji. I would have liked to have found out a bit more about Ananna’s beau. Nonetheless, I’m excited to see more of him in the planned sequel, titled The Pirate’s Wish.

I have one last issue with The Assassin’s Curse: its synopsis. It gave way to much away and therefore made any would-be surprises deeply unsatisfying. And “haughty manticores”? I just googled the word “manticore” and, forgive me if I’m mistaken, but there were none in this novel.

All in all, The Assassin’s Curse is a 4.7/5 star must-read, once it hits the shelves. If this is the standard at which Strange Chemistry (an up-and-coming YA imprint and this book’s publisher) has set its novels, then I can’t wait to read more of them.

A big thank you to Strange Chemistry for the ARC!

I’ll keep you posted,

Michael Mullin shares the specifics of his journey from an almost FBI academy student, to a writer of The Nightmare Before Christmas prequels, to the mastermind behind the TaleSpins series.

ANA: What inspired your TaleSpins (retellings of fairytales) idea? What inspired you to write 8 specifically?

MICHAEL: When I was a copywriter at Disney, it was my task to write for Disney merchandise in a way that was more contemporary and “edgy” (whatever that means). After a product meeting with a team from Japan, I wrote two sequel stories to Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas. I met with Burton, and he approved The Nightmare Before Easter and my Valentine’s story/Shakespeare parody titled A Midwinter Nightmare Scream. I left Disney shortly thereafter and came up with Creepy the 8^th dwarf as an original follow-up to appeal to the Nightmare audience. The Burton sequels never got published, though, so I forged ahead, sticking to fairy tales (Disney influence I guess…) and came up with the name TaleSpins. (The other thing I did at Disney was branding, so I’m big on that.)

ANA: Okay, so the twisted fairytale idea is great. But why the verse?

MICHAEL: That’s easy. With the Nightmare sequels, I followed the rhyming verse format of Burton’s original picture book (the one that inspired the movie). Because I was continuing on for that same audience, I just kept writing that way. But future stories may not always be like that. (Hint! Hint!)

ANA: That makes sense. But is it particularly hard to write in rhymes? What’s your writing process like?

MICHAEL: I have a sporadic, spare-time-when-I-can-get-it method of writing. The process usually involves coffee or scotch (depending on the time of day. I’ll let your readers infer….). Writing in verse has its challenges for sure, because everything is so sparse, yet has to be rich and meaningful to the story. Much of my editing is combining/condensing story points from, for example, 4 lines to 2 (or even 1!) Another big part is replacing generic rhymes with more interesting ones.

ANA: When you were in high school, did you know that you were going to write stories? What did you want to be?

MICHAEL: High school was when I first was alerted to a “talent” (for lack of a better word), but at that time I had plans to follow in the footsteps of an uncle and cousin who attended the FBI Academy and became agents. I went to college as an Economics major, but switched to English and was more or less focused on writing by my sophomore year.

ANA: Can you tell us 3 random facts about yourself?

MICHAEL:

1)      I taught both preschool and college.

2)      I have 5 sisters (and a brother).

3)      I went to the same high school as JFK.

ANA: If you could take 5 things with you onto a deserted island, what would they be?

MICHAEL: Assuming a boat is not an option, I’d take a box of books, a lighter, a case of red wine and a corkscrew. After I’d used up those items, I’d rely on my 5^th: a serious flare gun.

ANA: Are you currently working on another Talespins story? If so… please give us a teaser!

MICHAEL: Funny you should ask . . . I recently posted the intro to TaleSpins 3, which is titled: Jack’d. Here’s the link:

http://talespinsbooks.wordpress.com/2012/06/13/talespins-3-revealed/

Comments very welcome.

ANA: I can’t wait to read it! In the meantime, though, I’ll have to rely on your other TaleSpins. Thank you so much for the interview!

You can read my review of Mr. Mullin’s original twisted fairytale, 8: The Previously Untold Story of the Previously Unknown 8th Dwarf, here.

I’ll keep you posted,

Buy Pearl Lover on Amazon

Pearl Lover by Kea Noli Available on Amazon Self-Published A beautiful girl. A wicked mother. A twisted love triangle. In this thrilling romance, Nixie Veidt is forced to choose between money and love. She must stay faithful to the bureaucrat she married to save her inheritance, but her heart belongs to a Russian dancer. When the dancer is hired by her company, she puts it all on the line. Will she lose everything? Or does love really conquer all?

I just want to point out that this is the first blog tour in which I’ve ever participated (milestone!), and I want to thank Miss Parker from TBG tours for including me. These tours may seem like a lot of work, but no one ever tells you how fun they are. Which is very, very fun.

The real star of this show, however, is Pearl Lover. Featuring a dash of classical ballet dancers, a hint of a sting operation, and a medley of point of views, this novel will have you marveling at all that one string of pearls can represent.

I found Pearl Lover to be a tad confusing at the beginning, so I’ll give you the basics:

-Nixie wants to be in full control of her inheritance.

-To do so, she must be in control of her guardian.

-If she marries someone over the age of 25, her husband will become this guardian. Otherwise, her guardian will remain her wicked mother.

-When I say ‘wicked’, I mean wicked. Nixie’s mother refuses to support her dream, which is to give new life to the Ballet Russes, a dead ballet company.

Needless to say, this premise is gripping. There comes a point in everyone’s when life when bad guys and inner conflict just become so… what’s the word? Predictable. Give me a clash with a villainous mother—maybe I’m just happy that this YA protagonist’s mother is actually alive—and a war with Europe’s failing economy any day of the week.

Especially when that war involves so many details on the ways of the world of dance. I don’t think that I’ve ever learned so many ballet terms and intricacies in my life than in the last 48 hours, and I used to dance it. (Yeah, that was before I figured out that I’m incredibly uncoordinated.) Now that I’ve finished Pearl Lover, I just feel so cultured.

Nevertheless, every novel has issues, and my number one with this novel is Nixie’s unashamed subserviency.  She blatantly calls herself Kolya’s “Slave” on more than one occasion and declares herself “for the chauvinists”. These degrading comments, perhaps intended to be attractive to some, didn’t sit well with me; I found myself grimacing at them all too often. Miss Noli, I appreciate the gesture, but self-respect is actually a thing now.

Moving on, as I mentioned before, this is a really fast read. Although it takes place over the course of years, you’ll finish Pearl Lover in a matter of hours; the pacing is fast and the action is unfaltering.

Pearl Lover deserves 3/5 stars. For fans of living, breathing mothers, catty economies, and the complexities of ballet-dancing. Oh, and as a side note: this one is definitely for the elder group of young adults.

And without further ado, here is the exclusive excerpt that you’ve all been waiting for:

“Nixie, I love you. When we first met, your eyes attracted me. Not how big and bold they are, but how sensuous. I saw a promise in them that existed for a moment. That moment was precious. Moments add up to—  Did I say something wrong?”

“N—no. Go on.”

“I would have dragged you to my room because I wanted to rip off your clothes. But when you were with me, I knew it wasn’t meant to be then. Not because those who wait shall receive. But when everything is right, it happens. But I know how you responded to me when you saw me. Whatever was in me was reflected in your eyes. You do love me, don’t you?”

“Are you that desperate you have to beg.”

Morten chuckled. “I was, wasn’t I? True. You’ve never said it, but I saw it for a moment when we first met.  What’s wrong…?  I’m a cop. Observant.  Remember?”

“Morten…I can’t love you the way you want.”

“What way can you love me?”

He saw the same determined look on her face that he had seen in the motel, when she glared at him, after she threw a tantrum.

“A marriage of convenience.  I don’t love you.  I can offer you a job in the Company.  You’ll be the guardian.  I’m using you.   For Kolya.  I love him.”

Morten’s eyes seemed like sapphires because his face was pale, drained, anemic.

She added, “I can’t handle courts and lawyers. I’m not like you. Analytical. I’m a dancer.  I know how to follow steps to music.”  There was no intimacy in her voice. It sounded like a business deal, a transaction between traders.

She added in a cutting tone: “I need my freedom.  Without it I might as well be dead.  I’ve always had my way.  Will you do it?”

“Maybe, one day,” he said, slowly, plaintively, “you’ll look at me as you did when we met.”

“How was that?”

“I think you know.”

“You’ll do it? Sacrifice yourself…?” she asked contemptuously, with greedy eyes upon him.

“You don’t understand, do you? One day, you might—  Haven’t forgiven me…?  I know my value. You’re buying a license. I accept.”

She stared past him with the look of exploitation; a slave driver and trader would have had the same merciless expression.

I’ll keep you posted,