Happy holidays, everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas.

And what better way to celebrate the holidays than with a giveaway– say, The Dig, by Audrey Hart?

Here’s what you have to do to enter:

1) Be a resident of the USA, as this only works for the American Kindle store.

2) Mention me on Twitter– that’s @WhatYAReading

AND/OR

Become a user for my site and send me an email with ‘giveaway’ in the subject, using the same email address you signed up with. My email address is whatyareading@gmail.com .

I will send you your giveaway number, and in one week’s time we’ll have a draw… and a winner.

So you have until Monday, January second at 2:00 PM (Eastern time) to enter.

Good luck! Happy holidays!

I’ll keep you posted,

Audrey: Last year, I was lucky to visit the Minoan ruins in Crete. I was in awe of everything. Imagine, people lived here 4000 years ago. And I became so interested in the people who spend their lives hunting down these ruins. One afternoon, my iPhone buzzed and slipped out of my pocket. I gasped, thinking it had fallen between the cracks. And I freaked out and was really surprised about my reaction.  Anyway, the next time I sat down to work on my first novel, I kept going over that moment in my head. And then I knew that I wanted to write about a girl who lost her phone in a symbolic way.  That was my a-ha moment, I guess. I can tell a story about a girl who will learn that she’s not the disconnected person she thinks she is.

Ana: Teenage gods… where did this idea come from?

Audrey: When I meet new people I always wonder what they were like in high school. I think you learn so much about someone when you learn how they evolved, or haven’t. So I liked the idea of Zeus, who has this reputation for being so cold and domineering having had a period in life where he was actually kind of vulnerable. And who knows? Maybe the image he has now is totally untrue and he never did all these terrible things. Or maybe he got fed up on Olympus and eventually turned into the Zeus we read about it books. Teenage years are formative years, and that’s what makes the stakes so high.  Plus, the Olympian gods are such strong characters. It was exciting to me to make the leap that they might have been real people with flaws and baggage like all of us.

In high school, we all tend to put certain people on pedestals because of their appearances or their abilities. And I like the idea of Zoe dealing with a group of kids who are literally on pedestals. What a great journey for a teenage girl who thinks she’s sort of immune to cliques, to be alone, on Olympus, with the ultimate clique of teens. And I think the reason she falls so hard for Zeus isn’t just that he’s, you know, Zeus who’s hot and can fly, but also that through spending time with him, she’s changing her outlook on people. And that’s a powerful experience.

Ana: Who is your favourite YA author?

Audrey: I love Judy Blume because she’s funny and understands what girls go through as teenagers. I also love Barbara Kingslover. She has an amazing sense of adventure and pacing and her body of work is truly inspirational. Recently, I’m obsessed with Hunger Games (just like you, no doubt) and, of course…

Ana: When you were in high school, did you know that you were going to write a book? What did you want to be?

Audrey: I always wanted to write a book. But I also wanted to be a Solid Gold dancer, which was a rather unrealistic life plan as the show was canceled some years ago. I also wanted to be a psychologist and read anything psychology-related I could get my hands on. Writing is so much fun because you can create characters who are dancers and psychologists, you can sort of be everything you ever wanted to be without, you know, being them!

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

Audrey: I have no allergies. (Knock on wood!) I’m afraid of small dogs. There is an extra bone in my left foot. But you can’t see it or anything.

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

Audrey: A fully loaded iPad with a magical self-charging battery and super magical wifi, chili pepper flakes, a pillow, sun-block and a guitar because with all that free time, I might learn to play.

Ana: Please give us a teaser for the sequel!

Audrey: I don’t want to give anything away…but it just gets better, I promise.

And now some questions for Zeus himself.  Zeus in the house!

Ana: Was not knowing Zoe’s real name for so long strange or awkward?

Zeus: Oh, god yes. I think it would be strange for anyone, but when you spend 500 years with the same small group of friends, it’s really shocking to spend time with someone new. But it’s all for the best, because while it was strange and awkward, it was also exciting.

Ana: So, Hera seems like the jealous type… why are you still a couple, exactly?

Zeus:  Instead of answering this question can I take a nap? I’m kidding. It’s just such a hard thing to explain. Hera can be so exciting, and we’ve both been in this together, with our powers for so long. Every time we break up, I think it’s the right thing. But somehow, we always come back together. A relationship can be a crutch. In so many ways, life is easier when Hera and I are together. But I didn’t understand all of this until I met Zoe and realized that even though being with her on any level made my life harder, I wanted to know her, to get to know her. And that’s the kind of relationship I want to be in. All the hardships don’t matter because at the end of the day, we’re together for good reasons, not because we’re just used to being together and afraid of being alone.

Ana: Do you think that the many challenges you faced on Mount Olympus changed you at all?

Zeus: Absolutely. Zoe told me about my reputation as a jerk and that knocked the wind out of me. A few times over the past hundred years, I admit, I’ve had my moments and lost my temper. But those are the exceptions, you know? And to realize that hundreds of years from now, that’s all the people remember about me, well, first I was mad. But now I get it. You can’t control the future, what people say about you, even if you have powers. You can only try and live in the best way you know.

I’ll keep you posted,

Buy Dearly, Departed on Amazon

Love conquers all, so they say. But can Cupid’s arrow pierce the hearts of the living and the dead—or rather, the undead? Can a proper young Victorian lady find true love in the arms of a dashing zombie?

The year is 2195. The place is New Victoria—a high-tech nation modeled on the manners, mores, and fashions of an antique era. A teenager in high society, Nora Dearly is far more interested in military history and her country’s political unrest than in tea parties and debutante balls. But after her beloved parents die, Nora is left at the mercy of her domineering aunt, a social-climbing spendthrift who has squandered the family fortune, and now plans to marry her niece off for money. For Nora, no fate could be more horrible—until she’s nearly kidnapped by an army of walking corpses.

But fate is just getting started with Nora. Catapulted from her world of drawing-room civility, she’s suddenly gunning down ravenous zombies alongside mysterious black-clad commandos and confronting “The Laz,” a fatal disease that raises the dead—and hell along with them. Hardly ideal circumstances. Then Nora meets Bram Griswold, a young soldier who is brave, handsome, noble . . . and dead. But as is the case with the rest of his special undead unit, luck and modern science have enabled Bram to hold on to his mind, his manners, and his body parts. And when his bond of trust with Nora turns to tenderness, there’s no turning back. Eventually, they know, the disease will win, separating the star-crossed lovers forever. But until then, beating or not, their hearts will have what they desire.

In Dearly, Departed, steampunk meets romance meets walking-dead thriller, spawning a madly imaginative novel of rip-roaring adventure, spine-tingling suspense, and macabre comedy that forever redefines the concept of undying love.

Before I begin this review I must admit that I’ve never read a book of the steampunk genre, let alone a steampunk book about zombies.

And, boy, will I be reading one again.

Dearly, Departed was awesome. Never before have I read  a book that mixes romance, zombies, and a futuristic twist so well, transforming such classic elements into one unique tale that captures its readers’ thoughts. The world building was detailed and well thought out, the characters were intriguing and had remarkably strong personalities, and the plot, well… let me just say ‘action-packed’.

I’m going to start with my one issue to get it off of my shoulders.

At times, Dearly, Departed was confusing.  Like, what-the-hell-is-going-on? confusing. There were quite a few conversations that left blinking, thinking ‘Wait… what?’. I reread these, and still didn’t understand them. So. I blame Habel for this, not my lack of sleep :) Also, this book is written from 5 different first person point of views. Five different point of views. Although I didn’t find this frustrating and actually liked being in the 5-different-sources-of -information created loop, the ever-changing first persons really fueled the confusion fire. Perhaps, had Habel limited herself to, say, 3 or 4 view points, I would have understood a great deal more.

So, that’s it for the negatives.

I loved the New-Victorian world. Elements such as the single-sex schools, the marriageability-representing parasols, the holographs and the digidiaries never ceased to amuse me. Furthermore, I was very pleased that Habel explained the whys and the hows of the world building within the first few chapters of the novel, gracing readers with details that most world building authors omit. Also, if you’ve read my review of I am Number Four or Delirium , then you’ll know that I am a huge fan of explanations. Huge. The whole undead zombie thinig in Dearly, Departed was explained very well, actually. So kudos to Habel.

The characters were awesome. So, so awesome. They were all brave and strong in their own unique ways and I admired every last one of them. Well… most of them. There’s always a bad guy, right? In any case, Nora was my favourite character.  The event that sort of sets off the whole plot of Dearly, Departed is Nora getting attacked by zombies. One would think that a young, Victorian, woman would hide or call for help, right? Not Nora. Nope. Nora sees a bunch of big, bad zombies, and what does she do? She gets a gun and she shoots them. That’s right. Girl power to the max. I also very much liked Pam. Although she starts off as a sort of whiny, romantic girl, she vastly improves herself and embraces her inner warrior. One of my favourite quotes came from her, actually…

“I hope that there are zombie sharks in there and they bite you and you die!” I screamed.

Such a lovely young lady.

I equally loved every character from Z comp. They all, Chas especially, were nice, courageous and funny. Bram was a perfect gentleman.

Speaking of Bram, I am blown away by his and Nora’s romance. There was a no ‘I’m a zombie.’ ‘Don’t worry, babe, that’s sexy.’ There were no initial sparks of love. There was no ‘Wow, he’s hot…’  upon their first sighting. This was simply a slow, realistic romance. This being the YA genre of all genres, I’ll be honest with you and tell you that I didn’t think that this was possible. So thank you very much, Lia Habel, for enlightening me with such a dose of reality. YA needs a little reality every now and then.

Oh, and one more thing… the comments on Twilight had me laughing so hard. So, so hard. I would recommend this book based on the Twilight comments alone.

My final verdict: Dearly, Departed merits 4.7/5 stars. Do not read this book if you can’t stand multiple point of views. However, if you can, Dearly, Departed is a nicely-proportioned blend of steampunk, zombies and romance. I rather liked the zombies, actually. Go team Z!

You can read an excerpt from Dearly, Departed here.

I’ll keep you posted,

Buy Eve on Amazon

Where do you go when nowhere is safe?

Sixteen years after a deadly virus wiped out most of Earth’s population, the world is a perilous place. Eighteen-year-old Eve has never been beyond the heavily guarded perimeter of her school, where she and two hundred other orphaned girls have been promised a future as the teachers and artists of the New America. But the night before graduation, Eve learns the shocking truth about her school’s real purpose—and the horrifying fate that awaits her.

Fleeing the only home she’s ever known, Eve sets off on a long, treacherous journey, searching for a place she can survive. Along the way she encounters Arden, her former rival from school, and Caleb, a rough, rebellious boy living in the wild. Separated from men her whole life, Eve has been taught to fear them, but Caleb slowly wins her trust . . . and her heart. He promises to protect her, but when soldiers begin hunting them, Eve must choose between true love and her life.

Picture this: you’re at the bookstore, looking for a good  read. You see an amazing cover and reach for it, turning it over to read the description on the back. Eve is a dystopian–Your favourite genre!–about a plague that orphans children, whom are sent to schools. Eve is a teenager attending one of these, but on the eve (no pun intended) of her high school graduation, she discovers thereal purpose of the schools, and makes a decision that changes her life forever. You can’t wait to read this! You rush to the cash and fish out your wallet, shoving paper bills at the cashier. In the mad rush to get home and start the best book of your life, you realize that you forgot to read the last paragraph of the description. Quickly, you read it… and grimace. Women fearing men? How… utterly and totally oppressive. This is not what you had in mind. But you start reading Eve nonetheless… it can’t be that bad, right?

Unfortunately, ladies and gentleman, it can.

First of all, I hate the idea of Eve. To have a complete book based on woman’s fear of man is dismal, depressing, and, quite frankly, atrocious. And the author is a woman? Jeez, lady, get your head screwed on right and your marriage in order! The whole inferiority complex is definitely not attractive. I hear that good lotion works much better.

Secondly, I dislike Eve. A lot. Honestly, I can’t remember the last time I’ve read about such a whiny heroine. And for someone so smart (and beautiful, and hard-working, and perfect…), Eve makes a lot of mistakes that cause a lot of deaths. She meant well… but so did Adolf Hitler during WWII. Also, during the third or fourth chapter of this book, Eve is informed that someone wants to capture her for three reasons: she’s pretty, smart, and compliant. There is a lot of publicity about this, and soon enough, the soldiers begin hunting her. I don’t understand why this person would be after her, tearing so many soldiers from their usual posts, causing so much news about somebody escaping from a supposedly safe and well-guarded school, and basically causing terrible, terrible chaos in a new America whose citizens might not be able to take it. Aren’t there other pretty, smart, and compliant girls in the world?

Actually, like many other reviewers, I didn’t understand a lot of concepts  inEve; the world building is horribly lacking. For one thing, Eve and her schoolmates are given a wonderful education at an amazing school. As mentioned in the description, Eve discovers that her teachers have been lying to her, she actually isn’t going to have a job in the city, or a job at all, and her education and hard work were all for nothing. Why, I ask myself? Why did the King (Yes, this New America is ruled by a king) waste such effort on high-end books in high-end schools, if the education was all for nothing? The reason for giving the ladies an education at all is explained… but why waste good time and effort on a ridiculously superior education in a new world, if they won’t be needing it ever again?

Also, I commented before on the fact that a plague wiped out most of the Earth’s population. All we ever find out about this plague is that its victims cough a lot before dying. And, oh yeah, they turn purple. Right. My mind is filled with questions: What caused this plague? Where did it first develop? How does one contract it? Why wasn’t a cure realized before most of the humans died? Why did it only last 1 or 2 years… what contained it? Everyone knows that one cure is not enough to contain a full-blown plague. If you can’t understand a world’s history, you can’t really understand the world. That’s how I felt with Eve.

Some other things in this book bothered me; namely, the ending. Eve works so hard to make something–I won’t say what– work throughout the novel. But on the last page of the last chapter, she gives it all up. After working so hard to achieve this, after sacrificing so much (And by ‘so much’, I mean others’ lives), one would think that Eve would evolve as a character and reach her goal. But no. She just sheds a tear or two, shrugs, and says: “It’s all good… I might be able to fix this later.”  What in the devil? Didn’t you learn anything throughout your long and perilous journey, Eve? Anything?  Any value at all? Apparently not.

Oh, and one more thing really ticked me off: Eve is not a redhead. I just thought I’d point that out. That’s a redhead on that awesome cover, up there. (I know. So much for awesome covers.)

But I’m going to stop bashing on Eve now.

Eve does improve herself throughout the book. She gets over her fear of men and realizes–completely– that everything she learned while at school was based on what to tell girls to make them more docile. She even gets over some of her naivety.

Caleb was the perfect, Gone-with-the-Wind-style gentleman. He never stops believing in Eve, always rushes to her rescue (But don’t worry, girls, Eve does save herself… at some point.), and although sometimes I asked myself  ”Is this guy for real?”, I really enjoyed him as a character.

Carey does have good writing skills. She’s great with grammar, uses beautiful imagery, and her pages containing no dialogue didn’t bore me at all. That’s pretty great, for a debut author. She just has some plot holes and major world building issues.

Finally, Eve is a 2.5/5 star dystopian. For subservient ladies and imagery lovers!

I’ll keep you posted,

Buy The Dig on Amazon

Zoe Calder has always been an outsider. Stashed away in boarding schools since her parents died, Zoe buries herself in the study of ancient worlds. Her greatest thrill is spending her summers with her archeologist aunt and uncle on digs around the world. And one day, while investigating a newly unearthed temple in Crete, Zoe discovers a luminous artifact that transports her to ancient Greece.

As Zoe quickly learns, the Olympian Gods are real, living people—humans with mysterious powers… Powers that Zoe quickly realizes she has come to possess, as well. However, when the people of ancient Greece mistake Zoe for an Olympian, the Gods must restore the balance of the ancient world… No matter what.

Zoe is forced to play a confusing and dangerous game as Hera rallies the gods against her—all except for Zeus, the beautiful, winged young god who risks everything to save her.

Out of time and out of her element, teenager Zoe Calder finds herself in ancient Greece, battling against the power of the Olympians and the vengeance of a scorned goddess—all for the strange and mysterious boy she has come to love.

You’ve seen Disney’s Hercules.

You’ve read Percy Jackson and The Olympians.

You’ve marveled at the special effects of Clash of the Titan‘s remake.

Greek mythology is not new. You must have heard the gods mentioned at some point; Athena’s intelligence, Hera’s jealous wrath, Zeus’s power.

Zeus. What with his scraggly beard, eternal state of irritability and fatal lightning bolts, he is definitely the world’s oldest bad boy.

But take away the age, the sourness, and the bad attitude and you’ve got–that’s right, ladies,– a hot, immortal, teenage boy. Who can fly. Yep, that’s the wholepackage.

But wait–teenage gods? That’s right. Mix Greek mythology, high school cliques and a sarcastic heroine and you’ve got The Dig: an action-packed adventure with a hint of romance and a much-needed fresh take on the classics myths you thought you knew.

Zoe Calder is that introverted teenager who frequents your high school. She skips school dances in favor of reading books, lives the bare minimum of a social life, and spends her summers digging up history. But on an archeological dig in Crete, her life changes when she breaks the rules and goes beyond the safe area cordoned off with red tape. Curiosity killed the cat… but it transported Zoe back in time to ancient Greece. Within minutes of arriving, Zoe sees a Nymph being attacked. This leads her to discover two things: 1, she’s actually in ancient Greece, not some festival or movie set, and 2, she has magical super powers. Zoe sets off to visit the Oracle in order to inquire about her newly revealed powers, and is sent by the Oracle to Mount Olympus (which is not the heaven you thought it was.) She meets the gods and gets entwined in a drama that couldwill probably end her life. And all in an effort to get back to the future… but when the time comes, will she really want to?

The thing I most liked about Zoe is the fact that she’s not just playing the part of the introverted teenager–she is the introverted teenager. How many plot lines involve a ‘shy’ girl getting swept off of her feet by a hot guy? Too many. The Digis not one of them. Zoe actually prefers spending time by herself, and her passion for archaeology rings true. And although she does fall in love, she kicks some behind and saves herself. She may be introverted, but she is a strong heroine.

I equally enjoyed her sense of humour. I was giggling throughout the whole novel…

Victory only lasts a few seconds, however, since, despite all the books I’ve read and movies I’ve seen, I seem to have forgotten the most essential truth about multiheaded Hydras. Cut off one head and another grows back with a friend in tow. It’s like trying to pluck eyebrow hairs.

See what I mean?

Zeus was a… conflicted character. On the one hand, he was really sweet and nice and patient. But that completely changed whenever he was with his friends. Zoe noticed this, however, and quickly made it clear that she was bent on avoiding superficiality. Whenever they had problems, they talked it out. Such a cute couple! Be that as it may, I don’t see how Zeus was ready to give up so much for Zoe. I understand that he was fed up with his god friends, but what he sacrifices during the finale of this book is crazy.

And completely unpredictable. And riveting. And sweet. But crazy.

Let me just talk about the world building for a while. My absolute favourite part of ancient Greece is the vale of the Nymphs. It reminds of Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory, and I love it! I must also applaud Audrey for the world building of Olympus’s society. Hera’s monarchy and the way the 6 couples interacted– you will not expect who dates whom! — was entertaining in a high-school-clique sort of way, with just enough jealousy and power that you know that what you’re dealing with is not bickering teenagers, but rather gods and goddesses that could kill at any given moment. Mount Olympus was quite the escape!

One more thing that I need mention is the reference to our media; the comments on Rhianna’s Umbrella and Kim Kardashian’s TV show were really quite amusing. Or maybe it’s the way that the gods reacted to them. Either way, this had me chuckling.

Finally, The Dig deserves 3.9/5 stars. A light read, a fresh take on Greek myth, and a hilarious, action-packed plot. Love it.

I’ll keep you posted,