Gretchen C. Hohmeyer's Blog, page 65

Weekly Wrap Up + Stacking the Shelves for 8-4-13

Welcome to another weekly wrap up and Stacking the Shelves! This week there’s no video, but no worries. I’m sure the links will suffice.

THIS WEEK ON THE BLOG:

Review: The Distance Between Us by Kasie West – Finally got a hold of this one, and it was just as cute as everyone said it would be! I mean, no great shakes, but good enough. 3 1/2 stars to this one.

Bibliomancy for Beginners: Mansfield Park by Jane Austen – This was supposed to be a normal hangout, but Google kept messing up and none of us finished the book so this is just a bunch of random clips of us screaming at Google.

Review: Poison Princess by Kresley Cole – My first read off PulseIt.com! This is my biggest love-hate relationship in MONTHS. 3 stars is the rating is only because I couldn’t decide how I felt. I still can’t.

ARC Review: Charmed Vengeance by Suzanne Lazear – I wasn’t really impressed by this one, but it wasn’t terrible. Basically just waiting for the next one, though.

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga’s Reviews!

BOUGHT:

Over you by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus – Goodreads

EDELWEISS:

The Shadow Prince (Into the Dark #1) by Bree Despain – Goodreads

ARC Review: “Charmed Vengeance” by Suzanne Lazear

Charmed Vengeance (The Aether Chronicles #2) by Suzanne Lazear

Goodreads | Amazon

In the Faerie realm, Noli Braddock’s relationship with her best friend V has grown into something more. But V’s mother, Faerie Queen Tiana, has ruled that they are forbidden to see each other. Returning to the mortal realm, Noli joins the crew of her brother’s air-pirate ship, the Vixen’s Revenge. There she discovers that her brother has hired the scallywag Faerie huntsman, Kevighn Silver. While serving as shipmates, Kevighn and Noli learn that the Earth Court King plans to find a forbidden artifact–one that will bring destruction to everyone Noli loves.

Thanks to NetGalley and Flux for this eARC! This title will be released on August 8th, 2013.

3 stars

WARNING: This review WILL have spoiler for the first book! Read my review of Innocent Darkness HERE!

I’ll be the first person to admit that I wasn’t entirely thrilled by the first installment of this series, but I was interested enough to request the second book. Sadly, as many “middle” novels have been showing me these days, I sometimes think that some series should not be trilogies. Or people at least need some new conventions for middles of series.

Thanks to V’s intervention, Noli had not become the braindead sprite Queen Tiana was hoping for. Instead, Noli shares her mind with the consciousness of a sprite, and control of the body isn’t always hers. Determined to get rid of her meddling sons, Queen Tiana forces V to go a-questing with James for “something to amuse her.” While V is gone, Noli’s Grandfather discovers the squalor that her and her mother have been living in and tries to force them to go to Boston. Determined not to be married off by Christmas, Noli runs off with her brother Jeff to be the engineer on his airship. Imagine her surprise when Kevighn Silver signs on to be the ship’s new gunner.

So, middle book convention #1 is obvious: the male and female love interests get separated and have to go off on their own adventures. Personally, I found V and James’s quest pretty boring, and only interesting when it supplemented Noli’s. Noli’s adventure was the one with most of the excitement and the questions and answers. Also, the romance between Jeff and the ship’s female captain Vix was really cute.

Noli herself still makes me happy as a main character. Her new added problem of having a sprite in her head, trying to make her girly, was a fun addition. It was actually my favorite part of the novel. She continued to be my shining light throughout the novel, even when I started skipping.

And I did, sadly, start skipping. Like I said, James and V’s story just seemed to be filler, only letting us know that Queen Tiana had dropped the gloves. Otherwise, they were just running around and offering comic relief. I would skip through portions of their journey, because what was going to happen and how it connected to Noli was clear from the outset.

I did really like the switch of scene for Noli, and the family connection was nice. It was great to see a good steampunk side to this story for once, even though the focus was still on the fae. The questions and new elements that were brought in were also interesting. Like I said, I mostly read through and enjoyed Noli and the sprite’s problems.

Sadly, I had started skipping so much that I started skimming Noli’s part, too, just because I had so much figured out already. Nothing in the book really surprised me, and–again–it was more filler than anything else. I feel like all the exciting things will happen in the third and final installment, now that Noli and V have gotten their obligatory self-spirit-journeys or whatever out of the way.

Review: “Poison Princess” by Kresley Cole

Poison Princess (The Arcana Chronicles #1) by Kresley Cole

Goodreads | Amazon

Evangeline “Evie” Greene, 16, leads a charmed life until her horrifying hallucinations predict a disaster that decimates her Louisiana hometown. She joins classmate Jack – with his mile-long rap sheet, wicked grin, bad attitude – and 22 other teens, as an ancient prophesy re-enacts the ultimate battle between good and evil. But who is on which side?

Thanks to SimonPulse and PulseIt.com for this free read!

3 stars

Not since Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi have I had such a huge love-hate relationship with a book. I mean, seriously. At times I was steaming mad or annoyed, but I kept reading because OHMAHGOD SO GOOD. I swear this review sits at three stars just because that’s my middle of the road rating and I don’t know what else to do because I cannot tell if I love or hate this book. Let’s try to figure this out together, shall we?

The book did NOT start out on a good foot to begin with. It’s got this prologue narrated by someone who isn’t our main character, who is this psycopathic killer intent on chaining our real main character up in his basement. Later on, we’ll discover that his experiments have almost nothing to do with the actual story. He lures Evie into his house with the promise of food and drink–something extremely scarce since the Flash, a solar phenomenon that flash-evaporated all the water on Earth and killed most of the people–as long as she tells him her story of how she survived. So the entire book is really just Evie talking about what’s already happened until the end. I HATE that convention with a burning passion, because it makes me feel like obvious none of the story she’s about to tell is important except for setting the stage. Except that the ENTIRE book is her story, so she was basically just setting the scene for like 300 pages.

Evie as a main character actually isn’t so bad. Her flaws are annoying at times, but she does have flaws. No, I do not count the fact that she can control plants or see images of Tarot cards duking it out as flaws. She’s kinda whiny and has very few post-apocolypictally handy skills, but she’s also fierce and loyal and most of the time I felt bad for her. Until the end, and then I was like WHOA EVIE HELLO.

But let me back up. The book starts out before the Flash, when everything was as normal as a contemporary romance. Evie is a cheerleader at a preppy school, dating the quarterback. In comes Jackson, a Cajun hick from the wrong side of town, who makes her think naughty things. Jackson made me want to scream, and not just because he was a rude and bratty little dude. Now, I can’t say I’ve ever been to Louisiana, but the way his “Cajun” character was written made my stomach squirm. He spoke in a dialect, was so stereotypically “wrong side of the tracks,” and didn’t even know what texting was? Nonono. He redeemed himself as a character a little bit after the Flash, but he still kept acting like an a-hole a lot of the time, to the point where I really hoped Evie would ditch him. And the stereotyping just kept coming, and the fact that he was so much poorer than Evie kept coming up again and again.

But then you’ve got the setting. If more dystopian novels were like this, I’d be ALL OVER THEM. Can you imagine, living a normal life when suddenly something like the Flash happens? It’s crazy. That right there is a novel in itself, but Cole is like NO WAIT THERE’S MORE!

That MORE is the Tarot card angle, the reason Evie can control plants, among other things. The Flash was only the beginning, it seems, because now there are a bunch of kids running around as the embodiment of Tarot cards, fighting against Death–you know, the embodiment of the card. Evie is ridiculously in the dark for most of the book, which means that we are too, but the idea was so poignant that I kept reading because I’VE NEVER READ A THING LIKE IT. But then the book ends right when Evie finds out THE MOST IMPORTANT THING about what being a Tarot card embodiment means. So that.

So at the end of the day, I don’t know where I stand. I take huge issue with the fact that the entire book was basically a set up for the next one, a book where we will finally know what the heck is going on. I take huge issue with most of the characters. I am head over heels for the concept. I am head over heels for the setting. This book makes me feel like I’m being ripped in half by horses, one half being I LOVE IT and one half being I DON’T LIKE IT.

This was not a helpful review in the slightest. I apologize. Hopefully you’ve also had one of those books where your feels have been left in a puddle of goo on the floor.

Bibliomancy for Beginners: “Mansfield Park” by Jane Austen

Welcome to this week’s episode of Bibliomancy for Beginners! We took an extra week for this one because, well, classics can be dense. But we are here, finally and eager to please! This week we’re reading Mansfield Park by Jane Austen. Join us next week when we read The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente!

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

At the age of ten, shy, vulnerable Fanny Price leaves behind her impoverished family in Portsmouth to go and live with her rich relatives at Mansfield Park.

Growing up with her cousins Tom, Edmund, Maria and Julia, she is aware that she is different from them and that her place in society cannot be taken for granted, although she is not treated unkindly. A dashing couple from London, Mary Crawford and her brother Henry, enter this stable, rural world. They succeed in dazzling everyone at Mansfield Park, except for Fanny, who sees through their shallow veneer. Throughout the dramatic events that follow it is she who is able to bring back some stability to the ruptured lives of those around her.

One of the great novels of the nineteenth century, Mansfield Park echoes Jane Austen’s fears and awareness of the dawn of a modern age, which was to bring about a complete break from the old country traditions and way of life.

Review: “The Distance Between Us” by Kasie West

The Distance Between Us by Kasie West

Goodreads | Amazon

Seventeen-year-old Caymen Meyers studies the rich like her own personal science experiment, and after years of observation she’s pretty sure they’re only good for one thing—spending money on useless stuff, like the porcelain dolls in her mother’s shop.

So when Xander Spence walks into the store to pick up a doll for his grandmother, it only takes one glance for Caymen to figure out he’s oozing rich. Despite his charming ways and that he’s one of the first people who actually gets her, she’s smart enough to know his interest won’t last. Because if there’s one thing she’s learned from her mother’s warnings, it’s that the rich have a short attention span. But Xander keeps coming around, despite her best efforts to scare him off. And much to her dismay, she’s beginning to enjoy his company.

She knows her mom can’t find out—she wouldn’t approve. She’d much rather Caymen hang out with the local rocker who hasn’t been raised by money. But just when Xander’s attention and loyalty are about to convince Caymen that being rich isn’t a character flaw, she finds out that money is a much bigger part of their relationship than she’d ever realized. And that Xander’s not the only one she should’ve been worried about.

Three and a half stars

I don’t buy books often anymore, but after a bunch of bloggers I follow fell head over heels for this one–and I decided I needed a cute little pick me up–this book seemed like a good one to buy. (Also, the paperback fact. That helped.) What I found wasn’t perfect, but it was most certainly cute.

One thing that struck me instantly is that Kasie West is a master at little details. All her characters and settings each had a little quirk or two that made them just that much more three dimensional. Cayman is a sarcastic analytic, always running off at the mouth while running numbers in her head. The band members she hangs out with each have a distinctive look. Then there’s the doll shop, which is the creepiest, coolest kind of setting–something I never would have even dreamed of.

Basically, any scenes in the doll shop were my favorite. They were just so … interesting. I could actually spend this entire review talking about the doll shop, but I won’t, because what you guys really want to hear about is the romance part of this book.

Xander and Cayman’s romance was, in a word, cute. I especially liked the beginning, when they start hanging out every weekend under the pretense of “career days,” since they both feel like their parents are pushing them down tracks they don’t want to be in. I wasn’t sold on Xander in the beginning, but after all the thought he put into Cayman’s career day, I melted. Also, the graveyard scene. There was that.

Otherwise, the romance goes much as you would expect. He’s rich, she’s not–they run in different circles and think about things in different ways. The extra cogs in the machine were Cayman’s mother’s secret illness and the rocker boy her mother wants to set her up with. The illness story line played out very well, but I thought that the rocker boy–like a few other characters–was very two dimensional and just there to facilitate plot.

I guess the real reason I started docking stars came around in the end. Instead of trying to wrap up Cayman and Xander’s story line, several new elements were added in that shook up the whole foundation of Cayman’s past and the miscommunications in their relationship and left me confused and unsatisfied. I can’t say much more than that because it would be spoilery, but … sigh. I don’t mind the ending–it’s still very cute!–but I wish it had gone a little bit differently.

All in all, I declare this book a MUST READ if you like sarcastic main characters. Cayman had me smiling and laughing throughout the whole book, even in the serious scenes. Xander was swoony and sweet–a worthwhile guy for a worthwhile girl. There’s nothing groundbreaking in this book except for maybe the doll shop , but it still made me happy for a few hours. I wouldn’t call this a general must read but, if you like cute little contemporaries and are looking to take a little bit of edge off your day, then this might be a good pick me up.

Weekly Wrap Up + Stacking the Shelves for 7-27-13

Welcome to another wrap up and Stacking the Shelves on My Life is a Notebook! I actually took the time to do a vlog this week, mostly because I was too excited to tell you guys about a bunch of the posts I put up this week and the books I got so … there’s that. Of course, if you want the shortened version, all the links will be in the text below the video!

THIS WEEK ON THE BLOG

ARC Review: Love Disguised by Lisa Klein - Wanted to like this, but it disappointed me a lot.

Top Ten Words/Topics that will make me NOT pick up a book - I thought this would be hard. Then I got on a roll.

Sizzling Summer Giveaway: Guest Post from Author Tia Silverthorne Bach + Kindle Fire HD Giveaway - There are TWO Kindle Fire HDs being given away and they are both PACKED with books. Today is the LAST day to enter! GO DO THAT.

Waiting on Wednesday: Othersphere by Nina Berry - I’ve followed this series since book 1, and I can’t wait to see the finale!

Review: The Crown of Embers by Rae Carson - Finally got to read this book! It was a great middle book, and I’m hard to please.

ARC Review: The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson - Started this directly after The Crown of Embers. It was SUCH a fitting finale.

BOUGHT

The Distance Between Us by Kasie West - Goodreads

NETGALLEY

When the World Was Flat (And We Were In Love) by Ingrid Jonach - Goodreads

Countdown by Michelle Rowen - Goodreads

Goodbye, Rebel Blue by Shelley Coriell - Goodreads

Conjured by Sarah Beth Durst - Goodreads

These Broken Stars (Starbound #1) by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner - Goodreads

EDELWEISS

Promise of Shadows by Justina Ireland - Goodreads

ARC Review: “The Bitter Kingdom” by Rae Carson

The Bitter Kingdom (Fire and Thorns #3) by Rae Carson

Goodreads | Amazon

The epic conclusion to Rae Carson’s Fire and Thorns trilogy. The seventeen-year-old sorcerer-queen will travel into the unknown realm of the enemy to win back her true love, save her country, and uncover the final secrets of her destiny.

Elisa is a fugitive in her own country. Her enemies have stolen the man she loves in order to lure her to the gate of darkness. As she and her daring companions take one last quest into unknown enemy territory to save Hector, Elisa will face hardships she’s never imagined. And she will discover secrets about herself and her world that could change the course of history. She must rise up as champion-a champion to those who have hated her most.

Four and a half stars

Thanks to Edelweiss and Greenwillow Books for this eARC! This title will be released on August 27th, 2013.

WARNING: This review WILL have spoilers for The Girl of Fire and Thorns and The Crown of Embers. Read my review of #1 HERE and my review of #2 HERE.

The one question you want answered is: is this a satisfying conclusion to an amazing series? Right off the bat, I’m pleased to tell you that yes, yes it does. On more levels than I may be capable of describing.

The story picks up where you might expect: the enemy has Hector, and Elisa is heading on a fairly certain suicide mission after him. Mara, Belen and Storm follow her, loyal to the bone–perhaps too loyal to keep her from doing this stupid thing. Hector knows in his heart that his queen is coming for him, and even within his bonds he tries to help her stay safe from his captors. As it turns out, however, saving Hector is only the tip of the iceberg. When she finds him, her trip is far from over, and the enemies she has to face get more dangerous with every step. In the end, Elisa has to face the biggest question of all: what if she has no power after all?

One of the first things I was interested by was the fact that Hector gets a few chapters of narration in this novel. There isn’t many, and they mostly serve to show what’s happening to him while he and Elisa are apart. Frankly, I’m never a big fan of switching narrators for only a few chapters just because the main narrator happens to be somewhere else, but I loved Hector so much that I never minded too much.

As I said, finding and rescuing Hector doesn’t take up nearly as much of the book as I thought it would. Even better, it isn’t so much a story of Elisa on a rescue mission as it is Hector and Elisa working hard on both sides to save the other. Neither of them ever takes a seat, whether they need rescuing (and Elisa does, later on) or they are the rescuer. This feeds something I said in my review of book 2, about how the characters in these books never let one person do all the work. Every mission, every movement is a partnership of friends.

And while we’re talking characters, let’s keep talking characters, because I can’t stop talking about Rae’s characters. She was really good about not introducing too many new, important characters, but the ones we did get to meet where fantastic. The expansion of Storm’s back story with new characters worked extremely well, especially. I also loved the reunion of characters that we hadn’t seen since book 1 towards the end. The book really came full circle, so you could see how everyone–not just Elisa–had changed.

The plot itself surprised me. I expected the rescue of Hector. I expected the taking of the city. These were both laid out in book 2. I did NOT expect any of the things that happened in between. But, of course, this is Elisa we’re talking about, so of course she can’t do anything quietly. She came into her own in more new ways, even more fearless with every step. In the end, when she completed her service, the action that led to her Godstone falling out seemed to pale in comparison with everything else she’d done–as it was supposed to.

My only negative bit was that I felt that there was too many new questions about the history of the Godstone and the land that were opened up. I can only hope that Rae plans to revisit this land to answer some of them, but that’s not certain, so for right now I have to take the series as it is. Despite the perfect ending, I still had too many questions that I may never have answers to, and I’m not a fan of that.

When we come to the end of a series, I always start writing my review as more of a series overview than anything else. Now, as we say goodbye, I honestly want to cry. So many things about these books where so perfect. The characters, obviously, were my favorite part. Elisa was so real and connectable that I wish we could be best friends, and her story friends grew around her into a unit that made me wish I could be a part of the family. The romance was also handle super realistically. Elisa had a man she grew to love, a man she loved in the way young love works, and a man who she loved as a true partner and friend. She had to grow up enough to find her perfect match – she didn’t just get one on the first try. The action and adventure of the plot was never stale – I actually read books 2 and 3 in the same 24 hours.

Go have the happiness that you deserve, Elisa. Mara, you really can have some too. And Red Sparkle Stone better get her own spin off, is all I’m saying. (Hint hint, Rae. Hint. Hint.)

Review: “The Crown of Embers” by Rae Carson

The Crown of Embers (Fire and Thorns #2) by Rae Carson

Goodreads | Amazon

In the sequel to the acclaimed The Girl of Fire and Thorns, a seventeen-year-old princess turned war queen faces sorcery, adventure, untold power, and romance as she fulfills her epic destiny.

Elisa is the hero of her country. She led her people to victory against a terrifying enemy, and now she is their queen. But she is only seventeen years old. Her rivals may have simply retreated, choosing stealth over battle. And no one within her court trusts her-except Hector, the commander of the royal guard, and her companions. As the country begins to crumble beneath her and her enemies emerge from the shadows, Elisa will take another journey. With a one-eyed warrior, a loyal friend, an enemy defector, and the man she is falling in love with, Elisa crosses the ocean in search of the perilous, uncharted, and mythical source of the Godstone’s power. That is not all she finds. A breathtaking, romantic, and dangerous second volume in the Fire and Thorns trilogy.

4 stars

WARNING: This review WILL have spoilers for The Girl of Fire and Thorns ! Read my review of the first book HERE.

Oh Rae Carson, Rae Carson, Rae Carson – how dare you pull at my heartstrings like that? Thank God I waited to start this book until I had an ARC of The Bitter Kingdom in hand as well. Also, hip hip hooray for authors who GET characters and write REAL characters and ohmygosh guys I can’t get over these CHARACTERS. Erm, anyways, let’s get reviewing, shall we?

The story picks up on Elisa’s birthday, a day that should have been full of celebration and adoration for and from her people. Instead, Elisa is once again attacked by an animagus, who warns that her enemies are not as defeated as she would think. They want Elisa as a “willing sacrifice,” though she doesn’t know why. Her journey to discovery leads her to more questions about her Godstone, her beliefs and even the founding of her nation. Along the way, she meets new friends and discovers that some old ones might have more to them than meets the eye.

The stakes are certainly high in this novel, as that first attempt on her life is only one of many throughout the book. Elisa is constantly being hounded, even by those she thought were friends, and it takes her intellect and the combination of others to keep her safe at all times. I never knew where the next attack was going to come from, but I knew with certainty it was coming and I had to hold my breath til it did.

I was going to try to talk coherently about this book, but it turns out I’m fighting everything in me not to talk and talk and talk about the characters in this book. In my review of The Girl of Fire and Thorns, I mentioned that none of the characters really grabbed me except for Elisa. Not so in this book! Elisa was the prime example of a real, rounded main character that I wish more authors would follow, as always, but the cast around her was strengthened immeasurably in this book. Her companions worked in symphony with her, each with their own talents that made them important and none of them shouldering an undo amount of work. They all had faults where the others picked up the slack. They were all also really fun to hang out with.

And can I get a round of applause for Rae for adding in a gay character whose first attribute is NOT that he’s gay, but rather that he’s a good guy who’s freaky amazing with a sword and oh by the way he’s gay but it’s not really a big deal? Because CONDE TRISTAN. That is all.

Also, let’s talk the romance in this book. I’ve mentioned that Rae wrote possibly my favorite love triangle in The Girl of Fire and Thorns, mostly because HUGE SPOILER FOR THE FIRST BOOK COMING the guys both die in the end. Maybe that makes me morbid, but it was a nice change from the norm. Now Elisa is realizing that she’s fallen in love with Hector, her fierce protector. For the first time in a long time, this is an ENTIRE romantic arc that I have shipped. Hector is not the first man she adores, with whom she shares such a magical connection that she doesn’t need to shop around. She’s fallen in love before, been burned, been hurt–and nothing about Hector and Elisa is instant. They love each other but they recognize the obstacles they face and don’t let their love dictate their actions when those actions would be stupid politically.

So why the docked star on this review? Mostly because I am terribly hard to please with middle books in trilogies, and I felt like the most exciting things in this book was set up for The Bitter Kingdom. The ending of her journey left me a little bit unsatisfied, as well. (Though the end of the book itself left me screaming. So there’s that.) I also still don’t feel like I have a completely solid grasp of the world building, though that could also just be because I haven’t read the first book in a little while.

All in all, though, I immensely enjoyed this book. It was a solid follow up to The Girl of Fire and Thorns, and it left me screaming for more. If you’re into fantasy books, this is one of the best series I’ve read in a while. I also seriously recommend these books if you’re into character heavy books, because THESE CHARACTERS. I’m usually plot-centric myself, so when *I* fall in love with an entire cast this hard it’s saying something.

Basically, go read these books. GO. I’ll wait. (I have The Bitter Kingdom on my Kindle.)

Waiting on Wednesday #42

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine!

Title: Othersphere (Otherkin #3)

Author: Nina Berry

ETA: December 31st, 2013

Summary from Goodreads: In her fresh, inventive debut, Berry introduces a teenage feline shapeshifter coming to terms with her strange powers in the first in a mesmerizing new series that deals with such teen issues as body image and the strength to be found in friendship.

Disclaimer: That’s a really crappy summary that I’m sure will be updated at some point, but until then you can see what these books are really about with my squealing reviews of #1, Otherkin, and #2, Othermoon.

Sizzling Summer Giveaway: Guest Post from Author Tia Silverthorne Bach + Kindle Fire HD Giveaway

Time for an event I have been waiting for: welcome to the Sizzling Summer Giveaway! This event features not only 50 different authors, but also a giveaway of two Kindle Fire HD’s that are PACKED with new adult and ya titles. See the kickoff post HERE for a list of blogs and authors. Get ready to meet my author, Tia Silverthorne Bach, author of Chasing Memories!

About Tia Silverthorne Bach

Tia Silverthorne Bach is an avid reader, sometimes runner, involved wife and mother, and rabid grammar hound in addition to being a multi-genre writer. Her three daughters were born in Chicago, San Diego, and Baltimore; and she feels fortunate to have called many places home. She’s the award-winning co-author of Depression Cookies, a coming of age story written with her mother. Tia’s office is wherever her laptop takes her and any place that’s conducive to allowing a wild imagination like hers to flourish.

For more information, please visit her blog or follow her on Facebook, Twitter, or GoodReads.

About Chasing Memories

There isn’t another way; not now. The others are coming. I can’t let them have you…

Seventeen-year-old Reagan has a problem: she can’t remember what happened the night her brother was taken. Now, the dreams haunting her from the incident are becoming more intense by the day. All the while, the lines between what’s real and what’s a product of her paranormal-obsessed mind are becoming blurred.

Is she losing her mind or has she just stepped into a world she thought only existed in books?

Caught in a web of worried parents, competing boys, Wiccan relatives, protective amulets, and psychiatrist babble, Reagan must determine the truth before it’s too late.

Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and on Kindle.

Tia’s Guest Post:  Casting the Movie

When I write a book, I imagine certain actors as my main characters. Not only does it help with descriptions and mannerisms, but it also leaves me prepared in case someone ever wants to make my book into a movie. A girl can dream!

In Chasing Memories, Reagan is devastated when she wakes up and is told her brother is gone. Weeks before, she had visions of prom dancing in her head. Now, her dreams are filled with screams and piercing gold eyes.

Since Reagan is a red-headed teenager with a good amount of spunk, I always imagined Emma Stone (especially in her Easy A role) playing the character. Reagan is at times fragile and at other times pure strength, and Emma Stone has an amazing range. Rafe is the new guy who comes to town and immediately piques Reagan’s interests, even though she finds him unsettling. In my mind, he was played by Avan Jogia (soon to be in Twisted on ABC Family). He’s sexy, yet mysterious—just like Rafe.

In every book I write, and every book I plan to write, there’s always a role for Hugh Jackman. He is equal parts Wolverine and romantic hero with some Les Miserables thrown in. In Chasing Memories, he would play Reagan’s Papa. It’s a small, but pivotal, role.

Do you imagine actors/actresses when you are reading a book?

THE GIVEAWAY!

1 – Kindle Fire HD with NA/Adult e-book prize pack (shown)

1 – Kindle Fire HD with YA e-book prize pack (shown)

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