Laurisa White Reyes's Blog, page 112

HOPPY EASTER EGGSTRAVAGANZA GIVEAWAY HOP

* BOOK REVIEW:  THE DEBT COLLECTOR by Susan Kaye Quinn
* BOOK REVIEW:  ICEFALL by Mathew J. Kirby
* CONTACT BLOG TOUR SIGN-UPS


4th Annual Hoppy Easter Eggstravaganza Giveaway Hop
April 17th to 24th
Hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer & Read Now Sleep LaterWelcome! To celebrate one of my favorite holidays of the year, I am giving away a . . . $15 Barnes & Noble Gift Card To eligible to win, you must be a follower of this blog. Additional opportunities to win include: signing up for my newsletter, following me on Facebook, tweeting about this giveaway, and leaving a comment. Just fill out the rafflecopter form below. 18 & older. U.S. residents only.  Scroll down for complete list of participating blogs and more chances to win!a Rafflecopter giveaway
 

WRITER 2 WRITER: INTERVIEW w/ ME!

In December two young ladies from a local junior high, Phoebe and Zimara, interviewed me for a school project. In the interview I discuss the challenges I faced along the road to publication and give some advice for young future authors.

BOOK REVIEW: THE DEBT COLLECTOR by Susan Kaye Quinn

*  BOOK REVIEW:  ICEFALL by Mathew J. Kirby
*  CONTACT BLOG TOUR SIGN-UPS
*  COVER REVEAL: BEAUTIFULLY WOUNDED by Susan Griscom



THE DEBT COLLECTOR: Episodes 1 - 5
Susan Kaye Quinn
Adult Noir Science Fiction
Serialized Novellas

What's your life worth on the open market?
A debt collector can tell you precisely. 
Lirium plays the part of the grim reaper well, with his dark trenchcoat, jackboots, and the black marks on his soul that every debt collector carries. He's just in it for his cut, the ten percent of the life energy he collects before he transfers it on to the high potentials, the people who will make the world a better place with their brains, their work, and their lives. That hit of life energy, a bottle of vodka, and a visit from one of Madam Anastazja's sex workers keep him alive, stable, and mostly sane... until he collects again. But when his recovery ritual is disrupted by a sex worker who isn't what she seems, he has to choose between doing an illegal hit for a girl whose story has more holes than his soul or facing the bottle alone--a dark pit he's not sure he'll be able to climb out of again.

This is the print edition of Season One of Debt Collector, and contains all nine of the episodes originally published serially on ebook. This dark and gritty future-noir is about a world where your life-worth is tabulated on the open market and going into debt risks a lot more than your credit rating. For more about the Debt Collector serial, see DebtCollectorSeries.com


MY REVIEW:
I rarely review self-published books but THE DEBT COLLECTOR blew my mind! Susan Kaye Quinn is a master. I was hooked from the opening line and have been devouring every page since. This is a serialized novella, available as 9 separate episodes or as a complete collection. I've read the first 5 episodes so far and I love, love, love it! The great thing is that Episode 1: DELIRIUM is always free for Nook or Kindle.

The author is hosting several giveaways this week on her blog:  http://www.susankayequinn.com/2014/04/debt-collector-audiobook-giveaway.html
For an intense, addictive read give THE DEBT COLLECTOR a try!


CONTENT RATING:
Profanity:  ModerateSexuality:  HighViolence:   High

BOOK REVIEW: ICEFALL by Mathew J. Kirby

Welcome to Marvelous Middle Grade Monday (MMGM), a weekly event hosted by author Shannon Messenger. For a list of other MMGM posts, click HERE .
_________________________________________________
ICEFALL
Mathew J. Kirby
Scholastic
336 pp.
Ages 8 - 12

Winner of the 2012 Edgar Award for Best Juvenile Fiction

Critically acclaimed author Matthew J. Kirby deftly weaves a stunning coming-of-age tale with chilling cleverness and subtle suspense that will leave readers racing breathlessly to the end. 
Trapped in a hidden fortress tucked between towering mountains and a frozen sea, Solveig--along with her brother the crown prince, their older sister, and an army of restless warriors--anxiously awaits news of her father's victory at battle. But as winter stretches on, and the unending ice refuses to break, terrible acts of treachery soon make it clear that a traitor lurks in their midst. Solveig must also embark on a journey to find her own path. Yet, a malevolent air begins to seep through the fortress walls, as a smothering claustrophobia slowly turns these prisoners of winter against one another.
Those charged with protecting the king's children are all suspect, and the siblings must choose their allies wisely. But who can be trusted so far from their father's watchful eye? Can Solveig survive the long winter months and expose the traitor before he manages to destroy a kingdom?
MY REVIEW:
I really thought Icefall was a fantasy novel. So I kept waiting for something magical to happen, but it never did. So it took me a while to accept that this is actually a historical novel set in an ancient Norse/Viking setting. The first third of the book moved slowly for me and I nearly set it aside. I'm glad I didn't though. By  half way, I was totally hooked. And by the end, I loved it.
Kirby's book is brilliantly researched and really draws readers into young Sulveig's story - or stories. She is a storyteller, and what a tale she has to tell. It is listed for ages 8 - 12, but younger readers might have a difficult time with some of the Norse words and names, and there is quite a bit of graphic violence and death. But I would consider Icefall a superb contribution to children's historical literature.


CONTENT RATING:
Profanity:  NoneViolence:  HighSexuality:  None

CONTACT - UPDATE

We are two months away from the release of my third novel, CONTACT, and I thought perhaps you'd like to know how it's going.
ARCs (advanced readers copies) have been sent out for reviews and the first blurb comes from one of my favorite children's book authors, MARGARET PETERSON HADDIX (Missing & The Shadow Children series):
"CONTACT is a page turner that will keep you guessing right alongwith Mira, right up until the last revelation. And it will make youreconsider the next time you wish you knew someone else’s secrets!" 
Wow!



CONTACT's official release date is JUNE 23rd. The publisher, Hallowed Ink Press , is planning a Facebook Launch Party for that day. You can RSVP HERE .
They are also organizing a BLOG TOUR for some time in June. For the tour, I will be giving away the best promo gift pack ever:  A CONTACT mug, a box of Starbucks hot cocoa, and a $25 gift card!!!  If you are a blogger and want to be included, send me an email ASAP!
Also starting very soon, right here on my blog, I will be posting CONTACT tidbits -- things such as -- How did Mira get her name? and Why the big deal about hot cocoa? And maybe I'll include a sample chapter or two as well.
So stay tuned! CONTACT is coming your way!

CONTACT - BLOG TOUR SIGN-UPS

From June 24th - July 7th Hallowed In Press will be hosting a blog tour for my novel CONTACT. Sign-ups are happening now. There is no cost for participating in the tour.

Every blog in the tour will have the option of including a CONTACT GIVEAWAY PROMO PACK (via Rafflecopter), which will include: a CONTACT ceramic mug, Starbucks Hot Cocoa mix, a Les Miserables CD, and a $25 Barnes & Noble Gift Card - Total Value of $60.





If you would like to sign-up for the tour, please fill out the Google Doc below. You will receive confirmation within the next two weeks. Please note that if you would like to post a review, CONTACT will be available on Netgalley shortly. If you'd prefer a physical copy of the book, please note that on the form.

Thank you!


Loading...

COVER REVEAL: BEAUTIFULLY WOUNDED by Susan Griscom

Just the title alone makes me want to read it!

BOOK REVIEW: ENDURANCE by Alfred Lansing

ENDURANCE: SHAKELTON'S INCREDIBLE VOYAGE
Alfred Lansing
Non-fiction
Audible Unabridged Edition

Bound for Antarctica, where polar explorer Ernest Shackleton planned to cross on foot the last uncharted continent, the Endurance set sail from England in August 1914. In January 1915, after battling its way for six weeks through a thousand miles of pack ice and now only a day’s sail short of its destination, the Endurance became locked in an island of ice.

For ten months the ice-moored Endurance drifted northwest before it was finally crushed. But for Shackleton and his crew of twenty-seven men the ordeal had barely begun. It would end only after a near-miraculous journey by Shackleton and a skeleton crew through over 850 miles of the South Atlantic’s heaviest seas to the closest outpost of civilization.
This astonishing tale of survival by Shackleton and all twenty-seven of his men for over a year on the ice-bound Antarctic seas, as Time magazine put it, “defined heroism.” Alfred Lansing’s brilliantly narrated book has long been acknowledged as the definitive account of the Endurance’s fateful trip.

MY REVIEW:

I hardly know what to say except that everyone should read or listen to this book! Ernest Shakelton has to have been the greatest hero of all time. What that man endured and risked to save the lives of his entire crew - and succeed at doing it - it beyond anything any fiction writer could ever dream up. The Endurance's crew's two year voyage in the harshest climate on earth left me literally gripping my steering wheel. (I listened to it in the car.) Every chapter, every scene, every word of this book is astounding, shocking, awe-inspiring! Makes my mundane life feel very small in comparison. Wow! And to think that Shakelton's voyage began his voyage in August 1914, one hundred years ago.



CONTENT RATING:

Profanity:  Mild
Violence:  Moderate
Sexuality:  Mild

BOOK REVIEW: MOCKINGBIRD by Kathryn Erskine

Welcome to Marvelous Middle Grade Monday (MMGM), a weekly event hosted by author Shannon Messenger. For a list of other MMGM posts, click HERE .
_______________________________________________________
MOCKINGBIRD
Kathryn Erskine
Penguin
224 pp.
Ages 10 - 12

In Caitlin’s world, everything is black or white. Things are good or bad. Anything in between is confusing. That’s the stuff Caitlin’s older brother, Devon, has always explained. But now Devon’s dead and Dad is no help at all. Caitlin wants to get over it, but as an eleven-year-old girl with Asperger’s, she doesn’t know how. When she reads the definition of closure, she realizes that is what she needs. In her search for it, Caitlin discovers that not everything is black and white—the world is full of colors—messy and beautiful.
MY REVIEW:

I listened to Mockingbird on my iPod in the car. It wasn't my favorite Audible performance, but I did enjoy it overall. Caitlin's story is told from a very young point of view. Caitlin is supposed to be ten years old and in fifth grade, but the character sounds closer to six or seven. I could dismiss that, however, because Caitlin also has Asperger's Syndrome which might account for her immaturity. That is my only complaint.
Erskine masterfully allows readers a glimpse into the broken hearts of Caitlin's father and community following the tragic shooting at the local middle school. Caitlin's older brother was one of the victims. The author wrote this story following the shooting at Virginia Tech in 2007. Published in 2010, Mockingbird seems almost prophetic when considering the horrible tragedy of Newtown, Connecticut in December 2012. Sadly, I went to Wikipedia to look up the date of these two shootings and discovered a shockingly long list of school shootings, most of which we've never heard of. So this book tackles an issue that is not uncommon.
I love Caitlin's father in Mockingbird, and her counselor as well. All the characters are so deep and compelling with just the barest of description. This is a fantastic story that can be enjoyed by even younger readers, especially those who may be facing a loss of their own.


CONTENT RATING:

Profanity:  None
Violence:  Moderate (subject matter)
Sexuality:  None 

BOOK REVIEW: I AM SMART! I AM STRONG! by Fay Klingler

I AM SMART! I AM STRONG!
Fay Klingler
Picture Book
Ages 8 - 12

Luisa May, known to her family and friends as Lu, loves to play games with her grandma. When she’s bullied at school, Grandma has a special puzzle for Lu to help her see how valuable she is—no matter what others say, or how much doubt she feels within herself. Soon after, Grandma has to go to the hospital, and Lu finds out Grandma needs help recovering. Then it’s Lu’s turn to help Grandma see how valuable she is—no matter how much doubt she feels within herself. It’s a beautiful parallel for young and old alike, as each age learns from the other.
Written and illustrated with loving hands, this delightful children’s story offers a heartfelt message that unites and bonds generations. From the award-winning pen of Fay A. Klingler, I Am Strong! I Am Smart! provides to women of all ages a reminder of the tremendous gift of “girl power.”





MY REVIEW:

I Am Strong! I Am Smart! is a touching story about a girl's relationship with her grandmother and the wisdom and love they share each with other through a challenging time. The illustrations are beautifully done, and Klingler's story can be enjoyed by older children as well as the very young. It contains many references to Heavenly Father, so there is a strong religious theme which I appreciated, yet the story has a universal message of empowerment and self-worth.