Larkin Reed's Blog, page 3

Review Roundup

AMBER HOUSE is out and reviews are getting posted all over the place!  And, positive or negative, we are always grateful for feedback as we work on the sequel.

In thanks to the readers who have shared their kind reactions on their blogs, on Amazon, on Goodreads, we're going to do a "Review Roundup" every Friday for the month of October.

Blogger Kelly Lasiter called AMBER HOUSE "terrific rainy-night reading" in her review on Fantasy Literature, and picked up on one of the themes of the book that is closest to our hearts:

"What Amber House is really about, deep down, is mothers and daughters.  As Sarah delves into her family’s past, she finds a long chain of heartbreak — of mothers who failed their daughters, who then failed their own daughters in turn.  What Sarah must figure out, before the ominous happenings at Amber House end in a fresh tragedy, is whether it’s possible to change the past and thereby change the present and future…."

Alyssa, on her blog Books Take You Places, made our inner Stephen King fangirl personas shriek in excitement a little bit with a reference to The Shining:

"Amber House is a gothic tale stirring up feelings reminiscent of Bronte’s windy moors and King’s room 237.  It is a novel that kept me up way past my bedtime and had me falling asleep with the lights on. For those of you looking for a good 'autumn read,' I highly suggest you pick up Amber House. It contains all of the amazing horror elements to keep you looking over your shoulder while also molding in intricate relationships and a deliciously vibrant plot."

Over at Luxury Reading, Amanda Farmer gave us a five-star review and said:

"I love a good ghost story and Amber House did not disappoint. I hated for it to end –– I was that into it.  This story has everything from friendship, love between siblings, romantic love, mystery, secrets, and of course, spirits, all mixed into one.  The descriptions were so vivid that I felt like I was there with Sarah going through the motions.  When she felt joy, I felt it, when she experienced heart ache, I did as well."

We tend to agree with Misbehavin' Librarian:

"If you don't fall in love with Sammy you are one cold-hearted person."

Even just the title of Jessica's review at Cracking the Cover -- Mother-daughters trio hit the ball out of the park with 'Amber House' -- gave us Chesire Cat grins.

"Normally, when I see three authors on a book, I worry about its cohesiveness.  It’s not easy to make three voices sound like one. But in Amber House it does.  In fact, after the first page or so, I forgot about the authors all together and allowed my self to get lost in their story.  And there’s a lot to get lost in.  Inside Amber House readers will find stories within stories, hidden passageways within walls and houses within houses."

Paulette, at Paulette's Papers, posted our collage along with her review (we were so flattered!) and said:

"Amber House has such a well put together plot that while I was a bit freaked out I was also mesmerized.  There were so many surprising twists and the characters have such a real depth to them that I had trouble putting it down. The ending was amazing and yet so perfect.  This was written in such an elegant yet real way that it is sure to be a classic one day."

Amber at The Musings of ALMYBNENR said:

 "The most important characters to me were Sarah, Sam, and the house.  That is right; Amber House.  I almost always love when something inanimate in a book becomes an essential entity with a lot of personality of its own.  The house was full of history, family treasures, memories, and secrets and it was the focal point of the story."

Amber at Fall Into Books gave AMBER HOUSE an A+ review:

"I couldn't put this book down!  I had to figure out the mysteries of Amber House and its inhabitants (both past and present).  I was hooked from the beginning, and the ending simply left me wanting more.  I cannot wait for the sequel."

 And author Ann Wingate posted her professional review to Amazon:

"Never before have I read a romance in which the resolution of the plot depended upon the truth of a Southern superstition, the logic of an autistic child, and the action of quantum physics.  ...  I sat up till one-thirty reading this book.  My review copy was an ebook, and three times I put the ebook reader away and tried to go to sleep, and each time I wound up turning the light back on and getting the reader back out.  I found this one of the most unputdownable books I have read lately, and publishers tend to hand over to reviewers only their best books.  So I have read a good many good books since I resumed reviewing on July 4.  This is intended for YA readers, but I think anyone interested in romance, history, or general spookiness would love it."

We read each and every review we can find.  So thank you, everyone, for sharing your thoughts on the book!  Your opinions, your feedback -- it's invaluable.

Our best,

 

Sarah's Birthday Giveaway

In honor of the book's release and Sarah's birthday on October 23, we will be gifting a reader with a necklace similar to the one given Sarah by Richard Hathaway.

This leaf necklace is done in real gold by a local artist.  We own a similar piece that inspired the one described in the book:

I unwrapped it carefully, untying the gold satin ribbon, unfolding the heavy star-spangled dark blue paper.  I lifted the lid of the little box.  "Oh, my God," I said.

"The chain was my mother's," he said, sounding a little shy, "but I picked the charms out for you.  I asked your mom what might be good."

I lifted the necklace from the box.  The gold chain was made of alternating rectangular and circular links, sweetly old-fashioned.  It threaded through a loop holding a pair of leaves, in white and yellow gold.

"It's so beautiful," I said.  I put it around my neck.  Richard smiled, square, with just a little crooked.  He reached out and turned the golden leaf right-side up.

Then he leaned toward me, his mouth coming within inches of mine.  I leaned the rest of the way.

Readers who post reviews of the book on our official Facebook page, and comment on posts here on the blog, will be entered into a drawing for a chance to win!  The winner will be announced on October 23!

Good luck, everybody!

Happy Pub-Day, Book!

Yesterday we drove to our local trusty Barnes & Noble Booksellers and spotted AMBER HOUSE on the shelves!  We did a little impromptu book signing to celebrate.

It was a very long journey to get to this point, and we are so, so grateful that this story is out there for people to read.  Seeing it on the shelf hammered home how lucky we've been.  Insanely lucky.

AMBER HOUSE is available at your local bookstore, at Amazon, and in Scholastic Book Fairs across the country.

And in honor of the month, we will be posting bonus material until Sarah's birthday on October 23, with a special birthday giveaway planned.  So pop on by, say hello, and be sure to check back in for updates!

Our best wishes,

Tucker and Larkin

Our Kirkus Review

Kirkus Reviews just released the review for AMBER HOUSE.

 

Countdown to Release

There are only two weeks left till Amber House hits the shelves, and we have some fun stuff -- giveaways, inside scoop, appearance info -- planned for throughout the rest of September and into October!

This blog is about to get busy!  Finally!

In the meantime, we're going to update with countdowns to the release date.

Can't believe it's so soon!

All our best,

~ Tuck and Lark

ARC Giveaway Results

Hello everyone!  Tucker here.  Lark and I are pleased to announce the winners of the signed ARC giveaway!

But, first, a brief explanation for why the announcement was delayed:

~ - ~

On Thursday, September 6, I was rushed to the emergency room with internal hemorrhaging.  I stayed in the Intensive Care Unit for patients in critical condition for a total of three days.  After multiple blood transfusions and what seemed like endless invasive tests, I was pronounced a medical mystery.  No one could pinpoint where the bleeding came from.  I was only just released late last night, September 13.

I want to thank the staff of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for their limitless patience and kindness.  The hospital is known to have the best nurses in Los Angeles, and my experience supports this one-hundred-percent.  In particular, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Raji, Anastasia and Monica in Universal Care, Sasha, Claudia and Irma in the ICU, and Kate in the Northwest Tower.  These ladies were beyond generous.  Thank you, each of you, for taking such good care of me -- for helping to alleviate my fear and pain.  I really cannot thank you ladies enough.

Also -- if you ever need a doctor to fight for you -- Omid Shaye is a superhero.

~ - ~

Anyway.  On to the point of this post --

A big thank-you to everyone who expressed interest in receiving an ARC.  We were very excited to recieve all the entries!

The two signed ARCs will go to:

 

Nobonita of Daydreaming Bookworm

and

Alyssa of Books Take You Places

 

Again, we were tickled to see the number of people interested in an ARC, and wish we had enough copies to send each of you!

All our best wishes,

~ Tucker and Larkin

Snapshots of Amber House

All three of us have our own vision of what Amber House looks like, but Pinterest has made it possible for us to track down photos that capture a bit of what we had each had in our mind's eye.

This collage is just a sampling of the photos we've pinned to our Amber House boards recently.

You can check them out here and here -- and sneak a peek at what's in store for the sequel, NEVERWAS.

Happy Friday!  Enjoy the blue moon!

Signed ARC Giveaway

So we found out that Rachel at The Readers Den is sponsoring a giveaway of an advanced reader copy of AMBER HOUSE.  We'll be signing the copy for whoever wins the giveaway.

There are already over 800 entries for the giveaway on her blog, so we thought that once Rachel selects her winner, we'd offer two signed ARCs of our own to visitors of this blog and the trilogy's official Facebook page.

To enter, please email Tucker@TheAmberHouseTrilogy.com and include in your email:

your name,
your blog web address.

OR -- you can "like" us on Facebook between now and September 9th and you'll automatically be entered and contacted by us through that site if you win.  (Also, a "like" there AND an email will put you into the drawing twice!)

We'll put all the entries into a hat on September 10th, and select the two winners at random.

We're so excited that so many people are interested in getting an ARC!

Long time, no post

Our "lazy" summer is coming to a close.  This past week has been a doozy:  a wisdom-teeth removal, a fender-bender.  School starts up again soon, with requisite pre-term packing, moving, and driving.  And Mom's birthday is next week!

We've also been hard-at-work revising the manuscript for the AMBER HOUSE sequel, NEVERWAS.  It takes place during Christmas, and after an hour or so reworking a scene set in the snow, it can be a little jarring walking outside and realizing it's actually 90-something degrees!

Some updates that we've hoarded:

There are some new plans in the works for the official AMBER HOUSE TRILOGY website.  Can't reveal too much quite yet, but we're very excited about the interactive possibilities.
In between writing, we often while away our breaks obsessively trawling Pinterest.  You should try it.  Except, it will probably take over your life, so maybe don't.  Or do, because it's addictive-but-fun.  Or don't.  Or do.  Maybe.  We have a board of photos of Amber House, and a board hinting at scenes from NEVERWAS.  Feel free to check 'em out, if you one day feel the insatiable draw of Pinterest.
Reviews are starting to hit the interwebs!  And it's making such a difference for us, as we work on book two.  Knowing what a reader liked, or what he or she found unclear, has given us a whole new lens for approaching revisions.

Comments that have heartened us during our NEVERWAS-writing-hermitage:

"So let's check the list, shall we?  This book includes all the right horror fundamentals:  faint laughter of children who aren't there; visions in mirrors, in dreams, and even when awake; that cold, pointed feeling that raises the hair on the back of your neck because you know someone is watching you; characters descending into madness; little girls in white dresses darting from corner to corner always in your peripheral sight; wet footprints on wooden floors as the main character gets out of the bath to follow a noise (I mean, goodness gracious on that one!) . . . .  In many ways, due to the absolute readability of this book, it read like a film.  . . .  It was just so vividly detailed that the scenes were seamlessly imaginable."  -- K, The Midnight Garden

"Wow.  Wow.  Wow.   . . .  You know how they say people who don't read have only one life, but people who read have tons of lives?  This book makes me feel like I've lived another life."  -- Kristy Sartain, Whispering Pretty Stories Reviews 

"Delightful and winning!  Engrossing, riveting -- the very definition of a page-turner!  YA, yes, but suitable for older readers too.  . . .  I want to give this book 16 stars, as I was so totally absorbed, and can’t put it out of my mind.  . . .  I cannot recommend this book highly enough!"  -- Mallory, Mallory Heart's Reviews

"Horror novels and movies have never been my thing.  I'm totally the one that sits watching scary movies with my hands over my eyes and ears.  If I could have read this novel that way, I would have.   . . .  Intense, I tell you.  But, still, oh so good.  Beyond all the horror elements, at this book's heart lies a story about family.  This book tells the story of family and what it means to each, individual person, as well as the ripples and echoes that we leave behind – not just in our loved one's memories, but in situations and places, too.  Very thought provoking once I wrapped my head around it."  -- Laura, The Traveling Owl 

"The ending was perfect in my opinion and seriously made me want to cry because I found it beautiful. Overall, one of the best books I've read so far this year and I highly recommend it to fans of romance, Gothic novels, ghosts, time travel and history."  -- Anna Partrick, Diamond & Coal Book Reviews 

"Going in I wasn’t aware that Amber House is a planned trilogy but I found out at the end!  This is an ingenious mind-bending plot that certainly did NOT wrap up at the end and I’m left to wonder:  what’s going to happen next?!  Next book please!"  -- Rachel, The Readers Den

We've posted links to blogger reviews on the trilogy's official Facebook page.  As more come in, you'll also be able to find links on the News page on the trilogy's website.

And a teaser from the upcoming Kirkus review:

"Those who think that this is a straightforward ghost story will be sorely mistaken:  This is a complex, layered tale that bends time and imagination, demanding to be read with all the lights on.  . . .  Richly woven, with depth and swift plotting that will leave readers clamoring for the sequels."

Finally, we've got some fun stuff for this blog planned, so stay tuned!  In the meantime, you can click around on the trilogy's website, designed by the lovely Nicole Jaffe!

Sail away

In honor of July Fourth and our Naval ties, a round-up of nautical fashions straight from our Pinterest account.


The genus of the nautical trend in its familiar iteration can be attributed to Coco Chanel, who made it high fashion in the 1920s. She was wildly in love with the Duke of Westminster, who was wildly in love with yachting. Coco wore striped boatneck sweaters and deck shoes, and the style was adopted by the likes of Katherine Hepburn and (later) Audrey Hepburn (gotta love Hepburns) and Jackie Kennedy and Pablo Picasso.

The Breton-striped boatneck shirt traces back to the French navy sailor uniform in Britanny. Below, various samples of the style from Spotted Moth and Brooks Brothers.


Or, if you're feeling girly, J.Crew has its Maritime Striped Cotton Dress, replete with anchor. Or go all-out with the anchors in the Dizzy Anchors dress. The rope belt is an especially yare touch.


Anchors aren't the only thing that screams "ocean," although they've been mighty popular as of late. Don't forget about a captain's trusty compass. Or seashells, whales, and other sea creatures.

This first necklace is by Realisation Creations.


This golden baleen whale is by Oh Hello Friend, and hangs on an antique brass chain.


And this brass compass pendant is one of many nautical creations offered by Pinar Mavituna.


And we love these white scalloped shorts and this lobster sweater! Imagine it all paired with a pair of navy deck shoes.


Our best wishes for the Fourth!


For more cute clothing collected from the Interweb, check out our Pinterest Fashion File.