Katherine Harbour's Blog, page 17
August 24, 2015
THORN JACK CHARM BRACELET GIVEAWAY
To celebrate finishing Nettle King, the third book in the Thorn Jack series, I'm giving away, to one randomly selected winner, a Thorn Jack charm bracelet, an MP3 audio CD of Thorn Jack (read by Kate Rudd of The Fault in Our Stars), a copy of Faerie Magazine summer edition, and a small signed print of one of my paintings. You can find all the details and how to enter here: http://katherineharbour.blogspot.com/...
Contest ends Sept. 1!
Contest ends Sept. 1!
The Girl From the Well by Rin Chupeco
The Girl from the Well
The heroine of this sometimes disturbing contemporary ghost story is Okiku, murdered by an unfaithful lover centuries ago in Japan and now avenging the deaths of murdered girls and children. (The Okiku story really exists and was the inspiration for the movie The Ring.) But this Okiku is a good monster and soon comes to the aid of a demon-tormented boy named Tarquin. While terrible people meet gruesome ends at Okiku's hands, the worst evil is the one infesting Tarquin--and it may have been caused by his insane mother. Okiku soon allies with Tarquin's young Aunt Callie in a race to free Tarquin from a lethal possession. But it's Okiku's story that matters here and drives the plot and it's unsettling and poignant, as she must decide whether to move on or continue her acts of vengeance. A great creepy horror tale, where the monsters aren't always supernatural.
August 12, 2015
The Curiosities by Maggie Stiefvater, Tessa Gratton, Brenna Yovanoff
The Curiosities: A Collection of Stories
A book of short stories, mostly fantasy, with the added bonus of the authors' thoughts and edits in entertaining diagrams, doodles, and notes. And the stories are fabulous, with my favorites being the monster fairy story 'Thomas All' by Gratton; the magic realism of 'The Last Day of Spring' by Stiefvater, and the twisty 'Lazarus Girl' by Yovanoff. Not only is THE CURIOSITIES a fun read, but it's an inspiring guide for writers of YA and fantasy. Any aspiring young writer should definitely read this.
July 27, 2015
Briar Queen Goodreads Giveaway Winners
Congratulations again, and your books are in the mail with the bonus!
SPOILER ALERT: DO NOT READ the first extra autographed page sent with the book until you are done with Briar Queen! But you'll know that.
July 21, 2015
Mortal Danger by Ann Aguirre
Mortal Danger
After a disturbing and humiliating incident of bullying, Edie attempts suicide and is prevented from doing so by a mysterious young man named Kian, who works for higher powers as a sort of agent in devils' bargains. Edie is granted a wish: To be beautiful. In exchange, she must make her tormentors pay for what they've done. What begins as satisfying revenge, however, becomes horrifying, and she learns that the higher powers might not be as benevolent as they seem. (Hint: one of them seems to be a certain one-eyed Norse god.)Mortal Danger is dark fantasy bordering on horror, which I loved. Edie's plight was heartbreaking enough to make me care for her as she attempts to negotiate a maze of the supernatural, along with the intriguing Kian. The fantasy elements were also fascinating. I want to learn more about this phantom world.
Briar Queen Goodreads Giveaway
Briar Queen
Congratulations to the winners of Briar Queen! I'll be sending out your books, with a bonus, this week!
June 18, 2015
Briar Queen Giveaway!
Briar Queen
June 22 the giveaway begins for 5 signed copies of Briar Queen!
There will also be a bonus included, but that's only for the winners to know...
The Blessed by Tonya Hurley
The Blessed
The three protagonists of this YA horror novel (and it's definitely horror) are a beautiful media sensation, a struggling musician, and a suicidal girl with a well-to-do upbringing. One night, they're all brought into the ER for separate reasons, and that's where they meet the mysterious Sebastian. There's a lot of Catholic symbolism in this story, but it's so fetishistic, it becomes a mythos, serving as magic rather than religion. The three girls soon realize they may be the reincarnations of the saints Lucy, Cecelia, and Agnes, who all died in gruesome fashion. The true horror arrives at the end, when the three girls are defending themselves from thugs and pretty much become as ruthless as vengeful ghosts in horror films. It's an interesting book, with heroines I hope to see develop in sequels.
May 25, 2015
We Hear the Dead Dianne K. Salerni
We Hear the Dead
Maggie and Kate Fox, in turn-of-the-century New York, become the first celebrity mediums after they stage a prank that soon makes them famous. This fictional account of the true story of two fascinating young women reminded me of Little Women in its depiction of their dramatic lives. Kate soon begins believing she's a channel for the spirits, while Maggie feels guilty about what she's doing and is soon being romanced by the adventurer Elisha Kane. It's a fascinating story for anyone interested in spiritualism or the lives of young women in that time period. Whether or not the two girls really did communicate with a spirit named Splitfoot or not remains a mystery, but human remains were found beneath their house. Yet this is not a supernatural story, but a historical one, and no less interesting because of that.
May 20, 2015
Briar Queen June 2!
Briar Queen will be coming out as a trade paperback, ebook, and audio June 2. Here are a few reviews!
RT BOOK REVIEWS: "Harbour's characters play for high stakes, and the author is not afraid to make her characters pay." http://www.rtbookreviews.com/book-rev...
BOOKLIST: "The lilting, whimsical new adult fantasy, balanced by impressively detailed and dark vignettes, is fueled by a gothemo-scenester aesthetic... The magic is mysterious, the drama is aching, and the people are beautiful"
KIRKUS: "Readers drawn to faerie lore will enjoy this lush, romantic tale" https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-re...
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY: "Harbour makes love, suffering, and sacrifice the most poignant parts of her worlds, and readers with even the barest knowledge of fairy lore and legends will be pulled deep into this tale of sharp magic and its ruthless children" http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0...
