Cover Reveal!!!

My friend Chanelle Gray wrote a YA book called MY HEART BE DAMNED, and it comes out July 15th! Here's the gorgeous cover:



Don't you just love how creepy it is? And here's the blurb:

If you're a Hunter, there are only three things you must know about the Damned. The Damned can't lie, can't live without a body, and can't leave you alone.

Amerie Carter has the blood of a Hunter, unfortunately. She is one of a rare line of women who, upon her sixteenth birthday, will come into extraordinary powers used to hunt the Damned; escaped souls from Hell who take up residence in human bodies. It's supposed to be her sweet sixteen, but Amerie has never dreaded a day more, and her worst fears are confirmed as the celebration turns tragic when her mother is killed.

Grief-stricken, Amerie vows to never hunt a day in her life. She's determined to hide behind normalcy, attending school, hanging out with her friends and working an after-school job at The Hut. All Amerie wants is to be left alone. But try telling the Damned that. The harder Amerie tries to ignore her powers, the more the Damned come looking for her.

When an attack leaves one of Amerie's friends in the hospital, and endangers the lives of her fellow students, she knows she has no choice: Hunt or Be Hunted. Thankfully, the gorgeous, secretive, and so-off-limits Marshall offers to train Amerie to take out her supernatural enemies. But training with Marshall means leading lying to her friends, her family, and confronting the mysterious circumstances surrounding her mother’s death.

Amerie soon discovers she’s not the only one with something to hide, Marshall’s secrets might kill her before the Damned get the chance.


I couldn't be more excited! Here's a link to her blog where she's giving away all kinds of awesome prizes to celebrate.

Follow her on Twitter: @ChanelleGray
Add MHBD on Goodreads.

Empowerment Project

I am constantly blown away by the women I'm friends with. For example, check out this project my friend Alina is starting:

http://www.alinabklein.com/2012/02/empowerment-project.html

She'll be posting submissions (artwork, poems, quotes, etc.) that empower rape survivors. How amazing is that? Alina is a rape survivor herself, but more important than that, she is brave and strong and funny and smart. The project will run a weekly post, and it's a way for other rape survivors (or really anyone interested in such an important issue) to share their stories and to have a place where they can find strength and joy.

I couldn't be more proud of what she is doing.



If you want to follow Alina on Twitter: @AlinaBKlein

Ansley's First Trip to the Aquarium

We had free tickets to the Georgia Aquarium, courtesy of my amazing friend Lisa, so we took the baby, and I was shocked by how into it she was. I was kind of expecting her to be excited about being in a new place in general but I didn't really expect her to notice the fish. Um, I was wrong. Check out how much Ansley loved the big tank in the Tropical Diver exhibit.




Here she is admiring some catfish:


Here she is up close and personal with a, um, actually I forgot what that thing is called, but it's a really big fish and she has no idea it's there.


And here's one of the two of us together:

Tempest Winners!!!

Hi guys,

I already emailed the winners, and I'm so sorry it took me so long to get it posted. The little one and I were sick, so I got next to nothing done. Anyway, a huge congratulations to:

Krista for winning Tempest, the Audiobook (Thanks, Macmillan Audio!)

Suz for winning Tempest, the ARC

Thanks everyone for entering, and be on the look out because I've got two more giveaways coming up in February!!

Book Review: LARKSTORM by Dawn Rae Miller

Larkstorm by Dawn Rae Miller

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Larkstorm is like no other book I’ve ever read. It’s a dysopian, with all the great world building stuff that goes along with that - wristlets, population control, fun new words like ping and heya, bindings (state chosen partners). But it’s also a fantasy – witches and quests and generation-spanning curses! The hybrid result is an amazing piece of fiction.

And while all that on its own would be enough to make me want to read this book, there’s also a star-crossed love story. Lark and Beck have been friends their whole lives, knowing that they’ll be bound when they turn 18 (like being married). They’re always together, they’re completely in tune with each others emotions, “two halves of the same coin,” they even room together at school. But they can’t kiss. At all. Until their binding ceremony. So, as you might imagine, this book is packed with sexual tension.

When Beck leaves the school in a scandal that marks him an enemy of the State, Lark risks everything to find him and clear his name. She’s bold and brave and smart, but at the same time, she’s not your typical dystopian LI. As the daughter of a State leader, she’s a stickler for the rules. And she actually *gasp* cares about her appearance. I loved hearing about her clothes and shoes, but more importantly, I found this mixture of strength and femininity refreshing. I love Katniss Everdeen, but I love her in The Hunger Games. I don’t want to see her as the cookie cutter for every YA heroine from now until eternity. Lark Greene breaks the mold.

But back to the love story. Lark and Beck are doomed. DOOMED! To quote the blurb on the jacket, “she has to kill the boy she loves, unless he kills her first.” Be still my beating heart. I’ve been aching for a love story like this since Buffy killed Angel.

The only issue I had was that with all the huge reveals and Lark’s volatile reactions to them. While they are an important part of her character and the story as a whole, sometimes I felt overwhelmed with everything I had to process emotionally. There’s a trend in YA recently to make authors cut stories to the bone in order to achieve non-stop action, and sometimes I miss the quiet bits.

To wrap it up, I also loved Eloise, Kyra, Bethina, and Eamon. The cover is beautiful. And the pages have this lark detail at the top that I thought was really cool. Also, the ending is so intense that I’m pretty sure I’m going to go crazy waiting for the next book.

Recommended for: I think dystopia fans and fantasy fans would both like this book. Also fans of star-crossed love.



View all my reviews

Giveaway: Tempest by Julie Cross (ARC and Audiobook!)

As promised, I've got another giveaway for you! Macmillan Audio has kindly offered up an audiobook version of Tempest by Julie Cross. And I'm giving away my ARC of Tempest. So there are two chances to win. Two!

Here's why you want this book:

1. It's a book about time travel and love and there's a nerdy best friend and an impossible-not-to-love little sister. Check out my review here. Listen to a sample here.

2. Everyone is talking about this book.

3. Julie Cross is pretty much the classiest/friendliest/nicest author ever.

4. Audiobooks are awesomesauce. (Gah. Why is it so hard to convince autocorrect that awesomesauce is one word?)


Here's how you can win:
1) Be a follower of this blog.
2) Leave a comment telling me you want it. (I'll pick two winners, so let me know in your comment if you are entering for the ARC, the audiobook, or both.)

+1 bonus entry for tweeting about this contest (just let me know in your comment)

This giveaway closes Thursday, January 19th at midnight. US mailing addresses only.

Clockwork Prince Giveaway Winner!

Happy New Year everyone!

First of all, I just wanted to say how AMAZING all of those comments were! Cassandra Clare has the best readers ever! I wish I had a copy to give to each and every one of you, but, sadly, I just have the one.

Now, to announce the winner. I wrote all your names on slips of yellow card stock and put them in a shiny box and had Ansley (my 11-month-old) pick one out. The name Ansley picked (and chewed on little bit) is:

April X!!!

Woo-hoo!!!! I'll shoot you an email so I can get Clockwork Prince to you ASAP.

Again, thank you so much for entering, you guys. I was blown away. And stay tuned because I'll have more giveaways in 2012, including (if all goes according to plan) a signed copy of John Green's new book later this month.