28 February, 2011

Book Review: Lily of the Nile by Stephanie Dray

Book: LILY OF THE NILE
Author: STEPHANIE DRAY
Genre: HISTORICAL FICTION
Published: January 2011, BERKLEY TRADE


Series: none
Source: Star Book Tours, no other compensation given for honest review

From Good Reads:
To Isis worshippers, Princess Selene and her twin brother Helios embody the divine celestial pair who will bring about a Golden Age. But when Selene's parents are vanquished by Rome, her auspicious birth becomes a curse. Trapped in an empire that reviles her heritage and suspects her faith, the young messianic princess struggles for survival in a Roman court of intrigue. She can't hide the hieroglyphics that carve themselves into her hands, nor can she stop the emperor from using her powers for his own ends. But faced with a new and ruthless Caesar who is obsessed with having a Cleopatra of his very own, Selene is determined to resurrect her mother's dreams. Can she succeed where her mother failed? And what will it cost her in a political game where the only rule is win-or die?

My Review:
The first time that I read a book by Stephanie Dray, it was actually from her adult urban fiction alter, Stephanie Draven. What she brings across the different genres she writes is a very strong female character, and a really deep understanding of women and their place in history. I know a little bit about Cleopatra and her reign as Queen, next to Mark Anthony. A little bit. Reading about her children was a whole new experience for me, and I really enjoyed LILY OF THE NILE.

Selene, Cleopatra's daughter knows only Egypt and their culture. When she is ripped from the only place that she knows, and brought to the home country of her mother's husband, she sees barbarians that triumph in war and the utter subjugation of other cultures. Dray writes this young girl with such alacrity, especially because Selene is not a fictional person. The reader spends most of the time feeling Selene's displacement, and her struggle to maintain herself, in the midst of a culture that seemingly does not value anything she has been brought up to cherish.

Not only is LILY OF THE NILE beautifully written, but it had to involve a fair amount of research to come to fruition. And, what really made me engage in the book so much more, was the fact that I follow Stephanie Dray on twitter, and she truly seems committed to revealing the inner lives of some of the most powerful women in the world's history, in order to bring that empowerment to young female readers.

4/5 for plot
4/5 for characters
4/5 for language

My Rating: 12/15 (3.5 stars)

Highly Recommended, if you liked:

StarCrossed by Elizabeth C. Bunce
Contagion by Joanne Dahme
Fallen Grace by Mary Hooper


Links for the author and books:
* Website
* Twitter
* GoodReads
* Facebook

Purchase at:
* Barnes and Noble
* Book Depository
* Amazon


Available formats: Print (Paperback), E-Book

Challenge Participation:

Book Review: Death Cloud (Young Sherlock Holmes) by Andrew Lane

Book: DEATH CLOUD: YOUNG SHERLOCK HOLMES
Author: ANDREW LANE
Genre: YA MYSTERY/HISTORICAL FICTION
Published: February 2011, FARRAR, STRAUS and GIROUX


Series: Young Sherlock Holmes #1
Source: Star Book Tours, no other compensation given for honest review

From Good Reads:
It is the summer of 1868, and Sherlock Holmes is fourteen. On break from boarding school, he is staying with eccentric strangers—his uncle and aunt—in their vast house in Hampshire. When two local people die from symptoms that resemble the plague, Holmes begins to investigate what really killed them, helped by his new tutor, an American named Amyus Crowe. So begins Sherlock’s true education in detection, as he discovers the dastardly crimes of a brilliantly sinister villain of exquisitely malign intent.




My Review:
There's something about a really good mystery that always grabs my attention, and DEATH CLOUD had me from the mysterious "cloud" of black smoke in the first few pages. It doesn't hurt that I am a total pushover for British literature, especially historical. Andrew Lane has written the first book in a series, that is endorsed by the estate of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, so right away I had high expectations.

Lane has re-written and re-imagined the younger life of Sherlock Holmes. Here, the venerable detective is just a young teen, who finds himself in a rather hostile environment. His father isn't around, and Mycroft, his brother, must conduct his business in London. Therefore, Sherlock must spend his school break in the country.

DEATH CLOUD follows the classic story-styling of a Doyle Sherlock Holmes tale. There's a mystery that sparks Holmes' interest, and in the absence of Watson, he teams up with a local boy, to puzzle out the mystery. Though the outcome is not in doubt - Sherlock will obviously be caught in some tight situations, possibly at the brink of death, and then pull a clever solution from nowhere, while utilizing his skills in deduction and observation - the plot held my interest, and the book is very well-written. Mystery lovers, especially those that enjoyed the original Sherlock books, will surely find DEATH CLOUD entertaining.

4/5 for plot
4/5 for characters
4/5 for language

My Rating: 12/15 (3.5 stars)

Highly Recommend, if you liked:

Maisie Dobbs (series) by Jacqueline Winspear
Armand Gamache (series) by Louise Penny


Links for the author and books:
* Website
* GoodReads

Purchase at:
* Barnes and Noble
* Book Depository
* Amazon


Available formats: Print (Hardcover), Audiobook

Challenge Participation:

Best Seller For A Day: Carolyn McCray's 30 Pieces of Silver

It's time for the next installment of Best Seller For A Day. If you are wondering what this great indie author program is, check out the website for all of the details, here. The short and sweet though, is that the Indie Book Collective has created a program that offers bloggers and reviewers a chance to post about one particular book on one particular day to try to garner sales and attention for indie authors. The goal is to climb as high as possible on the Amazon Bestseller list during a 24-hour period.






Author of the Day: Carolyn McCray

GoodReads | Amazon Page | Twitter

A bibliophile since birth, it came as no surprise that Carolyn also starting writing at an early age.

Specifically Nancy Drew-style mysteries... at age 11!

Yes, you could find Carolyn dragging the neighborhood kids around the rolling hills of Napa, recording her “Death in the Countryside” mysteries.

Sadly those old audio cassette tapes have long since crumbled, but she has found a much longer lasting way to get the stories that percolate in that warped mind of her, out in the world.

Books.
And she writes in the genres she loves.
Thrillers, mysteries and paranormal romance.


Help Carolyn rise up the Amazon Bestseller list today! Purchase her book for only $.99. A special pricing for February 28th only, so don't wait!

Buy at Amazon
More Best Seller For A Day blogger participant sponsors:
Fade Into Fantasy
Aobibliosphere
My Eclectic Bookshelf

Read what other bloggers are saying about this captivating, controversial thriller, as well as a few guest posts from the author herself. Remember, not only does your purchase of 30 PIECES OF SILVER during February 28th help Carolyn McCray to soar up the bestseller charts, but participation also gets you entry into the IBC Kindle contest.

Advance Review: Enclave (Razorland #1) by Ann Aguirre

Book: ENCLAVE
Author: ANN AGUIRRE
Genre: DYSTOPIAN/POST-APOCALYPTIC FANTASY
Published: April 2011, FEIWEL AND FRIENDS

Series:
RAZORLAND #1
Outpost (Razorland #2) (Published: 2012, FEIWEL AND FRIENDS)
Source: Publisher via Good Golly Miss Holly Book Tours, no compensation for an honest review

From Good Reads:
In Deuce's world, people earn the right to a name only if they survive their first fifteen years. By that point, each unnamed 'brat' has trained into one of three groups-Breeders, Builders, or Hunters, identifiable by the number of scars they bear on their arms.

Deuce has wanted to be a Huntress for as long as she can remember. As a Huntress, her purpose is clear--to brave the dangerous tunnels outside the enclave and bring back meat to feed the group while evading ferocious monsters known as Freaks. She's worked toward this goal her whole life, and nothing's going to stop her, not even a beautiful, brooding Hunter named Fade.

When the mysterious boy becomes her partner, Deuce's troubles are just beginning. Down below, deviation from the rules is punished swiftly and harshly, and Fade doesn't like following orders. At first she thinks he's crazy, but as death stalks their sanctuary, and it becomes clear the elders don't always know best, Deuce wonders if Fade might be telling the truth.

Her partner confuses her; she's never known a boy like him before, as prone to touching her gently as to using his knives with feral grace. As Deuce's perception shifts, so does the balance in the constant battle for survival...


My Review:
I'm not sure that I can point out why ENCLAVE resonated so much with me, but I'm going to give it a good try. Because this book wowed me from the very first page, to the very last, and it left me anxiously awaiting the next installment, which won't be out for more than a year. *Weeps for a moment, at that realization*.

Anyway, the book introduces the heroine, Deuce, to the reader at her naming ceremony. If you didn't already know that this book was going to be a dystopian, here's the first big clue. In a somewhat barbaric ritual, Deuce is indoctrinated into her society, taking the scars of a Huntress. This is a job that she wants, though it seems much more dangerous than any other that is "allowed" by the ruling members of her enclave.

Deuce is an amazingly strong character, not in stature, but in spirit. I actually kind of pictured her as a somewhat small, wiry girl that would probably be mistaken for a teen or early 20-something well into her thirties, if she had the opportunity to live that long. Alas, her world is one that doesn't even name their children until the teens, because a high percentage of "brats" don't make it to adolescence.

Though Deuce and her partner, Fade, who has to follow her into exile, do encounter their share of danger, the novel is fairly sparse in high action. It moves along at an average pace, certainly not quite as quickly as I've come to expect from many YA novels, but the story is solid, very solid. It also comes with its fair share of excellent writing.

Ann Aguirre entranced and entrenched me so well into her plot that I read it in one go in the very late night hours, when I should have perhaps, been getting some well-needed sleep. And, when I emerged from the pages at the end, it left me kind of dizzy and disoriented. ENCLAVE is the first book of 2011, where I wasn't sure what to do when it ended. I wanted to go back immediately for a re-read, just to make sure that I had really gotten the whole story. This is one of those books that I will have to have for my bookshelves, and for myself.

4.5/5 for plot
5/5 for characters
4.5/5 for language

My Rating: 14/15 (5 stars)

Must Read, if you liked:

The Hunger Games (series) by Suzanne Collins
Feed by Mira Grant
Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer


Links for the author and books:
* Website
* Twitter
* GoodReads
* Facebook

Purchase at:
* Barnes and Noble
* Book Depository
* Amazon


Available formats: Print (Hardcover)

Challenge Participation:

Book Review: Beyond The Gate by Susan Gourley

Book: BEYOND THE GATE
Author: SUSAN GOURLEY
Genre: EPIC FANTASY
Published: January 2011, MEDALLION PRESS

Series:
The Futhark Chronicles #2
The Keepers of Sulbreth (The Futhark Chronicles #1)
Source: Publisher, no other compensation given for an honest review

Blurb:
Cage Stone and Keeper Sabelline Shelton begin the dangerous journey to reset the seals and halt the demon invasion of Futhark. But nothing is as it should be. Cage’s keen senses guide them to a place previously unknown to mankind. Here Cage will discover some bitter truths about his past, and he and Sabelline will learn how truly desperate is the future for mankind. Racing to help their friends save Futhark, both know their only chance is for Cage to give up his humanity.



My Review:
BEYOND THE GATE is the next thrilling addition to THE FUTHARK CHRONICLES. At the end of the first book, Cage Stone and his Keeper, Sabell had trained for their journey as much as they could. Unable to put off the dangerous trek to reset the seals that would stop their land, and perhaps their world, from being overrun by monsters, the two headed into the breach. I thought that the first book, THE KEEPERS OF SULBRETH was a fantastic example of an adventurous high fantasy, and BEYOND THE GATE continued to exceed my expectations of this great series.

I really enjoyed following along with Cage and Sabell's journey. Though it was fraught with danger at almost every step, there was plenty of emotion and relationship-building among the two. Unlike some books, where the main story has to pause while the hero and heroine have their "moments", this story seamlessly weaves all of the parts of the plot together, so that I found myself wanting to keep reading beyond the end of each page.

As with the first book, Gourley continues to feature a retinue of characters throughout BEYOND THE GATE. Though the primary hero/heroine combination is clearly Cage Stone and Sabelline Shelton, there are several other characters that the reader gets to spend considerable time with, getting to know them and their motivations for the moves they make that further the plot. This is actually one of the book's strongest characteristics, for me. There is so much more story and world-building this way, and it's one of the reasons that I can see makes this novel such a strong example of epic, high fantasy.

4.5/5 for plot
4.5/5 for characters
4/5 for language

My Rating: 13/15 (4.5 stars)

Highly Recommend, if you liked:

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Dragon Keeper by Robin Hobb


Links for the author:
* Blog
* Twitter
* GoodReads
* Facebook


Available formats: E-Book

Challenge Participation:

24 February, 2011

CONFIDENTIAL: Author Lindsay Buroker Under the Spotlight




Read My Mind welcomes e-author Lindsay Buroker to the blog today! I recently read her book, ENCRYPTED, and loved it. See my 4.5 star review here.

This is a fabulous read for adventure, science-fiction, fantasy, and romance lovers alike! And, there's more to come in the series, and the world. Check out Lindsay's other novel, EMPEROR'S EDGE for more high-stakes action.

Find Lindsay online at her Website | Twitter | GoodReads




RMM: Tell me a little about yourself and ENCRYPTED.

LB: I’ve been a lifeguard, a Taco Bell peon, and a soldier in the U.S. army, but I’ve been making a living as a solo internet entrepreneur since 2003 or so. I’ve done blogging, affiliate marketing, web site flipping, search engine optimization, and lots of interesting stuff (I always have a hard time explaining my “job” to people though!).

For the “about Encrypted” bit, I’ll give you the book blurb. Since it took me ten tries to get one I actually like, I feel I should use it whenever I have a chance!

Professor Tikaya Komitopis isn’t a great beauty, a fearless warrior, or even someone who can walk and chew chicle at the same time, but her cryptography skills earn her wartime notoriety. When enemy marines show up at her family’s plantation, she expects the worst. But they’re not there to kill her. They need her to decode mysterious runes, and they ask for help in the manner typical of a conquering empire: they kidnap her, threaten her family, and throw her in the brig of their fastest steamship.

Her only ally is a fellow prisoner who charms her with a passion for academics as great as her own. Together, they must decipher mind-altering alchemical artifacts, deadly poison rockets, and malevolent technological constructs, all while dodging assassination attempts from a rival power determined the expedition should fail. As if Tikaya didn’t have troubles enough, her new ally turns out to be exiled fleet admiral, Federias Starcrest, the man who recommended taking over her nation. To trust him could be a mistake; to fall in love with him would be a betrayal to her people, her family, and the fiancé she lost in the war. Those runes cloak more than mysteries, however, and he may be the only one who can help her unravel them before their secrets destroy the world.


RMM: That's quite an array of different jobs! I'm glad that you settled on writing, in the end.

How long was the journey from the idea to the actual publishing of the book?


LB: Encrypted is my second novel and the whole process was much smoother (and quicker) than for the first. I started it around March of 2010, finished the rough draft in July or so, then spent a few months having it critiqued, edited, etc. The ebook came out in January.


RMM: Give me three fun facts about e-publishing that I might not know.

LB: I haven’t counted personally, but I read that in January 2011 Amazon sold more ebooks than dead-tree books for the first time.

If you’re a book reviewer (or any kind of blogger for that matter), you can make money promoting other people’s ebooks as an affiliate. At Amazon the cut isn’t large, but at Smashwords authors can choose, and some give away a big chunk (I give affiliates 75%).

You can turn short stories, novellas, and anthologies into ebooks as well as novels. All the old rules about word-count length go out the window.


RMM: What do you find is the hardest about e-publishing?

LB: Cover art! I’m not artistically talented (I wear jeans all the time so I don’t have to worry about matching clothes), so figuring out where to find people and what to ask them to do has been interesting (okay, painful). I’ve had people say “that’s horrible” and “I love that!” about the same cover illustration, so what’s a gal to do?


RMM: I think the designs are well chosen. Stylistically, THE EMPEROR'S EDGE is very eye-catching, with the blade in the forefront. I like how ENCRYPTED and THE EMPEROR'S EDGE both have a background image that draws the eye, and shows the heroine and hero.

A little more on your characters in ENCRYPTED. Which was the hardest to bring to life on the page? The easiest?


LB: Tikaya and Rias were both a little challenging, not so much in finding their voices, but in that they’re (in theory) much smarter and better educated than I am. I love intelligent heroes and heroines, but if they’re supposed to be doing clever things, that means I have to come up with clever things. I wouldn’t have it any other way, but sometimes I’m envious of those authors with thugly swordsmen for heroes.

The easiest character to bring to life was the expedition commander, Bocrest. I was in the army for a few years, so I can remember plenty of surly NCOS who liked to curse out us young enlisted peons.

The assassin Sicarius was pretty easy, too, since I’ve known him a long time from my Emperor’s Edge stories.


RMM: What's the most interesting piece of research that you found while writing ENCRYPTED?

LB: Hm, I do like finding out about geeky things. I skimmed through The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography, and cryptography definitely has an interesting history. One of the earliest ways of sending secret messages was to tattoo the information on a slave’s head, then let the slave’s hair grow out and send him off to his destination with nobody the wiser.

I watched a History Channel special on how the Rosetta Stone was found and deciphered too (it took years and a lot of people trying!). That was interesting and gave me an idea just how challenging it would be to decipher an unknown language. Of course, we must take some liberties when writing fiction.


RMM: Languages and linguistics are especially interesting to me, which is one of the reasons that I was drawn to this book. Some of the description where Tikaya was trying to translate the language seemed very authentic. Liberties aside, I think readers can tell when an author has put some research behind their work.

Are you working on anything new right now? Can you tell me anything about your current project?


LB: I’m working on Book 2 for what will become The Emperor’s Edge series. I’m also chatting with some folks who do podiobooks. I’m hoping to do an audio version of EE and release it in episodes (like they did for old radio serials) for iTunes and Podiobooks.com.


RMM: Sounds like fun! I've really embraced audiobooks and e-books as an alternative to print.

If you were a biographer, who's life would you choose to write about? (not your own!) Why?


LB: Nobody. I don’t care much for writing non-fiction. I’d be tempted to make things up for the person. I hear that’s not good in biographies.


RMM: I want to hear your elevator pitch!

LB: Uh oh. I don’t have one. :P I’ve sent out a grand total of five query letters in my life, and I’ve never pitched anyone at a conference or convention or anything like that. I didn’t get very far into that whole process before finding out about e-publishing and deciding to handle things myself.

RMM: I'll forgive the lack of an elevator pitch, this time. ;-)



Tidbits:

Coffee or tea?

A double tall vanilla latte with rice milk (or hemp or coconut milk if I’m making it at home or it’s one of those really progressive coffee shops!).

Early riser or night owl?
Night owl. I’m rarely asleep before 1 am. Being in the army was rough! I reverted back to a night person as soon as I escaped.

Audi sedan, Toyota Prius, Honda minivan, or Ford 4x4?
I have a Ford Escape Hybrid, so I guess Prius would be the closest. I’m not really a car person though. I like being up high and having room for my dogs and all my junk.

Summer at the beach, or winter in a cozy cabin?
Winter on a tropical beach! Summer in Seattle is nice, but it’s dreary here in the rainy season (October to May or so, heh). That’s when I like to escape someplace warm.

And finally: author, blogger, ... ? (Fill in the blank with an appropriate personal descriptor)
Geek.


RMM: Thanks Lindsay, for submitting to my questions. It's always great to get to know the author behind the book!


Feburary/March Tour

22 February, 2011

Travelling Book Box Arrival!

So, I was going through my reader one day a while ago, when I caught a post from Erika at Moonlight Book Reviews. She had this awesome idea to pack a bunch of books into a box, and send it off to someone. They could choose as many books from the box to keep. BUT the catch was, that the person had to put the same amount of books back in. Sort of like a hand of Rummy, there always needed to be a set number of books in the box. The books could be YA or adult, and from any genre, as long as they were in good condition. Then, the box would get sent off to the next person in the queue. And, each participant would then post about their Book Box experience.

This was how Erika created the Travelling Book Box.

My turn came last week, and let me say, I was really impressed by the diversity of books in there. I can't divulge the entire contents of the box; each recipient should be surprised by what is there. However, I am posting about the books that I took out, and in turn, put in.

Here's what I decided to keep:


13 TO LIFE has been on my TBR for way too long. I've really wanted to read the first book in the series, especially after meeting Shannon Delaney in 2010. When I saw that someone had put SECRETS AND SHADOWS, the next book in the 13 TO LIFE saga, it was the first book that I grabbed. Now, I can read the two together!
VILLETTE is pretty much the only of the Bronte sisters' novels that I have not read. Yay for whoever put a classic in the box! I pulled this book out, hoping that when I have some time, and am itching for a classic read, I'll see if I like it as much as other Brontes' like Jane Eyre, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, and Wuthering Heights.
ALONG THE RIVER has a great cover! I am always looking for books from non-traditional points of view, and books that explore other cultures. When I saw that this was a Chinese Cinderella story, I knew that I had to try it out.
Finally, I've heard of the BEAUTIFUL DEAD series, but haven't really considered buying or reading. However, I thought that pulling this one out of the Book Box would be a good opportunity to possibly read something that hadn't been on my radar, or recommended to me. Nothing to lose with this chance.



And, here are the books that I put back in:











There are 3 YAs and one adult; all books that I enjoyed in 2010, and all books that I would recommend. I jumped at the chance to pass along these reads.

Thanks Erika, for such a fantastic idea. And, also thanks to Sparkling Reviews, who had the box before me. I found a couple of delicious homemade treats in the box when it arrived!

Book Review: Where I Belong by Gwendolyn Heasley

Book: WHERE I BELONG
Author: GWENDOLYN HEASLEY
Genre: CONTEMPORARY YA
Published: February 2011, HARPERTEEN


Series: None
Source: Publicist, no other compensation given for an honest review

From Good Reads:
Meet Corrinne. She's living every girl's dream in New York City—shopping sprees at Barneys, open access to the best clubs and parties, and her own horse at the country club. Her perfect life is perfectly on track. At least it was. . . .

When Corrinne's father is laid off, her world suddenly falls apart. Instead of heading to boarding school, she's stripped of her credit cards and shipped off to the boonies of Texas to live with her grandparents. On her own in a big public school and forced to take a job shoveling manure, Corrinne is determined to get back to the life she's supposed to be living. She doesn't care who she stomps on in the process. But when Corrinne makes an unlikely friend and discovers a total hottie at work, she begins to wonder if her life B.R.—before the recession—was as perfect as it seemed.


My Review:
So, I'll start off by saying that I'm not totally in love with the books that feature rich bitch socialite girls, NY or otherwise. But, something struck me as different about WHERE I BELONG, even before I had the book in my hand. Just through reading the blurb, and yes, the cover had a little something to do with it too, I saw something that I really wanted to read, and I am so glad that I accepted this book for review.

Gwendoyln Heasley is a debut author that took her own cue from the recession, and wrote just about one of the sweetest YA books (contemporary, too!) that I've read in a long while. Corrinne is one of those NY socialites that spends her time spending money. Until, she has to move to Texas to live with her grandparents, as part of her parents "reorganization" scheme. Right away she has to deal with the separation from her parents, acclimating to a whole different world, and reassessing her views on life.

This is what I liked about the book: It's not heavy-handed on Corrinne having to change. Heasley peppers in off-hand comments and thoughts from Corrinne about what she might have been doing back home, and the differences in Prada versus Charlotte Russe, but this girl is still a likeable character. From the moment that she gobbles up her grandmother's pancakes, and admits that they are delicious, I could tell that WHERE I BELONG was going to be more than a simple rich girl turned poor story.

4.5/5 for plot
4.5/5 for characters
4/5 for language

My Rating: 13/15 (stars)

Highly Recommend, if you liked:

Songs for a Teenage Nomad by Kim Culbertson
Mostly Good Girls by Leila Sales
Seers of Light by Jennifer DeLucy


Links for the author and books:
* Website
* Twitter
* GoodReads

Purchase at:
* Barnes and Noble
* Amazon


Available formats: Print (Trade Paperback), E-Book



Challenge Participation:


21 February, 2011

Book Review: Encrypted by Lindsay Buroker

Book: ENCRYPTED
Author: LINDSAY BUROKER
Genre: SCIENCE FICTION/FANTASY/ROMANCE
Published: January 2011


Series: Planned future series
Same world: Emporer's Edge
Source: Author, no other compensation given for honest review

From Good Reads:
Professor Tikaya Komitopis isn't a great beauty, a fearless warrior, or even someone who can walk and chew chicle at the same time, but her cryptography skills earn her wartime notoriety. When enemy marines show up at her family's plantation, she expects the worst. But they're not there to kill her. They need her to decode mysterious runes, and they ask for help in the manner typical of a conquering empire: they kidnap her, threaten her family, and throw her in the brig of their fastest steamship.

Her only ally is a fellow prisoner who charms her with a passion for academics as great as her own. Together, they must decipher mind-altering alchemical artifacts, deadly poison rockets, and malevolent technological constructs, all while dodging assassination attempts from a rival power determined the expedition should fail...


My Review:
ENCRYPTED was totally unlike what I was expecting. An adventure story, sure. A little bit of fantasy, mixed with some science fiction, even better. Pirates and danger and technology and mathematics and cryptology and romance? Well, all of these elements could have been gleaned from the synopsis or blurb, but I was really blown away by how Lindsay Buroker incorporated all of these things in one novel, and made them work together so beautifully.

Buroker's writing was really easy for me to lose myself in. In fact, every twist that she included as part of the plot came at me fast. Even when I expected it, or knew that it was coming, I was still surprised. I loved that she wrote a book that was worthy of a high fantasy, but twisted it into a part science-fiction, part fantasy, part romance, all-adventure book. The inclusion of the cryptology to the plot also made ENCRYPTED a very unique read.

Buroker is definitely the kind of author that becomes an auto-buy, auto-read after one outing. I'm very much looking forward to reading EMPEROR'S EDGE, another of her books that I am going to be reviewing here, in March. ENCRYPTED is the type of novel that will appeal to readers and lovers of adventure, science-fiction and fantasy. Romance is included in the plot, but it is not romance-heavy, nor is it especially erotic, which will entice people who tend to skip over the love scenes. Yet, for those readers that like action and love, there is plenty to go around, as well as an HEA for the heroine/hero. First-rate read.

5/5 for plot
4.5/5 for characters
4.5/5 for language

My Rating: 14/15 (4.5 stars)

Must Read, if you liked:

The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima
Wintercraft by Jenna Burtenshaw
Mind Games by Carolyn Cross


Links for the author and books:
* Website
* Twitter
* GoodReads

Purchase at:
* Amazon
* Barnes and Noble


Available formats: E-Book



Challenge Participation:


Men in Uniform Reading Challenge

JUST VISITING: Guest Post from Gwen Heasley (Where I Belong)



Today I'm stepping away from the reigns at Read My Mind to let Gwen Heasley, author of WHERE I BELONG, a chance to talk about her inspiration for this sweet contemporary YA, where the recession takes a toll on a New York socialite. Heasley is a debut author for 2011 with HarperTeen, who lives in New York herself.

Find her at her website, and on Twitter.



In a nutshell, the inspiration for WHERE I BELONG came from my own unemployment! I finished my Master’s degree in Journalism basically on the eve of the recession and it seemed like overnight, jobs dried up. I ended up taking an unpaid internship because I needed to do something, but it didn’t fulfill me creatively (or financially). Months passed and I was still living in a two-bedroom apartment with my mom and dad as roommates. I spent my days interning, scouring for jobs and my nights watching TV. Since I didn't have my own TV, I watched what my dad watched- Law and Order and CSI. I came to the conclusion that although today many 'normal' adults still live at home, they are only presented as murder suspects on primetime television.


This scared me more than anything else. So I decided just because I couldn’t find a job in journalism or anywhere else for that matter didn’t mean that I couldn’t be productive or creative even just for my own sanity. After I made that decision, I started writing through an online course the story of a teenage Manhattanite who moves to Texas to live with her grandparents after her father looses his big time job and savings. As someone living with her parents for the first time in seven years, I understood what it felt like to be in a shocking situation due- or at least partly due- to the recession. And luckily, HarperCollins enjoyed it enough to make it a novel!


But Corrinne is not me. As a teenager, I was not nearly as funny, sophisticated or cool as Corrinne. I grew up in Minnesota, not Manhattan. But Corrinne’s struggle to rebuild her life A.R., after the recession, definitely pulls from my own personal experiences. Like Corrinne, I initially viewed myself as a victim of the recession, but I no longer feel that way- and not just because I got a book deal out of writing about the recession. I truly think that the recession taught me to reprioritize my life.


Now, I have two dream jobs! I teach and I write! I would like to say that I followed my dream with confidence and determination, but that’s not exactly what happened. What really happened was that I wrote for myself and used my writing to understand my own experiences as well as what our country was going through. I would recommend people to write for that exact audience- yourself- and write what you want to read. I think it’s the best way!



Thanks Gwen, for letting us in on your life. It sounds like you have found what makes you happy, and I wish you luck with your latest book in progress. I definitely want more!



WHERE I BELONG BLURB (from GoodReads):
Meet Corrinne. She's living every girl's dream in New York City—shopping sprees at Barneys, open access to the best clubs and parties, and her own horse at the country club. Her perfect life is perfectly on track. At least it was. . . .

When Corrinne's father is laid off, her world suddenly falls apart. Instead of heading to boarding school, she's stripped of her credit cards and shipped off to the boonies of Texas to live with her grandparents. On her own in a big public school and forced to take a job shoveling manure, Corrinne is determined to get back to the life she's supposed to be living. She doesn't care who she stomps on in the process. But when Corrinne makes an unlikely friend and discovers a total hottie at work, she begins to wonder if her life B.R.—before the recession—was as perfect as it seemed.



I'll be posting my review tomorrow, February 22rd, so be sure to come back then!

18 February, 2011

CONFIDENTIAL: Interview with Mad Love's Suzanne Selfors



I'm happy to have an interview from Suzanne Selfors at Read My Mind today. Selfors is the author of several YA novels, including SAVING JULIET and COFFEEHOUSE ANGEL. Her newest release, MAD LOVE, out now from Bloomsbury Publishing, mixes the contemporary sensibility of a modern teen, with the mythology of the Greek/Roman gods. See my 3 star review on the blog, here.



RMM: Tell me a little about yourself and your book.
SS: I live in an old farmhouse on an island in the Pacific NW. I have a couple of great kids, some pets, and an airline pilot husband. I held many different jobs before I summoned the courage to try my hand at fiction writing. I was 39 when I started my first novel. I'm older now.

Mad Love is my 3rd teen novel. It's a dark quirky book that doesn't fit easily into a category. It's funny, it's moody, it's weird, it's all about love in its many colors and shapes.


RMM: How long was the journey from the idea to the physical book?
SS: Too long. Really, really, really too long. I started it years ago as an adult book, shelved it, then decided to rewrite it entirely from a teen POV. It took me a good year to revise. That may not sound like a long time to some of your readers, but I'm writing two books a year right now, so it gummed up the works for bit.
RMM: It does seem like many YA authors (and actually authors in general), are now writing more than one book at a time. It seems like it might be hard to keep the story lines from bleeding into each other, but I've been impressed by the material that some of the authors who have one YA and one adult release per year produce.

Who is one person that helped to inspire you to write your book?

SS: My daughter Isabelle is a huge inspiration. She was 14 when I was revising this book, and she read each chapter and acted as my cheerleader.
RMM: She sounds like the perfect audience to have as a beta reader!

A little more on your characters. Which was the hardest to bring to life on the page? The easiest?

SS: Every character is difficult. That's the truth. There are so many things to consider when creating a new character, from appearance, to dialect, to emotional reactions. It's a challenge every time.


RMM: If you were a biographer, who's life would you choose to write about? (not your own!)
SS: I'm intrigued by Cleopatra. I read a recent article that showed her in a whole new light. She was so much more than just the seductress that we see in movies. She was a very powerful woman.

RMM: I want to hear your elevator pitch!
SS: Picture this: The daughter of a famous romance writer meets a boy who claims to be Cupid, but this just might be his last life and he needs her help writing his love story.
RMM: That would definitely intrigue me, if I was hearing about MAD LOVE for the first time!

Tidbits:
Coffee or tea?
Espresso

Early riser or night owl? Early

Motorcycle or minivan? Neither. Yucko. Mazda Miata.

Sun and sand or hot chocolate and a fireplace? Cocoa and fireplace

Romance or adventure? Romance

And finally, Why write YA? Because the publisher keeps asking me too. I'm so lucky!



Thanks so much, Suzanne, for taking the time to answer a few questions. Also, thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing, who provided me with a review copy of MAD LOVE. Here's a little more about Selfors February release. It's the perfect read for the month that includes Valentine's Day!



Mad Love
When you're the daughter of the bestselling Queen of Romance, life should be pretty good. But 16-year-old Alice Amorous has been living a lie ever since her mother was secretly hospitalized for mental illness. After putting on a brave front for months, time is running out. The next book is overdue, and the Queen can't write it. Alice needs a story for her mother—and she needs one fast.

That's when she meets Errol, a strange boy who claims to be Cupid, who insists that Alice write about the greatest love story in history: his tragic relationship with Psyche. As Alice begins to hear Errol's voice in her head and see things she can't explain, she must face the truth—that she's either inherited her mother's madness, or Errol is for real.



Suzanne Selfors Website

Book Review: (Blog Tour) Mad Love by Suzanne Selfors

Book: MAD LOVE
Author: SUZANNE SELFORS
Genre: CONTEMPORARY YA
Published: January 2011, WALKER BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS


Series: none
Source: Publisher, no other compensation given for honest review

From Good Reads:
When you're the daughter of the bestselling Queen of Romance, life should be pretty good. But 16-year-old Alice Amorous has been living a lie ever since her mother was secretly hospitalized for mental illness. After putting on a brave front for months, time is running out. The next book is overdue, and the Queen can't write it. Alice needs a story for her mother—and she needs one fast.

That's when she meets Errol, a strange boy who claims to be Cupid, who insists that Alice write about the greatest love story in history: his tragic relationship with Psyche. As Alice begins to hear Errol's voice in her head and see things she can't explain, she must face the truth—that she's either inherited her mother's madness, or Errol is for real.


My Review:
Mad Love tackles the very serious issue of someone who suffers from bipolar issues. But, it's told from the point of view of the young daughter that has to watch her mother succumb to this disease, and is left to protect the mother's reputation as Queen of Romance.

I did actually have some issues with the way that Alice was left with no adult supervision within her own home. Sure, there were several neighbors looking out for her in the apartment building that her mother owned, but I just found it woefully impossible that Alice could live in those conditions, hiding her mother being committed to a hospital miles away and living virtually on her own. At best, I could see this situation lasting for only a few weeks or months, especially when Alice makes public appearances for her mother and uses the weak excuse that her mother is "overseas".

That being said, I quite enjoyed MAD LOVE. Suzanne Selfors does a very good job of showing the toll that bipolar can take, not just on the person that suffers from it, but also on the family and people around that person. Alice's character takes things into stride, but I can imagine her loneliness, and how isolated she feels with her situation.

The lovely thing about this novel is that it has more than one plot line, but neither one is so complicated that it is too hard to follow along, nor do any of the strings seem to be unrelated to the overall arc, or to lead nowhere. Sure, the inciting event is the mother's bipolar issues, but the real star of the book is "Cupid", who Alice meets, and must help before he succumbs to his own surprising mortality.

MAD LOVE is a light read, in that the language and pace move the reader along fairly quickly. I was able to read this book in less than three sittings, over the course of a few hours. Though the topics are serious, this is not a difficult book to read, and I think that the incorporation of Cupid's love story, along with Alice's possible burgeoning love life, as well as her independent nature, will appeal to a wide variety of readers.

3.5/5 for plot
4/5 for characters
3.5/5 for language

My Rating: 11/15 (3 stars)

Recommend, if you liked:

Kindred by Tammar Stein
Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins


Links for the author and books:
* Website
* GoodReads
* Facebook

Purchase at:
* Barnes and Noble
* Book Depository
* Amazon

Available formats: Print (Hardcover), E-Book

17 February, 2011

Advance Review: Wilder's Mate by Moira Rogers

Book: WILDER'S MATE
Author: MOIRA ROGERS
Genre: PARANORMAL ROMANCE/STEAMPUNK/EROTIC ROMANCE
Published: March 2011, SAMHAIN PUBLISHING


Series: Bloodhounds #1 (planned series)
Source: Author, no other compensation given for an honest review

From Good Reads:
Wilder Harding is a bloodhound, created by the Guild to hunt down and kill vampires on America’s frontier. His enhanced abilities come with a high price: on the full moon, he becomes capable of savagery beyond telling, while the new moon brings a sexual hunger that borders on madness.

Rescuing a weapons inventor from undead kidnappers is just another assignment, though one with an added complication—keeping his hands off the man’s pretty young apprentice, who insists on tagging along...

As the search stretches far longer than Wilder planned, he finds himself fighting against time. If Satira is still at his side when the new moon comes, nothing will stop him from claiming her. Worse, she seems all too willing. If their passion unlocks the beast inside, no one will be safe. Not even the man they’re fighting to save.


My Review:
So, here's the thing. When I open a Moira Rogers book, I totally expect to see flames every single time, because this author knows how to write books that are on FIRE. I found that WILDER'S MATE was no exception to the Rogers' powerhouse book collection. Rogers knows how to write good paranormal shapeshifter romance. The RED ROCK PASS series focuses on wolves, while the SOUTHERN ARCANA series has cat shifters, wolves and magic, oh my! But, WILDER'S MATE is the first book in a new series, BLOODHOUNDS, and I can't wait for more.

In WILDER'S MATE, the titular character is a dangerous hunter. As a bloodhound, he has better than human instincts. And when the moon is high, he has a hotter than fire sexual appetite that must be appeased. Somehow, Wilder struck me as less civilized than any of the authors' previous characters. He's dark, on a mission, and it seems like his human face is the mask, while the animal-the bloodhound-is his true form.

As with all of the characters that Rogers brings to life, both Wilder and Satira are both complex characters with fleshed-out back stories that are slowly revealed throughout the book. While their attraction to each other overwhelms many of the pages, and spills into HOT HOT HOT encounters, make no mistake, there is a fabulous story being told otherwise. And, there's steampunk! It's like Rogers can bring together many different themes, and create the perfect storm of romance, action, and adventure every single time they write a story.


5/5 for plot
4.5/5 for characters
4.5/5 for language

My Rating: 14/15 (4.5 stars)

Must Read, if you liked:

Never Have I Ever by Alisha Rai
On the Edge by Ilona Andrews
Blood Lust by Zoe Winters


Links for the author and books:
* Website
* Twitter (Bree)
* Twitter (Donna)
* GoodReads
* Facebook

Purchase at:
* Barnes and Noble
* Samhain Publishing
* Amazon

Available formats: E-Book

Advance Review: Tempt Me by Shiloh Walker

Book: TEMPT ME
Author: SHILOH WALKER
Genre: CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE/EROTIC ROMANCE
Published: February 2011


Series: none
Source: Author, no other compensation given for honest review

From Good Reads:
She’s a temptation he can’t resist…

Roxanne ‘Rocki’ Monroe’s life is full of secrets and hidden heartaches. Cole Stanton would love to heal her pain and chase away the ghosts of her past, but she’s just a complication he doesn’t have room for in his life.

Or so he thinks.

It doesn’t take Cole long to realize he’s more than willing to let temptation get the best of him, more than happy to deal with complications if that’s what it takes to get her.

What he has and what he needs are two different things…and what he needs is Rocki.


My Review:
I absolutely loved Shiloh Walker's character, Rocki. She is an independent business owner, a confident and sexy woman, she knows her own mind, and she knows what she wants. She is the kind of heroine that I always want to see in the novels that I read, be they contemporary, paranormal, or historical. And, here's the thing: she is an average woman. She has curves where a woman should, and Walker does a fantastic job of showcasing Rocki's lushness, while not making the fact that another woman considers her "fat" into a plot device where Rocki feels insecure when it comes to naked sexytimes with Cole. Rocki even slaps down the woman who insults her, with an acute sense of her own power, and a minimum of trash-talk. Seriously, I think I have a girl crush.

Cole and Rocki are both complex characters, no less than what I would expect from a Shiloh Walker book, but every time I read something from her, I am amazed at the depth that goes into her writing. I've read some of her print novels, as well as some of her e-book novels, and she is one of the few authors that I find the same emotional intensity is involved in novella and full-length novel. The instant attraction that Cole feels for Rocki (even though he is engaged at the time, to another woman) feels right. Sure, it reads as lust, but I like how Cole is not one to indulge in that lust before he is a free man, and even then, he's not looking for just a mindless sexual encounter.

I think I could go on for a while about why I enjoyed reading TEMPT ME, but I will cut myself short, in the interest of my readers. I'll say that I connected immediately with this book. TEMPT ME is the second independent project that Shiloh Walker has done. Her first, BEG ME, tackled an issue that many others might consider taboo, and she did a really good job with it. When I had the opportunity to request an advance copy of TEMPT ME, I jumped on it. It's a sensual read, that's not without serious undertones. So, if you are the type wanting to dip into a contemporary romance, with erotic scenes, this is the book for you. And those who are already Shiloh Walker fans, will find TEMPT ME a great read.

4/5 for plot
5/5 for characters
4/5 for language

My Rating: 13/15 (4 stars)

Highly Recommend, if you liked:

Wrapped Around Your Finger by Fallon Blake
Simple Need by Lissa Matthews


Links for the author and books:
* Website
* Twitter
* GoodReads
* Facebook

Purchase at:
* Smashwords
* Amazon


Available formats: E-Book

16 February, 2011

CONFIDENTIAL: Author Q&A with Mary Hooper



Today, at Read My Mind, I'm lucky to have a few questions answered from the author of FALLEN GRACE. Mary Hooper is a British author, who lives in Oxforshire. (Yes, that means she has a accent!) A prolific writer, she has published books for children, middle grade, and YA. Her latest release is FALLEN GRACE, which I have given a 3.5 star review here.



RMM: Tell me a little about yourself.
MH: Well, I've been writing books for twenty years or so, but only really started to make my name when I began to write historical books.

RMM: How long was the journey from the idea to the physical book?
MH: I give myself a year to write a novel. This is quite a leisurely pace, but it gives me time to do a nice lot of research and chew things over as I go. And once I've finished it, it is about another nine months to seeing the book in the stores.
RMM: I always wonder how much of the time is spent writing, as opposed to research. I did like the political and social commentary that FALLEN GRACE offered about the poorer class at the time.

Who is one person that helped to inspire you to write your book?

MH: The bank manager.
RMM: I totally understand that answer! Seems like a good motivator to finish something that you love.

A little more on your characters. Which was the hardest to bring to life on the page? The easiest?

MH: I think perhaps Grace's sister Lily was the most difficult. She's a sweet girl, but simple, and it was difficult to get her tone of voice right because I didn't want to sound patronising. Easiest? The villains are the easiest; I loved writing about Mrs Unwin, the wicked undertaker's wife.
RMM: I thought that just the right tone was struck with Lily. I could see how she was easy to take advantage of, but always seemed to have the best intentions at heart.

If you were a biographer, who's life would you choose to write about? (not your own!)

MH: Well, it would be someone in history, but all the best people have already been done, of course - and most of them were titled and/or terribly rich, so I would choose a complete unknown, someone poor who had "pulled themselves up by their bootlaces" as we say.

RMM: I want to hear your elevator pitch!
MH: I was bemused by this but my son told me what it meant (thanks, Rowan). So...my book is:
A rags to riches story about a girl in Victorian times who has a job as a funeral mute.
(The Times in the UK said it was the "best new historical novel of 2010"!)

RMM: Is the elevator pitch just a U.S. thing? I had no idea. And, I would have to agree with the assessment of the UK Times!


Tidbits:
Coffee or tea? Tea

Early riser or night owl? Early riser

Motorcycle or minivan? VW Beetle!

Sun and sand or hot chocolate and a fireplace? Hot choc every time.

Romance or adventure? Romance


And finally, why write YA?
If a writer's lucky she gets two bites of the cherry: teenage and adult readers.


RMM: Thanks to Mary Hooper for taking the time to answer a few questions, and to Bloomsbury for providing me with a review copy of FALLEN GRACE.


Life has been nothing but unfair to Grace Parkes and her sister. Penniless, the two orphans manage to stay alive—but only barely, like so many on the streets of Victorian London. And Grace must bear a greater heartbreak, having become pregnant from terrible circumstances and then given birth to a stillborn baby. But the infant's death sets Grace on a new path, bringing her into contact with people who hold both riches and power. A great fraud has been perpetrated on young Grace and her sister, and they are the secret recipients of a most unusual legacy—if only they can find the means to claim it. Mary Hooper's latest offers Dickensian social commentary, as well as malicious fraud, mysterious secrets, and a riveting read.

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