Cover Reveal & Giveaway! This Raging Light by Estelle Laure

http://www.rockstarbooktours.com

I am so excited that THIS RAGING LIGHT by Estelle Laure releases today and that I get to share the news!
If you haven’t yet heard about this wonderful book by Author Estelle Laure, be sure to check out all the details below.
This blitz also includes a giveaway for a finished copy of the book and a bottle of nail polish that matches the cover courtesy of Estelle, HMH, and Rockstar Book Tours. So if you’d like a chance to win, enter in the Rafflecopter at the bottom of this post. Good luck and enjoy!

About The Book:

Title: THIS RAGING LIGHT
Author: Estelle Laure
Release Date: December 22nd, 2015
Pages: 288
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Formats: Hardcover, eBook, audiobook
Find It: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks

"A funny, poetic, big-hearted reminder that life can—and will—take us all by surprise.” —Jennifer E. Smith, The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight

Can the best thing happen at the worst time?

Her dad went crazy. Her mom left town. She has bills to pay and a little sister to look after. Now is not the time for level-headed seventeen-year-old Lucille to fall in love. But love—messy, inconvenient love—is what she’s about to experience when she falls for Digby Jones, her best friend’s brother. With blazing longing that builds to a fever pitch, Estelle Laure’s soulful debut will keep readers hooked and hoping until the very last page.

Exclusive Excerpt:

When Wrenny and I roll up the hill to Eden’s house in Mom’s ancient Corolla, Digby and his dad, John, are outside playing basketball, and I want to get in the house as fast as possible,
because otherwise I might be trapped here all day, staring. I get a little twinge of something seeing a dad and his kid playing ball like dads and kids are supposed to. That’s a real
thing, and my hand wants to cover Wren’s face so she can’t see all that she is missing.
Which reminds me. “Wren.”
“Yeah?” She’s wiping at her shirt, reading a book on her lap, and she’s a little bit filthy, her hair greasy and knotty in spite of my efforts this morning. At some point the braids came out, and she’s reverted to wild.
“You know how Mom hasn’t been around lately?”
She stops. Tightens. “Yeah,” she says.
“Well, we don’t want anyone to know about that, okay?
Even Janie and Eden and Digby and John.”
“But Mom’s on vacation. She’s getting her head together. She’s coming back.”
“Okay, yes,” I say, “but still. We don’t want to tell anyone, because they might not understand that. They might get the wrong idea.”
“Like that she left us permanently?” There is so much more going on inside that Wrenny-head than I can ever know.
“Maybe, or at least for longer than she was supposed to.” I reach for the handle to the door because I can’t look at her. “Someone might think that.”
“She didn’t, though,” she says. “She’s Mom.”
“Of course she didn’t.” Lie.
“So who cares what anyone thinks?”
“Wren, just don’t, okay?”
“Okay.”
“Some things are private.” I open the door, then lean back across and wipe uselessly at her shirt with my thumb. “Like Mom being on vacation. So, okay?”
“I said okay, okay?” She gets out and waits, stares at me like I’m the most aggravating person on earth. “Hey, Lu?”
“Yeah?” I say, bracing myself for what’s next.
“Your mama’s so fat, she left the house in high heels and came back in flip-flops.”
I would tell her that I hate her new obsession with fat jokes, but I’m not in the mood for any dawdling, so I half laugh and get moving. I want to get inside and quick because there’s also the other thing. And by “other” I mean what makes me sweat just standing here. And by “thing” I mean Digby, who I have known since I was seven but who lately makes a fumbling moronic moron out of me, a full-on halfwit. Ask me my name when I’m in his presence and I’m not likely to be able to tell you. I’d probably just say, “Lllll . . . lllllllu . . .” and you’d have to catch the drool running down my chin.
I know. It’s not at all attractive.
But really. Tall, sweaty, and not wearing a shirt, so the muscles are all right there for the watching. He doesn’t exactly glisten, on account of the fact that he’s whiter than white, that he tans by getting freckles so he’s covered in them now after a whole summer outside. But seeing his hair all plastered to his forehead, his body so long and lean, looping around his dad to get the ball into the hoop, I want to fall out of the car and onto my knees in the driveway, say Lord have mercy, hallelujah, write sonnets and paint him, and worship that one little curve where his neck meets his shoulder that is just so, so perfect.
He is beautiful.
Which is why when he says hi as I pass him, I barely raise a pinky in response. There are two main problems here, aside from the fact that he is Eden’s twin and that’s all kinds of weird.
One, he’s had the same girlfriend since the dawn of time. They’re pinned, she wears his jacket, their marriage certificate is practically already signed. Angels bless their freakin’ union. And two, if I ever did get a chance with him, like if he ever kissed me or something, I would die of implosion. I know I sound like a twelve-year-old mooning over some celebrity, and not the extremely self-possessed woman-tobe that I actually am, but something about him makes me lose my mind. Something about the way he moves, about his himness — it shatters me all the way down. So I hope he never does kiss me. That would be nothing but a disaster. No one needs to see me fall apart like that. Least of all him.
Actually, maybe least of all me.



About Estelle: 

Estelle Laure is a Vonnegut worshiper who believes in love and magic and the power of facing hard truths. She has a BA in Theater Arts from New Mexico State University and an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts, and thinks everyone should have to wait tables or work in a kitchen at least once in their lives. She lives in Taos, New Mexico with her children.

Website | Twitter |Facebook | Goodreads | Instagram




Giveaway Details:

1 winner will receive a hardcover of THIS RAGING LIGHT and a bottle of Essie Nail Polish that matched the book cover. US Only.
Ends on December 31st at Midnight EST!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Until next time,

Jenell

After the Hype: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Hi all,

After the Hype is a new series that I'm wanting to do. Here I would review books that have gotten a lot of hype, but after some or all of that hype has died down.The first book I've chosen for this series is Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs.

This one is going to be short, and to the point. Disclaimer: I did not finishing this book, but I made it a little over halfway. I feel like that's enough to have an opinion. I just did not like this book at all. The story felt forced around the pictures. Not natural at all. There was nothing exciting about the book, nothing that drew me in and I got past the halfway point. I didn't sympathize with the main character, Jacob. There was no emotional connection to any of the characters. The pacing is slow and tedious. I did enjoy the very beginning of the book, where Jacob is describing the job that he hates and his descriptions of his friend. But it really went down hill after that. I wanted to like this book, but it just isn't for me.

I gave this book 1 out of 5 stars.

If you've read this series, what did you think of it? Let me know in the comments

Until next time,

Jenell

Q&A with David Litwack, author of The Children of Darkness

Hi all!

In honor of David Litwack's new book tour for his book, The Children of Darkness, here is a Q&A. Enjoy!

Do you have any hints or tips for aspiring writers?

I take to heart the words of Justice Louis Brandeis: “There are no good writers, only good rewriters.” If you want to become a better writer, read lots and rewrite until no unnecessary word remains.

Assess every word, phrase, sentence, paragraph and scene objectively. Remove what’s not necessary, even if you love it. I have a favorite quote from Antoine de Saint-Exupery (author of that gem of a novel, The Little Prince): “A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” Polish each and every word until all that’s left sparkles.

Where do you find your inspiration?

Ideas are everywhere. The secret is not to discover ideas but to be open to them. When I’m in a solid writing routine, it seems everything I encounter offers a new idea. Of course, I don’t use all of them, but they get the creative juices going.

I wrote a blog post on this titled “Ideas are everywhere.” You can check it out here.

What was the most important thing you learned at school?

Far and away the most important is the love of reading. I had a wonderful, but eccentric English teacher in high school. On the first day of class, he informed us we were all failing. The only way to improve our grade was to read a book and write a book report to prove we’d read it. We’d improve one grade per book. Since that school had monthly report cards, that meant to get an ‘A’, you had to read four books a month. Oh, and one more important point. He provided us with a reading list of the best books imaginable—The Complete works of Sherlock Holmes, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, The Saga of Andy Burnett (I wanted to be a mountain man until I was fifteen),The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. I’ve been reading ever since.

Do you plot your books completely before hand or do you let your imagination flow whilst in the writing process?

I usually conceive of a new book as a series of images and scenes, daydreaming about them while I finish work on the prior novel. I maintain a notes file for the new novel and do a rough draft of these scenes—a  very rough draft, what some people call "scaffolding" or “riff writing” like improvisation in jazz. The file can get pretty chaotic. Every now and then I make a feeble attempt to organize it (when I’m finishing up a novel, I try to avoid distractions and stay focused on getting it out to the publisher). By the time I’m ready to start the new novel, I usually have about 20,000 words of loosely connected prose—20-25% of the eventual novel but probably 80% of its essence. I take a couple of months to read, edit and organize that file into a dense plot outline. Then I start a new file from scratch, cutting and pasting prose as appropriate.

It’s a messy process in the early going, but unlike those who start with a more organized outline, I need that amount of writing to get to know the characters and live in the story.

How long did it take to get from the ideas stage of the Seekers series, to the publication of all three books?

The Seeker series started out as a standalone novel called There Comes a Prophet. The initial idea came to me about eight years ago, and it was published in 2011. After producing two other novels, I decided at the urging of readers to go back and turn this standalone dystopian story into a trilogy. Prophet became The Children of Darkness(with a changed title, cover and publisher) and I’ve just published the second book, The Stuff of Stars. I’m hard at work on the third and final offering, to be called The Light of Reason.

Did you suffer from writer's block at any stage? How did you overcome it?

I sometimes think writer’s block is just another way of saying that writing a novel is really hard. I try to keep writing, even if I think it’s going poorly. Then I see how it looks the next day. I remind myself that I can always revise or just throw it away. Nothing’s worse than staring at a blank page.

Long walks are another good way to get the creative juices going. Whatever the case, I try to avoid just sitting there and staring at the screen. Write, read or go for a walk.

How did you come up with the name(s) for your lead character(s)?

Names matter, especially for a SciFi/Fantasy writer building new worlds. The names need to be consistent and reflect that culture. For the Seekers trilogy, where the people have been forcibly returned to something like our 15th century, I found the passenger manifest for the Mayflower, and borrowed names, mixing up first and last names to get ones like Nathaniel Rush or Thomas Bradford. All except for Orah. I wanted her to be different, a rebellious throwback to an earlier time. So rather than picking from the Anglo-Saxon, I chose a name with Hebrew roots. As an added subtlety, the name Orah means light.

Eve by WM Paul Young: A Review

Hi all,

I recently read Eve by WM Paul Young. I wasn't sure what this book was about going into it. I read it solely because of the cover and a I read a sentence or two of the synopsis. The story was pretty good. I found the beginning part of this book annoying and confusing. I wasn't sure what, exactly, was going on. I almost DNF'd it, but decided to persevere because I felt like it had potential to be a great story. I also felt like this book was kind of preachy. I'm not a religious person, and often squirm when I feel like I'm being preached to (no matter what religion). It seemed to back off a little as the story went on, but it was a continuous thing throughout. Though that shouldn't be surprising, given that this book involves the story of Adam and Eve. Or maybe I just got more used to it as the story progressed. I don't know. The way the author wrote it, though, was very interesting. It definitely was different.

I had a hard time connecting to the main character Lilly, though. She is a 15 year old girl who has been through some bad things in her life. But I couldn't emotionally connect to her at all, except for a little towards the end. As the reader, you are supposed to believe that she really feels the negative things she keeps saying about herself, but I just didn't. It almost seemed like the author had her repeat these things over and over to make up for the fact that the emotional impact of those feelings wasn't there.

That being said, I did end up liking John, the man who finds her. I also thought the way the story was told was interesting and so was the concept. I would imagine that someone who is a church going Christian would really enjoy this book. Unless you don't like how you interpret the Bible to be challenged. I found a lot of what the story talked about and mentioned really interesting. I've not studied the Bible much, so I don't know if the story that Young told about the Genesis story is something that most people accept or not. But the way it was presented made me think not. If nothing else, I certainly understand the Genesis story a little better now because of it. 

Ultimately, I really liked the way the story was presented, even if I couldn't connect to Lilly and found the preachy aspect a little annoying. This book made me think about the Creation story in ways I never had before and I really like that. Just those two things about the book are why I knocked my rating to 3.5 stars. Really a good read over all.

Have you read Eve, or any book by Young? If so, let me know what you thought in the comments!

I look forward to hearing from you!

Until next time,

Jenell

Tuesday Talks: Does Book Hype Affect Your Reading?

Hi all! 

So, it's been awhile. I apologize greatly for that. I started to to NaNoWriMo, but stuff happened and I made the decision to stop doing it. I was feeling overwhelmed with everything that was going on, so in order to ease that feeling, I stopped writing. But I'm back now! :)

Today I have a Tuesday Talks discussion for you. This week's topic is: does book hype affect your reading?

For me, that answer is most definitely. I'm very much a mood reader. If I hear lots of hype about a book that already seems like an interesting book, I'm more likely to read that book and read it before any of the other books I may have been planning to read.

It's interesting that this is the topic this week. Lately I have been thinking about this. Hype gets me excited about a book, but hearing negative things about a book makes me hesitate to read it. Which got me wondering. How much does hype ultimately effect my reading experience and my ratings? I honestly don't know the answer to that question.

I'd like to think that book hype doesn't affect me other than my decision to read a book or not. I suspect, though, that it may not stop there. If my expectations are of the book are high, I feel like I am more likely to enjoy it. Unless it's just plain horrible. On the other side of that, I feel like when I hear negative things, maybe I approach the book with a more closed off attitude.

Since realizing this recently, I've tried to stay away from reading reviews on books. The only time I will is if I'm not sure if I want to read it or spend the money to buy it. If I'm looking for a new author, then I will also seek out reviews to see if the author might be one that I enjoy. I especially love BookTube for this purpose. 

Long answer long. Yes, hype affects my reading. What about you? Does hype affect your reading? If so, how? Let me know in the comments! :)

Until next time,

Jenell

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

(Amazon affiliate link)

I have to write this while everything is still fresh. I'm going to tell you right here, right now that this book is absolutely freaking amazing! It blew my mind. So much so that I'm having a hard time forming coherent sentences. I've sat here already for at least five minutes trying to think of something besides, "OMG" and saying "It's so amazing!" again. This is a review. I have to be somewhat intelligent, right?

I had received a digital ARC of Illuminae from Netgalley a few weeks before the publish date. I tried to read it on my e-reader, but the format didn't translate well and I had a really hard time reading it. This was because of the app that I had to use to read the ARC, which was DRM protected. The app did not do well with the format of the book. PLEASE don't let this stop you from buying this digitally if that's how you want to read it. I didn't get a Kindle copy, or similar format. I think this format would be great on Kindle or Nook, etc.

I probably read about 40 to 50 pages into the ARC before I just decided to buy the book when it came out and write a review then. I really liked what I did read, so I was so very excited to get the book. I'm so glad I bought it too. The cover art is beautiful. The dust jacket is this weirdly semi-transparent plastic that allows you to see peeks of what is underneath it. Then, on the actual book itself, is a bunch of writing. All over the place. Excerpts, sort of, from the book. But nothing spoiler-y.

You open it up and are greeted with a beautiful black and white image of space. Take time to admire these gorgeous details. Seriously. Then jump right into the story. If you like sci-fi and like YA, you will love this. Going into this, I honestly didn't really know what it was about. It's kind of a survival story, with romance and a sickness that causes people to become something that I find so much more terrifying than the idea of zombies.

There were at least three different incidents when I said to myself (or maybe out loud, I can't remember), "No way!" My lovely brain always seem to try to think of every possible outcome to a story. So many times I am not surprised by endings or plot twists. I hate that sometimes because I love surprises! However, I never hold it against a book if I predict something that happens in the story. Unless it is horribly obvious. This book though. Oh man! It got me good.

I don't want to go into too much detail on what the book is about. I don't know about you, but I like to go into books blind, or mostly blind. Illuminae's two main characters are Ezra and Kady. They used to date, but broke up the day the BeiTech attacks. Beitech is a rival corporation to the corporation that is mining on the planet they live on. They escape with the aid of 3 ships in the area. One ship from BeiTech is left to pursue them. Two of the three ships that are fleeing are not equipped for battle and the one that is has extensive damage from the fight. The artificial intelligence on board the damaged ship, AIDAN, was also damaged during the fight, which creates other problems.  The rest of the story is trying to survive by fleeing the warship and also trying to survive the illness.

Illuminae can be brutal and intense, which were not things I was expecting. Yet, it also gave me chills in some parts. It's a great story all around and I highly, highly recommend it! Not surprisingly, I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars!

Have you read Illuminae yet? If so, what did you think of it? Have you read any books by any of the authors (Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman)? Let me know in the comments below! I'd love to hear from you!

Until next time,

Jenell

Chaotic Goddess Swapoween 2015 Unboxing!!

I wanted to share this here too! I had so much fun with this!

Cover Reveal & Giveaway! The Darkest Torment by Gena Showalter

Get ready for the 12th and most epic book in the Lords of the Underworld series yet, THE DARKEST TORMENT, available May 31, 2016! I think we can all agree on one thing: #BadenIsHot!

Click HERE to read a note from Gena on why she chose to write about Baden.

Here is your first glimpse at what THE DARKEST TORMENT is all about:

New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter returns with her most explosive Lords of the Underworld tale to date, about a fierce warrior on the brink of sanity who will stop at nothing to claim the exquisite human with the power to soothe the beast inside him... 

Driven to his death by the demon of Distrust, Baden spent centuries in purgatory. Now he's back, but at what cost? Bound to the king of the underworld, an even darker force, he's unable to withstand the touch of another...and he's quickly devolving into a heartless assassin with an uncontrollable temper. Things only get worse when a mission goes awry and he finds himself saddled with a bride—just not his own.  

Famed dog trainer Katarina Joelle is forced to marry a monster to protect her loved ones. When she's taken hostage by the ruthless, beautiful Baden immediately after the ceremony, she's plunged into a war between two evils—with a protector more dangerous than the monsters he hunts. They are meant to be enemies, but neither can resist the passion burning between them...and all too soon the biggest threat is to her heart.
But as Baden slips deeper into the abyss, she'll have to teach him to love...or lose him forever. 

And now for the amazing cover...

Title: The Darkest Torment
Series: Lords of the Underworld, #12
Author: Gena Showalter
On-sale date: May 31, 2016
Publisher: HQN Books
Pages: 448
Formats: Hardcover, eBook
Price: $26.99 U.S. / $29.99 CAN.
ISBN: 9780373779741

Find it: AMAZON | INDIEBOUND | GOODREADS

---

The Giveaway

There is an amazing blitz-wide giveaway, courtesy of the publisher, for...

• A complete set of all 11 books in the Lords of the Underworld series to ONE winner - US/Canada.

***Giveaway ends Sunday, October 25th at 11:59 p.m. ET. Prize will be sent by the publisher.***

Enter in the Rafflecopter below...

a Rafflecopter giveaway

---

About Gena Showalter

Photo by Debbie Bunch Photography 

Gena Showalter is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of the spellbinding Lords of the Underworld and Angels of the Dark series, two young adult series--Everlife and the White Rabbit Chronicles--and the highly addictive Original Heartbreakers series.  In addition to being a National Reader's Choice and two time RITA nominee, her romance novels have appeared in Cosmopolitan (Red Hot Read) and Seventeen magazine, she's appeared on Nightline and been mentioned in Orange is the New Black--if you ask her about it, she'll talk for hours…hours!  Her books have been translated in multiple languages.

She’s hard at work on her next novel, a tale featuring an alpha male with a dark side and the strong woman who brings him to his knees. You can learn more about Gena, her menagerie of rescue dogs, and all her upcoming books at genashowalter.com or Facebook.com/genashowalterfan.

WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | GOODREADS

---

Other Books in the Lords of the Underworld series

The series on GOODREADS

• THE DARKEST NIGHT (Lords of the Underworld #1) - GOODREADS
• THE DARKEST KISS (Lords of the Underworld #2) - GOODREADS
• THE DARKEST PLEASURE (Lords of the Underworld #3) - GOODREADS
• THE DARKEST WHISPER (Lords of the Underworld #4) - GOODREADS
• THE DARKEST PASSION (Lords of the Underworld #5) - GOODREADS
• THE DARKEST LIE (Lords of the Underworld #6) - GOODREADS
• THE DARKEST SECRET (Lords of the Underworld #7) - GOODREADS
• THE DARKEST SURRENDER (Lords of the Underworld #8) - GOODREADS
• THE DARKEST SEDUCTION (Lords of the Underworld #9) - GOODREADS
• THE DARKEST CRAVING (Lords of the Underworld #10) - GOODREADS
• THE DARKEST TOUCH (Lords of the Underworld #11) - GOODREADS

*BookBear Presents* The Whisper King by Wil Radcliffe: A Review

I have had the privilege to work with BookBear on the upcoming book tour for a novel by Wil Radcliffe, "The Whisper King." I am very excited about this! My first book tour and I also get to promote the work of an independent author!

Synopsis: 

There is a monster sleeping deep inside of you, and The Whisper King is coming to wake it up…and rip it out!

My name is David Kinder. And this is my story... every goddamn bloodstained word of it.

About 25 years ago when I was six my parents died in a car crash. I was bounced around a few state homes until they finally settled me at Meripitt Hill, an orphanage just outside of Lansing, Michigan. It was there that the shadows started visiting me. Not normal shadows. These shadows moved on their own accord, and whispered strange, alien things to me. Scared the piss out of me.

Wasn’t until Donna Elizondo moved to Meripitt Hill that my life started to actually become bearable. She became my best friend. Taught me to love music and to dance. That kept the shadows away. That kept me safe.

That year we were an epic story of two. We danced. We laughed. Hell, I suspect I was falling in love with her, if kids could really know what love is.

But then she was taken away from me. Adopted.

That’s when the shadows returned for me. That’s when they took me to the Shadow Mountains to serve the Whisper King.

For 25 years I learned how to fight. How to kill. I even learned how to transform myself into a Cuthach…a monster. There were thousands of us being trained there. Thousands of us learning to reach deep inside and unleash the monsters in our guts. 

When a spot opened in the Whisper King’s elite guard, the Silent Heart, I was chosen to fill it. But first I had to take one final test. A test that would determine once and for all if I was destined to be man or monster.

My Review:

I don't know about you, but the synopsis had my very intrigued right off the bat! When I was asked by BookBear if I was interested in being a part of this tour, I read the synopsis and very quickly said yes! BookBear provided me with a copy of The Whisper King, and so it began.

The story is told from David Kinder's perspective. It's him as the narrator, telling you the story of his life and follows him from the time he is 6 years old, all the way to adulthood. The first part of the book is setting up for when the main character, David Kinder, ends up with the Whisper King. It's his time at the orphanage, how the Whisper King gets to him, and a character, Donna, who plays a huge part in his life, despite only being in the book briefly.

I feel like there is a lot that happens in this book, especially for a book that is 240 pages long. I was very impressed with Wil Radcliffe's writing style. The beginning part about the childhood felt a little long. At the same time, though, I couldn't make any suggestions on how it could be done differently. The childhood section is pretty important for the rest of the story. After that part is over and David is with the Whisper King in his realm, the story speeds up considerably. Not that the childhood section was slow. It just seemed to last longer than the rest of the story. I wasn't bored by any means during any part of this book.

I believe this book is considered dark  fantasy. And for good reason, as it can be violent and brutal, as well as some other adult content. As you can imagine, there is also swearing. This doesn't bother me much, except it did a little in this book. That is only because David swears like a sailor from the very beginning of the book. When you see who is role model is, you kind of understand why. However, it's always hard for me to accept a child that age using such language! I sound old when I say that...

The world that Radcliffe creates in this story is so different. There's the world we live in, and then there is the Whisper King's realm. The Whisper King's realm is dark and intense. If it isn't what Hell is like, it's got to be pretty close. I certainly wouldn't want to live there!

Overall I thought this was a great book. Wil Radcliffe did a fantastic job with his world, his characters, and his story. I gave this book 4 out 5 stars!

Until next time,

Jenell

Q&A with Wil Radcliffe

In honor if Wil Radcliffe's new book tour for his novel, The Whisper King, here is a brief Q&A!

Do you have a specific writing style? 

Most of my early writing was in third person. With the Whisper King books I’ve found first person much more rewarding. I really wanted to explore the psyche and motivation for my lead character, David Kinder. It’s a lot of fun writing in David’s voice. He’s much more open and freer than I am.

I like using humor in my writing as well. I grew up watching Monty Python and reading Douglas Adams. I feel Noggle Stones in particular follows that style of humor.

I see the Whisper King as a grittier kind of humor. More American stand-up comedian than British satire. Guess I owe a lot of that to South Park and Cracked.com

How did you come up with the title? 

The Whisper King was originally a super hero I created for a role-playing game I used to play. The name just came to me one day. I liked how mysterious and eerie it sounded.

When it came time to name the antagonist for David Kinder’s story, I remembered that super hero. I liked the name so much that I made it the title of the entire series.

What are you working on at the minute?

I’m currently polishing the final draft of the second Whisper King book. And I’m gathering notes and pecking away at the first few chapters of the third and final Whisper King book.

What’s is your book about?  

The Whisper King is an ancient being who lures children to a bleak and terrible realm known as the Shadow Mountains. There he trains them to be monsters, preparing them for a mysterious war that never seems to come.

When 8-year-old David Kinder is recruited into the Whisper King’s army, he excels beyond his peers, eventually growing up to be the most renowned warrior in the Shadow Mountains.

But when a spot opens up in the Whisper King’s elite guard, the Silent Heart, David faces a final test… a test that will determine once and for all if he is destined to be man or monster.

Where did your love of writing come from?

It started with a love of reading. And that love of reading started with comic books. In fact, my childhood dream was to be a comic book creator. The Whisper King actually started as a concept for a comic book, as did my young adult fantasy novel, Noggle Stones.

But somewhere along the line I decided I liked the control of writing prose. I didn’t have to rely upon an artist to bring my vision to life on the page. I could create my own pictures using words.

I still love comic books. But if you’ve ever looked at the credits for a comic book or graphic novel, there are usually at least five or six people involved in the project. A writer, a penciller, an inker, a letterer, a colorist, and an editor. Collaboration can be great, but that’s a lot of people standing between the writer and the finished product. Somewhere along the way his original vision could get lost.

Creating a world all by yourself is much more rewarding, in my opinion.

Brought to you by BookBear

Stay tuned tomorrow for a review of his new book!

Jenell

Tuesday Talks | Favorite Reading Spots

Recently I've decided to move Tuesday Talks from my YouTube channel to my blog. I have a very limited recording window. Because of that, my channel would pretty much become Tuesday Talks and Top 5 Wednesday every week. I didn't want this to happen, so I decided to write Tuesday Talks here and record Top 5 Wednesday on my channel to make room for other videos. I may make the occasional exception, but probably not too often. That aside, on to this week's topic!

This week's topic is Favorite reading spots!

(Not my actual couch. You don't want to see it, trust me.)

I can read anywhere. If I've got time to kill or a moment to spare, I will be reading wherever I am. However, I do have two spots that I prefer over any other. The first spot is my couch or chair. If the day is overcast, rainy, or snowy, I want to be cuddled up on my couch or chair with a warm blanket and a book. It is my idea of the perfect way to pass a day that has less than ideal weather conditions. Well, weather conditions some would consider less than ideal. I looove those types of days! And not just because of the reading. I love rainy days!! But I digress.

(Not my actual bed. You don't want to see that either.)

The second spot that I love to read is my bed. Nothing beats wrapping up the end of your day tucked into bed, nice and cozy, with a book to enjoy. I often have to limit myself when reading at night though. I will stay up really, really late if my book is getting good! So on nights that I have to be to work in the morning, I try not to read. I still do, though. I did say I try to not read! :)

Those are my two favorite reading spots. What are yours? Let me know in the comments! I would love to hear from you!

I hope you enjoyed, friends!

Jenell

Chaotic Goddess Swapoween!

I apologize for the late post. I have been crazy at work and this has been my first opportunity! If you are interested in participating in the Chaotic Goddess Swapoween, today is the LAST day to sign up! Partners are assigned on the 30th (this Wednesday)!

If you would like to know more about CG Swaps, check out the website by clicking on the photo above. I'm so excited to participate! This is my first time!

I hope you all sign up!!

Jenell

Review: Things I've Said to My Children by Nathan Ripperger

Nathan Ripperger is a graphic designer and video producer who decided to write down, and illustrate, phrases that he has said to his children. Things he never thought anyone would say. I was unable to locate a website for Nathan, but I did discover that he has an Etsy shop! I was excited about that! You can purchase prints of some of the entries that you find in this book. If  you are interested, please check out Nathan's Etsy Shop and follow him on Twitter.

Things I've Said to My Children was a fun, quick, and humorous read. I actually laughed out loud at this one, and is my favorite of them all:

I laugh, still, every time I look at that one. I'm pretty sure that I've said something very similar to my older child when she was the "licking" age. My youngest hasn't gotten there...yet. Some of the other phrases I know I've never said, but then again, there are things you will say as a parent of boys that you likely won't say as a parent of girls.

I know just today I've said: "If you're going to put them in your mouth, you're not going to play with them," as well as "Don't touch that. You have grubby baby fingers." and "Don't bite my sunglasses." So yes, as a parent you say things that most people don't say or things you'd never imagine would leave your lips. Nathan has hit the nail on the head with this book.

I shared this book with my husband and he laughed just as much, if not more, than I did. My 8 year old is currently reading through it as I type. She also seems to think it's pretty funny. 

This is a cute book with lots of pictures, but the only reason I would buy this book is a funny gift for new parents. Just to tell them, "Hey! This is what you have to look forward to!" It would also be a fun conversation starter if you were to leave it on your coffee table. My husband and I had a short conversation about this book and my husband thinks that it's about 80/20. What I mean by that is that 80% of the content is perfect as is. The other 20% either doesn't make sense to the reader or not really that funny. I would probably put that ratio at 90/10.  For the type of book it is, which is a humor book about an aspect of parenting, I would give it a 4 out of 5 stars.

*I received a free copy of this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review.

Independent Book Review: The Carnelian Legacy by Cheryl Koevoet

The Carnelian Legacy - (link to Amazon)

I recently read The Carnelian Legacy by independent author Cheryl Koevoet. I've been planning on starting a series on independent authors because they do deserve more attention and credit for the works they publish. Unfortunately, there are bad ones out there that give independent author's a bad reputation, but many other excellent stories do exist.

The Carnelian Legacy is a YA romance. I would actually be more specific and say it's a YA Christian fantasy romance. It isn't overly heavy on the Christian aspect, which I appreciated. It's there, and there are a few times where Marisa prays, but it isn't a main aspect of the story.

The Carnelian Legacy is about a girl named Marisa MacCallum, 17 about to be 18. She ends up in a different dimension that is sort of "medieval" in nature and has no real hope of ever finding her way back home. She meets Darian and Arrie, whom she travels with after they discover her. Marisa falls for Darian and meets a rival of Darian's to the throne, Savino da Rocha. The rest of the story is about her struggle to not fall for Darian, as he is royalty and could never be with her, and also a struggle for her how to best proceed with her life in this new land.

That's the gist of the story, without spoiling anything. If you followed my updates on Goodreads while reading this story, you'll know that I struggled with it a little bit. For about 65% of this book, I found Marisa very hard to like. This is a problem, considering she is the main character. I liked Darian and Arrie, and all of the other characters that you are supposed to like along the way. Marisa, though, was hard. I couldn't stand her. She asked questions of Darian and Arrie, and then asked them again, but phrased differently. Or she would not ask questions when I thought it was more appropriate. For example, when she first finds herself in a new dimension with two strange men and they start to explain where she is, she doesn't think to ask how these two know so much about parallel universes. She does ask, eventually, but it seems too delayed. I know if I were in that situation, one of my first questions would be, "Wait. How do you know all of this?" Especially considering the type of land Carnelia is supposed to be. Also, she repeatedly spoke without thinking and didn't consider how her words would affect someone.

It also kind of irritated me that it took so long for Marisa to show any real concern that she would likely never see her family again. Koevoet briefly touches on it, but it isn't until chapter 9 that Marisa really expresses any worry that she's stuck in Carnelia. I suppose all of the things that annoyed me about Marisa could be considered typical teenage behavior, since she is 17 at the start of the story. However, I've read so many books with teenage characters and the only one who bothered me more than Marisa was Bella from Twilight.

That all being said, though, it wasn't until I was about 65% into the book that it dawned on me that Marisa wasn't annoying me as much. Her character finally seemed to be progressing. There was still a moment or two where I literally either thought, or said out loud, "WTF?" I don't want to include spoilers here, so I'm not going to explain what it was that made me think or say that. But it just seemed so out of place for her character. It was a brief moment though. I became more engrossed in the story, finding it harder to put down. I would stay up later to read as much as I could, even though I had to go to work early the next morning.

There is definitely a plot twist that I did not see coming! I had my theories, about 2 or 3 different possibilities as to where I could see the story going. None of my theories were right. I think it would be possible for someone to predict how the story turned out, but I didn't expect it to end up the way that it did. By then end, I wanted to read the next one in the series (The Carnelian Tyranny). Up until that 65% mark, I was fully planning on giving this a 2 star review. However, that last 35% bumped it up for me a full star. I would give this a 3 out of 5 stars. I wish the story would have hooked me a lot sooner, but the ending gave me hope that Koevoet really found her groove and that her next book would be better. I can say with confidence that, despite my criticisms, I look forward to reading the next one in the series and finding out what happens in the world of Carnelia!

Cheryl Koevoet

*I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Poorly Drawn Lines by Reza Farazmand (Release date: 10/6/15)

(Click picture to pre-order w/Amazon or click here through the Book Depository)

Poorly Drawn Lines comes to us from Reza Farazmand of poorlydrawnlines.com. Reza draws and publishes his work three times a week. I'm always impressed when people can be consistently creative! I'm not sure how long Reza has been writing his web comic, but from what I could find,on his website, it's at least 3 years. I've never heard of this web comic before, but from what I read in his new, upcoming book, I've been missing out on some funny stuff! 

Reza's new book is a compilation of some of the content already up on his website, plus new comics and stories. His book is, perhaps not surprisingly, a quick read. It made me smile and chuckle. I didn't laugh out loud much, but I was consistently amused by the comics and stories. The comic below is an example of one of the comics in the book, which is also on his website, that is among my favorites! There were also quite a few of them that I thought I'd love to put as my background on my desktop, since they would make me smile every time I saw them.

While I was reading this book, I couldn't help but draw some comparisons between his humor and that of comedian Demetri Martin. That mostly had to do with the stories, as they reminded me of Martin's book that I recently read. I think if you are a fan of Demetri Martin's comedy, you will definitely enjoy this. I gave Poorly Drawn Lines a 3 out of 5 stars!

*I received a digital advanced reader's copy of Poorly Drawn Lines from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Top 5 Wednesday | Favorite Things About BookTubing!

Sharing my first Top 5 Wednesdays video with you all because it isn't just about BookTube! :)

Thank you all! 

Jenell

September Challenges

Hi all!

September is the month that I decided to set monthly reading goals, or challenges, for myself in order to get me out of my comfort zone of fantasy and YA. I talked about it briefly in one of my videos of YouTube, so if you watched, you will already know what I'm referring to. I said I was going to make a video, but I think, at least for this month, that I'm just going to post them here. The following are my goals for September:

1. Read a book by an author that is from or lives in Boise, ID

2. Read a non-fiction book

3. Reread a book

For challenge number one, I picked All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. I don't think Anthony is originally from Boise, but he does currently live here. A bonus to choosing this book is that it isn't something that I normally would have picked up. The guy at the library who helped me check out this book said that he really liked it, but that it can be depressing sometimes. So we'll see how that goes! I'm excited to read it!

Neither Here nor There by Bill Bryson is the non-fiction book of choice for September's challenge. I've read one or two other books by Bill Bryson several years ago. I read A Walk in the Woods and really enjoyed it. I love his writing style! 

Lastly,The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett is the reread that I'm choosing. I don't often reread books, just because there are so many out there that I want to read, I have a hard time justifying returning to one I've already read. I have reread books, but it just doesn't happen often. I read The Color of Magic several years ago and I remember liking it, but don't remember much about what actually happened in it. I'm looking forward to rediscovering this one!

I've actually already started reading The Color of Magic and All the Light We Cannot See, but am not very far into either one of them. Do any of you set goals like this for yourself? I know I've seen Booktubers doing it, but I decided to do this before I saw any videos like that...here I was thinking I had a great, possibly original idea! Ha! But that's okay. What's important to me is to branch out and explore new things.

What books are you looking forward to this month? Let me know!! I love hearing from you!

Until next time,

Jenell

I'm a Book Depository affiliate. Any purchases made through my link helps to support my channel! http://www.bookdepository.com/?a_aid=Jen_Imriela

3rd Annual Beat the Heat Readathon Results

I feel like I slacked off during this readathon! But I didn't really. The only goal I had was to read, read, read! If I count the children's books I read for review, I read 9 in total.The following links will take you to the Book Depository or Amazon, where if you choose to purchase one of these books, you will be supporting my blog! If you do purchase, thank you! If not, that's okay too! (The photos themselves link to the Book Depository as well). Here's what I read:

 
I gave it 4 out of 5 stars. Review is on the blog.

Book Depository: The Little Paris Bookshop

Amazon:The Little Paris Bookshop: A Novel

I would give this a 2 out of 5 stars. One particular spot involving a baby really ruined it for me.

Book Depository: Fevre Dream (Graphic Novel)
Amazon: Not available at a decent price

5 out of 5! LOVED this book!

Book Depository: Cinder
Amazon:Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles Book 1)

5 out of 5! Cute children's book. Review on the blog.

Book Depository: The Most Magnificent Thing
Amazon: Most Magnificent Thing, The

2 out of 5 stars. I didn't like it. Review on the blog.
Book Depository: Walk on the Wild Side
Amazon: Walk on the Wild Side (Life in the Wild)

 
3 out of 5. I wasn't that impressed with the art. It's so dark and busy, it's hard to enjoy. The story is pretty much the same retelling of this story. The history of the story at the end is so interesting!

Book Depository: Hansel & Gretel
Amazon: Hansel and Gretel Standard Edition: A TOON Graphic

4 out of 5 stars. Brief review on Goodreads. Very quick read, but enjoyable.
Book Depository: Friends with Boys
Amazon: Friends with Boys

5 out of 5! I loved this! The art is awesome and I love Doug TenNapel's writing style!

Book Depository: Cardboard
Amazon: Cardboard

 
5 out of 5! I love this story! This is the 2nd time I've read this one! The art is amazing and I love The Song of Ice and Fire stories!

Book Depository: The Hedge Knight
Amazon: The Hedge Knight: The Graphic Novel (A Game of Thrones)

Whew, that was a lot of scrolling! Pretty easy reading though. If you want to know my thoughts on some of these that I haven't written a review on, follow or friend me on Goodreads. If I didn't write anything, I at least rated them.

Thanks for reading! 

Jen