Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Waiting On Wednesday: The Dark Light by Sara Walsh





Publisher: Simon Pulse
Being Published: August 28, 2012
Pages: 496
Format: Hardback

Mysterious lights have flickered above Crownsville for as long as Mia can remember. And as far as she’s concerned, that’s about the only interesting thing to happen in her small town.

That is, until Sol arrives. Mia’s not one to fall for just any guy, but she can’t get intense Sol—or the brilliant tattoo on his back—out of her mind.

Then Mia’s brother goes missing, and Mia’s convinced that Sol knows more than he’s sharing. But getting closer to Sol means reevaluating everything she once believed to be true. Because Sol’s not who Mia thought he was—and neither is she.

Why The Dark Light? This sounds like it will be intriguing read, mysterious light, mysterious boy, mysterious identity. Want to give this one a read!


So Whats Your Waiting On Wednesday?

This meme is hosted by Jill from Breaking The Spine

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Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Review: Darkness Before Dawn by J. A. London




Website: J. A. London
Series: Darkness Before Dawn Book 1
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: May 29, 2012
Genre: Young Adult
Format: Paperback
Pages: 342
Source: Publisher
*received for honest review*


This electrifying new trilogy blends the best of paranormal and dystopian storytelling in a world where the war is over. And the vampires won.

Humans huddle in their walled cities, supplying blood in exchange for safety. But not even that is guaranteed. Dawn has lost her entire family and now reluctantly serves as the delegate to Lord Valentine, the most powerful vampire for miles. It isn’t until she meets Victor, Valentine’s son, that she realizes not all vampires are monsters....

Darkness Before Dawn is a fresh new story with captivating characters, unexpected plot twists, a fascinating setting, and a compelling voice. Written under the name J. A. London by a talented mother-son team, the trilogy is perfect for fans of True Blood and the House of Night and Morganville Vampires series.~Goodreads

First Impressions

I picked up Darkness Before Dawn because I do enjoy vampires stories. So a dystopian world where vampires and humans coexist in the barely held agreement and one of the lines of communication between them was on the shoulders of a seventeen year old girl really captured my attention.

Thoughts

What worked for me in Darkness Before Dawn was the plot. What first drew me to the story was the interesting world J. A. London created and reading how Dawn navigated this dangerous, complicated world. With each chapter things began it get more and more complicated.

I liked how the vampires played a public role within the story, not hidden from the human world, which added more dimension to the story. Though I did wished that more vampire characters were introduced in the story.

The pacing of the writing was consistent and smooth, allowing me to get into the story easily. There was a nice balance of action within the story, from the physical action with the humans battling the vampires and the mental power struggle with the head vampire family. The dueling elements of the Victorian past and the Dystopian future some how worked within the story.

The romance wasn’t really blazing like I wanted it to be although there were some sparks. There was the typical love triangle that Dawn struggled through between her, her boyfriend Michael and the mysterious Victor. Which didn’t annoy me as much as I thought it would because their journey was interesting. Did I still know how it would end? Yes. But it was still fun watching it happen.

I would have liked to learn more about Victor and his story. Out of all of the characters he intrigued me the most. Yes I know he was a vampire and that automatically made him interesting but he had a story to tell. A story I wanted to learn more about.

Dawn was an interesting girl dealing with crazy issues and she did what she had to do.
I understood where she was coming from and she had guts facing one of the most dangerous vampire head on, weekly, to protect her race. With her other relationships? Not so much in the beginning but she slowly found her voice. As well as her views and her character. I know there is more to Dawn's story and I’m interested to find out what it is.

While I would have liked to see a more head to head confrontation between the vamps and humans and their issues, I realized that this is the start to a trilogy so I hope that it's on the way.

Overall, Darkness before Dawn was a tasty read that grabbed my interest and I enjoyed J. A. London created a platform for a dynamic, edgy story that I’m interested in reading more.



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Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Waiting on Wednesday: For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund



This meme is hosted by Jill from Breaking The Spine






Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Being Published: June 12, 2012
Generations ago, a genetic experiment gone wrong—the Reduction—decimated humanity, giving rise to a Luddite nobility who outlawed most technology.

Elliot North has always known her place in this world. Four years ago Elliot refused to run away with her childhood sweetheart, the servant Kai, choosing duty to her family’s estate over love. Since then the world has changed: a new class of Post-Reductionists is jumpstarting the wheel of progress, and Elliot’s estate is foundering, forcing her to rent land to the mysterious Cloud Fleet, a group of shipbuilders that includes renowned explorer Captain Malakai Wentforth—an almost unrecognizable Kai. And while Elliot wonders if this could be their second chance, Kai seems determined to show Elliot exactly what she gave up when she let him go.

But Elliot soon discovers her old friend carries a secret—one that could change their society . . . or bring it to its knees. And again, she’s faced with a choice: cling to what she’s been raised to believe, or cast her lot with the only boy she’s ever loved, even if she’s lost him forever.

Inspired by Jane Austen’s Persuasion, For Darkness Shows the Stars is a breathtaking romance about opening your mind to the future and your heart to the one person you know can break it.

Why For Darkness Shows the Stars? Persuasion is my favorite Jane Austen story and I'm really interested to see the similarities and differences within the story!


So Whats Your Waiting On Wednesday?
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Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Teaser Tuesday: Tangle of Need by Nalini Singh



Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.


If you would like to join in the fun all you have to do is take your current read, turn to a random page and pick out two sentences. Be sure to include the Author & Title of the book and Please don't include spoilers! Then link your teaser on MizB's Teaser Tuesdays post so we can see! Super easy right! 



Teasers
Adult Paranormal Romance






"Catching the unexpected sound on the wind, he looked across the lake to glimpse a small, sleek wolf padding beside a tall male dressed in black. The wolf's body brushed the man's as they walked along the misty earth, the man's fingers trailing through the animal's fur when he bent as if to speak to her." pg 111 Tangle of Need by Nalini Singh







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Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Author Interview: Midnight Rescue's Elle Kennedy



   
         


     Find Elle

Author Website

Twitter

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Thanks so much for stopping by Literary Cravings, If you could sum up Midnight Rescue in four words, what would they be?

Dark, edgy, passionate, fast-paced

In the beginning, what or who spoke to your first? The story or the characters?

It's a little bit of both—but I definitely don't begin to really move forward with a story until I know the characters inside and out. It’s their personalities and individual motivations that often define the direction a story takes.
For this book, I did know that I wanted the opening to involve the heroine trapped in a prison and the hero rescuing her—much to my heroine’s displeasure. That’s right, she doesn’t WANT to be rescued. So I had the basic premise. I also knew I wanted the hero to belong to a group of sexy alpha mercenaries and the heroine to be a ruthless assassin, so I had the basic character sketches too.
After that, it was all a matter of brainstorming and creating fun, complex characters, and dark, suspenseful situations.

Why Romantic Suspense?

It’s what I love to write. I’m drawn to stories with an edge or with an element of danger. I enjoy creating emotional situations within all that danger and watching my characters fall in love de-spite all the chaos around them. And it’s also a lot of fun writing outrageous action scenes, be-cause in real life I’m very much a “play-it-safe” kind of gal—no risk taking for me!

Did you do any unique research for Midnight Rescue?

Lots. Everything from combat techniques to geology. If I’m unsure about something, I’ll usually research it—or phone a friend.

Who was the easiest & hardest character for you to create?

I think Abby, my heroine, was the hardest to write. Figuring out her background and how that influenced the decisions she’d ultimately make was difficult. She’s found herself in a position where she desperately wants to rescue others before they wind up in the same horrible situation she did, and this affects the cold, detached front she’s put up all these years. It was also a challenge to find that balance between her being an assassin—someone who can be cold and emotionless—and being a woman falling in love—someone who opens up and lets herself be vulnerable.
Luke was definitely the easiest to write. He’s a secondary character in this book but will be the hero of book two, “Midnight Alias”. His ladies man personality, conflicts and motivations came really naturally for me.


If you could pick any other genre to write what would it be and why?

Hands down, young adult. I fell in love with reading when I was young and some of my favorite books are ones that I read way back then. Stories really stick with you when you’re that age. I also think it’s a really important genre—getting kids excited about books at a young age can play a pivotal role in their lives. Plus, it’s just plain fun.



That's all for Elle Kennedy, Adult readers be sure to pick up Midnight Rescue out now!!!




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