Guest Post: Yvonne Prinz

Swinging by today is Yvonne Prinz! Yvonne is the author of The Vinyl Princess and the new All You Get Is Me.

A summer of love, loss, and justice.

Things were complicated enough for Roar, even before her father decided to yank her out of the city and go organic. Suddenly, she’s a farm girl, albeit a reluctant one, selling figs at the farmers’ market and developing her photographs in a ramshackle shed. Caught between a troublemaking sidekick named Storm, a brooding, easy-on-the-eyes L.A. boy, and a father on a human rights crusade that challenges the fabric of the farm community, Roar is going to have to tackle it all—even with dirt under her fingernails and her hair pulled back with a rubber band meant for asparagus.

The Politics Of Food In All You Get Is Me
I’ve always been a food person. I went organic long before organic was de rigueur, even if it meant driving to far flung farmer’s markets at ungodly early hours. And then, naturally, I became a locavore, easy enough in California, I know, but it went deeper than that for me. I’ve always wanted to know the source of my food. How it got from a farm somewhere to my table became of great concern to me, especially when I started to understand that the agricultural labor force in this country is comprised primarily of undocumented workers.

Nothing turns me off a book faster than an obvious “message” revealing itself clumsily, shortly after I’ve started reading, but I grew to understand that there’s a vast difference between a book with a “message” and a book that tells a story in an observational way, allowing the reader to decide for themselves what’s right and what’s wrong. Or, even better, I like a grey area, where a reader has to really think about what they would do if they were in your character’s situation.

Another pet peeve of mine in YA literature is authors who create a narrator from a culture not their own. I would never presume I know enough about, for instance, a Migrant Farm Worker, to actually speak as one. So when I set out to write “All You Get Is Me”, I wanted to write about a girl from the city who is immersed into farm culture against her will and learns about the politics of food as the reader learns along with her. Roar (Aurora) resents her father for buying the farm but she has no choice but to help out and she comes to learn about the life of the Mexican farm workers first hand by working alongside them. Roar soon learns that the workers have no rights or benefits, that some of them live in their cars or camp out on the edges of farm property or share overcrowded trailers in Colonias where the living conditions are brutal. She learns that they send all the money they earn back to their families and she sees the ugly racism that immediately bubbles to the surface of her little town when her father convinces Tomas, whose wife was killed in a car accident, to sue the American woman responsible.

The nucleus of the story is food. The farmers who struggle to grow it and get it to market and the workforce they hire to harvest it have ignited an unprecedented political division in this country. I chose not to write about that as the big picture, though. Instead, I used it as the backdrop for the story of one girl, living on a farm in a small town in California who has a very very interesting summer.

In My Mailbox - February 2011

Review:
Father of Lies by Ann Turner
By These Ten Bones by Clare B. Dunkle
Red Riding Hood by Sarah Blakley-Cartwright
Dark Mirror by M.J. Putney
Divergent by Veronica Roth

Bought:
Super spiffy awesome buttons
The Inheritance Almanac by Michael Maccaulay

Bookmooch:
Dragon's Milk by Susan Fletcher

Library:
The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney

Gifted:
Iron Queen sweatjacket
Hershey kisses
The Hunchback Assignments by Arthur Slade (Thanks, Deb!)
Madame Tussaud by Michelle Moran & letter


What did YOU get this past month?

BONUS!



I went to the Strand when I visited NYC on the 17th. It's AMAZING. I took some footage of the YA section and took quite a few photos; I'll get a mini-vlog up sometime soon. I had to buy these, though - I've been looking for North and South for a while, and that copy of Jane Eyre is gorgeous!

Bought:
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell




PS: I don't mention it often, because it's so commonly known, but MAD PROPS to Kristi at The Story Siren for hosting IMM even though I never link like I'm supposed to.

My Top Read Authors

Kristi over at The Story Siren did this a while back; thanks to Goodreads, you can find out who your top read authors are - that is, what authors you've read the most of.

I knew what the first one would be, and I guessed at quite a few that came after that. (If you're interested in find out out who yours are, just go to your Goodreads page [friend me!] and go to my books. On the right hand side of the page is a little link saying 'most read authors.')

One: Anne McCaffrey
Number of books read: 46

Um. Yeah. This number is actually accurate, seeing as I own all 46 that I've read (plus some that I have yet to read.) She wrote the DragonRiders of Pern series, which I absolutely adore. Oh, and the Tower and the Hive series, which I love. And the Petaybee series is kind of awesome. Ooo, can't forget the Crystal Singer series...

Two: Robert Jordan
Number of books read: 14

I find it funny that the top two authors are both adult fantasy/sci-fi authors, especially considering how much YA I read. Jordan is the author of the Wheel of Time series, which is on it's 14th book, each the size of the largest Harry Potter novel. Maybe larger. They're HUGE. And I've read them all.

Three: Eoin Colfer
Number of books read: 9

Although I've read a few of Eoin's other novels, I absolutely adore his Artemis Fowl series - it's one of the few series that I run out and pick up the new one every time they're released. I mean, his non-Artemis stuff is good, too, but I love me some Artemis Fowl.

Four: Suzanne Collins
Number of books read: 8

Okay, okay. Half of you are wondering how I've read 8 of Suzanne's books because you only associate her with the superfab Hunger Games. But I read her other series - Gregor the Overlander - a few years before she churned out The Hunger Games, and I'm working on owning all of them. If she publishes again, this number will go up; I'll read anything this woman writes.

Five: Erin Hunter
Number of books read: 8

Since Erin Hunter is three people writing together, should I divide the number of books by three? Naaaaah.

Erin writes the Warriors series and the new(ish) Seekers series, and I finished the first part of the Warriors series + some. Eventually I plan on reading all of them (the cats just kick ass) so this number should skyrocket within the next few years.

Six: L.A. Meyer
Number of books read: 8

He wrote the Bloody Jack series.

I will never NOT read a Bloody Jack book. I adore them.

Seven: Raymond E. Feist
Number of books read: 7

Another adult fantasy author - I can blame my dad for getting Anne and him on the list; you can't expect to leave a bibliophile boxes of adult fantasy books and not have her read them. He usually slips my mind while I'm making recommendations, but his Empire series is one of my favorite things to reread.

Eight: J.K. Rowling
Number of books read: 7

Seven Harry Potter books.
Seven books read.
Makes sense, right?

Nine: T.A. Barron
Number of books read: 6

That number is WRONG. That's according to Goodreads, which I must now go update. See, his Lost Years of Merlin series has five books alone. (It's awesome. Read it.) And I've read Tree Girl AND his Great Tree of Avalon series, so he should be up higher on the list. I also plan on reading the other Fincayara-based series he came out with, so he'll get even higher.

Ten: Ellen Hopkins
Number of books read: 5

Ellen is the only author I really enjoy who writes poetic prose. (I don't remember the right phrase for it.) She's just bloody brilliant.



Who are YOUR top ten?

Final Friday Interview: Clare B. Dunkle

Today I have the honor of welcoming Clare B. Dunkle back to WORD! She stopped by this past October and participated in Book Spooks and she's back again for an interview!

I just finished her werewolf novel By These Ten Bones and really liked it - review should be up next week. This is what it's about...

A mysterious young man has come to a small Highland town. His talent for wood carving soon wins the admiration of Maddie, the weaver’s daughter. Fascinated by the silent carver, she sets out to gain his trust. But there is an evil presence in the carver’s life that cannot be controlled, and Maddie watches her town fall under a shadow. One by one, people begin to die. Caught in the middle, Maddie must decide what matters most to her—and what price she is willing to pay to keep it.

But click read more to read the interview! We talk about Harry Potter, British ghosts, and dragons...

Guest Post: J.R. Turner (& Giveaway)

Introducing J.R. Turner, author of the Extreme Hauntings series!

Skater Kaylee Hensler might not be Miss Popular, but there are some friends a girl can do without. When the decaying ghost of a murdered girl decides they need to be total BFF’s, Kaylee will sacrifice the trust of her family, her swim coach’s respect, and any hope of a date for the Harvest Dance. And oh yeah… discover that super-evil entities are nothing at all like they are on TV or in the movies Aside from seriously bad attitudes, they not only like to kill…but replay the killing again and again for all eternity. To avoid that fate, she’ll have to rely on her wheelchair-bound friend Davey, the mysterious Madame Maggie, and the surprising depth of her own power. Will Kaylee survive, or will she become someone else's DFF: Dead Friend Forever?

Detour 2 Death is the third book in the Extreme Hauntings series. These are ghost stories, each set in a different location. The first, DFF: Dead Friends Forever is about a haunted house, the second, School’s Out 4-Ever is about a girls reformatory, and in Detour 2 Death, the haunting occurs in a hospital.

I think what makes the third book special is that Kaylee is really coming into her powers and finding out who she is as a person. Her ability to heal becomes a weight on her conscious during the course of the book. She questions how she can be expected to heal all the sick people in the hospital and worries she might heal a serial killer or a child molester. She finds some peace by the end of the book, but the next ones will challenge her greatly.

One of the themes in the series is growing much stronger than I expected it to. Because the characters are dealing with demons and souls, angels and religion grew in focus. These were not elements I planned on exploring, but between Kaylee’s father and his beliefs as a psychologist and her mother’s beliefs as a one-time student of angelology, the conflict has become very interesting, and important to the future books.

I sure didn’t plan on having an angel become a love interest or a shrink become the doubting Thomas in need of serious enlightenment. Yet these are what make me passionate about the series and I hope readers will find them as interesting as I do!

Thank you so much for being a part of my blog tour. To show my gratitude I’d like to offer a free book thong to one of your readers. I’ll draw a name from those who comment and announce the winner in a day or two. In the meantime, I’m happy to answer questions or simply respond to comments.

It’s a pleasure to be here!

Warmly,

Jenny :)

Waiting on Wednesday: Between Here and Forever

Because we all have something we're waiting for.

Between Here And Forever by Elizabeth Scott

Abby accepted that she can’t measure up to her beautiful, magnetic sister Tess a long time ago, and knows exactly what she is: Second best. Invisible.

Until the accident.

Now Tess is in a coma, and Abby’s life is on hold. It may have been hard living with Tess, but it's nothing compared to living without her.

She's got a plan to bring Tess back though, involving the gorgeous and mysterious Eli, but then Abby learns something about Tess, something that was always there, but that she’d never seen.

Abby is about to find out that truth isn't always what you think it is, and that life holds more than she ever thought it could.

Series: ---
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: May 24 2011

I don't read much modern fiction nowadays. I love my fantasy, and my historical fiction, and occasionally a sci-fi or steampunk novel. But this is ELIZABETH SCOTT. She has not failed me yet. And so I wait eagerly for this.

Darkness Becomes Her

Darkness Becomes Her
Author: Kelly Keaton
Series: Gods & Monsters (#1)
Publisher: Simon Pulse
How Received: publisher ARC

Ari can’t help feeling lost and alone. With teal eyes and freakish silver hair that can’t be changed or destroyed, Ari has always stood out. And after growing up in foster care, she longs for some understanding of where she came from and who she is.

Her search for answers uncovers just one message from her long dead mother: Run. Ari can sense that someone, or something, is getting closer than they should. But it’s impossible to protect herself when she doesn’t know what she’s running from or why she is being pursued.

She knows only one thing: she must return to her birthplace of New 2, the lush rebuilt city of New Orleans. Upon arriving, she discovers that New 2 is very... different. Here, Ari is seemingly normal. But every creature she encounters, no matter how deadly or horrifying, is afraid of her.

Ari won’t stop until she knows why. But some truths are too haunting, too terrifying, to ever be revealed.

I'll be the first to admit that I sincerely doubted that Darkness Becomes Her was going to be any good. Even though the summary sounded cool, it reminded me of another half dozen books that had come out recently. But it was relatively short, and it was coming out soon, and it was by a debut YA author, so why not read it?

I should never have doubted it. Darkness Becomes Her is now one of my favorite paranormals - or does it fall under mythology? Alternate reality? It covers so many different genres, but it's absolutely amazing.

I liked it from the moment I started it. From page one, we have a genuinely kick ass heroine. Ari reminds me a bit of a young adult version of Kate Beckett from "Castle" - not the best history, but able to handle herself and everything around her, even if she does have a few moments where she gets down.

Ari reminds me of Kate Beckett (above) from ABC's "Castle"

Normally I spend a good portion of the post talking about my love of some of the characters, but I think that would need a full 'nuther post. I loved Josephine and her aura of HBIC (head bitch in charge); she was everything I expected her to be. The New 2's scraggly bunch of misfits - Crank, Dub, and Vi - were absolutely adorable. I have a particularly soft spot in my heart for Vi, mainly because she and I share a love of masks.

Sebastian. What can I say about Sebastian? Though I felt like the romantic part of this book was a little off - just because it happened so suddenly - I have to say, Sebastian is one helluva sexy character. He's funny and worrisome and sexy and absolutely real. Sure, he's got some - um - odd family history. But he's adorable. [SPOILER] And the only reason that his relationship with Ari was odd was because they had only known each other a little while before they started making out. Besides that, it was great - Ari was laughing at herself because of her feelings for him, and they weren't ZOMGattached to each other from the start. They were there for each other, because they had to be at first, and then because they wanted to be. [/SPOILER]

And the WORLD!
Oh, this wonderfully crafted WORLD!

I've been iffy on paranormal worlds lately; there are too many Twilight-esque books out right now. And I'm picky on fantasy and mythology to begin with; this does a great job at merging them, creating an alternate New Orleans that is absolutely brilliant and believable. I was able to picture all the places, all the creatures; it was wonderful.

And the plot? Bloody brilliant. A hint of romance here and there, a tinge of friendship, and overall excellence. It was creative and kept me guessing without giving too much away, and I didn't expect the (brilliant) end at ALL.

I'm ridiculously excited for the next book; can I have it NOW?

Overall Rating & Final Comments: 10/10. Brilliant world, brilliant characters, brilliant plot, brilliant book.
Challenges Used In: 2011 Debut Author Challenge

Darkness Becomes Her comes out TODAY! So scurry on over to your local bookstore and buy it.

Liz's Corner: The Iron King

The Iron King
Author: Julie Kagawa
Series: The Iron Fey
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
How Received: bought

Click here to see Nicole's review.

Meghan Chase is the invisible one in her family. They tend to forget she's there. Actually, most of the school tends to forget she exists - unless you count her best friend, Robbie.

Then her sixteenth birthday comes about - and suddenly her brother has been replaced by a changeling, Robbie is actually the infamous Puck, and she may or may not have to rearrange the entire structure of the faery world to get her brother back.

Then, of course, there's the matter of the ice prince who would as soon kill her as kiss her...

The first thing I said when I closed this book was, "I WANT MOOOORRRE!". And yes, I said it loudly.

This...this is the first book to really grip me and make me love it since My Soul to Save by Rachel Vincent. My brain is in overload from this book, but in a very happy way.

Okay, okay, I'm calming down and starting at the beginning.

Breathe.

Okay. When I first opened the book, I read about a little girl and the loss of her father. It's a plot point that I've seen multiple times, but it wasn't that big of a deal, so I looked past it. Then Robbie came in. Inssttannnt looovvve!!! He's cute, he's funny, he's friendly... I want one. Just sayin'.

Anyway, I so didn't get the whole digital creepy fey or the iron fey until the very end. I sorta had a brain fart and forgot the title of the book (Ahem, IRON King... Duh) and totally looked passed them, which made the ending fun and surprising. Machina makes me think of the hot dude from the Matrix when Meghan goes to dethrone him. He just sounds super bad like that.

The two Mega-Hotties of the story -- Puck (Robbie) and Ash -- were so developed, that I felt I could look up from the pages and find them standing in front of me. (Which, for the record, I would have loved to happen, tehe.)I am still Team Puck all the way, and am upset that Meghan would hurt her best friend's heart. She had feelings for him, you know it, but she ignored them. Because every girl has to go for the bad boy. That was the only part I disliked in the story, but I still like Ash.

The plot was fantasmagorical - a word I reserve for the best and most wonderful things. It made me want to start writing a plot of my own, one to rival the mastery that Julie Kagawa made. Which, I think , would be very hard. Except, my plot would include Puck coming out of that tree. I almost cried at the end when he didn't. Almost.

Ahem...I shall, um, stop rambling in my fan-girlness now, though. This book is BY FAR in my top three favourite books. And...wait for it...it has to have a favourite quote! I leave you with, a Puck quote. :D

"Oh, we're playing nice now?" Puck remained seated, looking anything but compliant. "Shall we have tea first? Brew up a nice pot of kiss-my-ass?"

PS. I'm hunting for my own Grimalkin now.

International Giveaway: In the Storm [ebook]

This giveaway is over.

The lovely Karen Metcalf swung by for an interview yesterday, and she's been kind enough to visit again today - but not to talk. Instead, she's here to give three copies of her recently released novella, In The Storm, to you guys!

Abandoned by the world around her, Carly believes she is fated to a life of torment at the hands of her stepfather and is desperate for an escape. When she can bear the abuse no longer and gives in to a thunderous rage, she suddenly finds herself in an unfamiliar, yet beautiful, storm world. This limbo between dimensions appears to be her private sanctuary, but it may just be her purgatory.

No one escapes fate without sacrifice, but is the price more than Carly is willing to pay?

In The Storm is an ebook, so the three winners will get codes to download it for free off the publisher's site. I read a few pages the other day and it looks fantastic so far; I plan on printing the rest out to read. (It's only eighty eight pages. I love novellas.) And since it's an ebook, everybody can enter! No restriction to Americans or Canadians; if you live in England or Italy or Puerto Rico, you get to enter, too.

All you have to do is fill out the form below. It's not difficult, right? The giveaway will end on February 27, and I'll announce the winner sometime on the 28th.

Quick Recap:
[3] copies of In The Storm up for grabs
[3] winners
ends February 27

How To Win:
[mandatory] fill out the form below

Giveaway Winner: Billi SanGreal series

The winner of the BilliSangreal series is Kristin from My Bookish Fairy Tale who - if given the chance - would join the Knights Templar.

Congrats, Kristin!

Interview: Karen Metcalf

I'd like everybody to welcome Karen Metcalf to WORD!

Haven't heard of her? I'm not surprised. She's a full time student - and her first novella, In the Storm, just came out on the 15th.

Abandoned by the world around her, Carly believes she is fated to a life of torment at the hands of her stepfather and is desperate for an escape. When she can bear the abuse no longer and gives in to a thunderous rage, she suddenly finds herself in an unfamiliar, yet beautiful, storm world. This limbo between dimensions appears to be her private sanctuary, but it may just be her purgatory.

No one escapes fate without sacrifice, but is the price more than Carly is willing to pay?

I got the chance to ask her a few questions - about writing, about school, and about puppy sized elephants. Check out the interview below - and don't forget to come back tomorrow for a giveaway!

Feature Friday: Bookcases (27)

Who said storage had to be boring?




One of the reasons that this is so impressive is that the entire thing is carved out of a single piece of wood; it's not nailed together, it's not glued. It's ONE PIECE of wood.

This was made by David Delthony; you can see more of his work here.

Friday Fronts - The Healer's Apprentice

I LOVE this cover. The image itself is beautiful - I love her dress, the setting, the way the sun is hitting her face, her facial expression. Then they went and picked the most gorgeous combination of fonts to go with it.

My favorite part? Take a look at the O in her last name. That little bit - that's what I adore most.

Award: Stylish Blogger Award

For some strange reason, Lindsay from Just Another Book Addict loves me enough to give me the Stylish Blogger Award.

1. Share 7 things about yourself.
2. Award 10 recently discovered great bloggers.
3. Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award.

Seven things about myself, eh? Hmm...
1. Whenever I'm asked for seven things I want to start listing the Harry Potter books or any variation of the sevens used within.
2. On the day I set up this post - I set almost all my posts up in advance - an Adam Lambert autograph came in the mail. My mom and I are HUGE fans. (Crappy photo to the right.)
3. I'm a double major in English and Journalism: Public Relations.
4. I just started watching Doctor Who this past January and am completely hooked - I watched four seasons in two weeks.
5. I think British television shows are FAR superior to American ones, both in late night shows and actual plotted television shows.
6. I recently became a huge fan of Chess: The Musical. Don't ask.
7. I have an unhealthy obsession with notebooks. I NEED new notebooks for everything I do, even if I only use a few pages.


And I have a couple bloggers I'm awarding this to - I never award the full ten; I'm only going to pick ones I think deserve it. And since they have to be ones I recently found...

That Cover Girl
Not only is the blog well written, it's just genuinely interesting and original, and I love it. It satisfies every bit of my cover whore.

Me On Books
Me on Books just started recently, but Lindsay is doing a great job so far, and I'm quite interested in seeing where she goes from here with her blog.

Adventures Of Ghosty McGhostwriter
I love this blog.
Just read it.
You'll understand.

Waiting on Wednesday: Red Glove

Because we all have something we're waiting for.

Red Glove by Holly Black

The cons get twistier and the stakes get higher in Red Glove, the sequel to White Cat.

Series: Curse Workers (#2)
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry
Release Date: April 5 2011

I can't find a larger summary than that when I was setting this post up, which is kind of depressing. I didn't adore the first book in the series, White Cat, but the world Holly has created is enough to keep me coming back for more.

Angelfire

Angelfire
Author: Courtney Allison Moulton
Series: Angelfire (#1)
Publisher: HarperCollins
How Received: gift

When seventeen-year-old Ellie starts seeing reapers - monstrous creatures who devour humans and send their souls to Hell - she finds herself on the front lines of a supernatural war between archangels and the Fallen and faced with the possible destruction of her soul.

A mysterious boy named Will reveals she is the reincarnation of an ancient warrior, the only one capable of wielding swords of angelfire to fight the reapers, and he is an immortal sworn to protect her in battle. Now that Ellie's powers have been awakened, a powerful reaper called Bastian has come forward to challenge her. He has employed a fierce assassin to eliminate her - an assassin who has already killed her once.

While balancing her dwindling social life and reaper-hunting duties, she and Will discover Bastian is searching for a dormant creature believed to be a true soul reaper. Bastian plans to use this weapon to ignite the End of Days and to destroy Ellie's soul, ending her rebirth cycle forever. Now, she must face an army of Bastian's most frightening reapers, prevent the soul reaper from consuming her soul, and uncover the secrets of her past lives - including truths that may be too frightening to remember.

I have so much love for Angelfire. Everything about this story is bloody brilliant - brilliant writing, brilliant characters, brilliant plot.

This is the only take on angels so far that I've liked. It's a well fleshed out idea that's not soaked in Christian imagery; it's fantastic. Details from the beginning of the story came to play a part in the end of the story. I don't think a single plot point was dropped, actually - only unanswered ones that will be, hopefully, answered in the next novel.

The thing that makes this story, though, isn't the brilliant plot. It's the characters. Every single one is brilliantly written (I'm going to abuse this word; it applies so perfectly) and generally badass. Take our lovely main character, Ellie, for instance. Not only is she kicking ass and taking names, but she's real - she's got her flaws and got her friendships and she's a very normal teenage girl who just happens to have these mega-awesome powers.

Will is sexy as hell, and real, and imperfect. He's got his (sexy) flaws and he banters back and forth with Elle and it's fantastic. One of the reasons I think I love him so much is his relationship with her. They're not making out because they can and they're not ZOMGINLOVE. They care for each other, but they're friends, and their relationship isn't perfect by far.

Actually, they remind me a bit of Brennan and Booth from Bones - partners who care for each other and save the world from bad guys. And the fight scenes are like Buffy, where you have the badassness and banter and humor and darkness and everything that a good fight should have.

The side characters are epic, too. All of them are fleshed out and real. Her friends all have different personalities and do different things and live real high school lives, and the more fantastical side characters just leave me craving to know more about them. (Bastian and Cadan anybody!?)

I did mention Will was sexy, right?

This book is just bloody fantastic; it comes out today (today, TODAY!) - I highly recommend running and picking up a copy.

Overall Rating & Final Comments: 10/10. Buy it now. It's fantastic.
Cover Comments: I talked about this cover a few weeks ago as one of my Friday Fronts posts.

The Iron Daughter

The Iron Daughter
Author: Julie Kagawa
Series: The Iron Fey (#2)
Publisher: HarlequinTeen
How Received: publisher ARC

Click here to read Nicole's review of The Iron King.

Half Summer faery princess, half human, Meghan has never fit in anywhere. Deserted by the Winter prince she thought loved her, she is prisoner to the Winter faery queen. As war looms between Summer and Winter, Meghan knows that the real danger comes from the Iron fey—ironbound faeries that only she and her absent prince have seen. But no one believes her.

Worse, Meghan's own fey powers have been cut off. She's stuck in Faery with only her wits for help. Trusting anyone would be foolish. Trusting a seeming traitor could be deadly. But even as she grows a backbone of iron, Meghan can't help but hear the whispers of longing in her all-too-human heart.

Minor spoilers for the book throughout, with a major spoiler at the end. You're warned in giant red words. Just saying.

I love this series; I really do. (I wouldn't spend so much time promoting it if I didn't.) This plot in this one was much weaker than the plot of The Iron King; it's quite easy to figure out what Meghan is becoming.

Regardless of that, I still loved The Iron Daughter. It's a very character driven book, and I love nearly all the characters. (Meghan annoys me. A lot. Mainly because she's so god damned weak when it comes to controlling her emotions, especially when it comes to Ash.)

Yes, I'm Team Puck. But that doesn't mean I don't like Ash; it just means I like Puck MORE. I pitied Ash a lot during this book. He had to go through a helluva lot, and even though he was a complete and utter moron at the beginning, he pulled out strong by the end of the book. Puck was Puck - glorious and funny and protective and Ash's best friend and worst enemy and fantastic and god I love this character. [minor spoiler] Ironhorse kicked ass. I like Ironhorse.[/minor spoiler] And Grimalkin, as usual, was superfantasmagoricallyamazing. I want an action figure Grim that spouts out snarky things when I squeeze it.

One of my favorite parts of The Iron Daughter is that the side characters and villains are awesome. Mab kicks ass - I'm kind of afraid of her, actually - and Leanansidhe (don't ever ask me to spell her name again) was quite interesting to read about.




[BEGIN MAJOR SPOILER ALERT]
In the infamous image of an internet meme, Puck is - at the end of this book:





He better get a happy ending damn it.




[END MAJOR SPOILER ALERT]

Overall Rating & Final Comments: 9/10. Though the plot in this one is predictable, this is a series that you want to keep reading over and over again - it's just that good.

Giveaway: The Devil's Kiss & Dark Goddess

This giveaway is over.

The fantastic Sarwat Chadda swung by a few days ago; he wrote about the awesomeness that is roleplaying. And now he's back again! Not directly, though - his presence is here, in a superfantabulous giveaway.

The first two books in the Billi SanGreal series - the only two to be released thus far - are going to be won by one lucky winner. The Devil's Kiss came out two years ago and Dark Goddess just came out this past month.

As the youngest and only female member of the Knights Templar, Bilquis SanGreal grew up knowing she wasn't normal. Instead of hanging out at the mall or going on dates, she spends her time training as a soldier in her order's ancient battle against the Unholy.

Billi's cloistered life is blasted apart when her childhood friend, Kay, returns from Jerusalem, gorgeous and with a dangerous chip on his shoulder. He's ready to reclaim his place in Billi's life, but she's met someone new: amber-eyed Michael, who seems to understand her like no one else, effortlessly claiming a stake in her heart.

But the Templars are called to duty before Billi can enjoy the pleasant new twist to her life. One of the order's ancient enemies has resurfaced, searching for a treasure that the Templars have protected for hundreds of years -- a cursed mirror powerful enough to kill all of London's firstborn. To save her city from catastrophe, Billi will have to put her heart aside and make sacrifices greater than any of the Templars could have imagined.

Clicking the images below will bring you to the Goodreads pages.





It's pretty easy to win. The giveaway runs until February 19; unfortunately for you lovely international people, it's for Americans and Canadians only. (Why never Mexico? It's just as close to the US as Canada, and yet...) And all you have to do is fill out the form to win. Simple, ja?

Quick Recap:
[1] set of the Billi SanGreal series up for grabs
[1] winner in the U.S. or Canada
ends February 19

How To Win:
[mandatory] fill out the form below

Thoughts On: Frey's Fiction Factory

Frey smiled, sat back in his Eames lounger, and said, “I have nothing to lose.”

Note: This is both a response to Frey's fiction factory and some comments on a blog post Alex did on it a while back.

Click here to read the article that revealed it all.

Alex posted about the fiction factory about a month ago, and that got me thinking about it again, especially with the movie version of I Am Number Four around the corner.

Part One: On Reading And Supporting The Books
Alex made some great points. If a book is good, you should be able to read it no matter where it came from. On the other end, though, there is so much wrong with what Frey is doing that I can't read think about reading the book with a creepy shiver running up my spine.

Yes, the writers have the option of signing the crappy contract. They know that they're working with Frey who is, honestly, a skeezeball. But look at the writers he's targeting: in debt college students who are doing everything they can to get published. He walks in, coerces them, and then gives them no credit, no money, nothing.

Now, I would gladly read any of those books. Why? Because they sound good. I know there are people who vow to never read a book from James Frey or the Fiction Factory no matter what because what he is doing is wrong. And it is wrong, but like I’ve said before, good books are being published. - Alex

Alex is completely entitled to his opinion. He can read whatever he wants, review whatever he wants, love whatever he wants. I have no problems with him.

However, I do have a problem with this sentence: And it is wrong, but like I’ve said before, good books are being published. When did this become acceptable!? These books could have been published with better contacts for these writers. We - I just - JFIKDSFJDKSDMLS.

It's hard to put my feelings on this to words. Yes, I understand that you can get good books out of this. But - to make an analogy - this is the sweatshop of YA fiction. I'm a member of the Harry Potter Alliance. (Bare with me; this is relevant.) The first real life Horcrux we tackled for the Deathly Hallows project was about fair trade chocolate. "Not in Harry's Name"; we didn't want Warner Bros. selling chocolate that wasn't fair trade. People needed to be paid fair, and if it cost us a few extra cents, we were okay with that because it was right.

We were desperate to be published, any way we could. We were spending $45,000 on tuition, some of us without financial aid, and many taking out loans that were lining us up to graduate six figures in debt. A deal like the one Frey was offering could potentially pay off our loans and provide an income for the next decade. Do a little commercial work under a pseudonym, sell the movie rights, and never have to suffer as a writer in New York. We wouldn’t even need day jobs. - NYT article

Why should it be any different for writing? As somebody who wants to be an author, who has friends who are authors, who has a mother who is an author, I know how important it is to be paid fairly. Nonfiction writers get up in arms when they're not getting paid fair. (I should know; there's an entire section dedicated in ASJA's monthly magazine about it.) Why should this be acceptable to us just because we're getting good books? Sure, the chocolate that Warner Bros. is putting out right now is great, but I'm not going to eat it, because every time I buy it, it means I'm supporting some chocolate sweatshop that's not paying their people properly.

It’s an agreement that says, ‘You’re going to write for me. I’m going to own it. I may or may not give you credit. If there is more than one book in the series, you are on the hook to write those too, for the exact same terms, but I don’t have to use you. In exchange for this, I’m going to pay you 40 percent of some amount you can’t verify—there’s no audit provision—and after the deduction of a whole bunch of expenses.” He described it as a Hollywood-style work-for-hire contract grafted onto the publishing industry—“although Hollywood writers in a work-for-hire contract are usually paid more than $250.” - NYT article

Part Two: Frey Himself
I want to slap this man.

Badly.

And should I ever have the opportunity, I probably will and risk being arrested or whatever, because this man needs an ego check.

He was looking for young writers to join him on a new publishing endeavor—a company that would produce mostly young-adult novels. Frey believed that Harry Potter and the Twilight series had awakened a ravenous market of readers and were leaving a substantial gap in their wake. He wanted to be the one to fill it. ... Frey said he was interested in conceiving commercial ideas that would sell extremely well.- NYT article

One of the important bits about the fiction factory, to me, is that it's aimed at YA. He thinks that he can just get a whole bunch of writers, tell them to write, and make a New York Times bestseller, because writing YA is that gosh-darned easy.

JGKOSDJFKSDFM. Really, Frey? Yes, we like good books. Sure, I Am Number Four did well. But I - just - NO. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. What he is doing is so morally wrong, so skeevy, so - GAH. I don't care about what he did with his memoir. I don't care what he does in his writing. But to do this to other people, good people, good authors, and to think that an entire genre of fantastic writing is so easy to manipulate and break into-

I don't believe in hating people I haven't met. It's hard with Frey.

Part Three: Your Opinion
I want to know what you think. Trust me, nothing you say is going to sway my opinion on Frey or the factory - if I feel physically sick while thinking about something, it's hard to convince me otherwise. However, I love reading what other people think about this. So please, tell me.

Giveaway Winner: Summer Court Prize Pack

And the prize packs go to...

Crystal (Winter Court)
Jessica (Rather stay a human)
Linda (Summer Court)
Missy (Summer Court)
Elie (Summer Court)

Congrats to everybody who won!!!