Fated by Alyson Noel

Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Age Group: YA
Rating: 4/5
Source: Publisher


Lately strange things have been happening to Daire Santos. Animals follow her, crows mock her, and glowing people appear out of nowhere. Worried that Daire is having a nervous breakdown, her mother packs her off to stay in the dusty plains of Enchantment, New Mexico with a grandmother she’s never met.

There she crosses paths with Dace, a gorgeous guy with unearthly blue eyes who she’s encountered before...but only in her dreams. And she’ll get to know her grandmother—a woman who recognizes Daire’s bizarre episodes for what they are. A call to her true destiny as a Soul Seeker, one who can navigate between the worlds of the living and the dead. Her grandmother immediately begins teaching her to harness her powers—but it’s an art that must be mastered quickly. Because Dace’s brother is an evil shape-shifter who’s out to steal her powers. Now Daire must embrace her fate as a Soul Seeker and find out if Dace is one guy she’s meant to be with...or if he’s allied with the enemy she’s destined to destroy.

I was so excited when I first head Alyson Noel was starting a new series. I loved her Immortals series and The Soul Seekers didn't let me down. I was placed into a world where I never had been before and I never wanted to leave after I began reading it. Daire Santos has lived a life on the road and when she came to Enchantment, New Mexico, it was a big shock for her. She was so used to California and life in New Mexico was different and there she meets her grandmother, Paloma.

I didn't find Daire's character annoying, I found her interesting and I really liked how she stood up for herself. She was a strong character and even though coming to a new school was hard for her as it is for anyone, she stood her ground and let the Cruel Crew know she was not going to hid and cry. Daire's journey was a long one and at times I did find the book going a bit slow, but not the slow that you would get bored with. There was just so much to learn about the Seekers and then came Dace and Cade. Noel was able to make us like one and not the other and even though I didn't like Cade and knew he was the villan of the story, there was something about him that lured me to hm even more.

All of Noel's covers are beautiful and heart-stopping. FATED has a great cover and I can't wait to see all of the other covers. Overall, FATED was a great start to a new series by a very promising author and I can't wait to see where the series will go next. If you loved the Immortals series or are looking for the next best read, this book is for you. 


Below is a clip from the audiobook of FATED. Enjoy!

Jodi Meadows Interview

1. How did you come up with the idea for INCARNATE?


Fairies. They dragged me from my bed in the middle of the night, hauled me out my window, and made me listen to the story a hundred times until I could recite it exactly as they told it. Then they said I had to write the book Or Else.


That answer may be a lie.


 
2. The road to publication is hard, how was yours?


Hard! I wrote a lot of manuscripts, got rejected a lot, and had some pretty hard times while trying to get published. Ultimately, the struggle was worth it. I think I appreciate what I have now more than I would have if I hadn't gone through those difficulties.


 
3. Can you relate to any of your characters?


Sure! Ana's insecurity with her music comes from a very real place. I've felt that same insecurity and need for success with music, dance, and writing. It's hard putting your heart and and wanting so much to be good at what you love, and knowing you have a long way to go.


 
4. For all the people who want to be writers out there, what advice would you give them?


Write a lot. Read a lot. Be prepared to get rejected a lot. Writers who succeed are just writers who didn't quit.


 
5. Are you planning on writing any other books after INCARNATE?


Yes! INCARNATE is a trilogy, so there will be two more set in that world. I have other stories I'm tinkering with on the side, but they haven't sold yet, so I don't want to say anything about them.


 
6. Can you describe INCARNATE in five words?


Reincarnation. Youth. Love. Music. WE'REALLGONNADIE!!!!

Katherine Easer Interview

1. The characters Maddy and Agnes are very interesting and captured my attention. How did you come up with them?


I started with a listof positive and negative traits that I thought would be intriguing (and frightening) to have in a character. Then I asked myself what each of the girls wanted.  Initially this helped to drive the plot, but I still didn’t have a clear idea of who Maddy and Agnes were.  After I’d put them through a variety of stressful situations, they sprang to life.  They started saying and doing things that were not part of the plan.  Since I was curious to see what they would do next, I didn’t rein them in too much.

 
2. Can you relate to any of the characters?


Well, I can certainly empathize with all of them, even though they’re very troubled girls, but what was fun about writing this novel was that I was able to work with characters who were so different from me.  I feel very fortunate that my childhood was a happy one and that I had parents who loved and understood me, but I’ve often wondered what my teen years would have been like had my childhood been marked by abandonment and loss.  Would I have been out-of-control?  Desperate to fit in?  Through Sarah I was able to explore these questions.

 
3. The road to publication is a long journey. How was your road?


Long and difficult.  Vicious Little Darlings was my first attempt at writing a novel, but prior to that I’d written countless short stories that were rejected by every literary journal I queried.  VLD was rejected 24 times before my agent,Rachel Orr, agreed to represent me.  Eventually I learned that rejection is just part of the process.  If it doesn’t kill your love for writing, then you know you’re on the right path.

 
4. Vicious Little Darlings was an amazing book that kept me on the edge of my seat, do you plan to write anymore books? Can you give us a little hint?


Thanks, Anastasia. :)  Yes, I’m planning to write more books.  I’m currently finishing up another psychological thriller.  I can’t say much at this point, but I will say that it’s dark, twisted, and very different from VLD.

 
5. What advice would you give to author's to be?


Never give up.  Keep writing, even if publication doesn’t comeright away.  Attend workshops and conferences, work on your craft, revise.  Remember: Authors are just writers who didn’t give up.

 
6. Can you describe yourself in five words?



Curious
Quirky
Observant
Procrastinator
Daydreamer

Vicious Little Darlings by Katherine Easer

Publisher: Bloomsbury
Ag Group: Young Adult
Source: Publisher

Sarah Weaver wasn't looking forward to starting at an all-girls school. But that was before she met Maddy. Maddy and her best friend, Agnes, are fun and rich and interesting-and for some reason, they seem to really like Sarah. Before long, Maddy and Agnes have moved Sarah into a big house off campus, where they cook together, buy each other presents, and share each other's secrets. So why does Sarah feel like something's bizarrely wrong? As more and more cracks start to show in Maddy's and Agnes's perfect veneers, Sarah notices some strange and disturbing things: Maddy's compulsive lying, Agnes's obsession with Maddy, and the deterioration of their friendship. And just when Sarah begins to question her own sanity, things turns deadly. Fans of Pretty Little Liars will devour this juicy debut novel.

I can't believe I waited so long to read this book! I kept on looking at it on my bookshelf, but never picked it up until I read the first page and I was hooked. The plot was definatly creepy and if you get scared of all the little things, then you'll be scared when you read this book, especially in the dark.

I thought Sarah was the type of character that didn't have herself together and couldn't get herself together either and Agnes and Maddy were from another planet. Everytime they came into the picture, I got this uneasy feeling in my gut that they were up to no good and whatever they were doing was never good. Plus, I knew something was hiding on the inside, dying to come out.

Going off to college next year myself, I was scared of this book. I kept on thinking to myself, what if I meet people like Maddy and Agnes and get myself into a big mess like Sarah did? Easer knows how to write horror and this book wasn't just horror. For lack of a better word, it was creepy. It gave you emotions that you could only feel if you were actually in that situation and I felt for Sarah at times. No matter what she got herself into, she was going down the rain with Agnes and Maddy.

If you're into something different with a scare factor, pick this book up.

Fated by Alyson Noel Promotion

With the release of FATED by Alyson Noel, fans can pre-order the book in any way (print, e-book, or audiobook) and submit their receipt so they can receive a pair of soul seeker inspired earrings - while supplies last.


The link for the rules for this amazing promotion can be found on the link below.

 http://stmartins.com/fatedpreorder

Angst You by Anne Tibbets

I don’t consider myself an expert in anything.  I’m good at a number of things: ping pong, typing, memorizing movie quotes, stringing words together into a sentence, giving unsolicited advice – but I’m not an expert, by any stretch of the imagination.

So, as I write this guest post about teen angst, I’m a little concerned you will think I’m some professional, and you should follow my advice instead of seeing a therapist, or a guidance counselor.  I’m not.  If you’re suffering severely, get some professional help.  But if you’re just trying to get through the daily grind of your teenage years, here are some pearls of wisdom from someone who has been there.

Take it for what it’s worth.

Speaking from my own experience, angst can be dangerous. It’s defined by Webster’s as a ‘state of anxiety,’ and there was a time in my early teens when I was very anxious about a lot of things.  My family life was falling apart at the seams, and because of this I was unable to focus on school, and therefore, my grades dropped dramatically, I grew depressed, I internalized all of these unspoken feelings, and as a result, I contemplated suicide.  For many teens out there, this kind of anxiety is overwhelming to the point of being deadly.

There is, however, a light at the end of the tunnel.  However difficult it is for a teen to imagine, much like the trailers and anti-bully campaigns say, ‘it does get better.’  As time progresses, as life goes on, as you and those around you grow and change, you eventually reach a point in your life when that terrible and horrible anxiety and angst from long ago is no longer so all-consuming and earth-shattering.  You succeed by enduring.

You might be saying, ‘that’s dandy, but how does that help me NOW?’ It doesn’t.  And here is my completely unprofessional, but experience-ridden advice, from a person who once kept a bottle of pills under her bed just in case she needed a quick get away…(Which I don’t recommend – by the way!)

1)      Find a muse

Some people sing.  Some people draw.  Some people dance.  Some people game.  You don’t have to be the best at it – you just have to love it.  This creative release, in my case, was music and writing, and they were instrumental in giving me a healthy escape from the terrors inside my household.  Try skateboarding.  Ride bikes.  Swim.  Play an instrument.  Join a book club.  Act in a play.  I’m not joking in the slightest.  Find something else to DO while everything else is crashing down.  Take it from one who knows: it helps.

2)      Get a day planner

Again, I’m not fooling.  Part of my problem with coping with my home life was the fact that I was totally and completely disorganized.  It wasn’t until I got into my late teens that a very wise advisor taught me how to create an hourly time manager, so I could plan when I was studying, when I was eating, when I was sleeping, when I was at rehearsal or when I was writing – you name it, I put it on the calendar.  I felt in control.  I was on top of it.  My grades improved because I was able to plan out when certain assignments would get completed.  It doesn’t have to be digital, you can make one yourself on a piece of notebook paper.  But I totally recommend a weekly, hourly breakdown, so you can get a grip on all that needs to be done.  And here’s a free tip: don’t forget to add in travel time!

3)      Find someone to talk 100% honesty

It can be a best friend.  It can be a school counselor.  It can be an Aunt or Uncle. A spiritual advisor.  A therapist.  Your Mom or Dad.  There has to be at least 1 person who you can bare all honesty, and be true to the truth.  That someone, when they ask, ‘How are you today?’ that you won’t just blow sunshine and say, ‘Fine!’ when you feel like dirt.  This is a hard person to find.  You kind of have to audition them.  Find one person, give them a taste of 100% you-truth, and wait a week to see what they do with it.  If it stays with them, and they don’t blab it all over, or start to treat you differently, try it again and see if they can do the same.  If you find this person, you have found gold, and you should treat them as such.  Don’t lose hope.  These people exist.  They can be hard to find at times.  But keep trying – because once you find someone like this – your whole perception of what’s really true, changes.  No joke.  It’s pretty amazing.

As I said before, I’m no expert on anything.  But I’ve been around the block, suffered a few blows in life (a few of them are in my new book SHUT UP), so take my advice to heart, and never give up.

Like food poisoning, teen angst doesn’t last forever.  It’s just while you’re in the middle of it, that it blows chunks.

Purity by Jackson Pearce

Publisher: Little, Brown
Age Group: YA
Source: Publisher

Before her mother died, Shelby promised three things: to listen to her father, to love as much as possible, and to live without restraint. Those Promises become harder to keep when Shelby's father joins the planning committee for the Princess Ball, an annual dance that ends with a ceremonial vow to live pure lives -- in other words, no "bad behavior," no breaking the rules, and definitely no sex.

Torn between Promises One and Three, Shelby makes a decision -- to exploit a loophole and lose her virginity before taking the vow. But somewhere between failed hookup attempts and helping her dad plan the ball, Shelby starts to understand what her mother really meant, what her father really needs, and who really has the right to her purity.

I first began this novel thinking it was short and a quick read, but I found it was a lot more than that. So much happened in this book. Shelby was a relatable character. She had just lost her mother and was left with three promises that she vowed to follow. But following them was hard because it led her to many decisions that she herself wasn't too sure of. Shelby and her dad are on the committee for the Princess Ball and Shelby starts realizing that she will have to break her mom's promises and she doesn't want to, so she goes out to just get laid. But throughout the book, Shelby finds herself and fights with herself. Shelby wasn't just some character, she was a character with feelings and you actually felt for Shelby. She was a character with humor and pain.

I found the book to be a great read, but I wouldn't call it a quick read because so much happened and you felt something for all the characters, especially Shelby and the book left you wanting to know how the Princess Ball was going to be like at the end.

The cover was simple, but sweet. I don't think you could capture the premise of this book in a more perfect cover. This is the first book I've read by Jackson Pearce, but I'm sure I'll be reading more in the future because her writing is great and her stories really speak to you.