Review: Wish for Me by A. Star

Title: Wish for Me
Author: A. Star
Series: The Djinn Order #1
Publication: April 27th 2015
Genre: New Adult ~ Steampunk ~ Paranormal Romance
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iTunes | Kobo
Rating: 5/5

Beta copy review.

  

Three wishes. Two lovers. One destiny.

When the snarky Glory St. Pierre discovers the gold mechanical vase in her deceased grandmother’s basement, she has no idea that she has uncovered a priceless treasure: a genie lamp. With a real genie inside. A very sexy genie with a not-so-sexy grudge against the entire human race.

Irving Amir hates being called a genie. He’s a Djinn, and he is none too happy to be in the service of Glory, who is as intolerable, and beautiful, as humans come. Now he owes her his gratitude for freeing him and three wishes. Damn his luck.

But an arrow through the shoulder alerts Irving to the fact that he is being hunted, and after a truce dinner with Glory ends with them both almost being killed, hating each other goes right out the window. As feelings change and love starts to develop, they must dig through the secrets and lies to find the truth...a truth neither of them will ever see coming.

WARNING: Not suitable for ages 18 and under. A significant source of bad language, sexy times, and dirty jokes. If you suffer from a lack of a sense of humor, take with plenty of wine. If the symptom persists, see a doctor.

"Do not make me smack you, Irving Amir."
"Do not make me kiss you, Glory St. Pierre."

Wish for Me was simply fanastic! I think I had read two books about Djinn before but it wasn't until this book that I felt like yeah, I need to read more books with them (or author's need to write more with them). I was pretty sure I was going to like this book but I hadn't expected to love it this much from start to ending. Just... amazing!

This story is about Glory St. Pierre who chances upon what she thinks is a vase in the basement of her grandmother who has passed away. This is not an ordinary vase Glory discovers when she has taken it to her place. Turns out this vase is not only mechanical (so cool!) but also a genie lamp and whe accidentally summons the cynical but sexy Djinn, Irving Amir, inside. 

Glory was such a fun character to read about. I truly enjoyed reading about everything she did and when Irving, a Djinn, was thrown into the mix it just kept getting better. I can't even begin to explain my love for Irving. He started out exactly how I imagined a Djinn to be — Judgmental towards humans. Irving certainly was like that, but there more going on there than just a hatred toward humans. And he's so much more than just a regular Djinn.

Without giving too much away, there are quite a few plot twists that made me gasp out loud (in public...), twists that I hadn't seen coming at all. I really like books that can surprise me like this. Another cool thing to this book is the steampunk part. There's a mechanical lamp, like I said before, and the Djinn can be summoned with turning a key in it. I just thought that was so cool. And other than that there's so many other steampunk elementas in this book, like Irvin's mechanical bat. She was just so darn cute! 

Overall, Wish for Me by A. Star basically had everything I wanted — An awesome heroine, a smexy hero, djinn and magic, unexpected twists that only this author can truly shock me with and very hot romance + great writing. It was perfect! 

       About the Author:

       Website  |  Twitter  |  Facebook  |  Goodreads 

A. Star is a fan of dirty passion. She loves to read it, and she damn sure loves to write it. She is the author of the Mythos: Gods & Lovers series, the Djinn Order series, and the Knights of the Joust series. She is a night-owl and a coffee junkie, and the only sneaker she would be caught dead wearing are Converses.

Release Day Blitz: An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir + Giveaway (US Only)

I am so excited that AN EMBER IN THE ASHES by Sabaa Tahir releases today and that I get to share the news, along with a special introduction from Sabaa herself!

If you haven’t yet heard about this wonderful book by Author Sabaa Tahir, be sure to check out all the details below.

This blitz also includes a giveaway for a signed copies of the book and some of those awesome sword letter openers we’ve seen around courtesy of Sabaa, Penguin Teen, and Rockstar Book Tours. So if you’d like a chance to win, enter in the Rafflecopter at the bottom of this post.

A letter from Sabaa Tahir.

Dear Readers,

Today, my “baby” AN EMBER IN THE ASHES is finally out in the world! From inception to pub date, this journey took eight years. And what a journey it was: writing, rewriting, revising, editing, querying, submitting; Meeting other debuts, bloggers, booksellers and librarians, and hearing their thoughts on EMBER. There aren’t enough superlatives to describe the radness.

And now, the book is here! I am so excited to see it in the hands of readers. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. To celebrate release day, I’m giving away two signed, first-edition hardcovers of the book. Details below!

All my best,

Sabaa

Title: AN EMBER IN THE ASHES

Author: Sabaa Tahir

Pub. Date: April 28, 2015

Publisher: Razorbill

Pages: 464

Find it: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Goodreads

Set in a terrifyingly brutal Rome-like world, An Ember in the Ashes is an epic fantasy debut about an orphan fighting for her family and a soldier fighting for his freedom. It’s a story that’s literally burning to be told.

LAIA is a Scholar living under the iron-fisted rule of the Martial Empire. When her brother is arrested for treason, Laia goes undercover as a slave at the empire’s greatest military academy in exchange for assistance from rebel Scholars who claim that they will help to save her brother from execution.

ELIAS is the academy’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias is considering deserting the military, but before he can, he’s ordered to participate in a ruthless contest to choose the next Martial emperor.

When Laia and Elias’s paths cross at the academy, they find that their destinies are more intertwined than either could have imagined and that their choices will change the future of the empire itself.

Check out the book trailer!

About Sabaa:

Sabaa Tahir grew up in California’s Mojave Desert at her family’s 18-room motel. There, she spent her time devouring fantasy novels, raiding her brother’s comic book stash and playing guitar badly. She began writing An Ember in the Ashes while working nights as a newspaper editor. She likes thunderous indie rock, garish socks and all things nerd. Sabaa currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her family.

WEBSITE| TWITTER | PINTEREST | GOODREADS | TUMBLR  |INSTAGRAM

Giveaway Details:

2 winners will receive a signed hardcover of AN EMBER IN THE ASHES. US Only.

3 winners will receive a hardcover of AN EMBER IN THE ASHES and a Sword Letter Opener! US Only.

Ends on May 9^th at Midnight EST!

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Blog Tour - Review: Seriously Wicked by Tina Connolly + Giveaway (US only)

Welcome to my stop of this blog tour for Seriously Wicked. This book was really great and I hope you all will check it out!

Title: Seriously Wicked
Author: Tina Connolly
Publication: May 5th 2015 by Tor Teen
Genre: Young Adult ~ Paranormal
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Kobo
Rating: 4/5

Review copy provided in exchange for an honest review.

 

The only thing worse than being a witch is living with one.

Camellia’s adopted mother wants Cam to grow up to be just like her. Problem is, Mom’s a seriously wicked witch.

Cam’s used to stopping the witch’s crazy schemes for world domination. But when the witch summons a demon, he gets loose—and into Devon, the cute new boy at school.

Now Cam’s suddenly got bigger problems than passing Algebra. Her friends are getting zombiefied. Their dragon is tired of hiding in the RV garage. For being a shy boy-band boy, Devon is sure kissing a bunch of girls. And a phoenix hidden in the school is going to explode on the night of the Halloween Dance.

To stop the demon before he destroys Devon’s soul, Cam might have to try a spell of her own. But if she’s willing to work spells like the witch...will that mean she’s wicked too?

Seriously Wicked was a light, and quirky young adult book. It wasn't quite five star material but I also can't say anything bad about it because I really enjoyed it a lot.

Although initially the main character Camellia "Cam" is not a witch (or so she thinks), this book reminded me about how much I love reading about witches. And the fact that is was written in such a fun way made it all the more appealing to me. 

I really liked Cam. Unlike most YA female characters I have read about, she wasn't whiny and irritating. I was impressed by how she juggled her normal world - school and friends but also the world in which she lived with who she calls "the witch". Being a teenager is hard enough without having to do all those things. 

There was a little bit of romance in it but I felt it was more on the side and it was very sweet. I really liked the love interest, Devon. Something that happened to him sure made things interesting. Another character I liked was Cam's best friend Jenah. She was definitely fun to read about.

Other than that this book had some other magical creatures. We're talking about demons, dragons, phoenix and even pixies! I loved that!

So what can I say more than I loved this book? I really enjoy reading fun, quick books like Seriously Wicked and I'm sure it will really speak to the young adult crowd. It was a joy to read and it made me laugh quite a lot. Highly recommended!

       About the Author:

       Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Tina Connolly is the author of the Ironskin trilogy from Tor Books, and the Seriously Wicked series, from Tor Teen. Ironskin, her first fantasy novel, was a Nebula finalist. Her stories have appeared in Women Destroy SF, Lightspeed, Tor.com, Strange Horizons, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, and many more. Her narrations have appeared in audiobooks and podcasts including Podcastle, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, John Joseph Adams' The End is Nigh series, and more. She runs the Parsec-winning flash fiction podcast Toasted Cake.

She is originally from Lawrence, Kansas, but she now lives with her family in Portland, Oregon, where it is nice and green and wet. Photo credit Caroline M. Yoachim.

5 winners will receive a finished copy of SERIOUSLY WICKED! US Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule

Week One: 

4/27/2015- Pandora's Books- Interview 

4/28/2015- Bookfever- Review 

4/29/2015- On Starships and Dragonwings- Guest Post 

4/30/2015- GenGen's Book Blog - Review 

5/1/2015- Bookhounds ya- Interview

Week Two: 

5/4/2015- The Midnight Society- Review 

5/5/2015- Alice Marvels - Guest Post 

5/6/2015- Book Briefs- Review 

5/7/2015- Bittersweet Enchantment- Interview 

5/8/2015- Stories & Sweeties- Review

Release Day Blast: Wish for Me by A. Star #DjinnBlast

Series: The Djinn Order, Act One

Publication Date: April 27, 2015

Genre: Steampunk Fantasy/Romance

Three wishes. Two lovers. One destiny.

When the snarky Glory St. Pierre discovers the gold mechanical vase in her deceased grandmother’s basement, she has no idea that she has uncovered a priceless treasure: a genie lamp. With a real genie inside. A very sexy genie with a not-so-sexy grudge against the entire human race.

Irving Amir hates being called a genie. He’s a Djinn, and he is none too happy to be in the service of Glory, who is as intolerable, and beautiful, as humans come. Now he owes her his gratitude for freeing him and three wishes. Damn his luck.

But an arrow through the shoulder alerts Irving to the fact that he is being hunted, and after a truce dinner with Glory ends with them both almost being killed, hating each other goes right out the window. As feelings change and love starts to develop, they must dig through the secrets and lies to find the truth...a truth neither of them will ever see coming.

WARNING: Not suitable for ages 18 and under. A significant source of bad language, sexy times, and dirty jokes. If you suffer from a lack of a sense of humor, take with plenty of wine. If the symptom persists, see a doctor.

CLICK THE BANNER!

ALSO AVAILABLE AT

ADD WISH FOR ME TO YOUR TBR LIST!

Excerpt

With an angry flick of his wrist, a swirling cloud of purple and gray appeared before us. If I had been questioning whether magic was real, whether Irving was real, it was no longer up for debate.

 Irving reached into the cloud and pulled out a tiny device. It looked like one of those old-timey fountain pens with a crystal vial in the center of the brass frame. He flicked his wrist again and the cloud disappeared.

“Give me your hand,” Irving commanded. With a huff, I did as he ordered, even though I wanted to remind him that I was the master and was supposed to be giving the orders. Not him.

“You son of a bitch!” I hissed as Irving pricked my finger with the point of the pen thingy. “What did you just do?” I sucked on my finger to dull the sting.

“Only your blood knows the truth.” Irving held the pen up and we watched as that tiny drop of my blood somehow coated the entire vial, then turned blue. I swore that surprise flickered across his expression, but it was gone so fast, I couldn’t be sure it was ever there at all.

“What is that thing?” I questioned. I already despised Irving, but my curiosity was a bitch and made me ask.

“It is a verity-meter.” When it became clear that he should try speaking English, he said, “It is a lie detector.”

“A lie detector?” I frowned. “Why do you need that? What do you think I lied about?”

“Nothing.” He slipped the verity-meter into a pocket of his duster. “Now, make your wishes.”

A. Star is a fan of dirty passion. She loves to read it, and she damn sure loves to write it. She is the author of the Mythos: Gods & Lovers series, the Djinn Order series, and the Knights of the Joust series. She is a night-owl and a coffee junkie, and the only sneaker she would be caught dead wearing are Converses.

Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads | Pinterest

Cover Reveal: The Gatherers by Ashley Ehlers

Check out the cover for The Gatherers by Ashley Ehlers, the prequel to The Harvesters. I read The Harvesters back in 2013 and I remember really liking it so I'm pretty excited for The Gatherers!

The Gatherers by Ashley Ehlers 
(Harvesting #0.5) 
Publication date: April 25th 2015 
Genres: Horror, Young Adult

Ashley and Jason weren't the only ones to have an encounter with The Harvesters that day....

Coleen hasn’t been the happiest with her father remarrying, especially to the mother that gave birth to her enemy, Virginia. Bleach blonde bimbo as Coleen thought the moment they started high school. But since they’ve graduated, their parents married for a year now, Coleen has seen a whole new side of Virginia and the girls have gotten closer than ever. However the parents don’t see it, as the girls put up a front, so they plan a getaway to the family’s cabin before the girls go off to college.

Being away from the city is exactly what the girls wanted. Virginia even has something special planned for Coleen on this holiday and being out in the woods is the perfect setting for it. Though things get put on hold when their family dog Trudy runs away and Coleen’s step mother insists she goes out and find her. So as Coleen walks into the woods she gets a chilling sign from her step mother, Tori, which starts a domino effect of bloody unforgettable events.

Purchase book 1:

The Harvesters

About the Author:

Newly married Ashley Ehlers now resides in San Diego with her husband who is currently stationed there. There in their cozy two bedroom apartment she finds the peace she’s been looking for. As they settle into the new chapters of their lives Ashley’s Muses are growing stronger than ever as inspiration is around every corner in her latest adventure.

Blog | Twitter | Goodreads

Stacking The Shelves: April 25, 2015

Stacking The Shelves is a weekly meme hosted @ Tynga's Reviews.

Won:
Sisters of Blood and Spirit by Kady Cross

Won from Otakutwins Reviews!

Bought:
Third Debt by Pepper Winters
Already read it and oh my gawd the ending of this book killed me! Find my review here.

For Review:
The Gracekeepers by Kirsty Logan
I think this book is going to be amazing!

Leave me links to your hauls so I can stop by, please! :)

Review: Third Debt by Pepper Winters

Title: Third Debt
Author: Pepper Winters
Series: Indebted #4
Publication: April 16th 2015
Genre: Adult ~ Dark Romance
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo
Rating: 5/5

Fourth Book in the New York Times Bestselling Indebted Series.

“She healed me. She broke me. I set her free. But we are in this together. We will end this together. The rules of this ancient game can’t be broken.”

Nila Weaver no longer recognises herself. She’s left her lover, her courage, and her promise. Two debts down. Too many to go.

Jethro Hawk no longer recognises himself. He’s embraced what he always ran from, and now faces punishment far greater than he feared.

It’s almost time. It’s demanding to be paid.

The Third Debt will be the ultimate test...

I have to admit that I wasn't the biggest fan of the previous book, Second Debt, but now that I have finished Third Debt I can say that this one blew me away. I think it's the best in the series so far!

I can't believe this is the fourth book in the series already. Only two more to go. This instalment was simply amazing. It hurt my heart like hell but I loved it every single part of it. I thought this story couldn't get even more twisted, but it did. With every book I'm even more impressed by Nila. That girl has some backbone! As for Jethro... well, for the most part of the book he wasn't entirely himself but Nila never wavered in trying to bring him back. 

I should also mention that I thought Kestrel played a slightly bigger part. He even got one chapter in his POV. I really love Kes. He's my favorite secondary character. And also, we finally find something out about Jethro, that has been hinted about in the previous book. Of course I can't say what to avoid spoilers but it was about damn time!

As always the writing was something special. There were quite a few beautiful passages that I just had to reread a few times. Pepper Winters always manages to amaze me with her gorgeous writing.

I was warned that this book would end in a cliffhanger and that it would basically kill me. I knew it and yet I wasn't prepared for it. I'm not going to give anything away but tread with caution. It's a killer ending! 

       About the Author:

       Website | Pinterest | Facebook | Twitter | Blog | Goodreads

Pepper Winters wears many roles. Some of them include writer, reader, sometimes wife. She loves dark, taboo stories that twist with your head. The more tortured the hero, the better, and she constantly thinks up ways to break and fix her characters. Oh, and sex... her books have sex. She loves to travel and has an amazing, fabulous hubby who puts up with her love affair with her book boyfriends.

Her Dark Erotica books include:
Tears of Tess (Monsters in the Dark #1)
Quintessentially Q (Monsters in the Dark #2)

Her Grey Romance books include:
Destroyed

Co-Review: Into the Still Blue by Veronica Rossi

After buddy reading many books, Christina of Booksane and I decided to do something different and do a co-review!

This is based on Novel Ink's co-discussion posts.

Title: Into the Still Blue
Author: Veronica Rossi
Series: Under the Never Sky #3
Publication: January 2014 by Harper Collins USA
Genre: Young Adult ~ Dystopia
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Kobo
Rating: 5/5

 

The race to the Still Blue has reached a stalemate. Aria and Perry are determined to find this last safe haven from the Aether storms before Sable and Hess do—and they are just as determined to stay together.

Within the confines of a cave they're using as a makeshift refuge, they struggle to reconcile their people, Dwellers and Outsiders, who are united only in their hatred of their desperate situation. Meanwhile, time is running out to rescue Cinder, who was abducted by Hess and Sable for his unique abilities. Then Roar arrives in a grief-stricken fury, endangering all with his need for revenge.

Out of options, Perry and Aria assemble an unlikely team for an impossible rescue mission. Cinder isn't just the key to unlocking the Still Blue and their only hope for survival--he's also their friend. And in a dying world, the bonds between people are what matter most.

In this final book in her earth-shattering Under the Never Sky trilogy, Veronica Rossi raises the stakes to their absolute limit and brings her epic love story to an unforgettable close.

Was there anything that stood out with the storyline to you?

Christina: Other than the pure awesomeness of it? As the others this one was amazing. Really couldn’t know what was gonna happen next, the surprises kept coming.

Stephanie: I wouldn't say there was just one thing that stood out to me because there were several amazing moments. Into The Still Blue was a pretty intense book and managed to also tie up some loose ends. And also, there were quite a few deaths that took me aback a little.

What are your thoughts on Aria and Perry in the book?

Christina: Those two are one of my favorite couples of all time. I just love them together. They just have this connection between them that’s very unique. Their love doesn’t have to be at the center all the time, but it’s still there and in between there’s some pretty great moments between them.

Stephanie: Well, I love them. I really do. They're different from other characters in other books, in my opinion. The romance doesn't overtake the story but is more in the background and I really liked it that way. There are some sweet and intense moments with them, though.

What was the best moment of a secondary character?

Christina:  Roar. Roar. Roar. No matter what he does, it’s good. There’s a a great moment where one little fact ruins it for Soren, so it’s kind of both a good moment of Roar, but also Soren actually:

"Oh, one other thing you should know," Roar said. "She was with Perry for a while."

"Nooooo," Soren groaned. "You just ruined it for me."

Agreed, Aria thought. Ruined it for me, too.

"So, he got Brooke and her," Soren continued, indignant. "How does that even happen? He barely talks!"

Stephanie: This is a hard question. I want to say Roar because he's my favorite secondary character but I think I'm gonna go with Soren, weirdly enough. He changed a lot from the guy he was in the first book and he actually changed for the better. And I also loved seeing him trying to impress Brooke and at the end that they were starting something.

What's your favorite quote of the book?

Christina: This one is so beautiful, Perry to Aria:

"What I was trying to say," he whispered, "is that I see you in everything. There isn't a word for you that means enough, because you're everything to me."

Stephanie: “Did I ever tell you that my home in Rim was bigger than the whole of your compound?" Sable asked. A jab, but Perry couldn't have cared less. His house always offered enough space. Even when the Six had slept wall to wall across the floor, there had always been enough room for everyone. "You want to compare sizes Sable? I bet I win.”

Did you think it was a good way to end the series?

Christina: I was really happy with the end actually. I felt happy and relieved after and thought the characters got the good end that they deserved. Of course there were some less happy things, but overall I thought it ended well.

Stephanie:  I thought the ending was pretty perfect. I don't think I could've seen any other ending than that. It's left slightly open to interpretation but that's good. I did think some characters (not saying any names) who had died would not be dead after all but of course I was wrong. Boo. But still, a good ending to an amazing series! 

What are your overall thoughts?

Christina: All started with the amazing book trailer for the first book and now it’s the end.. Already after finishing I miss the books. I miss the characters, I miss the world. I miss everything about it. It’s such an amazing universe and some of my favorite characters. The last books was just as good as the others and gave a worthy end to the end of the story. Veronica Rossi’s writing is amazing and I can’t wait to read more of her books.

Stephanie: I loved this series so much. It all started with watching the book trailer of the first book and I've been a fan ever since. I'm pretty sad that it has ended but it was a great ride to get to know Perry, Aria, Roar and the others. And I also can't wait to read more books by Veronica Rossi. I loved her writing in this series.

       About the Author:

       Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Veronica Rossi is the author of post-apocalyptic fiction for young adults. Her debut novel, UNDER THE NEVER SKY, is the first in a trilogy. Released in January 2012, it was deemed one of the Best Books of Year by School Library Journal. The second book in the trilogy, THROUGH THE EVER NIGHT, debuted in January on the NY Times and USA Today Best Seller Lists. The final book in the series, INTO THE STILL BLUE, is expected to release January 2014.

Foreign rights to the UNDER THE NEVER SKY trilogy have sold in over twenty-five territories to date and film rights have been optioned by Warner Bros.

She completed undergraduate studies at UCLA and then went on to study fine art at the California College of the Arts in San Francisco. She lives in Northern California with her husband and two sons. When not writing, she enjoys reading, painting, and counting down the minutes until she can get back to making up stories about imaginary people. 

Her work is represented by Josh Adams of Adams Literary.