The Iron King... a review for you, a review for me.

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa


My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Just finished reading this for the 'YA Addicted Book Club' I am a part of on Goodreads. Here's the deal with it: At first, I wasn't that into it. The story line seemed a little bit "younger" YA than I normally read. But it got interesting and I hung in there and I'm glad I did. It ended up being a cute spin on familiar fairy tale ideas. Tir Na Nog and the Seelie Court and piskies instead of pixies. And some newer types of characters, too. The machines, in particular, were very creative. The world the author built was reminscent of a hundred different fairy tale ideas, all smashed together, and it was fun to hear a familiar term (dryads, silkies, sirens, etc) but spun differently. The relationships and story layers, were definitely age appropriate and roped me in. And the tension and impossibilites of the romantic relationship there has me already reaching for Book 2.

***
Another recent review you might want to peak at. Andrea, over at Bookish Babes, just posted this for Across the Galaxy:

 "...Across the Galaxy is a beautifully descriptive book. Author Heather Hildenbrand does a terrific job of placing the reader into the scenery. While reading of Arizona, I felt myself visualizing the terrain, the orange and red of the sky, the heat. As I was taken 'across the galaxy' into each ensuing world, the imagery given made each planet feel real. The animals, trees, grass, water; every detail was given its due. True escapism at its best.
  Each character in the story, beginning with Alina, is set up in a realistic way. Their emotions, reactions, the conversations were all believable. I felt as if I got to be a part of the characters getting to know one another. There wasn't any of the "insta love" I've read in a lot of books. When Alina meets Ander, also a native to her home planet, they actually take the time to get to know one another in a real way. That was very, very refreshing. But as they do get to know each other, that chemistry is smoking hot!..."
Click here to read the rest....

Thank you so much Andrea, for your enthusiasm and fabulous review!

Dirty Blood... at last.

Wowzer, peeps. LOTZ going on in Heather-Heather land!

But it's bound to be that way after a book release, right? And I'm having so much fun. It feels like Christmas and my birthday because I'm getting so much love about Dirty Blood AND Across the Galaxy today, AND I just bought Cassandra Clare's: City of Fallen Angels, which I'm about to dive into, so yeah, good times.

Oh, and for those of you that checked, yesterday: Amazon was trying to make me look like a liar! Dirty Blood was uploaded on Saturday afternoon; PLENTY of time to go live on Amazon by Monday. At least, in my experience. Apparently, they had issues, though? Because, according to my computer, it didn't go live until this morning. So yeah, launch day was kind of a tease. But it's there now. Click here to check, if you don't believe me. And buy it, too. That'll put me in my place. Hehe.

Here's the 4-1-1 on my books:

Andrea over at The Bookish Babes is reading Across the Galaxy, and will be reviewing when she's done. She's posted a teaser on her site here. I have to be honest, I read the excerpt, and was like "I wrote that?? Huh, not bad." Seriously... I don't mean that to be egotistical, I just really had forgotten. Anyway, she's got Dirty Blood on deck, as soon as this one is done, so she's a doll. Thanks Andrea!

Also out today is an Author Spotlight post by MD Christie - one of my #TGNO girls. Check it out here. She's awesomesauce.

In the works:

A giveaway, forthcoming on this blog. Stay tuned for deets.

A review/author interview by Wenona Hulsey.

Goodreads giveaway (paperback version!), coming soon.

OH- and coming as soon as she gets her butt in gear: a guest post by Jennifer Sommersby, author of Sleight. Awesomest book I've read in forever! Her kids were out of school all last week, and if you know anything about kids, you know that means she had her hands full. Back to work, Jenn!!