Ironskin by Tina Connolly GIVEAWAY and Blog Tour!

Ironskin by Tina Connolly

Publisher: Tor

Publication Date: October 2^nd

Source: Publisher

Rating: I liked it

Jane Eliot wears an iron mask. It’s the only way to contain the fey curse that scars her cheek. The Great War is five years gone, but its scattered victims remain—the ironskin. When a carefully worded listing appears for a governess to assist with a "delicate situation"—a child born during the Great War—Jane is certain the child is fey-cursed, and that she can help.

Teaching the unruly Dorie to suppress her curse is hard enough; she certainly didn’t expect to fall for the girl’s father, the enigmatic artist Edward Rochart. But her blossoming crush is stifled by her own scars, and by his parade of women. Ugly women, who enter his closed studio...and come out as beautiful as the fey. Jane knows Rochart cannot love her, just as she knows that she must wear iron for the rest of her life. But what if neither of these things is true? Step by step Jane unlocks the secrets of her new life—and discovers just how far she will go to become whole again.

The Skinny: Jane Eyre meets the Fey!

I love the classics. When I first read Jane Eyre years ago, I enjoyed the slow development, but it was never one of my favorites. When I heard about Ironskin and Connolly’s taking the classic and retelling it with fairies, I was intrigued. The additional storyline of a little girl really stole the entire book, and I am eager to learn more about this world.  

Dorie, the little girl, is so frustrating that I am certain that I would have left that house two seconds after meeting her. Jane, patience personified, perseveres and their relationship is deliciously complex and interesting. Every scene with Dorie was bittersweet. I would growl in frustration and almost immediately wonder what she would do next. She is such a creepy character that I was expecting her to blow everyone up any minute. Jane and Poule are interesting characters, and I liked seeing how they diverged from their predecessors.

I like Connolly’s introduction of the fey, but I wanted more. The war sounds so interesting that I sat up straighter whenever we were provided with a glimpse. I like the idea of different types of fey that curse individuals. This is such a novel concept, and I liked that it was weaved into this classic story. Connolly is a creative writer and there are so many unique ideas in Ironskin. The one part that I did not like about the tale is the romance. It felt a little underdeveloped and rushed. I hope we get to see more of it in the next book.

I am looking forward to reading what else Connolly has in store for readers. She is bursting with imagination, and I am confident that her subsequent books will be full of fantastical ideas and characters.

Giveaway! 

Tor is kindly offering one US/CAN reader a copy of IRONSKIN! To enter, comment on this post and leave a way for me to contact you (blog, twitter, etc.).

 Good luck! I really hope you win!

Check out the other stops!

Monday, October 1st:  The Bookpushers

Tuesday, October 2nd:  Into the Hall of Books

Wednesday, October 3rd:  Musings of a Bookish Kitty

Friday, October 5th:  Unabridged Chick

Monday, October 8th:  Ageless Pages Reviews

Thursday, October 11th:  Well Read Wife

Friday, October 12th:  Drey’s Library

Monday, October 15th:  Proud Book Nerd

Tuesday, October 16th:  WV Stitcher

Wednesday, October 17th:  Sweet Southern Home

Thursday, October 18th:  In the Hammock

Tuesday, October 23rd:  A Buckeye Girl Reads 

Wednesday, October 24th:  Luxury Reading

Thursday, October 25th:  Fiction State of Mind

Monday, October 29th:  No More Grumpy Bookseller

Tuesday, October 30th:  Oh! Paper Pages

Thursday, November 1st:  Quirky Bookworm

Monday, November 5th:  Long and Short Reviews

TBD:  Fiction Addict

TBD:  Twisting the Lens

TBD:  Simply Stacie

TINA CONNOLLY lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and baby boy. Her stories have appeared in Strange Horizons, Fantasy, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Highlights Magazine, and the anthology Unplugged: Year’s Best Online SF 2008. Her young adult dystopia play, Witebox, will premier in Portland in 2013. Connolly is a frequent reader for Escape Pod and Podcastle, and works as a face painter, which means a glitter-filled house is an occupational hazard. Ironskin is her first novel.

VENOM by Fiona Paul BLOG TOUR

Venom by Fiona Paul is one of my favorite reads of this year, and I highly recommend that you read it. Venom is beautiful, and I want to live in the book. I will save my gushing for the review that I will post this weekend.

VENOM has all the makings of a novel that will top readers’ must-read list: sexy characters; high society; midnight trysts; and a murderer on the loose—all set in Renaissance Venice. Fifteen year-old Cassandra Caravello is a girl born into the elite world of the privileged few. Though Cass recognizes her good fortune, she longs to be freed of her boring life that is mapped out before her, including her engagement to Luca, her long-distance fiancé. When Cass stumbles upon a dead body one night, her life quickly takes a turn for the macabre. Soon she is swept up in an unfamiliar world of mystery, wild romance, secret societies and danger. She meets the enigmatic Falco, who quickly becomes the object of her desire—however wrong it may be. Forced to examine who she is and what path she wants her life to take, Cass must also now question who can be trusted as she realizes that she, too, is in the killer’s path.

I am so thrilled to be a part of the blog tour for this lovely book. Fiona wrote a prequel for Venom and you can find bits of the story on each of the participating blogs. 

Venomous

A Secrets of the Eternal Rose short story

By Fiona Paul

The year is 1600 and the streets of Venice, Italy are ripe with intrigue and danger. In this introduction to the world of Venom, eighteen-year-old Mariabella has recently elevated herself from the rank of common prostitute to the status of courtesan, a respected high- class escort for those men in Venetian society who can afford them. Mariabella steps out to attend a party on the arm of her powerful new patron, certain that the night will be filled with glamour, secrets, and adventure.

If you missed the last part of the story, check it out on The Book Smugglers!

I lower myself to the crypt’s roof, arranging my skirts around me in a circle. Batista sits next to me.

            “You look beautiful in the moonlight,” he says.

            I smile. “You look handsome in any light.”

            He chuckles. “Oh, Maria of the honeyed words.” Slowly, he starts to peel back one of my lacy gloves. He presses his lips to the crook of my arm, kissing his way from my elbow to my wrist.

            My insides grow warm despite the cool night air. Just as I am about to close my eyes, a flash of movement catches my eye. Tugging my arm free of Batista’s embrace, I point toward the churchyard gate. “Did you see that?” I ask. “I thought...I thought I saw someone near the gate.”

            Batista scans the graveyard. “Probably a cat,” he says. He pulls my body over into his lap. “Did I tell you I ordered a present for you?”

            My eyes light up. Even though Batista can’t buy me expensive gifts, I still love his little baubles and trinkets. “You just painted me that lovely portrait. You didn’t have to get me anything else so soon.”

            “I couldn’t resist.”

            I grin into his chest. My hands trace their way down one of his muscular arms. “What is it?”

            “It’s a surprise.”

            “Tell me.” I scrunch my face into a pout as I look up at him.

            He kisses the top of my forehead. “You are such a child to me, Maria,” he says softly. “So sweet. So innocent.”

            “Not that sweet. And certainly not that innocent,” I say, laughing. I run my mouth along the outer edge of his hand and kiss each of his fingertips. I go tense when I see he’s wearing a ring on his middle finger. Silver and red, with a flower engraved on the face. It’s the same ring Don Zanotta was wearing at the party—the same symbol I feel I must have seen before.

            Batista misinterprets my fascination. “You and your obsessive love of jewelry,” he says. “It was payment for some work I did. You may have it if you like.”

            The silver is ice cold, even though Batista’s hand is warm. I slip the ring off his finger and hold it up to the moonlight, admiring how each of the flower’s six petals are exactly the same size. The bad feeling passes. The ring is pretty, and must come from an excellent jeweler if Don Zanotta consents to wear it. “So we are both working in exchange for jewelry?” I tease, sliding the ring onto the first finger of my left hand. It’s too big; the silver rotates easily around my knuckle.

            Batista tilts my chin upward so that our eyes meet. “If only your work wasn’t in such high demand,” he says. My mouth finds his. I caress his hair, letting my fingers make their way down to the back of his neck. He bites gently on my bottom lip. And then harder. The pain is sharp and exquisite. I lie back on the smooth stone of the crypt and pull him toward me.

            He smiles. “Not so worried about getting dirty anymore, I see.” Then he is heavy on top of me, all warm pressure. The wind, the damp chill of the ocean air, the dead sleeping just below us, it’s all forgotten. I inhale the scent of grass and the sea that clings to Batista’s clothing as his hands make their way beneath my bodice. He tugs at the laces of my stays.

            “I almost went insane tonight watching you dote on another man,” he murmurs between kisses. He grips me tightly—too tightly.

            I reach behind my back and struggle to unlace to further loosen my stays. “Let’s not talk about him.” Let’s not talk at all.

For the next part of the story, visit the fabulous Once Upon a Twilight tomorrow, 10/26! 

Fiona Paul lives in the Midwest but travels a lot since she can’t breathe if she spends too much time away from the ocean. She graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a major in psychology and spent a year teaching English in Seoul, Korea while she was deciding what she wanted to be when she grew up. Answer: everything. In addition to being a teacher and a writer, she’s also worked as a sauté cook, sporting goods manager, veterinary assistant, and registered nurse. When she’s not working, you can usually find her kayaking, reading, or helping turtles cross the road. Her future goals include diving with great white sharks and writing more books, not necessarily in that order. Venom is her first novel. Visit Fiona online at www.fionapaulbooks.com. Follow her on Twitter: @fionawritesYA

The Round House by Louise Erdrich: Blog Tour

The Round House by Louise Erdrich

Publisher: Harper

Publication Date: October 2^nd

Source: Publisher

Rating: I really liked it

One Sunday in the spring of 1988, a woman living on a reservation in North Dakota is attacked. The details of the crime are slow to surface as Geraldine Coutts is traumatized and reluctant to relive or reveal what happened, either to the police or to her husband, Bazil, and thirteen-year-old son, Joe. In one day, Joe’s life is irrevocably transformed. He tries to heal his mother, but she will not leave her bed and slips into an abyss of solitude. Increasingly alone, Joe finds himself thrust prematurely into an adult world for which he is ill prepared. While his father, who is a tribal judge, endeavors to wrest justice from a situation that defies his efforts, Joe becomes frustrated with the official investigation and sets out with his trusted friends, Cappy, Zack, and Angus, to get some answers of his own. Their quest takes them first to the Round House, a sacred space and place of worship for the Ojibwe. And this is only the beginning.

The Skinny: A hauntingly emotional tale

I have heard so many wonderful things about The Round House that when this blog tour came around, I was excited to read such a well-respected book. As some of you may know, The Round House was recently selected as a National Book Award Finalist. I am not usually swayed by book awards and often find that my tastes do not coincide with the tastes of esteemed literary judges, however, I know exactly why The Round House has received such praise: It is terrific.

The characters in this story are so realistically portrayed that it is easy to imagine their responses in reality. We follow Joe as he attempts to process his emotions and thoughts after his mother, Geraldine,  is viciously raped. I was pulled into the story and his mother’s plight so much that I found myself wanting to push away what I was reading because it felt too real, and I did not want to feel that sad or afraid. Joe’s eagerness to help his mom and investigate the crime kept me in suspense, while his mother’s self-isolation caused a sense of hopelessness to settle within me. Erdrich wrote Geraldine in a powerful and highly emotive way, and it is impossible not to experience her pain right along with her.

Erdrich has such a unique writing style. I reread several passages and was stunned at how she chose to describe certain feelings and thoughts. In many books, authors employ stock descriptions and generic phrases to convey ideas. In The Round House, there is not a single phrase that I have read or heard before. Everything is unique, and Erdrich made the English language her own.

I highly recommend The Round House. On the surface, the story is about a trauma, but as the story progresses, it becomes clear that it is about how much people will do to help those they love. From the beginning chapters to the very last page, I was captivated. I did not finish the book with a happy glow, and I am unsettled with the ending, but I understand that the story documents the journeys of these characters and how they develop as a result of trauma.

Be sure to check out the other blogs participating in the blog tour!

Monday, October 22nd: Unabridged Chick

Wednesday, October 24th: Oh! Paper Pages

Monday, October 29th: West Metro Mommy

Tuesday, October 30th: The Betty and Boo Chronicles

Thursday, November 1st: The Feminist Texican [Reads]

Tuesday, November 6th: Conceptual Reception

Wednesday, November 7th: Sweet Tidbits

Thursday, November 8th: Olduvai Reads

Tuesday, November 13th: In the Next Room

Monday, November 26th: Lisa’s Yarns

Tuesday, December 4th: Book Dilettante

Wednesday, December 5th: Books, Thoughts and a Few Adventures

Thursday, December 6th: Veronica MD

Tuesday, December 11th: Book Chatter

Wednesday, December 12th: Peppermint PhD

Thursday, December 13th: Broken Teepee

Friday, December 14th: Seaside Book Corner

Monday, December 17th: World’s Strongest Librarian

 

Louise Erdrich is the author of thirteen novels as well as volumes of poetry, short stories, children’s books, and a memoir of early motherhood. Her novel Love Medicine won the National Book Critics Circle Award. The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse was a finalist for the National Book Award. Most recently,The Plague of Doves won the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Louise Erdrich lives in Minnesota and is the owner of Birchbark Books, an independent bookstore.

 

 

Dear Teen Me Blog Tour and GIVEAWAY

Dear Teen Me: Authors Write Letters to Their Teen Selves edited by E. Kristin Anderson and Miranda Kenneally

Publisher: Zest Books

Publication Date: October 30^th

Source: Publisher

Rating: I liked it

Dear Teen Me includes advice from over 70 YA authors (including Lauren Oliver, Ellen Hopkins, and Nancy Holder, to name a few) to their teenage selves. The letters cover a wide range of topics, including physical abuse, body issues, bullying, friendship, love, and enough insecurities to fill an auditorium. So pick a page, and find out which of your favorite authors had a really bad first kiss? Who found true love at 18? Who wishes he’d had more fun in high school instead of studying so hard? Some authors write diary entries, some write letters, and a few graphic novelists turn their stories into visual art. And whether you hang out with the theater kids, the band geeks, the bad boys, the loners, the class presidents, the delinquents, the jocks, or the nerds, you’ll find friends--and a lot of familiar faces--in the course of Dear Teen Me.

 
I loved Dear Teen Me! Some of the stories are heartbreaking while others will make you laugh and cringe with embarrassment. With every story, I learned something about others. Everyone is going through a situation that others are unaware of, and it is their journey that shapes them. Some of my favorite authors contributed to Dear Teen Me, and I enjoyed reading a raw piece of text about their lives. I highly recommend this book. Check out the full list of contributing writers here.  

GIVEAWAY! 

Zest Books is graciously offering 1 copy of DEAR TEEN ME to a US reader. To enter, please comment on this post and leave a way for me to contact you (blog, twitter, etc.). 

Good luck! I really hope you win!

E. Kristin Anderson was kind enough to answer a few questions. Check out the interview below!

With over 70 stories in Dear Teen Me, it is difficult to pick one that is my favorite. Some made me laugh or cry and others made me realize that everyone has something going on that we are not aware of during interactions. Is there a story that had a great impact on you?

It's so hard to pick any kind of favorite.  Really and truly.  There are, like you said, so many letters, and they are all so special!  I know that during the editorial process, one that gave me chills was Nancy Holder's.  Her language is so beautiful and ethereal, and I felt like I was there with her, dancing, grieving, making the tough choices. 

What is your most treasured experience of the Dear Teen Me process?

Definitely getting to know some of my author friends on a deeper level.  You think you know someone, and then you hear these stories about their high school days, and it definitely brings you closer.  Oh...and also the EPIC teen photos.  What's not to love?

Do you have any plans to create more Dear Teen Me books?

No plans yet, but if the opportunity arises, I'd love to!  Oh, who am I kidding -- I've been fantasizing about it for months!  I hope that DEAR TEEN ME does well enough to justify a sequel or a similar anthology.  Zest makes beautiful books, so I'd love to work with them again on any project, but especially on another DTM book!

If you could ask any writer to compose a Dear Teen Me letter, who would you select?

Oh so hard to answer!  Especially because so many of my favorite authors are already in the book!  But if I could ask anyone...maybe Douglas Coupland or Nick Hornby.  They're both adult authors, and I've never run into them before, and I've loved all of their books.  So it would be cool to see them navigating the waters of YA and talking about growing up.

Certain books come to us at points in our lives when we need them the most. Have you read a book that you wished you had read as a teen?

There are so many amazing books that I wish I'd had as a teen. I think THE NATURE OF JADE by Deb Caletti is up there on the list.  And definitely NICK AND NORAH'S INFINITE PLAYLIST by David Levithan and Rachel Cohn.  And, because I'm a sister, I wish I'd read THE EXTRAORDINARY SECRETS OF APRIL, MAY, AND JUNE by Robin Benway...who is actually one of our DTM contributors!  And above all, STOP PRETENDING by Sonya Sones.

Receiving book recommendations from writers is always interesting, and I would love to know if you have any books that you think people should be reading right now.

My favorite book of this year is THERE IS NO DOG by Meg Rosoff. I want to hug it and cuddle it and pet it.  Also, look out for PJ Hoover's SOLSTICE, which comes out next summer.  It's sexy and exciting and an absolute must read!

What is your next project?

Right now I'm revising a book called VISITED THE SEA, which we're hoping to go out on submission with soon.  It's a YA magic realism taking place on an island off the coast of Maine.  Lots of local legend, romance, and a touch of the otherworldly.  I'm also gearing up for NaNoWriMo, for which I'm writing a contemporary story set at a boarding school, complete with mean girls, romantic entanglements, gender issues, and every insecurity ever.

 

Zest Books is an award-winning publisher of smart and edgy titles that focus on the colorful chaos of teen life. These nonfiction books cover timely topics in creative ways by incorporating solid life advice, practical how-to instruction, and humorous commentary. Zest Books’ catalogue includes 97 Things to Do Before You Finish High School, Where’s My Stuff: The Ultimate Teen Organizing Guide, and Scandalous! 50 Shocking Events You Should Know About So You Can Impress Your Friends. In Fall 2012, Zest Books launches a new line of memoirs and first-person accounts, and Dear Teen Me is the first book in this new line. Zest Books is distributed by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Learn more at www.zestbooks.net.

Princess Elizabeth’s Spy GIVEAWAY and Blog Tour!

Princess Elizabeth’s Spy by Susan Elia MacNeal

Publisher: Bantam

Publication Date: October 16^th

Source: Publisher

Rating: I really liked it

As World War II sweeps the continent and England steels itself against German attack, Maggie Hope, former secretary to Prime Minister Winston Churchill, completes her training to become a spy for MI-5. Spirited, strong-willed, and possessing one of the sharpest minds in government for mathematics and code-breaking, she fully expects to be sent abroad to gather intelligence for the British front. Instead, to her great disappointment, she is dispatched to go undercover at Windsor Castle, where she will tutor the young Princess Elizabeth in math. Yet castle life quickly proves more dangerous—and deadly—than Maggie ever expected. The upstairs-downstairs world at Windsor is thrown into disarray by a shocking murder, which draws Maggie into a vast conspiracy that places the entire royal family in peril. And as she races to save England from a most disturbing fate, Maggie realizes that a quick wit is her best defense, and that the smallest clues can unravel the biggest secrets, even within her own family.

The Skinny: A thrilling mystery that keeps readers guessing. Or, James Bond for girls.

When I read the first book in this series, Mr. Churchill’s Secretary, I knew that I found an entertaining story and hoped that many more books would be published. In the last book, Maggie is Winston Churchill’s secretary and finds herself entwined in a complex spy plot. In Princess Elizabeth’s Spy, Maggie continues her adventure in a new role and has many more adventures.

The characters are complex, funny, and realistic. I loved Maggie and admire her intelligence and bravery. She is such a smart character and constantly surprised me with her maturity and passion. In a time when women were expected to do as they were told, Maggie fights for her desires and is so confident in her abilities that those around her also come to value her grit. We see some familiar faces from the first book and new people are introduced that add to the story and make it memorable.

Susan is such a great storyteller. I was still recovering from the whiplash that I sustained from reading Mr. Churchill’s Secretary as a result of all of the unexpected twists, and I do not think that I shall ever recover after reading Princess Elizabeth’s Spy. Susan really knows how to lead readers down a certain path, lay the groundwork for an idea, and then push them down a hidden hole just before retrieving them and throwing them in the opposite direction. I am a very observant reader and can usually figure out the twists and turns, but I was shocked at many developments and did not see any of them.

Another point that I would like to discuss is the historical nature of the book. I really had a sense of what it was like to live during World War II. To be a woman at this time and deal with the beliefs that dominated business and government must have been trying, and Susan did a wonderful job portraying this phenomenon. Furthermore, the uncertainty and fear that people experienced during this time also comes across well, and I often felt a little paranoid that my classmates were spies after finishing a chapter in between classes.

Overall, I really liked Princess Elizabeth’s Spy, and I highly suggest it. Even if you are not a huge historical fiction fan, this one is worth reading. It is more of a thrilling mystery that is set during an important time than a typical historical fiction. If you enjoy well-written mysteries that will truly throw the unexpected your way, then Princess Elizabeth’s Spy is the perfect book for you. I want the next book so desperately!

Giveaway! 

Bantam is graciously giving 1 copy of Princess Elizabeth’s Spy to a US/CAN reader! Leave a comment on this review to enter. Please leave a way for me to contact you (twitter, blog, etc.). 

Good luck! I really hope you win!

Susan Elia MacNeal is the author of the Maggie Hope mystery series, including her debut novel, Mr. Churchill’s Secretary, Princess Elizabeth’s Spy, and the upcoming Hitler’s Nightingale. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband and child. For more information about Susan and her work, visit her website at SusanEliaMacNeal.com. Check out Princess Elizabeth’s Spy on Amazon!