Blog Tour Guest Post & GIVEAWAY: The Uncrossing by Melissa Eastlake

I am so happy to host this Guest Post from Melissa Eastlake, the author of The Uncrossing. I was planning on posting my review as well, but I've been a super slow reader lately, so I haven't quite finished the book yet. But, so far I'm loving it. My review will be up soon. 

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Title: The Uncrossing
Author: Melissa Eastlake
Recent Release Date: October 2, 2017

Synopsis: Luke can uncross almost any curse—they unravel themselves for him like no one else. So working for the Kovrovs, one of the families controlling all the magic in New York, is exciting and dangerous, especially when he encounters the first curse he can't break. And it involves Jeremy, the beloved, sheltered prince of the Kovrov family—the one boy he absolutely shouldn't be falling for.

Jeremy's been in love with cocky, talented Luke since they were kids. But from their first kiss, something's missing. Jeremy's family keeps generations of deadly secrets, forcing him to choose between love and loyalty. As Luke fights to break the curse, a magical, citywide war starts crackling, and it's tied to Jeremy.

This might be the one curse Luke can't uncross. If true love's kiss fails, what's left for him and Jeremy?

------------------------------------------------------------

Guest Post Topic: The Importance of Representation and Diversity in Fantasy

Fantasy stories expand our ideas about what is possible. They tap into deep archetypes or take readers to extreme situations in order to explore the depths of true, realistic human experiences. Characters in fantasy battle monsters or perform heroic acts to inspire readers in their own lives. Fantasy stories are fun and engaging, but they also teach us how we see ourselves and our aspirations.


Nuanced, realistic representation invites all of us to be those heroes. My original inspiration for The Uncrossing was to write a queer fairytale—to take some of the core, iconic tropes that we use to talk about what love is, and understand explore how they apply to queer people in a changing and still very broken world. 

---Melissa Eastlake--- 

Her debut novel, The Uncrossing, is coming in 2017 from Entangled Teen. She lives in Athens, Georgia with her partner and their dog.

Website --- Twitter

GIVEAWAY

A Prize Pack + a $20 B&N Gift Card (US)* 

* A $30 Amazon Gift Card will be substituted for an International winner

Enter the Rafflecaptor below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

BLOG TOUR: The Princess & The Page by Christina Farley - Ashley's Review + GIVEAWAY!

Welcome to a world where magic spills from the tip of a pen. THE PRINCESS AND THE PAGE is Christina Farley's first middle grade, releasing from Scholastic Press. Make sure you enter the $25 gift card giveaway at the end of this post!

ABOUT THE BOOK

START READING

Scholastic

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

BAM!

Bookmark It

IndieBound

Powell's

Add it to Goodreads

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

CHRISTINA FARLEY is the author of the bestselling Gilded series. Prior to that, she worked as an international teacher and at a top secret job for Disney where she was known to scatter pixie dust before the sun rose. When not traveling the world or creating imaginary ones, she spends time with her family in Clermont, Florida with her husband and two sons where they are busy preparing for the next World Cup, baking cheesecakes, and raising a pet dragon that's in disguise as a cockatiel. You can visit her online at ChristinaFarley.com.

MY REVIEW

I love a good fairy tale as much as the next princess and I was so excited to hear that Christina was writing one about a princess and a magical pen! It sounded like exactly the type of book my younger self would have loved, and I have been anxious to read it! A princess, an evil step-sister, a dragon, a magical castle (based on a real castle!), and a whole slew of other fairy tale characters? Definitely count me in!

From the very beginning, I felt like Keira was living in her own twisted version of a fairy tale. Her mother doesn't allow any pens in the house - only pencils - and she is not allowed to read or write any fiction. It's kind of crazy, and I can't really blame her for having a secret stash of writing supplies. There's a secret, magical pen though, and I actually kind of enjoyed how the explanation was spread throughout the book. It made for a great mystery and as the story progressed, made it easier to understand Keira's mom's crazy rules. 

Most of the characters are very likeable - at least the ones who aren't villains! I really enjoyed watching Keira's friendship with Chet develop and grow. They make a great team and it was fun to see them sleuthing together. It was also nice that there was no hints of romance or anything underneath their friendship. It seems like every fairy tale princess ends up with a prince at the end, but anything more than friendship would have felt forced, I think. Bella, on the other hand, kind of annoyed me, but I can definitely understand why she and Keira are such good friends. They seem to balance each other out and have each other's backs even when they disagree. I'd love to see more of Keira, Bella, and Chet! 

I think my favorite part of The Princess & The Page was the mystery surrounding the pen and the fairy tale. From the blue light emanating from the pen, to the WW symbol on the case and everywhere in Keira's story, to the ghosts in the castle and the people who are in both the story and real life, there was never a dull moment. Even when Keira is  going about her planned activities for the day, there's always something strange afoot and a mystery to be solved. If she doesn't continue writing stories, I think she'd make a great detective. 

Overall, this was a really fun story that kept me hooked and left me wanting more. I could definitely see this book being a standalone - the story wraps up nicely at the end and doesn't leave too many loose ends. I still have plenty of questions that I hope might be answered in a sequel - or a prequel about Keira's grandmother! - but at least there isn't a cliffhanger or anything that would make for a very agonizing wait. I would definitely recommend this to a younger crowd of readers, especially anyone who loves princesses, castles, magic, and even a good villain or two. It would be a really great book for a parent or older sibling or even babysitter to read with a younger child. I can't wait to see what Christina has up her sleeves next! A strong 4/5 from me.

CONTINUE THE BOOK TOUR

Mar. 23th - Ana Loves Books

Mar. 24^th - YA Book Madness

March 25^th - Literary Rambles

March 27^th - Twinning for Books

March 28^th - Mundie Kids

Mar. 29^th - All Things Christine

Mar. 30^th - YA Book Divas

Mar. 31^st- Miranda's Book Reviews

Mar. 31^st - Word Spelunking

Apr. 3^rd- Mine of Books

Apr. 4^th – The AP Book Club

Apr. 5^th – Middle Grade Ninja

ENTER TO WIN

One (1) lucky winner will receive:

$25 gift card to their favorite book vendor. Giveaway open internationally. Enter below or HERE.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

BLOG TOUR: Blood of the Prophet (The Fourth Element #2) by Kat Ross - Ashley's Review + GIVEAWAY!

Good morning! Today, we're so excited to be a part of the blog tour for Kat Ross' newest release, Blood of the Prophet. Ashley has been waiting all year for this book, and can't wait to share her review with you. We've also got a giveaway, so be sure to fill out the Rafflecopter form at the end of this post to enter to win your very own copy of the first book in this fantastic series, The Midnight Sea!

Also don't forget to stop by all of the other wonderful stops on this tour! You can find the full tour schedule by clicking the banner above. 

About the Book

Title: Blood of the Prophet 

Author: Kat Ross 

Publication date: September 12th 2016

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

Synopsis: Visionary. Alchemist. Savior. Saint.

The Prophet Zarathustra has been called many things. Now he spends his time drawing pictures of weird-looking goats. That’s what happens when you’ve been stuck in a prison cell for two hundred years. But the man who might be mad, and is definitely supposed to be dead, has suddenly become very valuable again…

It’s only been a few weeks since Nazafareen escaped the King’s dungeons with her daēva, Darius. She hoped never to set foot in the empire again, but the search for the Prophet has led them to the ancient city of Karnopolis. They have to find him before Alexander of Macydon burns Persepolae, and Darius’s mother with it. But they’re not the only ones looking.

The necromancer Balthazar has his own plans for the Prophet, and so does the sinister spymaster of the Numerators. As Nazafareen is drawn in to a dangerous game of cat and mouse, her newfound powers take a decidedly dark turn. Only the Prophet understands the secret of her gift, but the price of that knowledge may turn out to be more than Nazafareen is willing to pay…

Purchase Links: Amazon  | B&N | Kobo

Purchase The Midnight Sea: Amazon

About the Author

Kat Ross worked as a journalist at the United Nations for ten years before happily falling back into what she likes best: making stuff up. She lives in Westchester with her kid and a few sleepy cats. Kat is also the author of the dystopian thriller Some Fine Day (Skyscape, 2014), about a world where the sea levels have risen sixty meters. She loves magic, monsters and doomsday scenarios. Preferably with mutants.

Author links: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Ashley's Review

It's no secret that I loved the first book in Kat Ross' Fourth Element series, The Midnight Sea. I quickly fell in love with the characters and the incredible world that Kat built, and I have been so anxious to jump back into the action with Blood of the Prophet. I expected to be taken on a wild journey, but this book was just so much more than I hoped for!

Blood of the Prophet picks up shortly after The Midnight Sea ends. Victor is off trying to retrieve the Fire from Neblis and Nazafareen, Darius, and friends have gone their own way to find the Prophet before Alexander storms Persepolae. Kat does a really great job of putting in bits and pieces of important information from the first book that I didn't necessarily remember without making it seem like a recap. Everything flows nicely from The Midnight Sea to this book, and I really appreciated that.

Even though Nazafareen and Darius spend much of their time in the same city, this book didn't feel like it was dragging. There is a lot of set-up, but it bounces between people and perspectives and keeps things feeling fresh and exciting. I found that I was always looking forward to the next page, the next chapter, just because I needed to know what was going to happen next. Especially in Balthazar's chapters, because he is one scary mofo. I do not ever want to be on his bad side with those crazy necromancer chains and all.

I also didn't think that there could be much world-building since the first book had so much, but I was sadly mistaken! There is just so much in this world that I didn't know about, and I was glad to learn more as Nazafareen learned more. I also really enjoyed seeing things from other peoples' perspectives, because it gave me much more background on the places they traveled to and from. Kat has this incredible way of expanding her worlds without making it overwhelming and actually showing things instead of telling. I could read these sections all day and never get bored!

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a YA fantasy with traces of historical fiction. Some of the names and places will be familiar to readers who know anything about the Persian empire, but everything has been changed and twisted into something different and exciting and completely of Kat's own making. Her beautiful prose just add to the overall effect and make for an incredible book that does not suffer from the typical sophomore slump. I can't wait to read the final book in this part of the trilogy! 5/5 would definitely recommend.

The Giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

BLOG TOUR: Into the Light (Into the Dark #2) by Caroline T. Patti - Ashley's Review + GIVEAWAY!

Good morning, and welcome to our stop on the blog tour for Caroline Patti's newest release, Into the Light! We have Ashley's review for you as well as a giveaway, so be sure to enter via the Rafflecopter form at the end of this post.

Don't forget to stop by all the other amazing tour stops as well! You can find the entire schedule by clicking the banner above.

About the Book

Title: Into the Light (Into the Dark #2)

Author: Caroline T. Patti

Publication Date: August 23, 2016

Publisher: Month9Books

Synopsis: Mercy’s family is back together and the threat of danger appears to have passed. But any relief she feels is short lived as she is ripped from her body and thrown in jail. Gage and Nathaniel’s plans to break Mercy out won’t exactly be easy. Stuffed full of a chemical binding agent, Mercy is trapped inside the body of a convict without the ability to breach and set herself free. Unfortunately for Mercy, being trapped in jail becomes the least of her problems when she meets her evil twin, Justice.

BAM | Chapters | Amazon | B&N | TBD

OTHER BOOKS IN THE SERIES

A girl’s sweet sixteen party is supposed to be among the most memorable events of her life. But on the night of hers, Mercy Clare wakes in the waiting room of a hospital with no memory of how she got there. To make matters worse, she’s wearing something she’d never be caught dead in: her best friend Lyla’s clothes.

Mercy’s nightmare is just beginning. The doctor arrives to tell her that it’s she who lies in the hospital bed waiting to die. A trip to the bathroom confirms Mercy’s fears, as Lyla’s face stares back at her and Lyla’s curvy figure pokes through her tight clothes.

But finding out what’s really going on won’t be easy. Because if Mercy wants her body back, it might just cost her Lyla’s life.

AMAZON | KOBO | B&N | CHAPTERS | iBOOKS | BAM | TBD

About the Author

Caroline T Patti is the author of The World Spins Madly On and Too Late To Apologize. When she’s not writing, she’s a school librarian, mother of two, wife, avid reader and Green Bay Packer fan. You can chat with her on Twitter: carepatti or find her on Facebook: Author Caroline T Patti. 

Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

Ashley's Review

I was really excited when I found out that Caroline Patti was writing a sequel to Into the Dark. The first book was weird and unique in all the right ways, and I had such high expectations for Into the Light! I really wanted to know more about this incredible world and the characters that I'd come to know and love in Into the Dark, and definitely find out how things would turn out for them in the end.

My favorite thing about this book was the expanded world-building. There was just so much that we didn't know by the end of the first book, and Patti does an excellent job of expanding the world that the Breachers come from. I really enjoyed how "passing over" was explained, and the background as to why things are the way they are now. I do think there could have been a little bit more about Purgatory and the Afterlife, but maybe that's for another book. I still have some questions, but I was content with my knowledge by the end of this book. The world-building feels very natural in this book, especially since Mercy knows just as much (or really, as little) as we do, so we get to learn new things as she does.

There is some romance in this book, but I was really glad that there was a lack of a love triangle. I really thought that Mercy was going to spend the majority of the book trying to choose between Gage and Nathaniel, but she makes her decision fairly quickly and the one she doesn't choose isn't just left out to dry. The solution is a little weird... but it totally makes sense. I was also really glad that the romance didn't take over the plot.

Speaking of which, I was less impressed with the plot in this book than I was in the first one. I don't know if it's that I just didn't like Mercy as much, or that the book was split up into three perspectives and there was just a lot going on, or what. Maybe it was a lack of things happening? Most of the time is spent trying to find Mercy's aunt, but then they do and then things aren't what they seem and it seems like a giant waste of time. Like if people would quit lying to each other, we wouldn't have even had this problem to begin with.

Overall, I think this book just fell a little short for me. It was mostly enjoyable, and  I did finish it quickly because I couldn't put it down, but I think I was just expecting so much more. I would still recommend this book to anyone who read Into the Dark, and the series to anyone who is looking for something completely different. I'd give this one a 3/5!

The Giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

BLOG TOUR: The Fallen Prince (Riven Chronicles #2) by Amalie Howard - Ashley's Review + GIVEAWAY!

We hope you're ready to be transported by Amalie Howard's The Fallen Prince, a Young Adult Science Fiction novel and the sequel to The Almost Girl! Publishers Weekly calls the first in the series “a high-octane thriller.” Grab your copy of this amazing novel today!

Today, we have Ashley's review and an excerpt from The Fallen Prince for you! There's also a giveaway, so be sure to enter by filling out the Rafflecopter form at the end of this post.

Before we get to all of that though, here's a little bit more about the book and Amalie Howard!

About the Book

Title: The Fallen Prince (The Riven Chronicles #2)
Author: Amalie Howard
Publication Date: April 5th, 2016

Synopsis: Riven has fought for a hard-won peace in her world, and has come to shaky terms with who and what she is—a human with cyborg DNA. Now that the rightful ruler of Neospes has been reinstated, Riven is on the hunt for her father in the Otherworld to bring him to justice for his crimes against her people.

But when she receives an unwelcome visit from two former allies, she knows that trouble is brewing once again in Neospes. The army has been decimated and there are precious few left to fight this mysterious new threat.

To muster a first line of defense, her people need help from the one person Riven loathes most—her father. But what he wants in return is her complete surrender.

And now Riven must choose: save Neospes or save herself.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Books-A-Million | IndieBound

Praise for The Fallen Prince

"[P]acked with action . . . Imagery is the highlight of this book."— VOYA

“A parallel-dimension–jumping cyborg soldier must make questionable alliances to save her country from an existential threat in this sequel to The Almost Girl. [O]ffers a solid conclusion.” — Kirkus Reviews

“This sequel to The Almost Girl was everything I wanted: non-stop action, smart science, new and intriguing characters, and a satisfying romance. I couldn’t put it down!” — Page Morgan, author of The Beautiful and the Cursed

“[T]he next step in a dark, clever and thrilling scorched-earth, world-hopping adventure.” — Jet Black Ink

And don’t miss the first book in The Riven Chronicles Series!

THE ALMOST GIRL

About Amalie Howard

AMALIE HOWARD grew up on a small Caribbean island where she spent most of her childhood with her nose buried in a book or being a tomboy running around barefoot, shimmying up mango trees and dreaming of adventure. 25 countries, surfing with sharks and several tattoos later, she has traded in bungee jumping in China for writing the adventures she imagines instead. She isn't entirely convinced which takes more guts.

She is the award-winning author of several young adult novels critically acclaimed by Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, VOYA, and Booklist, including Waterfell, The Almost Girl, and Alpha Goddess, a Spring 2014 Kid's INDIE NEXT title. Her debut novel, Bloodspell, was a #1 Amazon bestseller, and the sequel, Bloodcraft, was a national silver IPPY medalist. She is also the co-author of the adult historical romance series, THE LORDS OF ESSEX. As an author of color and a proud supporter of diversity in fiction, her articles on multicultural fiction have appeared in The Portland Book Review and on the popular Diversity in YA blog. She currently resides in Colorado with her husband and three children.

Website ** Twitter ** Facebook ** Instagram**Goodreads 

Ashley's Review

Ashley's Review of The Almost Girl

Paul's Review of The Almost Girl

It's been a while since I first read The Almost Girl, and I've been waiting impatiently for the chance to finish Riven's story. When we last left her, she had returned to Earth to find her father. The Fallen Prince picks up not too long after The Almost Girl ends, and it was nice to know that I hadn't missed too much when I jumped back into this story.

Because it had been so long, my memory of a lot of the details was sketchy at best. Luckily, since we're in Riven's head again, she often remembers things that happened previously that helped to jog my memory. There's a refresher for all of the important things that happened, and even for who is who. I definitely did not remember some of the characters, but there are subtle references to what we need to know about them (like how Riven met her Earth friends to begin with). It was nice to see old characters and find out what they've been up to since we last saw them. 

There are also several new characters, and I loved meeting them because they helped to expand Riven's knowledge of her own world. Even though she's lived in Neospes her entire life, there are still things about her planet that she doesn't know. Amalie's world building was incredible in The Almost Girl, and I think it's even better in The Fallen Prince! Learning more about Riven's home world as she travels across it was just so much fun and I felt like I was there with her.

The Reptiles, on the other hand, are absolutely terrifying. Part machine and part organic, these creatures have somehow managed to organize and are wreaking havoc on Neospes. I was so intrigued by who (or what) could have gotten these scavengers to become an army, and as soon as i thought I had things figured out, Amalie threw a wrench into the works and had me scrambling to try to figure out what was really going on! There are so many twists and turns in this book that I didn't see coming, so I was kept on my toes and couldn't help but flip pages as fast as I could read. 

Most of this book does move along at a pretty fast pace - Riven and Caden are learning so many new things and dealing with the ramifications of their decisions. There are new threats and old threats everywhere, and there's not often much time to sit back and process what's going on. Then there are times when things move a little more slowly. Normally I prefer things to be faster paced, but those slower moments were actually nice to sit back and take it all in. All together, I found the pacing to be a little bit better in this book than The Almost Girl, so I really appreciated that! 

If you are looking for a great YA sci-fi series, you should definitely pick up The Riven Chronicles. The Fallen Prince was a fantastic continuation of Riven's story and I was a little sad when it ended because I wanted there to be more! There are not really any loose ends at the end of this book, so it was a very satisfactory conclusion, but I could definitely see maybe some short stories or even a book set much several years later. Even if The Fallen Prince really is the last book in this series, it's a great one, and one you won't want to miss! 4/5. 

Read an Excerpt

Cale and I used to dare each other to go outside the dome as kids, knowing we’d get into trouble if we were ever caught. Leaving the safety zone had been illicit and thrilling. It had been our secret spot, a tunnel in the bedrock carved by a long-dried underground stream when Neospes had fresh running water. I stare at the old access hole, now filled with titanium, as the memories rush back. 

It was the first time I’d seen a Reptile. Cale had just turned eleven. Thinking himself braver than ever, he’d dared me to accompany him on an early morning adventure beyond the dome. As much as I hadn’t wanted to go, he was my responsibility. 

“Come on, Cale. This is far enough. We need to get back.” We’d turned around only to see a horse standing between our secret exit and us. Only, it wasn’t a horse. 

“What is that?” Cale had whispered.


“Cale, get behind me.”


“No way.” He’d stamped his foot. “I want to see.”


Steam had blown from the creature’s distended nostrils, and then it had charged. I remember the rotting smell and the chunks of flesh hanging off its wired frame. It was also the first Reptile I’d ever killed. 

Cale became obsessed with Reptiles after that. He would lure and catch smaller ones, keeping them in cages. He studied the creatures, torturing them—ripping them apart and piecing them back together. I’d always thought his morbid fascination was odd, but, in hindsight, it was understandable. After all, he was a clone with a failing body, searching for a way to reconstruct himself. 

But Cale is dead. He’d died months ago in the Outers. 

Enter the Giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule

May 30^th

Movies, Shows & Books – Excerpt

My YA NA Book Obsession – Review & Excerpt

Adventures in Writing – Excerpt

The LitBuzz – Review

Deluged with Books Cafe – Excerpt

WTF Are You Reading? – Review & Excerpt

Rambling Reads – Excerpt

AC Book Blog – Excerpt

Cynthia Bloggs – Excerpt

May 31^st

Dazzled by Books – Excerpt

Comic Book Love – Review

Pandora's Books – Excerpt

Have Words Will Scribble – Review & Excerpt

Vagabonda Reads – Excerpt

Hannah's Words – Review & Excerpt

The Romance Reviews – Excerpt

Maari Loves Her Indies – Excerpt

June 1^st

Socially Awkward Book Nerd – Excerpt

Escape Inside the Pages – Review & Excerpt

SnoopyDoo's Book Reviews – Excerpt

Penny For My Thoughts – Review

Blissfully bookerized – Excerpt

Amy's Review Obsession – Review

Bookish Things & More – Excerpt

Readers Live A Thousand Lives – Excerpt

June 2^nd

Book it – Review & Excerpt

Reading Between the Wines Book Club – Excerpt

Books Need TLC – Review & Excerpt

BookCrushin – Excerpt

Roxy's Reviews – Review & Excerpt

Romance Book Nerd – Excerpt

Mes Livres – Review & Excerpt

TMBA Corbett Tries to Write – Excerpt

The Rest Is Still Unwritten – Review & Excerpt

June 3^rd

The book slayer – Review & Excerpt

Fishing for Books – Excerpt

The Recipe Fairy – Review & Excerpt

YA Book Divas – Excerpt

2 girls who love books – Excerpt

Book Lovers Life – Excerpt

Only One More Page – Excerpt

Teen Readers' Diary – Excerpt

June 4^th

Mama Reads Hazel Sleeps – Review & Excerpt

Hart's Romance Pulse – Excerpt

The Cover Contessa – Review & Excerpt

Evermore Books – Excerpt

The A P Book Club – Review & Excerpt

The Travelogue of a book addict - The Book Drealms – Excerpt

City of Books – Review & Excerpt

RhiReading – Excerpt

Danielle’s Domain – Excerpt

BLOG TOUR: The Midnight Sea (Fourth Element #1) by Kat Ross - Ashley's Review + GIVEAWAY!

Good morning, and happy Friday! We are so, so excited to be a part of the blog tour for Kat Ross' newest book, The Midnight Sea, today! Ashley really enjoyed Kat's debut novel, Some Fine Day, and has been waiting (impatiently) for this book for quite some time. We've got Ashley's review for you, as well as a giveaway where you can win an Amazon gift card! Make sure to fill out the Rafflecopter form at the end of this post for you chance to win.

Also don't forget to stop by all of the other fantastic blogs on this tour, where you can find out what other people thought of The Midnight Sea! You can find the complete tour schedule by clicking the banner above.

And now, before we get to Ashley's review and the giveaway, here's some more information about The Midnight Sea and Kat!

About the Book

Title: The Midnight Sea (Fourth Element #1) 
Author: Kat Ross
Publication date: May 10th 2016
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

Synopsis: They are the light against the darkness. 
The steel against the necromancy of the Druj. 
And they use demons to hunt demons….

Nazafareen lives for revenge. A girl of the isolated Four-Legs Clan, all she knows about the King’s elite Water Dogs is that they bind wicked creatures called daevas to protect the empire from the Undead. But when scouts arrive to recruit young people with the gift, she leaps at the chance to join their ranks. To hunt the monsters that killed her sister.

Scarred by grief, she’s willing to pay any price, even if it requires linking with a daeva named Darius. Human in body, he’s possessed of a terrifying power, one that Nazafareen controls. But the golden cuffs that join them have an unwanted side effect. Each experiences the other’s emotions, and human and daeva start to grow dangerously close.

As they pursue a deadly foe across the arid waste of the Great Salt Plain to the glittering capital of Persepolae, unearthing the secrets of Darius’s past along the way, Nazafareen is forced to question his slavery—and her own loyalty to the empire. But with an ancient evil stirring in the north, and a young conqueror sweeping in from the west, the fate of an entire civilization may be at stake…

 

About the Author

Kat Ross worked as a journalist at the United Nations for ten years before happily falling back into what she likes best: making stuff up. She lives in Westchester with her kid and a few sleepy cats. Kat is also the author of the dystopian thriller Some Fine Day (Skyscape, 2014), about a world where the sea levels have risen sixty meters. She loves magic, monsters and doomsday scenarios. Preferably with mutants.

Author links: Twitter | Website | Facebook | Goodreads

Ashley's Review

As soon as I finished reading Kat Ross' debut sci-fi disaster novel, Some Fine Day, I knew I wanted to read whatever she came up with next. When I heard about The Midnight Sea, it was a no-brainer! A YA fantasy with hints of Persian mythology and nods to the Grecian culture, and I was sold immediately. I had to know more about Nazafareen, Darius, the daeva, the Druj, and the ongoing war. I was not disappointed! 

The thing I love most about Kat's writing is her ability to take something most people are familiar with, like the Persian empire, and turn it into something completely new, different, and exciting. Although she could have taken the established civilization and changed just a few things, Kat manages to construct a completely new world with hints of the original. This book is definitely not an alternate history, but everything is done so well that I felt like it really could have been. I'm no expert on Persian culture and mythologies, but I felt like I had grown up in this world with Nazafareen, Darius, Ilyas, and everyone else. There's enough explanation of how things work without it being overwhelming, and I love how Kat builds her worlds in this way.

Another thing I love about Kat's books is how quickly I fall in love with the characters without even realizing it. Nazafareen has been through a lot in her short life, and she has handled most of it with bravery and grace. She lost her sister at a very young age and wants to avenge her death, but she manages to find a way to do that without getting herself killed right off the bat. Darius is cold to Nazafareen when we first meet him, but their relationship grows and blossoms over time and it was really sweet to see how their attitudes towards each other (and even the empire) begin to change. Even the supporting cast is very strong, and each of them is dynamic and well-developed.

This book broke my heart so many times before it was over, and I wanted to scream for Nazafareen and Darius and all of the other characters who suffer because of things that are beyond their control. And then, just as things were starting to get better and I felt like I could breathe a sigh of relief, this whole cycle started over again! It was awful, but in a good way. It kept me flipping pages long into the night and kept the story moving along at a good pace.

If you're like me and always looking for the next great fantasy book, look no further! You want to get your hands on Kat Ross' The Midnight Sea ASAP! It's a brilliant take on ancient mythologies and civilizations that will take you on a roller coaster of emotions. I'm so excited to read the next book in the series to find out what will happen next, because even though there was no cliffhanger ending or anything, I still have so many burning questions that I need to have answered! A 5/5.

The Giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

BLOG TOUR: Argos by Phillip W. Simpson - Ashley's Review + GIVEAWAY!

Good morning! Today, we're thrilled to be a part of the blog tour for Phillip W. Simpson's newest release, Argos! Both of us are dog lovers, and Ashley was especially excited for this one. We've got Ashley's review for you today as well as a giveaway, so be sure to fill out the Rafflecopter form at the end of this post for your chance to win a copy of Argos.

Also be sure to stop by all of the other fantastic stops on this tour. There are a bunch of reviews, guest posts, and interviews just waiting to be read! You can find the full tour schedule by clicking the banner above.

Before we get to Ashley's review, here's a little bit more about Argos and Phillip!

About the Book

Title: Argos 
Author: Phillip W. Simpson
Release Date: May 10, 2016
Publisher: Month9Books

Synopsis: Loyalty has no limits.

Raised from a pup by Greek hero, Odysseus, Argos has come to learn the true meaning of love and loyalty. But when Odysseus leaves for the Trojan War, little does Argos know it will be 20
years before he sees his master again. With Odysseus gone his wife, Penelope, and son, Telemachus, are easy prey for neighboring kings and the Gods themselves.

But Argos was tasked to keep them safe until Odysseus returns and that is a promise he is determined to keep – whatever the cost. Told through his eyes, Argos recounts the story of his life – his pain, his joy, his triumphs and failures; his endurance in the face of hardships almost too great to believe.

Above all else, Argos strives to do what is right – and to remain loyal to his King when all others have given up hope. To live long enough to see his beloved master one more time.

This epic myth of love and loyalty proves that a dog really is man's best friend.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | TBD | Chapters 

About the Author

Phillip W. Simpson has written over 50 children’s books for both middle grade and young adult readers. He has a background in Ancient History and Archaeology, and has partially completed his doctorate in Archaeology. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand, with his wife Rose, their son, Jack and their two border terriers, Whiskey and Raffles. When not writing, he works as an elementary school teacher.

Find Phillip Online: 

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Tumblr | Pinterest | Goodreads

Ashley's Review

Ashley's Minotaur Review

Phillip Simpson's Minotaur was such a fun, exciting, interesting take on the myth of the Labyrinth and the Minotaur that I knew I needed to get my hands on Argos as soon as I possibly could. I love retellings of classic stories and I love dogs, so this book had the makings of something excellent. Add in Simpson's engaging writing style, and Argos was everything I hoped it would be.

Almost everyone that has graduated high school has been exposed to Odysseus and his incredible feats of heroism at some point in their lives. His victory at Troy using the Trojan Horse is referenced in so many different books, movies, and other media - even Monty Python included their own version of it in The Holy Grail - and even Penelope's struggles have written about (Margaret Atwood's The Penelopiad comes to mind). But nobody ever tells Argos' story. Until now. 

I didn't know how much I needed this story until I started reading it. Argos is loyal to a fault, and he's telling the story of his life to Cerberus, who has never met another dog as loyal to his master as himself. I loved the interactions between Argos and Cerberus, and I would love to have seen more about their relationship. I know it's outside of the scope of this story, but their friendship is one of the best relationships I've seen in a book. Argos was just a puppy when Odysseus left him to go fight in Troy, and I just really enjoyed listening to the joys and trials of his life. Even though he's a dog, things are not always easy for him, especially since he's blessed with the ability to understand humans. He has his fair share of enemies, and I was worried for him every time one of decided to show up.

Although there are a few parts that were a little slow, most of the story keeps up a nice pace. Argos has lived for 20 years, and somehow manages to tell his story in a reasonable amount of time. His friendships with Telemachus and Eumaeus, his unwavering love for his master, and all of the things he's willing to endure to protect his family are just a few of the things that made me love Argos even more. And then, of course, had me crying like a little baby. It takes a lot to make me cry in normal books, but somehow this book, told from the perspective of a dog, nearly gutted me. There were happy tears too! 

If you, like me, enjoy a great retelling of classic stories, and are looking for something totally unique and different, you'll want to read Argos. It may be a story told by a dog, but it is also so much more than that. I hope Phillip Simpson continues to write books like Argos and Minotaur, because I will be waiting impatiently for another story that changes the way I think about these stories. 4/5!

The Giveaway!

Five (5) winners will receive a digital copy of Argos by Phillip W. Simpson (INT)

a Rafflecopter giveaway