Blog Tour: Guest Post & Review: The Wicked We Have Done (Chaos Theory #1) by Sarah Harian

I am very happy to be participating in the Wicked We Have Done Blog Tour today! The Wicked We Have Done is the first in Chaos Theory series from author Sarah Harian. This was my first novel from Harian and I'm excited to share the book trailer and some words from the author along with my thoughts on the book with you.

The Wicked We Have Done by Sarah Harian

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:
Release Date: March 18, 2014
Publisher: InterMix
272 Pages

Evalyn Ibarra never expected to be an accused killer and experimental prison test subject. A year ago, she was a normal college student. Now she’s been sentenced to a month in the compass room—an advanced prison obstacle course designed by the government to execute justice.

If she survives, the world will know she’s innocent.

Locked up with nine notorious and potentially psychotic criminals, Evalyn must fight the prison and dismantle her past to stay alive. But the system prized for accuracy appears to be killing at random.

She doesn’t plan on making friends.

She doesn’t plan on falling in love, either.

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For writing a book with a ton of killing in it, I had a very hard time constructing death scenes.

Maybe this is because the process of dying is so sacred to me. It is something that happens to everyone, yet no one knows what it feels like.  It is unreal and enigmatic and peaceful and scary as hell all at once. 

On top of death being so complicated, writing death for a novel with horror elements is a lot different than any other type of story. The characters experience death so often at such a rapid rate, their perception of death has become skewed in comparison to someone living a tragedy-less life. 

So how do I balance this?

When writing The Wicked We Have Done, it was uncomfortable even imagining the emotions that my characters were feeling every time they experienced death. While they were hardened, they still had to be emotionally affected. Some would panic. Some would start to slowly go crazy. Others would hold it all inside until they reached their tipping point, when they would break down. Every death scene was emotionally exhausting for me. I would have to gauge how I felt about this character dying, and then re-evaluate it through the lens of my narrator, Evalyn, who wasn’t numb to death, but perceived it differently than me. 

I don’t think one death scene was harder than the others. All of them required the same amount of effort. Even evil characters and characters my narrator wasn’t close with were still difficult to kill off because of the horror and uncertainty their deaths would give characters that were still alive. They begin to think, I could die this way. What if I’m next?

***

“Don’t leave me tonight,” says Jace. “Neither of you.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” I reach over her and take Casey’s hand. Tanner will stay on guard with Valerie tonight, and even if we invited Stella inside the tent, she’d refuse, so we don’t bother.

“What do you think death will be like?” Jace murmurs.

Casey squeezes my hand. It’s like he knows that my mind reverts to the moment when we were waiting for death. I was so sure that every breath I took was going to be my last. It was the first time in a while that I thought about what would happen after my heart stopped beating.

Casey is the first to speak. “When the lodge lit on fire, I thought we had already died.”

“I don’t think hell will care about testing us,” Jace says.

“You believe in hell?” he asks her.

She thinks for a long, hard moment. “No. I believe in finding redemption, even after death. Somehow.”

That word again. Redemption.

“Evalyn?” Jace asks.

I don’t have the heart to tell her that my jaded mind can’t wrap around anything other than death being an infinite nothing—suffocating blackness. But I try to imagine for her. I try to play make-believe, like I used to when I thought of joining Meghan. “Death will be like floating on your back in the cleanest water you can think of beneath a hot sun. Nothing to worry about. Nothing to have a broken heart over. No one to lose.”

“Alone?” Jace asks.

“Yes. Alone.”

Casey squeezes my hand even tighter. Jace is right. Cycling through love is like wash, rinse, repeat. Falling for anyone now is as pointless as believing I would have Liam forever.

Nothing is forever except the loneliness.

Chaos theory simply noted the existence of disorder within an obedient system

The Wicked We Have Done was kind of a Hunger Games meets Lost. It was definitely a new take on the NA genre and honestly, I was quite ready for this change. Extremely gritty, this book throws you into a world where the government, instead of handing out the death penalty, puts convicted criminals in a controlled testing field to test their innocence – or so to say. 

Evalyn has been convicted of a serious crime and is selected to be a candidate for the compass room – a room designed to test whether the person is inherently evil or not. If the room decides you’re guilty, you don’t make it out. If the room judges your moral compass in a positive light, you’re allowed to leave and are freed of all your charges. Once selected, Evalyn finds herself amongst nine other criminals with crimes that are just as heinous.  

Wicked does an interesting job of questioning the legal system and asking that age old question “what if they aren’t evil?”. No one in this room is denying they committed their crimes, but do they deserve to die for it? This was a question I asked myself throughout the whole book because we don’t get everyone’s story right away. And it was especially tough with Evalyn because of the level of horrible her crime was. 

The writing was smart and quick, giving us just enough to move on but not enough to pass our own judgment. This also being NA, I felt the level of horror was stepped up with descriptions such as:

I don’t even think twice when I drag the coil of intestine off her chest and press my ear to her soaked shirt, blood squelching beneath my head.

There’s loss and pain and the system isn’t as perfect as the government wants you to believe. The ending sums up this book just fine but leaves you wanting to continue just to see if justice will truly be served. Definitely a pleasant surprise and one I did not expect going in.

Big thanks to Sarah for the lovely post, and to Jessica from Berkeley/NAL Publishing  for asking me to partake in this tour! 

Blog Tour: Giveaway & Review: Rock It (Rule Breakers #1) by Jennifer Chance

I am very excited today to join the ROCK IT Blog Tour with a review and giveaway! You can find the other stops listed here!

ROCK IT (Rule Breakers #1)

by Jennifer Chance

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:
Release Date: March 4, 2014
Publisher: Loveswept

Jennifer Chance unleashes her hot new series with the tale of a smoldering rocker and the fangirl who catches his eye—and finds herself living out her wildest dreams.

Lacey Dawes is a total pro at the talent agency where she works, and it doesn’t hurt that IMO Worldwide Media represents Dante Falcone. The rock god has starred in her fantasies since she was sixteen—and remains her secret crush to this day. So when Dante picks her to be the interim manager on his Dream It tour, Lacey can’t believe her luck. Handling Dante is sure to be the most exquisite, spine-tingling, nerve-wracking mix of business and pleasure ever.

Although Dante is grateful for the adoring fans who scream for one more of his full-throttle, soul-searing songs, being surrounded by a cadre of corporate types backstage is wearing thin. Then Lacey shows up. Yeah, she’s organized, smart, quick to get him what he wants before he knows he wants it—but Dante senses there’s something else going on with sweet, sexy Lacey. One kiss tells him what that “something” might be . . . and makes him hungry for more.

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An iPod Shuffle (open to US entrants only, if international entrant is chosen they'll receive a $50 gift card to the eTailer of their choice). Additionally, Random House is sponsoring the tour with a $50 e-giftcard, and swag including a Loveswept mug and tote (open to US entrants only).

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When I find a band that I like, I get a little obsessive and by "a little," I mean that I offer my firstborn child up to get a chance to hug all of the members of the band and feel them up a bit. I have a serious soft spot for musicians and I'm not afraid to admit it. So when I heard about Rock It, which basically encompasses the fangirlishness that I totally stand for, I knew I had to give it a shot. I mean, the main character is pretty much me (times one hundred).

Lacey Dawes is in love with Dante Falcone, the Disney star turned rock musician. Since his days on the Disney channel, she's been utterly obsessed to the point where she makes scrapbooks about him and the phases he's in, and attends most of his concerts. Even as an adult, she can't seem to let him go. When she is given the opportunity to travel with his band as a working manager, she struggles to keep herself professional while falling in love with Dante all over again. But getting too close can have its risks, too--because the last thing she wants is for Dante to find out about her long-winded obsession and see her as just another groupie.

This was a fun book. It kept my attention and was short enough for me to read in one sitting. I really liked the book. It was a laid-back and satisfying read. It's not something that you have to force or push yourself to finish. Rock It is good for a lazy day where you just want to read about some sexy boys and some sweet romance. It has a steady pace, and never bored me. 

The characterizations were done pretty well. Jennifer Chance definitely did a great job in fleshing out the story and its characters. Lacey and Dante also had great, and obvious, chemistry. I loved reading their interactions and found myself pulled into their relationship quite easily. The minor characters were fun, too. I am looking forward to seeing how they appear in future books!

The only "problem" that I had with Rock It was that there never seemed like any real conflict between the love interests. Lacey has been crazy obsessed with Dante for years and he accepts it without batting an eye. That didn't seem realistic to me. Sure, he really loves her, but even my loved ones would make me uncomfortable if weird revelations came up.

I really liked this book, and I will definitely be continuing the series. It's a fun, guilty pleasure that many will enjoy as it reminds of us of a fantasy that we've all had one time or another. It's simple, sweet and sexy. Rock It is a book that is bound to entertain.

Big thanks to Random House and Barclay Publicity for allowing me to participate in this tour!

Book Review: Moth and Spark by Anne Leonard

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:

Release Date: February 20, 2014
Publisher: Viking Adult
368 Pages

A prince with a quest. A commoner with mysterious powers. And dragons that demand to be freed—at any cost.

Prince Corin has been chosen to free the dragons from their bondage to the Empire, but dragons aren’t big on directions. They have given him some of their power, but none of their knowledge. No one, not the dragons nor their riders, is even sure what keeps the dragons in the Empire’s control. 

Tam, sensible daughter of a well-respected doctor, had no idea before she arrived in the capital that she is a Seer, gifted with visions. When the two run into each other (quite literally) in the library, sparks fly and Corin impulsively asks Tam to dinner. But it’s not all happily ever after. Never mind that the prince isn’t allowed to marry a commoner: war is coming to Caithen. 

Torn between Corin’s quest to free the dragons and his duty to his country, the lovers must both figure out how to master their powers in order to save Caithen. With a little help from a village of secret wizards and a rogue dragonrider, they just might pull it off.

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I hadn't heard anything about Moth and Spark before being contacted by the publisher, but after reading the summary, it was impossible not to be intrigued. Who doesn't love a great fantasy with romance and dragons? Plus, the cover? Intense and eye-catching. I was immediately on board with reading it. It's a good thing, too, because this was a fantastic book.

Tam is the doctor of a highly respected doctor. She has no title, but when invited by her sister-in-law to the royal court, Tam quickly catches the eye of the crowned prince of Caithen. Corin is drawn by the beauty and strength with which Tam presents herself. They quickly get caught up in their affair, knowing their romance will lead them nowhere as a commoner cannot marry a prince. Their budding love is soon threatened by war as their kingdom is betrayed by another. To survive, and save their kingdom, Tam and Corin, with the help of their most trusted friends, must find their hidden talents, free the dragons and keep their beloved kingdom from the hands of a cruel ruler.

I am a romance buff. Always have been, and most likely, always will be. Moth and Spark is very much a romance. The relationship between Tam and Corin is always in the foreground. We watch their love bloom as they battle to save their kingdom. There is a bit of insta-love, but I think it was handled well by the author, Anne Leonard. I wasn't bothered by how quickly their relationship moved. 

The love between the two main characters was not the only important relationship in this story. Family played a large role as well. The way Tam described her family showed an obvious adoration, and the reader will witness firsthand how precious Corin's family is to him. It is not often that I have read of such great familial bonds in fantasy novels as I did in Moth and Spark. That was a breath of fresh air. I loved reading their interactions, and banter. Their additions, and the additions of the other minor characters, were fantastic. 

The writing is gorgeous. Descriptive and elegant, Leonard has produced a story that I won't soon forget. Her readers will be immediately captivated by the beautiful prose and well-developed plot. This book moves pretty slowly at first, but it doesn't take long for the action and adventure to begin. Personally, I wasn't bothered by the pace. In fact, I thought it fit the plot and the fantasy of the story extremely well. It was not too fast, nor too slow. Moth and Spark really kept my attention, and had me so involved that it was nearly impossible for me to put it down. 

Moth and Spark is highly enjoyable. It has all of the elements of a good fantasy novel and a heavy dose of romance. I would definitely recommend it to fans of Fantasy Lite. It's full of mystery, adventure and a royal quest to save the world as these citizens know it! I loved it, and am very much looking forward to Leonard's next novel!

Blog Tour: Giveaway & Guest Post: ALPHA GODDESS by Amalie Howard

Today, I am happy to join in Amalie Howard's blog tour for her upcoming release, Alpha Goddess. Amalie has come to Book Jems with a guest post and giveaway! You can view the rest of the tour stops here!

Alpha Goddess by Amalie Howard

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:
Release Date: March 18, 2014
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
384 Pages

In Serjana Caelum’s world, gods exist. So do goddesses. Sera knows this because she is one of them. A secret long concealed by her parents, Sera is Lakshmi reborn, the human avatar of an immortal Indian goddess rumored to control all the planes of existence. Marked by the sigils of both heaven and hell, Sera’s avatar is meant to bring balance to the mortal world, but all she creates is chaos. A chaos that Azrath, the Asura Lord of Death, hopes to use to unleash hell on earth.

Torn between reconciling her past and present, Sera must figure out how to stop Azrath before the Mortal Realm is destroyed. But trust doesn’t come easy in a world fissured by lies and betrayal. Her best friend Kyle is hiding his own dark secrets, and her mysterious new neighbor, Devendra, seems to know a lot more than he’s telling. Struggling between her opposing halves and her attraction to the boys tied to each of them, Sera must become the goddess she was meant to be, or risk failing, which means sacrificing the world she was born to protect.

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Enter the giveaway below for a chance to win these great books from the author!

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WHY I WRITE

I’ve always loved writing. Even at a very young age, I was always scribbling some story or another into a journal. I remember writing a story in pencil about a young girl covered in magical tattoos when I was about nine. Seriously, what did I know about tattoos at nine years old? Still, I remember it being a pretty interesting little story. My protagonist’s name was Xaviria (cool name, right?) and she was one tough, sassy chick. I liked my female heroines capable and clever from way back. 

I wrote a ton of poetry during my teen years—for me, writing was cathartic, especially during some of those tougher teen times (first crush, peer and parent pressure, etc.,) and whenever I had any strife in my life, I just got it all out on paper. I had my first poem published when I was twelve and I won an award in a global youth writing competition when I was fifteen for a short story. The story was about a man whose daughter’s soul lived in a weeping willow, and he could only communicate with her through his violin. Even back then, my imagination had a fondness for fantasy. Over the years, the pencil may have evolved into a laptop, but writing was and still is a huge form of escapism for me.

My passion for writing stories came from reading great stories. I’ve been a voracious reader all my life, devouring pretty much anything I could get my hands on. I loved being able to dive into someone else’s life, whether it was via a pixie or a redheaded, willful orphan or a talking lion. My love affair with fantasy and science fiction began with Grimm’s Fairy Tales and continued with books like The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe, Lord of the Rings and Dune. Given that, it’s really no surprise that that’s where I feel most comfortable exploring my own writing voice. With fantasy and scifi, I love that you can construct whole worlds with elements that may not exist in real society. I like being able to create something different with interesting multi-layered characters, especially ones with those paranormal or supernatural elements. I especially like being able to redefine myself in those characters. They are all different versions of me in different worlds with infinite possibility at their fingertips. What’s not to love about that?

Still, my road to author-dom wasn’t always clear. I was passionate about it but I wasn’t sure it was … the one. So I took a bit of a hiatus after I graduated college to pursue a global sales career in corporate telecommunications for thirteen years, and I travelled the world building that career. I did pay the bills, but eventually, I realized I wasn’t satisfied. Something was missing. In response, those writing embers buried deep down started to rekindle, and I started writing the story that became Bloodspell in 2011 (an urban fantasy witch tale from Langdon Street Press). I remember feeling excited and terrified, but alive. It was like an epic epiphany (cue choral voices here)—this is what I was meant to do, what I was always meant to do. It was as if once I started, I couldn’t stop. After Bloodspell, then came Alpha Goddess (an East Indian mythology story which releases today, March 4^th, from Sky Pony Press), then The Almost Girl (a scifi cyborg adventure from Strange Chemistry—available now), which was followed by Waterfell (an undersea fantasy romance from Harlequin Teen—also available now). I have two other novels forthcoming this year—both sequels—Oceanborn, the sequel to Waterfell, in August 2014, and The Fallen Prince, the sequel to The Almost Girl, in November 2014. 

I’m a writer. And that’s why I write.  

Big thanks to Amalie for the lovely post, and to Sami from JKS Communications for asking me to partake in this tour!

ARC Review: Rock It (Rule Breakers #1) by Jennifer Chance

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:
Release Date: March 4, 2014
Publisher: Loveswept
240 Pages

Jennifer Chance unleashes her hot new series with the tale of a smoldering rocker and the fangirl who catches his eye—and finds herself living out her wildest dreams.

Lacey Dawes is a total pro at the talent agency where she works, and it doesn’t hurt that IMO Worldwide Media represents Dante Falcone. The rock god has starred in her fantasies since she was sixteen—and remains her secret crush to this day. So when Dante picks her to be the interim manager on his Dream It tour, Lacey can’t believe her luck. Handling Dante is sure to be the most exquisite, spine-tingling, nerve-wracking mix of business and pleasure ever.

Although Dante is grateful for the adoring fans who scream for one more of his full-throttle, soul-searing songs, being surrounded by a cadre of corporate types backstage is wearing thin. Then Lacey shows up. Yeah, she’s organized, smart, quick to get him what he wants before he knows he wants it—but Dante senses there’s something else going on with sweet, sexy Lacey. One kiss tells him what that “something” might be . . . and makes him hungry for more.

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So Dante Falcone. Child star from the Disney channel.

Source

Becomes teen pop idol.

Source

Now is pretty much a superstar.

Source

Basically this book is the author’s fangirling fantasy involving Justin Timberlake, because even though Dante looks nothing like JT, look at above evidence. I enjoyed this book probably a lot more than I should have and am pretty sure I’m rating it a lot higher because of that. This book was literally a fangirl teenage dream of mine. What teen girl doesn’t want to end up with her celeb crush? Well, Lacey Dawes got to do just that.

Lacey has been in love with Dante Falcone since she first glimpsed him on the Disney Channel. Since then she’s followed every move he’s made and documented it in countless scrapbooks. Now as an adult, she works for a talent agency that just acquired Falcone. Through a series of very fortunate events, Lacey ends up working closely with the man she’s been swooning over for years. 

This book was an extremely easy read. I flew through the chapters and was constantly entertained. Lacey was very likeable from the start and, for me, easy to identify with. How would you act if you came face to face with your idol? Dante took a little warming up. He was silent and brooding in the beginning but slowly opened up as the book went on. When he finally lets down his guard and starts teasing Lacey the real fun began. 

Was this book believable? No. The situations were completely unrealistic. Do I think that it adds something to the new adult genre? Not really. But it was fun. And every once in a while you just need to read something that’s fun. Simple as that.

I received an e-copy of this novel from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.