5 Star Harlequin ARC Review: Captive (Aimee Carter)

Hardcover, 304 pages
Expected publication: November 25th 2014 

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Author: Aimee Carter

ARC Provided by Publisher in exchange for an Honest Review

For the past two months, Kitty Doe's life has been a lie. Forced to impersonate the Prime Minister's niece, her frustration grows as her trust in her fake fiancé cracks, her real boyfriend is forbidden and the Blackcoats keep her in the dark more than ever.

But in the midst of discovering that her role in the Hart family may not be as coincidental as she thought, she's accused of treason and is forced to face her greatest fear: Elsewhere. A prison where no one can escape.

As one shocking revelation leads to the next, Kitty learns the hard way that she can trust no one, not even the people she thought were on her side. With her back against the wall, Kitty wants to believe she'll do whatever it takes to support the rebellion she believes in—but is she prepared to pay the ultimate price?

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Aimée Carter was born and raised in Michigan, where she currently resides. Her first novel for young adults, THE GODDESS TEST, will be published by Harlequin Teen on April 19th, 2011. The sequel, GODDESS INTERRUPTED, will follow in January 2012.

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Some Moves Are Riskier Than Others....

When I first read the synopsis of Pawn (the first book in this series)...I immediately knew I had to read it. I love dystopian books and this book seemed to have it all...romance, suspense, and mystery. Well I was definitey right!!! I absolutely LOVED Pawn!! It was one of my favorite books of 2013. I could not wait to get the sequel, Captive, and see where Kitty's life has taken her.....

Not to mention the cover of these two books is PHENOMENAL.....I love how Kitty's gorgeous blue eyes are the main focus of the cover. (Especially since her eyes are the main reason that she was chosen to become Lila Hart.)

Captive picks up right where Pawn left off. Kitty is living in the Hart mansion, maintaining her existence as Lila Hart,  and is still engaged to Knox Creed. So many things begin to happen within the first three chapters and in order to not give any important twists away I am not going to summarize. 

"They buzzed around me, vying for a few moments of my time, but we all knew they were only here because of my name and face. I was Lila Hart, the niece of the Prime Minister of the United States and one of the few VII's in the entire country--which in a room full of VI's, made me more powerful than them all."

Ok so I just thought that Pawn was full of suspense and mystery.....but Captive has ten times the twists and turns that Pawn had!!! Usually sequels are just a "link" to the first and third books in a trilogy but Captive is in an entire league of its own!!! There are so many action-filled moments in this book and it kept me turning pages long into the night!!! 

Not only is there suspense but there are also some violent scenes that will make your mouth drop open in shock. I have not read a book with so much intensity since I read The Hunger Games.....and I enjoyed every moment of it. Kitty's life is in even more danger now...She is double-crossed at every turn and has no idea who she can truly trust.....

In Captive we are introduced to lots of new characters and some that I really connected with. As each  new character arises there are more troubles for Kitty. Who does she trust? Who is on the side of the Blackcoats? Who is loyal to the Prime Minister? 

I love the romance between Benji and Kitty. He is so loyal to her and still loves her even though she is Masked as Lila Hart. I love the fact that they have grown up together and loved each other for as long as they have known each other. 

Kitty's character is so strong and even when she is faced with heart-wrenching situations....she still stands strong and fights for what she believes in. So many secrets are revealed to Kitty in this book and yet she never gives up...

"Yes. Because no matter who you pretend to be, you're Kitty Doe. You put your life on the line again and again to protect the people you love, and you  would never let millions die just so you could live." 

Captive is an intense, action-filled, dystopian thriller that will keep you guessing until the last page is turned....I highly recommend this phenomenal book!!!! I cannot wait for the conclusion to this amazing trilogy!!!! Aimee Carter's writing style is just incredible...She writes her characters into the story with so much feeling and emotion...I cannot wait to read more books from her!!!! I know that I will love them just as much as I love The Blackcoat Rebellion series!!!!!

**The quotes from this book have been taken from an Advanced Reading Copy and are subject to change when the final book is printed. Please refer to the final, finished copy for exact quotes!**

**I want to say Thank You to Harlequin Teen for the opportunity to review this book!!**

My 5 Star Review of Pawn

Balzar & Bray/HarperTeen ARC Review: Snow Like Ashes (Sara Raasch)

Hardcover, 432 pages
Expected publication: October 14th 2014 by Balzer + Bray

ARC Provided by Publisher in Exchange for Honest Review

A heartbroken girl. A fierce warrior. A hero in the making.
Sixteen years ago the Kingdom of Winter was conquered and its citizens enslaved, leaving them without magic or a monarch. Now, the Winterians’ only hope for freedom is the eight survivors who managed to escape, and who have been waiting for the opportunity to steal back Winter’s magic and rebuild the kingdom ever since.
Orphaned as an infant during Winter’s defeat, Meira has lived her whole life as a refugee, raised by the Winterians’ general, Sir. Training to be a warrior—and desperately in love with her best friend, and future king, Mather — she would do anything to help her kingdom rise to power again.
So when scouts discover the location of the ancient locket that can restore Winter’s magic, Meira decides to go after it herself. Finally, she’s scaling towers, fighting enemy soldiers, and serving her kingdom just as she’s always dreamed she would. But the mission doesn’t go as planned, and Meira soon finds herself thrust into a world of evil magic and dangerous politics – and ultimately comes to realize that her destiny is not, never has been, her own. 

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Sara Raasch has known she was destined for bookish things since the age of five, when her friends had a lemonade stand and she tagged along to sell her hand-drawn picture books too. Not much has changed since then -- her friends still cock concerned eyebrows when she attempts to draw things and her enthusiasm for the written word still drives her to extreme measures. Her debut YA fantasy, SNOW LIKE ASHES, is coming out Fall 2014 from Balzer + Bray. It does not feature her hand-drawn pictures. She is represented by Charlotte Sheedy Literary.

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I am going to be totally honest and admit that this is one of those books where I grabbed it to read just because the cover is just PHENOMENAL. The cover is full of mystery and vibrant colors and whoever created it..did an amazing job!!! and I am so glad that I grabbed this book because it was a really good book!!! 

Snow Like Ashes is a YA High Fantasy novel that is full of action, surprise twists, and a love triangle to die for!!! All these things added together makes this book amazing and

 "un-put-downable!!!"

The main character, Meira, was orphaned at a young age when war broke out and her kingdom which is called Winter was defeated by Spring. Only 25 people escaped the war and out of those...only 7 lived.  Spring placed the ones that were caught into slavery and this is what sparks Miera's fury. 

Meira spends her life training to be a warrior for Winter and will fight to get her people and her kingdom back. Meira has to return to Spring and get Winter's conduit that contains all the magic of Winter and can help to restore their lands. The conduit had been cut into two pieces and once they get them back they have to figure out what to do....because the conduit is female-blooded and the only heir to Winter is male. 

Miera is a fierce warrior and all she is focused on is proving her worthiness and that she belongs in the army that will fight to regain Winter's kingdom. 

"No matter what happens, no matter who turns on me, no matter what pompous swine thinks he has power over me, I am still me. I will always be me."

The love triangle involves the prince of Winter, Mather, and the prince of Cordell, Theron. Miera has known Mather her whole life so she has developed a bond with him and she truly does love him....but....then she meets Theron and Theron is a phenomenal character who falls in love with Meira immediately. He understands her and her need for revenge and to regain her kingdom. 

"Even if I die here, I will die mattering, and that's what I've wanted all along, isnt it? and I will, just within mu own set parameters--I will matter in ways beyondmy comprehension of the word, because I will matter in whatever way my kingdom needs me most. That, I think, is a truer mark of belonging somewhere--being willing to do anything, everything, that needs to be done, regardless of what I want."

Miera is  a head-strong, independent, and just basically a KICK-ASS heroine!!! Her journey to recover the conduit and build Winter back is just epic. This book is high-fantasy at its best!! The romance really made the story as well. 

The only issue that I had with Snow & Ashes was that it was a little too detailed. I found myself having to re-read some sections just to try and understand the details better. There were so many kingdoms and at times I got them a little confused. This made me read the book a little slower than normal but I still loved it! and fans of High Fantasy are going to RUN to get this gorgeous book off the shelves!!! 

**The quotes from this book have been taken from an Advanced Reading Copy and are subject to change when the final book is printed. Please refer to the final, finished copy for exact quotes!**

**I want to say Thank You to Balzar & Bray/Harper Teen for the opportunity to review this book!!**

ARC Review: The Fall (Bethany Griffin)

Hardcover, 400 pages
Expected publication:
October 7th 2014 by Greenwillow Books
Genre: YA~Horror~Suspense

ARC Provided by Publisher in Exchange for Honest Review

Madeline Usher is doomed.She has spent her life fighting fate, and she thought she was succeeding. Until she woke up in a coffin.Ushers die young. Ushers are cursed. Ushers can never leave their house, a house that haunts and is haunted, a house that almost seems to have a mind of its own. Madeline’s life—revealed through short bursts of memory—has hinged around her desperate plan to escape, to save herself and her brother. Her only chance lies in destroying the house.In the end, can Madeline keep her own sanity and bring the house down?The Fall is a literary psychological thriller, reimagining Edgar Allan Poe’s classic The Fall of the House of Usher.

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Bethany Griffin is a high school English teacher who prides herself on attracting creative misfits to elective classes like Young Adult Literature, Creative Writing, and Speculative Literature. She is the author of Handcuffs & MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH (April 2012). She lives with her family in Kentucky.

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Nothing here is just anything. This is not just a house. We have never been simply children. We are Ushers. 

First of all I love the cover of this book. It is exactly what I would imagine for a retelling of any Edgar Allen Poe story. It is dark, creepy, and mysterious. I love the image of a young girl walking into the woods on the front. Where is she going? What has happened to her? It immediately makes you want to read the book to determine the answers to these haunting questions. 

The Fall is a retelling of Edgar Allen Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher." I have never actually read The Fall of the House of Usher so to me this was a totally new story. I know that Edgar Allen Poe writes deep, dark, and horrific tales so this is what I was expecting when I started this book. 

The book is mainly told from the perspective of the main character, Madeline Usher. Each chapter in the book is written at a different age in Madeline's life. To me this was confusing. It throws the story around and you have to fill in the blanks until you get to the next chapter and I just really didn't like that aspect. I found it hard to keep up with what was going on and at the same time trying to figure out the plot of the story. 

"The spirit of the house—the conciousness of it—gets inside our heads. It sees through our eyes and feels what we feel, especially moments of extreme emotion, moments of passion. Or grief. It loves grief."

Madeline and her twin brother Roderick live in a house that is full of secrets and madness. The house basically controls the Usher family and is evil, jealous, and very protective. The house has been cursed for years and from what I could gather the curse is that any young teen that grows up in the house dies at a young age. It is made known very early that Madeline is the "favorite" of the house. She is forced to live in the house and never leave. Roderick escapes and goes off to school and while Madeline is jealous of this part of her wants him to escape and live a normal life. 

"Cursed Ushers. Did they manage to keep the house happy?Or did they live their lives in fear? The house rewards cruelty. It loves darkness and despair and death.

....and I am its favorite."

Madeline is left in the cursed home to live amongst Dr's who also live in the home and believe they can cure Madeline and her family. I found this VERY creepy. Poor Madeline is an emotional and mental wreck. I felt so bad for her and found myself urging her to escape. 

There are so many horrific events that plague this cursed home and its residents. There were several occurrences that happened that left me in complete shock. Even though the story was very confusing to me...I still could not put the book down. I knew at the turn of each page there would be something shocking happening and was compelled to keep reading. 

If you are looking for a suspenseful, mind-boggling, thriller then The Fall by Bethany Griffin is definitely for you....Just be prepared The House of Usher is a psychological thriller that grabs you and never lets go......

**The quotes from this book have been taken from an Advanced Reading Copy and are subject to change when the final book is printed. Please refer to the final, finished copy for exact quotes!**

**I want to say Thank You to Greenwillow Books/Harper Teen for the opportunity to review this book!!**

Review: Winterkill (Kate A. Boorman)

Hardcover, 319 pages
Expected publication: September 9th 2014 by Amulet Books

ARC Provided by Publisher in Exchange for Honest Review

Emmeline knows she’s not supposed to explore the woods outside her settlement. The enemy that wiped out half her people lurks there, attacking at night and keeping them isolated in an unfamiliar land with merciless winters. Living with the shame of her grandmother’s insubordination, Emmeline has learned to keep her head down and her quick tongue silent.
When the settlement leader asks for her hand in marriage, it’s an opportunity for Emmeline to wash the family slate clean—even if she has eyes for another. But before she’s forced into an impossible decision, her dreams urge her into the woods, where she uncovers a path she can’t help but follow. The trail leads to a secret that someone in the village will kill to protect. Her grandmother followed the same path and paid the price. If Emmeline isn’t careful, she will be next. 

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Kate Boorman is an independent artist and writer from the Canadian prairies. She has a Master of Arts in Dramatic Critical Theory, and a work resume full of the usual, whacky assortment of jobs.
Kate spent much of her childhood reading books instead of being useful around the house, and now she writes them, which means she is still not very useful. She is fond of beautiful-creepy things, good chocolate, and cozy slippers (all three are an essential part of her writing process).
She also loves to dig in the dirt, and sit under starry skies with her friends, and travel to far off lands with her husband and two children.
The Winterkill trilogy is her YA fiction debut.

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"They are isolated....but not alone..."

So I will have to admit that the first thing that grabbed my attention towards this book.....was the cover. I mean what a seriously wicked, creepy cover. Winterkill is written in stakes in replace of fence posts, there is snow covering an entire village, and a young girl with a red robe running through it. Yep...I had to have this one.

Winterkill is about the journey of a young girl named Emmeline that is  determined to discover the truth about her village. Of course this synopsis immediately reminded me of "The Village by M. Night Shyamalan" but let me assure you that it is very different. Emmeline's settlement has been slowly deteriorating and her people are disappearing. The villagers blame these occurrences on the "malmaci" which are the creatures that haunt the woods surrounding the village. 

"Out here, I can feel the dead in the trees. The Lost People rustle the leaves, muddy the shafts of light through the branches, whisper in my ear. They creep dusty fingers along my neck,tug at my braid, pull strands from my plait to tickle my face. Or mayhap its the wind....."

Emmeline's grandmother was shamed from their village and cast out and when this happens the descendants of her family are all branded as "stained." Em never really understands why her grandmother was cast out and she is determined to discover the truth. She has dreams that call her into the woods and forces her to break the rules of her village but Em's journey to discover the truth may end up causing her death. 

Each chapter of this book was so fascinating and I was completely absorbed in the story. Every time I thought I had the mystery uncovered....I was so wrong. There are so many twists  in this book and I loved every one of them!!! 

The only thing that I will say confused me a little with this book was the language. There were certain parts where characters spoke a different language and it was not exactly explained what they were saying so to me that was a little confusing. I tried to make sense of the sentences by the writing around it but sometimes I just couldn't figure it out and it threw me off the story at times. 

Another aspect of the story that I really enjoyed was the romance. The romance between Kane and Em was so young and sweet. The setting of the story reminds me of the ways of the Amish in that their traditions are very similar. Em and Kane are so innocent and yet so in love. It was a perfect addition to this story. 

Winterkill is full of suspense, atmosphere, secrets, romance, and a spell-binding mystery. Fans of Young Adult will devour this book.  Kate Boorman is definitely going on my favorite authors list. She is an amazing story-teller and weaves a story that keeps you guessing until the last page is turned. 

**The quotes from this book have been taken from an Advanced Reading Copy and are subject to change when the final book is printed. Please refer to the final, finished copy for exact quotes!**

**I want to give a HUGE THANK YOU to ABRAMS for the opportunity to review this phenomenal, incredible, AMAZING book!!**

Click here for Abrams Books website!!!!

Waiting On Wednesday: Talon (Julie Kagawa)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event that is hosted by Jill at

Breaking the Spine

and spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Hardcover, 400 pages
Expected publication: October 28th 2014 by Harlequin Teen

Long ago, dragons were hunted to near extinction by the Order of St. George, a legendary society of dragon slayers. Hiding in human form and growing their numbers in secret, the dragons of Talon have become strong and cunning, and they're positioned to take over the world with humans none the wiser.
Ember and Dante Hill are the only sister and brother known to dragonkind. Trained to infiltrate society, Ember wants to live the teen experience and enjoy a summer of freedom before taking her destined place in Talon. But destiny is a matter of perspective, and a rogue dragon will soon challenge everything Ember has been taught. As Ember struggles to accept her future, she and her brother are hunted by the Order of St. George.
Soldier Garret Xavier Sebastian has a mission to seek and destroy all dragons, and Talon's newest recruits in particular. But he cannot kill unless he is certain he has found his prey: and nothing is certain about Ember Hill. Faced with Ember's bravery, confidence and all-too-human desires, Garret begins to question everything that the Order has ingrained in him: and what he might be willing to give up to find the truth about dragons. 

What book are you eagerly anticipating in 2014??

5 Star Review: The Jewel (Amy Ewing)

Hardcover, 304 pages
Expected publication: September 2nd 2014 by HarperTeen
ARC Provided by Publisher for Honest Review

The Jewel means wealth. The Jewel means beauty. The Jewel means royalty. But for girls like Violet, the Jewel means servitude. Not just any kind of servitude. Violet, born and raised in the Marsh, has been trained as a surrogate for the royalty—because in the Jewel the only thing more important than opulence is offspring.
Purchased at the surrogacy auction by the Duchess of the Lake and greeted with a slap to the face, Violet (now known only as #197) quickly learns of the brutal truths that lie beneath the Jewel’s glittering facade: the cruelty, backstabbing, and hidden violence that have become the royal way of life.
Violet must accept the ugly realities of her existence... and try to stay alive. But then a forbidden romance erupts between Violet and a handsome gentleman hired as a companion to the Duchess’s petulant niece. Though his presence makes life in the Jewel a bit brighter, the consequences of their illicit relationship will cost them both more than they bargained for. 

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Amy Ewing earned her MFA at The New School and her BA at New York University. She is a regular contributor on www.teenwritersbloc.com. She lives in New York City.

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"The Power To Choose Comes With A Price..."

This book had me the minute I laid eyes on it. I mean..what a cover! Seriously!! The cover of this book is breath-taking, beautiful, and absolutely mesmerizing. I am a complete pushover for a great cover! 

So of course the cover is amazing..but then I read the synopsis and KNEW I had to read this book.  "The Selection meets The Handmaid's Tale in this darkly riveting YA Debut, where all that glitters may not be gold...." Ummmm...YEAH!!!! and it did not disappoint. I LOVED this book. 

In this dystopian world young girls are tested and if they pass the "genetic test" they are brought into an surrogacy auction and sold to the highest bidder in order to bear children for royalty. Over the years Dr's have perfected the method of surrogacy in order to ensure that the children born are perfect in every way to keep the royal bloodline's pure. 

The Jewel is the center of the Royal's world and where only the richest Royal's live. Surrogates who are brought into The Jewel are treated with riches beyond their imagination. They eat the best foods, have the best clothes, and live rich lives.....as long as they conceive a child for their "master."

Violet is a young girl who has been brought into the world of a surrogate and is sold at the auction to the Duchess Of The Lake, who has been known to be mean and cruel. Violet has no idea what to expect when she enters the House of The Lake. At first she thinks she has walked into heaven. She has closets and closets full of clothes, a huge bedroom, and even a lady-in-waiting that is there to serve only her. But this is only the beginning...Violet soon discovers that the Duchess is evil and vindictive and cares about nothing except her line of succession.

"Why did she hit me?" I ask. My voice breaks and a tear spills down my cheek. 

"This isn't the Marsh, child. I didn't make the rules. But there are rules. You're her property now." Cora's lips press together. "She's not a bad mistress, really. There are worse, I promise you. But you're strong. I can see that. You'll be all right..." 

Violet faces so many disturbing and horrific experiences through out her time at The House Of The Lake. The only thing that keeps her going is Ash...Ash, a handsome young boy, is a "companion" that has been brought into the house to keep the Duchess's niece occupied. Violet falls madly in love with Ash and is determined to find a way for them to be together.

Ash stops at the door. "It would be easier to forget you," he says to me, "and these past few weeks we've had together. It would be easier if I could hate you. But the sad truth is, I will more than likely love you for the rest of my life."

This phenomenal debut YA novel has it all...Suspense, mystery, drama, and a breath-taking romance. I literally could not put this book down. I found myself flipping pages late into the night just to see what happened next. The world of The Jewel is so cruel and yet so fascinating.....I cannot wait for readers to experience all that The Jewel has to offer.....

Amy Ewing has entered the YA genre with a bang....and I for one will DEFINITELY be reading anything that she writes and am DYING to get my hands on the sequel to The Jewel......NOW.....

**The quotes from this book have been taken from an Advanced Reading Copy and are subject to change when the final book is printed. Please refer to the final, finished copy for exact quotes!**

Interview & Giveaway: Compulsion (Martina Boone)

Hardback, 320 pages
Expected publication: October 28th 2014 by Simon Pulse

Three plantations. Two wishes. One ancient curse.
When loss is all you know, how do you find true love?
Beautiful Creatures meets The Body Finder in this spellbinding new trilogy.

All her life, Barrie Watson has been a virtual prisoner in the house where she lived with her shut-in mother. When her mother dies, Barrie promises to put some mileage on her stiletto heels. But she finds a new kind of prison at her aunt’s South Carolina plantation instead--a prison guarded by an ancient spirit who long ago cursed one of the three founding families of Watson Island and gave the others magical gifts that became compulsions.
Stuck with the ghosts of a generations-old feud and hunted by forces she cannot see, Barrie must find a way to break free of the family legacy. With the help of sun-kissed Eight Beaufort, who knows what Barrie wants before she knows herself, the last Watson heir starts to unravel her family's twisted secrets. What she finds is dangerous: a love she never expected, a river that turns to fire at midnight, a gorgeous cousin who isn’t what she seems, and very real enemies who want both Eight and Barrie dead.

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Martina Boone was born in Prague and spoke several languages before learning English. Her first teacher in the U.S. made fun of her for not pronouncing the "wh" sound right, so she set out to master "all the words”—she's still working on that! In the meantime she’s writing contemporary fantasy set in the kinds of magical places she'd love to visit. 
If you like romance dripping with mystery, mayhem, Spanish moss, and a bit of magic, she hopes you'll look forward to meeting Barrie, Eight, Cassie, Pru, Seven and the other characters of Watson Island.

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What gave you the inspiration to write this book?

I wrote a short story for an anthology that ended up having some characters and history that I couldn’t stop thinking about, but it wasn't until I dreamed about a ball of fire drifting through the woods and setting a river aflame that I had the anchoring visual for the book. The rest all came from asking why the river was on fire and who was doing it, which involved a lot of research and brainstorming, and some twists that I’m still discovering. The history of Watson’s Landing is truly the history of the Charleston, SC area, and the real parts are no less amazing to me than the mythology I’ve stretched and bent to create the story. 

Who is your favorite character in the book?

Truthfully, I love them all for their good parts and their failings. I love Barrie’s naive first steps beyond her sheltered existence, and I love the strength she eventually finds in herself. I love Eight because, well, he’s Eight. I love Cassie because she’s got so much below the surface, and Pru because she has so much she has yet to discover about herself. Mark, though, was the character who came out of left field for me. He was supposed to have a small part, but he ended up sticking his size fourteen Louboutins in half the chapters. I love him immeasurably.

Which came first, the title or the novel?

A: The book has had three titles, and I love them all. My working title was FIRE CARRIER, and the reason for that is clear when you read the book. My brilliant acquiring editor, Annette Pollert, who edited the book all the way up to copyedits, came up with BEHOLDEN, which everyone loved, and that also suits the book perfectly. But COMPULSION fits several themes in the book and also conveys a sense of energy that I hope I've achieved in the plot. It's by far my favorite, and it carries through into the rest of the series.

What scene in the book are you most proud of, and why?

I have a lot of favorite scenes, but I love the first beach scene with the turtle nests and that first big jump in the romance between Eight and Barrie. That's followed closely by the fountain scene. And the sandbar scene where Barrie first gets a hint of her strength. And Mark. Any scene with Mark is my favorite. I have a few that I wish I could have put in the book. I may write them someday, just for fun.

Thinking way back to the beginning, what’s the most important thing you’ve learned as a writer from then to now?

I have two things. 

First, think bigger. My first manuscript was a rewrite of books I had read before done my way. But what I needed to write was a story that was wholly mine, and that came from always asking how could I do something differently, unexpectedly, and on a grander scale. 

Second, make your protagonist active. My first attempts at writing were based on things happening to the main character and her reacting to those things. In Compulsion, things happened, but I tried to make her decisions to those events active decisions. Right or wrong, she’s pushing the action instead of letting the action push her.

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Review: Sea of Shadows (Kelley Armstrong)

Paperback, 416 pages
Expected publication: April 8th 2014 by HarperCollins
ARC Provided by Publisher for Honest Review

In the Forest of the Dead, where the empire’s worst criminals are exiled, twin sisters Moria and Ashyn are charged with a dangerous task. For they are the Keeper and the Seeker, and each year they must quiet the enraged souls of the damned.
Only this year, the souls will not be quieted.
Ambushed and separated by an ancient evil, the sisters’ journey to find each other sends them far from the only home they’ve ever known. Accompanied by a stubborn imperial guard and a dashing condemned thief, the girls cross a once-empty wasteland, now filled with reawakened monsters of legend, as they travel to warn the emperor. But a terrible secret awaits them at court—one that will alter the balance of their world forever.

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Kelley Armstrong has been telling stories since before she could write. Her earliest written efforts were disastrous. If asked for a story about girls and dolls, hers would invariably feature undead girls and evil dolls, much to her teachers' dismay. All efforts to make her produce "normal" stories failed.
Today, she continues to spin tales of ghosts and demons and werewolves, while safely locked away in her basement writing dungeon. She's the author of the NYT-bestselling "Women of the Otherworld" paranormal suspense series and "Darkest Powers" young adult urban fantasy trilogy, as well as the Nadia Stafford crime series. Armstrong lives in southwestern Ontario with her husband, kids and far too many pets.

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First thing that grabbed my eye about this book was the fascinating cover. A dark forest with some type of red leaves encircling it creating a strange looking creature...possibly a winged animal...So mysterious...LOVE it!!

I have never read any of Kelley Armstrong's books but have definitely heard of her and have been told several times that I need to!! So when I started reading so many positive reviews on this book then I knew I had to try it!! 

The prologue of the book really grabbed me and caught my attention....

"#1 New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong takes an exciting new direction with this big, breathtaking trilogy that blends fantasy, romance, horror, and pulse-pounding action, perfect for fans of Graceling and Game of Thrones."

I then continued to read it and it got kinda slow for me but I just had a feeling that I needed to keep reading and that the best was yet to come!! and I was exactly right! Around the middle of the book I absolutely COULD NOT put it down. 

The main characters are twin sisters, Moria and Ashyn. They were marked and birth to be Seeker and Keeper of Edgewood. Their destiny is to lead a group into the Forest of the Dead each year to pay respect to the spirits who have passed and to help them to the next world. They are trained in fighting and secret rites of spirits which helps them to complete their mission.

I am not even sure where to start on describing this book and all of its awesomeness...It has a little bit of everything in it. It has romance, drama, action, and some serious horror and that is probably my favorite part. The forest is so creepy and mysterious and the obstacles that Moria and Ashyn face are at some points horrific. I found myself cringing and flipping pages so fast just to see what happened next. It seemed that their worst fears were all coming true and they were being tested at each turn. 

"The face of something from a nightmare, gray skin stretched over bone, jutting chin and nose and cheekbones. No lips, just a slash of a mouth. And teeth. Fangs. So big his mouth could close. He let out another of those terrible cries, his jaw stretching open until all she could see were the fangs."

Moria and Ashyn also have guards that assist them through this journey and of course I loved both of them. Strong, angry Ronan and quiet, mysterious Gavril were incredible characters that added immensely to the storyline. 

The twins also have their loyal "beasts" that are always at their sides and are born to protect them and stand by them till the day they die. I truly love this aspect of the story. I love when an author includes animals in the story and especially when they perform a specific function in the story line such as this. The animals are so important and cause many emotions throughout the story. Ashyn has Tova, a hound dog and Moira has Daigo, a wildcat. 

"Tova was a Hound of the Immortals, almost as much a creature of legend as those in her sister's tales. Raised in a secret location and given only to Seekers, a Hound of the Immortals lived as long as a human and was said to be the reincarnation of a great warrior from the First Age."

Again, I cannot express how much I loved this book!! Yes it was slow at first but hang in there because it was REALLY GOOD!!! I cannot wait until the second one comes out and I will read it immediately!! and now I want to go and read all of Kelley Armstrong's books because I love how much emotion she put into this book and I am positive her other books are just as good as this one!!

***I want to say a HUGE THANK YOU to HarperCollins for allowing me to review this phenomenal book!!! and also to Melissa Murray for recommending it!! As always she was spot on that I would love it!!***