The Goddess Hunt

Title: The Goddess Hunt

Author: Aimée Carter

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Publish Date:  01 March 2012

Pages: 71

ISBN: 978-1-42683-415-8

Source: Bought

Genre: Young Adult, romance, mythology

Series: The Goddess Test

Other books in series: The Goddess Test, Goddess Interrupted, The Goddess Legacy (July 2012)

A vacation in Greece sounds like the perfect way for Kate Winters to spend her first sabbatical away from the Underworld...until she gets caught up in an immortal feud going back millennia. Castor and Pollux have been on the run from Zeus and Hades' wrath for centuries, hiding from the gods who hunt them. The last person they trust is Kate, the new Queen of the Underworld. Nevertheless, she is determined to help their cause. But when it comes to dealing with immortals, Kate still has a lot to learn....

What did Kate Winters do during her first six months away from Henry?  This story starts out telling us some history of Castor and Pollux who are on the run from Zeus.  Castor and Pollux are twin sons of Zeus who were tricked by him.  One is mortal, the other is immortal.  The twins couldn’t picture spending eternity without each other and when Castor dies and goes to The Underworld, Pollux rescues him, which angered not only Zeus, but Hades, the God of the Underworld. 

                                                       

Fast forward to today.  Kate Winters has won immortality in The Goddess Test.   According to her agreement with Henry, she spends six months in The Underworld with him and gets to spend the other six months away from doing whatever she pleases.  During her first six months away, she spends the summer with James in Greece.  Things happen there that she doesn’t expect.  First off, James getting “lost” and finding Castor and Pollux, who have been on the run for centuries.  The last person that they want to trust is Kate, the Queen of the Underworld.  What happens when Henry (Hades) finds out that James and Kate has found Castor and Pollux?

I really like The Goddess Test series , but I wasn’t as excited about reading this novella and I’m not sure why.  Maybe because I had Goddess Interrupted to keep me busy at the same time.  Like Henry, I think that I really didn’t care what Kate did on her six months off and found it hard to believe that this would be an interesting story.  I was wrong.  This story drew me in like the other books in the series.  Carter never ceases to amaze me with her writing.  Not only is it grammatically correct, but the way she creates these characters that are ancient is astounding and I wasn't disappointed in this novella.  You would expect them not to use the same vernacular and grammar as those characters of today and she writes this flawlessly.

The cover shows a female, who is the same one on the other covers in the series, Kate Winters.  She is looking through a forest of some sort.  The font of the title is the same that is used for the other books in the series as well.  The consistency throughout the books is good to see.  I think that having her in the forest is appropriate for this novella because a lot of the story happens there.

 

• Kate Winters.  She is the main character.  Even though this is her time away from Henry and he has told her that she can do whatever she pleases and he cannot stop her, she is faithful to the vows that she made as Henry’s wife.  She shows some of her true character when dealing with Castor and Pollux.

• Henry.  Ah, Henry.  Every story that I read about him, I like him more and more.  Yes, he is angry and Castor and Pollux.  Nobody has ever escaped The Underworld before and this has upset him because that is his realm and he doesn’t want others to follow.  Having chased them for centuries, his patience is wearing thin.

• Castor and Pollux.  The twins of Zeus.  Zeus, being the master tricker that he is, made one of his sons mortal and the other immortal.  When Castor dies, Zeus makes a deal with Pollux where one day Castor can be immortal and the next he will spend in The Underworld and Pollux would get the same deal.  Pollux takes the deal because he thinks that means that he would get to spend eternity with his brother.  What he didn’t know was that he would never see him because their days would alternate.  Pollux really cares for Castor. He couldn’t see living without him and rescues him from The Underworld.  They are running and in hiding so Zeus and Hades do not find them and punish them for what they have done, which is outsmart Zeus.  At first, Pollux seems very abrasive.  I wouldn’t expect any less from someone who was betrayed by his father.  Castor is very polite and charming.

• Cerebus.  He is guardian and a dog of The Underworld.  Pollux punches him in the nose when he rescues Castor.  He comes again to the forest and encounters Pollux and Castor again.  You just have to  love dogs.  

 

• James.  James has been slowing going from the “like” to “did not like” side.  At first, he seems to really care about Kate and what happens to her.  After reading his history and the things that he has done, I’m beginning to like him less and less.  He was always there to fight with his brothers against the threats in Goddess Interrupted without question, but his heart wasn’t in it.  He tries to get Kate to go against her vows to Henry.  He finds Castor and Pollux when he knows that this will cause problems for them.

• The other Gods and Goddesses in this novella. Yeah, they have rules that they have to uphold, but they seem heartless when they do it.  Some of them surprise me, but for the most part they are prideful and cold. 

Blog Tour: Until Next Time

Title: Until Next Time

Author: Amy Lignor

Publisher: Tribute Books

Publish Date:  01 February 2012

Pages: 295

ISBN: 978-0-9837418-5-5

Source: Book for review from author

Genre: Young Adult, angels, paranormal, romance

Series: Angel Chronicles

Other books in series: unknown

How does a girl choose between the one who steals her heart and the one who owns her soul?

Matt and Emily were created for a specific job. Raised and trained as the ultimate angel/warrior team, they are sent down to save, defend, judge and forgive, depending on the 'life' they've been assigned. What they don't realize is that the power of human emotions, such as love, anger, passion and fear can take over even the best of souls, causing them to make mistakes and follow paths that lead to confusion and heartache.

When the reason for their training is finally revealed, the angel/warrior team find themselves thrust into a world they know nothing about. Matt takes over the life of Daniel, a young man with a great deal of baggage. Emily becomes Liz, a girl living in a remote village who relies on nothing more than her own strength to survive. A violent storm erupts one night, and framed in the window of Liz's establishment is a frightening face. Let in by the soul of a Good Samaritan, the two visitors bring with them a past full of secrets that could literally change an angel's path and a warrior's plans.

From murder to redemption, this angel/warrior team must find a way to keep the faith they have in each other in a world that's ripping them apart.

This series starts out with Emily and Matt getting ready to go down to Earth another time.  Emily is an angel and Matt is a warrior.  They are being sent to Earth in order to gain knowledge for their side of the war.  They have been training for this for a long time.  In order to do that, they need to review the previous times that they have been down in order to rid themselves of anger.   Emily doesn’t want to go because of her previous experiences.  Matt and Emily sit down in the library and review the first time they were sent. 

In 1810, they were sent to inhabit “shells” or bodies without souls, in Ireland.  Emily was Elizabeth and Matt was Daniel.  It tells of the back story there.  During this story, you figure out that Elizabeth aka Liz is the sole survivor in her family.  Her mother died during childbirth of a younger sibling, and her father, overcome with grief, committed suicide shortly thereafter.  This left Liz the owner of a pub.  The townsfolk helped Liz until she was old enough to run it herself.  Faith, a woman who came into her life after running away from home, helps her with the pub.  Daniel would come around and help them when he could.  His home life wasn’t that great and he was looking for an escape and found that when he would be around Liz.  He felt safe there. 

One rainy evening, two men come to the pub after it was closed and asked to gain entrance due to the storm.  They are Charles and Jason.  Liz and Faith are concerned at first letting these two men into their homes, but soon find out that they are not the vagabonds that they first thought they were.   The story continues with their travels with Charles and Jason.  How does Daniel feel when he is left behind and the woman he loves goes away with another man?

I liked the plot in this story.  It was refreshing to read something with a twist that I haven’t read before.  I thought that the characters were well developed.  It was difficult for me, at times, to keep what was happening straight.  It wasn't because there were holes in the plot or anything.  I guess I'm just not used to being forced to think for myself when it comes to books.  This book did just that.    Some of the ideas in this book, I'm still not sure about.  

When I first read about them reviewing the previous excursions to Earth, it took me awhile before I realized that they were reviewing the first time they were sent.  I don’t know if I just didn’t get it or that there wasn’t enough there to give it away.  There are times when Emily and Matt return “home” and talk with their instructors.  This was a little confusing at first because it just happened out of the blue.  Once I figured out that was what was happening, it was nice to see the trips.  Overall, I really liked the book.

The question remains: Am I team Matt or team Jason?  I don't know.  They both have their redeeming qualities.  I will have to make that decision in later books.

The cover shows an angel with red hair and you see her heart.  It looks as though the angel is made of stone and is cracking.  I thought this cover was appropriate for the storyline.  I won’t say much more because I don’t want to give anything away.  I like the font of the title on the cover.

• Emily/Liz: She is one of the main characters.  She learns that being on Earth isn’t as easy as she thought.  She has these feelings that she doesn’t know what to do with.  She doesn’t know who Matt is when she goes down.  She doesn’t remember who/what she is.  She is protective of the people that she cares about.

• Matt/Daniel:  He is the other main character.  Most of the story is told from Liz’s point of view, but you still get a little of Daniel.  He is in love with Liz and has been for a while.  It hurts him when she leaves but he doesn’t give up on her.  He senses that he and Liz are connected, although he doesn’t understand it.

•Faith:  She is the girl who helps Liz at the pub.  She is also protective of those whom she loves.  She keeps Liz’s secrets.

• Charles and Jason:  They happen upon Liz and Faith during a storm and are changed forever.  They were wandering about the countryside after leaving home due to the circumstances that were happening.  Liz and Faith leave with them.  Charles and Jason are good to the girls and protect them. 

• The Instructors: Gabriel, Michael, Francis.  They are funny to read about.  The card games...

• Martha and Anthony:  They are the only ones who seemed relieved to see Jason and Charles when they return home.

• The storyline or plot.

 

•Mr. and Mrs. Faire:  Charles’ parents.  They are the type of people who try to appear as though they are nice when they really are not.

• How confused at times I got from going in between “home” and Ireland.

Author Interview: Aimée Carter

Aimée Carter was born and raised in Michigan, where she currently resides. She started writing fan fiction at eleven, began her first original story four years later, and hasn’t stopped writing since.

I'm really not very interesting at all. I attended the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and received a degree in Screen Arts and Cultures (a fancy way of saying I was forced to watch a lot of old movies) with a subconcentration in Screenwriting. I write. I watch a lot of new movies. Read a lot of books. Tweet too much. Love dogs and have two spoiled Papillons.

Aimée Carter, the author of The Goddess Test, The Goddess Hunt, Goddess Interrupted and The Goddess Legacies (released August 2012) answered a few questions that I had for her.

The Hunger Games Contest part 2

Now that the movie is out, I want to hear your opinions of it.  When the movie first started, I wasn't too impressed with the cinematography and thought that the camera was all over the place.  After that first scene, it got MUCH better.  I won't spoil the movie for anyone, but there were a couple of instances where I wasn't sure if that was in the book or not.  This is always a fear when they adapt a film from a book, but I thought the additions were wonderful in the movie.  These being the point of views from characters other than Katniss.  I have only seen this movie once and must see it again.  I have had to re-read the books as a result of watching the movie.

To celebrate the movie, I am having another contest.  In this one, I want to hear what your thoughts on the movie were and how they compared to the books.  I didn't make that a requirement of this contest because I know some people don't like to comment on blogs.

I am giving away: 1 collector's edition of The Hunger Games, 2 paperback copies of The Hunger Games with bookmarks, mockinjay tattoos and mockingjay pins and 1 paperback copy of The Hunger Games.  The collector's edition, bookmarks, tattoos and pins were all donated by Scholastic Books.

Rules

• You will have 48 hours to respond or you will forfeit your prize.
•  I reserve the right to cancel the contest at any time without reason.  
•  I am not responsible for parcels lost or damaged in the postal system.  I will make every attempt to avoid this.
• You must be 13 years or older to participate.
• Contest is international.
• Names will be drawn by Random.org that is within rafflecopter.  
• Winner will be announced in this blog post at the conclusion of the contest and notified by the e-mail provided to enter the contest.  Make sure this is the e-mail that you want me to contact you!

Goddess Interrupted, The Goddess Legacy and contest

The book trailer for Goddess Interrupted has officially been revealed by Harlequin Teen.  Goddess Interrupted is being released on March 27^th.






Not only did they release the trailer for the next book, Harlequin Teen also announced that there will be another e-book released on July 31^st called The Goddess Legacy.

For all those curious about the lives of the gods and goddesses before Kate met them, THE GODDESS LEGACY will fill in those details!
From the first seeds of discord between the original six to the love lives and losses of the rest, Aimée Carter's THE GODDESS LEGACY features five original novellas about Calliope, Ava, Persephone, James and Henry.

To celebrate the release of Goddess Interrupted on March 27^th, I am holding a contest. The prize? An autographed paperback copy of The Goddess Test and a paperback copy of Goddess Interrupted. There will be two winners in this contest.

Rules

• You will have 48 hours to respond or you will forfeit your prize.
•  I reserve the right to cancel the contest at any time without reason.  
•  I am not responsible for parcels lost or damaged in the postal system.  I will make every attempt to avoid this.
• You must be 13 years or older to participate.
• Contest is international.
• Names will be drawn by Random.org that is within rafflecopter.  
• Winner will be announced in this blog post at the conclusion of the contest and notified by the e-mail provided to enter the contest.  Make sure this is the e-mail that you want me to contact you!

Blog Tour and contest: Eve Eden vs. The Zombie Horde

Kidnapped by a vampire, epically farted on by a pug and dragged through the pits of Hell. Welcome to Eve Eden’s world in the small and strange town of Twin Forest.

Eve has goals. She has dreams and ambitions that don’t involve staying in this weird, podunk town. When supernatural forces collide, dropping her into the heart of England, she’s not pleased. When Eve said she wanted to get the heck out of dodge, she didn’t mean getting transported into a castle dungeon.

A hellish incident turns Eve’s hair white. She can’t explain a slight attraction to a vampire who’s been sent to kill her. Can life get any worse? Apparently it can, because just around the corner at Twin Forest’s cemetery…

waits the zombie horde.

After everything I've seen. After everything I've been subjected to over the past... however many days, this has got to be the most confounding experience of all.

As Nathan's lips gently (gently!) touch my own, my face burns. My eyes start to water and I don't have a clue what I should do. So I just shut my heavy lids.

I've never been kissed.

Least of all by a blood-sucking vampire!

I'm so panicked and confused my brain wanders off to the random thought of dogs. In fact, I can actually hear a dog barking in my imagination right now.

Nathan pulls away from me.

There's a rush of air between our faces now, it immediately cools my cheeks.

"Bark! Bark! Bark!"

Bark, bark, bark?

"Where did that dog come from?" Nathan says.

My eyes fly open. I whip my head around to see none other than Thunderbug bounding towards us on his little pug paws.

"That pup belongs to Bubbles!" I say with a smile. I've never been more happy to see someone else's dog in my entire life.

Turning my whole body toward the racing pug, I go down on one knee and reach my arms forward. I'm ready to catch him. At the rate he's running though, he might succeed in knocking me back.

Thunderbug leaps over a stalagmite on the floor of the cave. Then he jumps over an even higher one. Impossibly, the flat faced little scamp next flies over a ten foot stalagmite. He heads toward me, jumps in an arch over my head and I watch as if in slow motion as he crashes into Nathan's chest.

If I expected the pug to bounce off and crash to the floor, I'd be wrong.

Thunderbug totally takes Nathan down.

I barely have time to register the look of surprise on his face, before he vanishes. What's more is, Thunderbug disappears too.

No wait! Nathan's over there, in the far corner of the cave. There's Thunderbug too! How is it possible for a doggy to move as fast as a vampire? I don't know, but Thunderbug is doing so.

Actually, the pug is now flashing around the room in locations different to where Nathan is appearing. During the last flash of re-appearance, Nathan blinks into the place just behind Thunderbug's rear end.

Uh oh...

Yep. Thunderbug, lets out a gaseous explosion from his butt that is so epic, I swear I see a mushroom-cloud blast into Nathan.

He goes down. The vampire has just been farted into submission by a super flatulent pug.

This book is not yet released.  Author, Suz Korb is giving away an e-book of both Eve Eden book one and book two when they become available.

Rules

• You will have 48 hours to respond or you will forfeit your prize.
• I reserve the right to cancel the contest at any time without reason.  
• You must be 13 years or older to participate.
• Contest is international.
• Names will be drawn by Random.org that is within rafflecopter.  
• Winner will be announced in this blog post at the conclusion of the contest and notified by the e-mail provided to enter the contest.  Make sure this is the e-mail that you want me to contact you!

Blog Tour and Giveaway: The Mayfair Moon

Title: The Mayfair Moon              

Author: J. A. Redmerski

Publisher: J.A. Redmerski

Publish Date: 06 February 2012

Pages: 350

ISBN: 978-1-468-18552-2

Source: Paperback from author

Genre: Young Adult, romance, paranormal

Series: Darkwoods Trilogy

Other books in series:  Yet to be announced

After a nightmarish encounter with a werewolf, seventeen-year-old Adria Dawson loses her sister, but gains the love of a mysterious young man and his legendary family.

Strange and tragic things begin to happen in the small town of Hallowell, Maine: residents come down with an unexplainable ‘illness’ and some disappear. In the midst of everything, Isaac Mayfair is adamant about keeping Adria safe, even from her sister whom he has warned her to stay away from.

As unspeakable secrets unfold all around Adria, impossible choices become hers to bear. Ultimately, no matter what path she takes, her life and the lives of those she loves will be in peril. As she learns about the werewolf world she also learns why her place in it will change the destinies of many.

What would happen if you had a life-altering encounter with something that you never believed existed?  That happed with Adria Dawson.  Alex, her sister, and Adria would go to this certain spot when things were getting too bad at home, where her alcoholic step-father would get drunk and occasionally beat their mother.  One night, Alex wanted Adria to come to this party because there was a guy there she wanted to hook up with Adria.  Adria isn’t really into that, so instead, she goes to their spot.  Come to find out, Brent, the guy that Alex wanted Adria to date, had been listening when Alex told someone that she was going there to meet her sister.  He shows up and it makes both Alex and Adria uncomfortable.  They get him to leave, but take an alternate route home to avoid walking in front of his house.

It is when they are walking through the forest path that they encounter something strange.  At first they see a naked man.  Then what looks to be a werewolf.  The man screams at them to run, but Alex and Adria are not sure what they see and are unable to comply.  They are attacked and never hear about the strange incident again.  Adria eventually recovers, but her bigger sister never does.  She retreats inside herself and rarely comes out of her bedroom.  Because of this and an incident which causes suspicion of child abuse in the home, Alex and Adria are sent to live with their uncle Carl and aunt Beverlee in Hallowell, Maine.  Adria makes friends at the school,but Alex is still reserved and doesn’t go out of her room.  It is at school where she first meets the Mayfairs.  There is something strange about them and the way that they seem to follow her around and she keeps running into them.  Then there is William and Ashe.  Adria’s first impression isn’t a good one and it seems like there is bad blood between the two groups.  Does Adria want to get in the middle of that?  What happens when Alex becomes involved in things that she cannot handle?  How much is Adria willing to sacrifice in order to get Alex back?

This was one of those books that I seemed to not be able to put down.  I like books that add a twist to a popular topic and this book did just that.  The Mayfair Moon surprised me.  I had it set in my mind that I wasn’t going to enjoy it and I really did.  I cannot wait for the next installment in the Darkwoods Trilogy

I will admit that I wasn’t impressed with the cover and it is what made me think that I wouldn’t like this book.  I know that the old adage is to not judge a book by its cover, but I do that frequently.  A cover is what grabs your attention in the first place.  The cover for the Mayfair Moon is grayish-black and has a capitol M embossed on it.   I do like font of the words.  

 

•Adria.  She is a strong character.  She has always been there for her older sister, Alex, and vice versa.  At the beginning of the book, Alex even talks about moving in with a boy and having Adria move in with them.  I like the way that she stands up to William and Ashe even before she knows what is going on. 

•Alex – at the beginning of the book.  She takes care of Adria and always thinks of her wellbeing.

•Harry.  He is one of Adria’s friends at school who stays true to her, even after everything that happens. 

•Adria’s other friends: Tori, Sebastian and Julia.  They are fair–weather friends.

•Zia.  She is a good friend to Adria while she is trying to figure everything out.  She is one of the girls staying with the Mayfairs.

•Isaac Mayfair.  Things aren’t always peachy in Adria’s relationship with Isaac.  As a matter of fact, Adria has a hard time figuring out just what that “relationship” is.  Isaac is intent on keeping Adria safe, and for that, he is in the “like” category.

•Alex – later in the book.  It is amazing the complete turnaround that Alex does in this book.  It adds to the conflict that Adria feels and asks her a very hard question: How far will she go to win her sister back?

•William and Ashe.  From the first mention of them in the book, I don’t like them.  They are pushy and mean.

On this blog tour stop, I am giving away an e-book of Mayfair moon to one of the readers of this blog.

Rules

• You will have 48 hours to respond or you will forfeit your prize.
•  I reserve the right to cancel the contest at any time without reason.  
•  I am not responsible for parcels lost or damaged in the postal system.  I will make every attempt to avoid this.
• You must be 13 years or older to participate.
•  Contest is international.
•  Winner will be announced in this blog post at the conclusion of the contest.
• Names will be drawn by Random.org that is within rafflecopter.  Winners will be notified by e-mail.