Monday, October 27, 2014

Interview & Giveaway: Whisper the Dead by Alyxandra Harvey

 UFI welcomes author Alyxandra Harvey. Thanks for Joining us!!


What can you tell my readers about yourself that they might not know from looking on your bio or reading in another interview?
 
I am learning to drive our tractor. This may or may not end well. And I’ve discovered it takes remarkable upper arm strength to steer an ATV and I am very wobbly on a vespa. 

What do you enjoy doing on your down time?
 
I love going for long walks with my dogs and doing very practical things like embroidering the Tardis. And making ginger candy. 

What is your Favorite part of writing? 
 
I love that I can travel anywhere, from back in time to worlds that don't exist! The best moments are when I get lost in a story and I look up and hours have passed and I had no idea. It’s a special kind of time travel. 

Do you have any certain routines you must follow as you write?
 
I try not to get too precious about my writing routines-- it can be a double-edged sword. I’d hate to trip myself up just because I can’t find my favourite pen or incense. That said, a cup of vanilla tea and a quiet room is habitual. If it’s a grey rainy day, so much the better! 

What are some of your Favorite books or Authors in the Urban Fantasy/ Paranormal Genres?
 
I love the books of Laini Taylor, Maggie Stiefvater and Leigh Bardugo.
I am evangelical about Laini Tailor’s Daughter of Smoke and Bone. 

How would you pitch The Lovegrove Legacy to someone who has not heard of it before?
 
Pride and Prejudice meets Charmed! 

Can you tell us a little bit about the world that The Lovegrove Legacy is set in? 
 
The Lovegrove Legacy is set in an alternate Regency world, where magical families rule behind the elegant façade of London Mayfair. There’s a goblin market, spells gone awry, a girl with antlers, and boys in cravats. 

Which one character out of all your books was your favorite to write about? What about the hardest to write about?
 
Whoever I am writing about currently tends to be my favourite, but writing Gretchen in Whisper the Dead was definitely great fun—she is all snark and defiance. So far the characters have all been very forthcoming…there’s not one that stands out as difficult thought certain scenes were certainly harder than others (spoiler alert!) 

What Other Projects can we look forward to reading from you?
 
My next book is a paranormal YA with Entangled Publishing. Details soon on my website: www.alyxandraharvey.com
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Alyxandra Harvey lives in a stone Victorian house in Ontario, Canada with a few resident ghosts who are allowed to stay as long as they keep company manners. She loves medieval dresses, used to be able to recite all of The Lady of Shalott by Tennyson, and has been accused, more than once, of being born in the wrong century. She believes this to be mostly true except for the fact that she really likes running water, women’s rights, and ice cream.

Find Alyxandra and her books
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Whisper the Dead
The Lovegrove Legacy #2
Amazon
Cousins Gretchen, Emma, and Penelope are all dealing with what it means to be a Lovegrove. For Gretchen, it means she often feels like her head is going to explode. As a Whisperer, Gretchen constantly hears the whispers of other witches' spells. And while this does help her to know when one of her own spells is going wrong, the incessant buzzing and pain the whispers cause makes it difficult to use her gift.

But when something evil begins to menace Mayfair, Gretchen must find a way to master her power. Along with her cousins, a madcap named Moira, and the icy yet irresistible Tobias Lawless, Gretchen faces deadly threats and unimaginable loss in the hopes of preventing the terrible Greymalkin Sisters from rising again.

The second book in The Lovegrove Legacy trilogy, Whisper the Dead will leave readers spellbound.

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Excerpt: 

The contrast between fighting off the Rovers and pasting a polite smile on her face for the single sons of earls was too stark. Residual magic burned through her. She was surprised the air around her didn’t crackle. Her mother shouldn’t begrudge her a stolen moment in the library, not if the alternative involved magic shooting off the ends of her hair. Hardly subtle.

Not to mention hardly marriageable material.

On second thought….

Better not. She’d already pushed her luck by going off with Godric.

Egyptian onion farming it was then. She walked along the book shelves, reading titles and glancing into the glass-fronted cabinets that held Lord Worthing’s collection of painted globes. It was dull and dusty and soothing. Her witch knot stopped aching.

Until someone grabbed her arm, yanking it behind her back and spinning her around. Her check pressed to the cold glass of a curio cabinet. Pain shot up to her elbow when she tried to move. “Who are you?” a man’s asked, his voice quiet and cold in her ear.

“Who am I?” she barked back. “Who the hell are you?” He evaded the kick she aimed at his most sensitive parts. Her skirts wrapped around her knees, hobbling and infuriating her. He turned her roughly around.

Tobias Lawless.

She wasn’t sure which of the two of them was more surprised.

Someone so chilly and perfect and wearing such a flawless cravat shouldn’t be mauling ladies in dark libraries. He also shouldn’t have several short iron daggers tucked inside his cutaway coat. It probably said something unsavory about her character that the sight of those daggers made her like him a bit more. But only a little bit.

“Let me go,” she yanked savagely down, breaking his hold. He didn’t move back, and his body continued to block her against the cabinets. The glass rattled.

“What are you doing?” he stepped closer still. She had to tilt her chin up.

“I am currently being accosted,” she snapped, driving the heel of her shoe into the top of his foot. He fell back a step, growling in his throat. Growling. He really didn’t seem the type.

She made a proper fist, not like the ones girls made when they hadn’t practiced before. She’d already punched a Rover tonight. She was very comfortable punching Tobias, Lord Killingsworth. Eager, in fact.

“What is wrong with you?” she asked finally. “Are you drunk?”

“Certainly not.”

She raised an eyebrow. “I’m the one being mauled and yet you take offense?”

“I can smell it on you,” he answered which was no answer at all. “There’s no use prevaricating.”

“I don’t usually bother lying about perfume,” she replied, now more bewildered than concerned.

“Not perfume,” he ground out, as if she was the frustrating one. “Dark magic.”

Her eyes narrowed to angry slits. “I beg your pardon.”

“As you should.”

She aimed for his head. It was big and fat and so perfectly groomed, how could she miss? He caught her wrist and squeezed. Hard. He shouldn’t have been fast enough.

An iron-nail pendant in the shape of a wheel slipped out from under his collar. Gretchen stared at it, then transferred her glare to his haughty, unkindly beautiful face. “I knew it.” She gave him a smile better suited to one of the animals in the zoological gardens. “You’re a bloody Keeper.”
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Early Review: Burn For Me by Ilona Andrews

Burn For Me
Author: Ilona Andrews
Release Date: October 28, 2014
Publisher: Avon
Hidden Legacy Book #1
ISBN:  0062289241
ISBN13: 9780062289247
Genre: Paranormal Romance/ Urban Fantasy
Review Copy Source: Publisher
Nevada Baylor is faced with the most challenging case of her detective career—a suicide mission to bring in a suspect in a volatile case. Nevada isn’t sure she has the chops. Her quarry is a Prime, the highest rank of magic user, who can set anyone and anything on fire.

Then she’s kidnapped by Connor “Mad” Rogan—a darkly tempting billionaire with equally devastating powers. Torn between wanting to run or surrender to their overwhelming attraction, Nevada must join forces with Rogan to stay alive.

Rogan’s after the same target, so he needs Nevada. But she’s getting under his skin, making him care about someone other than himself for a change. And, as Rogan has learned, love can be as perilous as death, especially in the magic world.

Another great book for the writing team of Ilona Andrews! I'm not a huge fan of the cover for BURN FOR ME, but I AM a huge fan of Ilona Andrews so there was no doubt in my mind that I had to read it.

As the head of her families PI firm it's up to Nevada to keep her family safe and their bank account in the black. Unfortunately the company that owns the loan on her family business has a job for her and if she says no her family will lose everything. Nevada lives in a world where if you don't have strong magic, you don't really matter. She was taught from an early age to hide the magic, but she might have to reveal herself to get through this hurtle. The Baylor family is really close. It's really hard not to fall in love with each and every one of them and Nevada is no exception. She has a great head on her shoulder and works really hard to make sure her family's safe and has what they need.

I really loved Mad Rogan. He was nothing like he was made out to be in the beginning of the book but he was still a force to be reckoned with and Nevada and him together made a perfect team. Although Nevada is attracted to him she really wants nothing to do with him. Their relationship is pretty love hate for a while but when they finally get on the same page they have crazy chemistry. Come to think of it, their relationship is a lot like Curran and Kate's relationship in the beginning. I enjoyed every moment of it.

If you are fan of Ilona Andrews writing already you are going to fall in love with BURN FOR ME. The world, the characters, and the story all work together to rock out a great story. Not sure when book 2 will be out, but it already has a spot on my bookshelf.

I gave it 4/5 stars

* This book was provided free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.