Guest Blog & Giveaway: Scorched Skies by Samantha Young

UFI welcomes Samantha Young Author of The Fire Spirits Series. Thanks for Joining us!!

The Story Behind the Story: What Inspired the Series?

The basic concept of using Jinn mythology came to me when I was thinking about mythology that hadn’t been so widely used in YA. I wanted to write about something different and exotic, and Jinn forced its way to the top of the supernatural list. Once I decided on the concept, I bought non-fiction books on the subject and trolled the internet for information. It was the research itself that inspired the series. I came across a passage about the Seal of Solomon and how King Solomon had been gifted this seal, this ring, that had the ability to command deeds from good and evil Jinn. As soon as I read that, I had that Eureka moment. I knew instantly that the Seal of Solomon was what the series would be centered around, and it was just a case of adapting the mythology and folklore to my characters and my imagination.

 

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Samantha Young is a 26 year old writer who resides in her home county of Stirlingshire, Scotland. She is a self-proclaimed book addict and Kindle junkie, using fantasy, dystopian, sci-fi and paranormal novels to feed her addiction.

After graduating from the University of Edinburgh with a degree in ancient and medieval history, Samantha returned to her main passion, writing, and often incorporates history and mythology into her novels.

Samantha’s first release, The Tale of Lunarmorte trilogy, was followed by a second series titled Warriors of Ankh. At present, she is a full-time writer working on a number of projects for near future release. She is the author of nine novels and one novella. Her young adult paranormal series are Amazon bestselling novels.

Find Samantha and her books

Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook

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Scorched Skies
Fire Spirits #2
Goodreads, Amazon, B&N

The White King has crossed the line, sounded the horn, sent out the wolves.

When blood is shed and life is lost the reality of Ari’s position as both hunter and prey finally sets in. It seems her father will stop at nothing to force her will to his own and distracted by Charlie’s latest mistake and her seemingly misguided attraction to Jai, Ari never thought to fear anyone else but the Jinn King.

Blindsided and attacked, Ari learns a new wolf has joined the hunt. A dark sorcerer believes he knows a way to bleed the power of the Seal and wield it as his own, and he is even less patient than The White King.

The War for the Seal has only just begun… and it’s time for Ari to turn it on its head.

It’s time for Ari to stop acting like the hunted.

It’s time for Ari to become the hunter.

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Tour Wide 
Contest open internationally.

Contest Info: Each tour host will have a daily give away.  Entries into the daily give-away count towards the grand prize give-away of a Kindle Touch skinned in the winner's choice of cover art from the Fire Spirits series!

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Follower Only Giveaway!!!

Its that time again for a follower only giveaway. 

Up for grabs is a grab bag/box of Books. They will most likely all be ARC's (Advanced Reader Copies) and there will be no fewer than 5 in the bag/box. You must be a follower (new or old) and you must have a US mailing address (sorry shipping can get expensive).

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Review: Vessel by Sarah Beth Durst

Vessel
Author:Sarah Beth Durst
Release Date: September 11, 2012
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry
ISBN:   1442423765
ISBN13: 9781442423763
Genre: Young Adult
Review Copy Source: Author
 

In a desert world of sandstorms and sand-wolves, a teen girl must defy the gods to save her tribe in this mystical, atmospheric tale from the author of Drink, Slay, Love.Liyana has trained her entire life to be the vessel of a goddess. The goddess will inhabit Liyana’s body and use magic to bring rain to the desert. But Liyana’s goddess never comes. Abandoned by her angry tribe, Liyana expects to die in the desert. Until a boy walks out of the dust in search of her.

     Korbyn is a god inside his vessel, and a trickster god at that. He tells Liyana that five other gods are missing, and they set off across the desert in search of the other vessels. For the desert tribes cannot survive without the magic of their gods. But the journey is dangerous, even with a god’s help. And not everyone is willing to believe the trickster god’s tale.

     The closer she grows to Korbyn, the less Liyana wants to disappear to make way for her goddess. But she has no choice: She must die for her tribe to live. Unless a trickster god can help her to trick fate—or a human girl can muster some magic of her own.

I want to start out by saying that the writing for Vessel is extremely well done, the setting is fantastic, and the world building is phenomenal. The whole book is full of mythology. There was a great amount of evolution not only for the gods but the rest of the characters involved in the journey to save them. The story was extremely unique and full of imaginative situations. The main character Liyana and the rest of the vessels had a tough journey and the story was believable and beautiful. Unfortunately I just could not get into the book. How is it possible that I can say all that good and still not enjoy it? I honestly just couldn't connect with it. I can't really tell if something was just missing for me or if I was just hoping for a different kind of story. I didn't always get why some of the characters felt the way they did or how they decided certain things were ok. I think my beliefs on what was acceptable and theirs were just way out of whack to completely connect to the book as a whole. Alright, I will stop confusing you now. I have seen some great reviews out there for VESSEL so don't let my weird opinion sway you from at least picking it up and reading a few chapters to see if you like it.

Because of the fact that I couldn't really connect fully I didn't think it fair to leave a star rating on the book

Review: Dark Currents by Jaqueline Carey

Dark Currents
Author:Jaqueline Carey
Release Date: October 2, 2012
Publisher: Roc
Agent of Hel Book #1
ISBN:  0451464788
ISBN13: 9780451464781
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Review Copy Source: Publisher

The Midwestern resort town of Pemkowet boasts a diverse population: eccentric locals, wealthy summer people, and tourists by the busload; not to mention fairies, sprites, vampires, naiads, ogres and a whole host of eldritch folk, presided over by Hel, a reclusive Norse goddess.

To Daisy Johanssen, fathered by an incubus and raised by a single mother, it’s home. And as Hel’s enforcer and the designated liaison to the Pemkowet Police Department, it’s up to her to ensure relations between the mundane and eldritch communities run smoothly.

But when a young man from a nearby college drowns—and signs point to eldritch involvement—the town’s booming paranormal tourism trade is at stake. Teamed up with her childhood crush, Officer Cody Fairfax, a sexy werewolf on the down-low, Daisy must solve the crime—and keep a tight rein on the darker side of her nature. For if she’s ever tempted to invoke her demonic birthright, it could accidentally unleash nothing less than Armageddon.

The Goddess of Hel picked Daisy Johanssen to be her Agent. Its Daisy's job to keep the peace and met out punishment when the peace is broken between the mundane and Eldritch community. The Peace is broken when a human college student is found dead and the evidence suggests he was murdered by someone in the Eldritch community.

DARK CURRENTS was a pretty fun book. The town of Penkowet is home to many including a thriving Eldritch community. You are introduced to many different species and fun characters throughout the book. Daisy is half incubus, half human and doesn't always get a lot of respect because of that. She works part time with the Penkowet police department but when a college student ends up dead she joins the investigation along side her crush Cody Fairfax to solve the crime. Daisy is in a constant battle to not give in to her demons side. She is down to earth and a pretty good girl. There isn't any sort of romance in DARK CURRENTS but there are a few small hints to there being one in the future. I found the whole mystery pretty thorough, It was suspenseful and fun to follow along with. You never quite knew who was on what side until it was thrown at you. The pace was nice and the story flowed evenly. I enjoyed the world and will be jumping back in for book 2.
I gave it 4/5 stars 

New Releases: 10/21-10/27

Tues Nov 23

Beautiful Redemption (Castor Chronicles, #4) by Kami Garcia, Margaret Stohl
Dark Star by Bethany Frenette
Destiny Rising (The Vampire Diaries: The Hunters,#3) by L.J. Smith
The Evolution of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer,#2) by Michelle Hodkin
Finale (Hush, Hush, #4) by Becca Fitzpatrick
Flutter by Gina Linko
The Lost Prince (The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten, #1) by Julie Kagawa

Happy Reading!!

Guest Blog & Giveaway: Mark of the Witch by Jessica Gibson

UFI welcomes Jessica Gibson Author of Mark of the Witch. Thanks for Joining us!!

Should the good guy always win?

First, thank you so much for having me on your blog today Stacy!! This is a question that I have asked myself a lot lately. Should the good guy always win? I know that most of the time it’s expected. People want to see a happy ever after. But, does it alway have to be the good guy who gets it?

I think the bad guy has gotten the short end of the stick for a while. They more often than not are interesting and have better back stories than your typical protagonist.  I’ve gotten so sick of reading the same story over and over again. Boy meets girl, bad guy enters and threatens them, fight ensues, good guys win and bad guy slinks off to lick his wounds. Where’s the fun in that?  I’ve made it my goal to have at least one of my bad guys win. Not sure when it’s going to happen, well, I do. But, I’m not going to tell you yet. 

I think the bad guy should get a happy ever after. Don’t they need love too? Don’t they want to ride off into the sunset? Books would be a lot more interesting if we were never sure who was going to win. Besides, some of the bad guys are just so good. We have characters like Damon from The Vampire Diaries or Eric from the Sookie Stackhouse books who have made the bad guy more loveable. They are delightfully wicked, with just a touch of goodness in them. The intensity and the range of emotion you can get from a bad guy has always been a draw for me. The inner struggle, that bit of them that craves the darkness. It makes reading that much more fun for me.

What do you guys think? Do you prefer a white knight, or a dark prince?

Thanks again for having me on the blog Stacy!!

 

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Jessica lives in California with her husband and young son. She loves to read, and that love helped her to branch out into writing. Aside from writing, she runs an online event planning business called the Release Day Diva. In addition to novels, Jessica writes and maintains the blog Book on the Bright Side. Keep up with Jessica and her latest releases and events on her blog.

Find Jessica and her books

Website / Blog / Twitter / Facebook

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Mark of the Witch
Boston Witches#1

Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Paperback

Magic flows through Jillian Proctor's veins as surely as blood, but so far her life outside Boston has been peaceful. William Morgan blows into Jilly's life like a hurricane, unleashing her magic and sending her out of control. Unknowingly, William brings an enemy who only wants to posses the power of the witch. Jilly must learn to harness her magic before she loses it - and everything in her life is destroyed.

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