Stung by Bethany Wiggins

Stung by Bethany Wiggins
"Fiona doesn't remember going to sleep. But when she opens her eyes, she discovers her entire world has been altered-her house is abandoned and broken, and the entire neighborhood is barren and dead. Even stranger is the tattoo on her right wrist-a black oval with five marks on either side-that she doesn't remember getting but somehow knows she must cover at any cost. And she's right. When the honeybee population collapsed, a worldwide pandemic occurred and the government tried to bio-engineer a cure. Only the solution was deadlier than the original problem-the vaccination turned people into ferocious, deadly beasts who were branded as a warning to un-vaccinated survivors. Key people needed to rebuild society are protected from disease and beasts inside a fortress-like wall. But Fiona has awakened branded, alone-and on the wrong side of the wall . . ."- summary from Amazon

This was a really interesting dystopian, and had such a crazy, wonderful concept at the center of it. The book sucks you right in, but I had to force myself to keep reading after about 100 pages of not knowing ANYTHING. Fiona wakes up and knows nothing about this current world, and so when she does meet up with other people, Arrin and later Bowen, they keep mentioning things and not explaining them. And I know they're just trying to stay alive and all that crap, but still, I need a little something! Otherwise, it's just confusing. Eventually, Fiona gets some memories back and is given explanations for what exactly happened to the world, and it's all fine and dandy.

Anyway, the book is done really well and kept me reading. It helps when your main character is spending the whole book just trying to stay alive, so there's always something happening. There's a lot of action in this book and, yes, a romance, but I felt like that took a backseat to most everything else going on, at least until the end.

The ending is just awesome. I was burning through the pages so quickly to see what would happen next. It wraps this chapter of things up well so it's not a huge cliffhanger, but I'm still excited to read the sequel and see where things go from here.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to reading more of this series.

FTC: Received e-galley from Netgalley. Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.

6th Year Blogoversary Post!

So a few days ago (the 23rd, to be exact), my blogoversary happened and it's been 6 years now! Can you believe it? I also found out that Ticket to Anywhere, run by my friend Gail, started on the exact same day and year. It took us a few years to find each other, probably not until BEA 2010 or shortly beforehand. Book blogging was a whole different world back when I started. I mean, I had my blog on Myspace, of all things (which sucks because they got rid of the blogs, and I wasn't able to save all my reviews in time), and didn't move here to BlogSpot until 2009.

It always amazes me to look back at what I've accomplished with this blog, and all the amazing opportunities it's given me. I've reviewed over 600 books, met countless authors, publishing people, and bloggers, attended numerous events, have had meals and hung out with authors, attended several conferences and book festivals and so much more. It's been an amazing journey that hopefully will keep going on for a long time.

I cannot thank my readers and various other supporters enough. You guys have really kept me going all these years, showing your enthusiasm for my reviews and this blog as a whole. A lot of you love my vlogs, which I really need to get back into doing! It's been too long. I love getting comments that tell me you've gone out and bought the book because of my review, or are bumping it up your TBR. Or are interested in something an author said in one of my interviews. It makes me happy too seeing authors and publicists really getting behind me and my blog, and encouraging me. I've made some wonderful friends with authors, other bloggers, and a couple publicists. It's a world I'm so happy to be a part of; I don't know what my life would be like without this blog and without all those amazing wonderful books (ok, I probably would've just gotten them from the library, but they don't get everything!). I'm extremely grateful.

Now, for a bit of self-promotion- I wrote a guest blog for Gay YA earlier this month and it's been overrun by spam comments (but thank you to the two real people who commented!), so please leave some real comments in there. I'm very proud of it, and want to share it!

Finally, leave me some love in the comments. It'll do me good. :)

Blog Tour + Giveaway- Proxy by Alex London

I'm pleased to be a part of the Proxy blog tour. This book sounds amazing and I cannot wait to open it up! I've got a short excerpt from Proxy and then the author, Alex London, wrote a little bit about the writing of the book. Enjoy!

Proxy excerpt: “When night fell, they sat around a campfire tucked into a giant cave at the base of the canyon. Outside, the horses grunted and stomped and drank water from old stone troughs that smugglers had used for decades, centuries maybe. The smugglers’ trailers were as ancient as they were secret.” – page 265, PROXY

Choosing favorites is difficult. There are the scenes that I had fun writing and there are the scenes I struggled and struggled and struggled with that ended up shedding some important light on the work as a whole. I love the scenes that come easily and I love the scenes that demand a lot of me, so it’s hard to choose just one!

I love the first chapter of Proxy because it exists in the finished book in almost the same form as when it poured out of my fingers. I wrote it a very long time ago, before I knew what the book was even about. I knew the story would be about two boys, a patron and his proxy, who takes the punishments when his patron screws up. I knew I wanted to open with the patron screwing up, but I really didn’t know much more than that. As I wrote the scene with Knox and the girl in the stolen car, it all became very clear to me—who Knox was, what his mistake would be, how it would set the world in motion and how much Knox had to grow from the spoiled brat in those opening pages to the boy we see on that final page. The middle was hard, but the beginning told me a lot about the book was writing to the end.

There is also a camping scene in the desert in the middle of the book where the three central characters (Spoiler Alert: there’s a girl) get to (briefly) be normal teens again, silly, flawed, sarcastic, hormonal. I love that scene. Syd gets to be himself in a way we rarely get to see him in the story, open, comfortable in his skin, laughing. Knox gets to make fun of himself, and the girl-who I can’t say much about for plot reasons-gets to make fun of both of them. It was a scene that felt good to write, it made me think of my own good times with my friends in high school, joking even when the world around us seemed to have gone mad. I also love exploring the friendship between these two boys, one gay, one straight, and it was the scene where I think they both the most comfortable with each other. It was a chance to catch their breath before all hell broke loose again. A chance for the reader to breathe too.

And lastly, the last scene of the book, which I rewrote and reconceived a million times (well, seven times, counting when I hid out in Penguin's offices and tweaked it in pencil one last time on the final page proofs). I ended up surprising myself with what happened. I don’t want to ruin it, but I did not expect it to go the way it did (although looking back it seems inevitable…like I was setting it up from page one…I just didn’t know it). It makes me cry and it makes me smile and I hope readers won’t be too mad at me for it. I'm very proud of that scene. Spoiler Alert #2, with apologies to Dickens: It’s a far, far better scene I wrote, than I have ever written; it is a far, far better ending than I could have ever known.

Here's a bit about Proxy:

The adventure novel of the year! Inspired by The Whipping Boy and Feed, this adrenaline-fueled thriller will appeal to fans of The Hunger Games for its razor-sharp insights into the nature of human survival and its clever writing.

Knox was born into one of the City's wealthiest families. A Patron, he has everything a boy could possibly want—the latest tech, the coolest clothes, and a Proxy to take all his punishments. When Knox breaks a vase, Syd is beaten. When Knox plays a practical joke, Syd is forced to haul rocks. And when Knox crashes a car, killing one of his friends, Syd is branded and sentenced to death.

Syd is a Proxy. His life is not his own.

Then again, neither is Knox’s. Knox and Syd have more in common than either would guess. So when Knox and Syd realize that the only way to beat the system is to save each other, they flee. Yet Knox’s father is no ordinary Patron, and Syd is no ordinary Proxy. The ensuing cross-country chase will uncover a secret society of rebels, test both boys’ resolve, and shine a blinding light onto a world of those who owe and those who pay. Some debts, it turns out, cannot be repaid.

A fast-paced, thrill-ride of novel full of non-stop action, heart-hammering suspense and true friendship—just as moving as it is exhilarating. Fans of Anthony Horowitz's Alex Rider series, James Dashner's Maze Runner, Patrick Ness's Chaos Walking series, and Marie Lu's Legend will be swept away by this story.

Alex London writes book for adults, children and teens. At one time a journalist who traveled the world reporting from conflict zones and refugee camps, he now is a full time novelist living in Brooklyn.

You can find Alex London on twitter and his website.

I also have an ARC of Proxy to give away, courtesy of Penguin. US residents only! Just leave a comment by Monday, July 1 at 9pm EST and you're entered!

Find the next stop on the Proxy blog tour on WORD for Teens tomorrow!

Vampire Academy Movie London Trip Contest!

I got an awesome email last week about this amazing contest for the Vampire Academy: Blood Sisters movie. The Weinstein Company (the producers of Vampire Academy: Blood Sisters) is sending one lucky fan (and a traveling companion) to London to hang with the cast of Vampire Academy: Blood Sisters! How cool is that?!

All you have to do is go to this website and put in your information. There so needs to be a dedicated fan winning this instead of someone who just wants a free trip, so there can be lots of pictures taken of Richelle's characters come to life!

Aside from the grand prize, they're also giving away 100 cast signed posters as First Place prizes! Unfortunately, this contest is only open to US residents.

So go and enter, and good luck to you all!

Summer Solstice Sequels Tour- Star Cursed by Jessica Spotswood

SUMMER SOLSTICE SEQUELS – 4 books, 4 authors, 4 days of prizes!

It’s day 2 on the Summer Solstice Sequels tour, where authors Jessica Spotswood (BORN WICKED), Fiona Paul (VENOM), Elizabeth Richards (BLACK CITY), and Lili Peloquin (THE INNOCENTS) have teamed up like The Avengers to celebrate the launch of their upcoming sequels!

Today we’re spotlighting Jessica’s new book, STAR CURSED (The Cahill Witch Chronicles), which is out TODAY (weeeeeeee!), with a book highlight and giveaway!

BOOK HIGHLIGHT

Publisher: Putnam
Release date: June 18, 2013

With the Brotherhood persecuting witches like never before, a divided Sisterhood desperately needs Cate to come into her Prophesied powers. And after Cate's friend Sachi is arrested for using magic, a war-thirsty Sister offers to help her find answers—if Cate is willing to endanger everyone she loves.

Cate doesn't want to be a weapon, and she doesn't want to involve her friends and Finn in the Sisterhood's schemes. But when Maura and Tess join the Sisterhood, Maura makes it clear that she'll do whatever it takes to lead the witches to victory. Even if it means sacrifices. Even if it means overthrowing Cate. Even if it means all-out war.

In the highly anticipated sequel to BORN WICKED, the Cahill Witch Chronicles continue Cate, Maura and Tess's quest to find love, protect family, and explore their magic against all odds in an alternate history of New England.

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Indie Bound | Goodreads

BIO
Jessica Spotswood is the author of the Cahill Witch Chronicles: BORN WICKED (2012), STAR CURSED (June 2013), and untitled book 3 (summer 2014). She grew up in a tiny, one-stoplight town in Pennsylvania, where she could be found swimming, playing clarinet, memorizing lines for the school play, or - most often - with her nose in a book. Now Jess lives in Washington, DC with her playwright husband and a cuddly cat named Monkey. She can be found doing yoga, teaching writing workshops for teens, or - most often - with her nose in a book. Some things never change.

Stalk her at: Website | Twitter | Facebook


GIVEAWAY 2: NAME THAT BOOK!

Each day the authors have come up with a fun quiz for you to play. Today’s game is Name That Book!

Rules
Based on the picture clues below, work out what each author’s favorite book is! They’ve also provided a clue to help you along. The contest will close at 12pm EST, June 28. Any entries after this date will not be counted. Winners will be notified by email. US only. Entrants must be over 13 years old. Entrants under that age must have a parent or guardian enter on their behalf.

Prizes
2 x ARCS of STAR CURSED by Jessica Spotswood

Let’s play!

Elizabeth’s favorite book

Hint: A potions book, a horcrux, and one killer ending…

Jessica’s favorite book

Hint: A classic children’s story about an orphan girl growing up on a farm.

Fiona’s favorite book

Hint: You don’t have to be mad to work at Buddha Burger but it helps, in this surreal dark comedy…


Lili’s favorite book

Hint: Classics student Edmund ‘Bunny’ Corcoran becomes the victim in a real-life Greek tragedy, in this 1992 adult bestseller.

Entry form
Summer Solstice Sequels entry form

TWITTER PARTY

Jess, Liz, Lili and Fiona are throwing at Twitter party on Thursday June 20th, 6.30pm EST, #SSSequels to celebrate the launch of their books! They’ll be answering your questions and giving away LOADS of prizes, courtesy Penguin Teen, so you won’t want to miss out. See you there!

FOLLOW THE TOUR

17 June
Good Choice Reading
PHOENIX by Elizabeth Richards

18 June
Book Chic
STAR CURSED by Jessica Spotswood

19 June
Jean Book Nerd
BELLADONNA by Fiona Paul

20 June
Fiction Freak
THIS SIDE OF JEALOUSY by Lili Peloquin