Captives blog tour and giveaway

I was given an ARC (Advanced Readers Copy) of this book for an honest review and more publicity, because everyone knows my readers show everyone they know my posts. Because I'm so awesome.

WARNINGWARNINGWARNINGWARNINGWARNINGWARNINGWARNINGWARNING

CAPTIVES

Back of the cover:
One choice could destroy them all.
When eighteen-year-old Levi returned from Denver City with his latest scavenged finds, he never imagined he’d find his village of Glenrock decimated, loved ones killed, and many—including his fiancée, Jem–taken captive. Levi is determined to rescue what remains of his people, even if it means entering the Safe Lands, a walled city that seems anything but safe.
Omar knows he betrayed his brother by sending him away, but helping the enforcers was necessary. Living off the land and clinging to an outdated religion holds his village back. The Safe Land has protected people since the plague decimated the world generations ago … and its rulers have promised power and wealth beyond Omar’s dreams.
Meanwhile, their brother Mason has been granted a position inside the Safe Lands, and may be able to use his captivity to save not only his people, but also find a cure for the virus that threatens everyone inside the Safe Lands.
Can Mason uncover the truth hidden behind the Safe Land’s façade before it’s too late?

Book trailer:


Doesn't that just give you chills?
 
Anyway, this blog tour (I sure do a lot of blog tours lately, huh?) is for Captives by Jill Williamson, if you haven't already figured that out. I love her books. Replication is my absolute favorite. It's so perfectly written and makes you think and just . . . helps you understand. And Captives is no different. Eeeh . . . except maybe genre and a few small details (such as character names and backstories and themes and . . . yeah).

It's a YA Dystopian (much to my delight), and it's definitely a new genre from Jill. Just let me start off by saying, it is absolutely AMAZING. The characters are delightful. And it's Christian! Perfect, right?

Okay, so it's based off of the book of Daniel (from the Bible, yes). There's a video (which you can find at the bottom of the post maybe, cuz I think I figured out how to embed videos) about where she got the idea from. And it's incredible. I mean, to take inspiration from one of the most famous stories in the Bible, set it in a future world that's like a cross from Uglies (by Scott Westserfeld) and Hunger Games (If you don't know who wrote this series, shame on you) is pure genius!

For me, this story made me think. How would I react to being snatched from my very home, forced to live with and around people who treated me as nothing more than their golden ticket to healthy humanity? Would I be as calm as these characters were? Would I have enough trust in God and the one or two guys that weren't taken to save me and what was left of my friends and family? The truth is, probably not.

I mean, think about it. These are teens and young adults. They were just captured by people who hadn't bothered them before, but still treated them as if they were the ones who were sick. I'd be pulling a Naomi around those people. They call me shell and I pour sweet, acidy sarcasm all over their dried up corpses. "Well, excuse you. I'm not the one who looks like dry desert dirt painted to portray an Easter egg, thankyouverymuch."

I'd also most likely be killed.

But, hey, at least I'd have told them, right?

This is getting off topic. I have too many good things to say about this and I'm about to just tell y'all what happens if I don't shut up. So, moving on.

I didn't like that there was so much from Omar's point of view. I mean, I get that it's what was needed. She had to show us what it was like in the Safe Lands, and not just . . . I wonder if that counts as spoilers. Meh. I just didn't like that there was a pretty big gap of Mason. I had a bond with Mason before I even opened the book, and it's totally not because Bethany told me I would. I'm not sure why, because he's not the eldest (Levi is). But I'm not sure if he's the youngest or the middle child. I don't think it was ever specified. And if it was, I'll feel really stupid.

I felt bad for Omar, because he seemed to be really messed up in the head. But I didn't really care much for him. I just couldn't make myself like him much. I couldn't really like Levi much either. Or their father. He was emotionally abusive. I didn't feel bad at all when *Censored for spoilers*

So, yeah. It was great. There's even a bi-polar lady. Okay, so she's probably not bi-polar, but she acts like it sometimes. I ship her and Mason. *wink* I'm always shipping crazy people with sane people. It's a lot of fun.

Okay, this post is getting long. I've lost half of y'all, haven't I? I'M SORRY I RAMBLE.

Anywaaaaaaay . . .

I give this 4.5 stars. The only thing that really bothered me was the lack of more Mason. I'm going to end this here by saying you need to get it. And Miss Jill has graciously offered a paperback copy of the book! Just fill out the rafflecopter form for a chance to win!

And if you don't win, or you're too lazy to do the rafflecopter (no judging here. I get ya), you can buy the book yourself!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Click HERE for Amazon
Click HERE for Barnes and Noble
Click HERE for the video on how the author got her inspiration!

Sorry for all the links. I imagine this post looks like a Wikipedia page. Blah. But wait, there's more!

Check out all these other blogs while you're at it:

ADD Librarian
Blooming with Books
Bookworm Reading
Chris Kolmorgen
Christian Book Review Blog
Christian Bookshelf Reviews
CTF Devourer
Emily Rachelle Writes
Heavenward Reviews
Jessica Laurie
Labor Not in Vain
The Life of a Teenage Writer <--- You are here.
The Maniacal Bookworm
Mrs. Southern Bride
Oh, Restless Bird 
Pages from My Journal
The Pen and Parchment
Rachelle Rea
The Ramblings of a Young Author
Realm of Hearts 
Shadow Writer World
A Simple Life, Really?!
Surrendering All of Me 
Terri Harr
Verbosity Book Reviews
Who YA Reading?
Worthy2Read
The Writings of Rosie

This has to be the messiest review I have ever done. Wow.
Thanks for reading!

About Team Novel Teen:
Team Novel Teen is a group of bloggers dedicated to spreading the word about clean teen fiction. Check out other posts about Captives by Jill Williamson by clicking on the links above, and click here for more information about Team Novel Teen.

***Sorry for any mistakes. I finished this at 3am today. Don't judge me***

ABC Reading Challenge

So, this is inspired by Jill Williamson's post on Go Teen Writers and Bethany's post on The Ramblings of a Young Author. They posted about an ABC Reading Challenge. They challenged themselves and anyone else who is interested in participating to come up with a list of books, from A to Z, and read them. I have quite a few books to read besides this list, but I'm going to try to finish this list by the end of summer. We'll see. As always, you're quite welcome to join in on the fun. Here's my list:

A: Anne of Green Gables 
I've been wanting to read this for YEARS. But I've never gotten around to it. I loved the movies, so I think I'll enjoy the books even more.  (Other books that start with A: Arabian Winds by Linda Lee Chaikin, Amanda's Story by Erika Tamar, Acid by Emma Pass)

B: Burning Blue by Paul Griffin
I think this book looks interesting. I think I might like it. (Other books that start with B: Birthmarked by Caragh O'Brien)

C: Captives by Jill Williamson

I have this book right now, and have to read it soon. Actually, I should start reading it tomorrow. (Other books that start with C: Chasing Jupiter by Rachel Coker)

 D: Defiance by C.J. Redwine
This one's been on my list for a while now. (Other books that start with D: Design on a Crime by Ginny Aiken, The Declaration by Gemma Malley, Dualed by Elsie Chapman)

E: The Elite by Kiera Cass
Yeah, I've wanted to read this one for a while too. (Other books that start with E: Extras by Scott Westerfeld)

F: Fall to Pieces by Vahini Naidoo
Can't really remember what this one's about, but I added to my list a few months ago, and I trust my judgement, so . . . (Other books that start with F: For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund)

G: Going Vintage by Lindsey Leavitt
This one looks good. 

H: House of Stairs by William Sleator
This one was suggested to me by a writer friend. I plan on reading this one as soon as I can find it.

I: If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch
Can't remember what this one was about either, but, again, I trust my past self. (Other books that begin with I: Infinite Jest by a name I can't remember)

J: Just Remember To Breathe by Charles Sheehan-Miles
Same reason as the last two.

K: The Killables by Gemma Malley
I slightly remember what this one's about. It looked good, though.

L: Lucid by Adrienne Stoltz
The name probably explains itself. (Other books that start with L: Legend by Marie Lu, Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld)

M: Miss Match by Erynn Mangum
No clue when I added this one. It's most likely about matchmaking.

N: Nerve by Jeanne Ryan
This book looks SO GOOD. I really just want to read it. (Other books that start with N: Nobody by Jennifer Barnes, Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen)

O: Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
It's a classic. I need to read it.

P: Premeditated by Josin McQuein
It's been on my list a while. (Other books that start with P: Point Blank by Anthony Horowitz, Pretty Girl-13 by Liz Coley)

Q: Quiet Little Woman by Louisa May Alcott
It was on Bethany's blog, and I trust her tastes. Plus, it's written by a classic author.

R: The Ruining by Anna Collomore
I like psychological thrillers. (Other books that start with R: Ring of Secrets by Roseanne White, Robin Hood by whoever it was that wrote him, Rain Song by Alice Wisler) 

S: Specials by Scott Westerfeld
I have this book right beside me. I have to read it before it's due back to the library. (Other books that start with S: Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers, Shieldmaiden by Becki Badger, Survive by Alex Morel)

T: Truth or Dare by Jacqueline Green
I like stories that are thrillers that start with Truth or Dare. Hence the reason Nerve is on my list. (Other books that start with T: The Way We Fall by Megan Crewe, The Rules for Disappearing by Ashley Elston.)

U: The Unidentified by Rae Mariz
Again, this one was on my list for a while, and I can't really remember what it's about. 

V: Variant by Robison Wells
Same reason as U. (Other books that start with V: Venom by Fiona Paul)

W: The Ward by Jordana Frankel
I sort of remember what it's about.  Not much though. 

X: XVI by Julia Karr
I've seen this one before, and wasn't too excited about it, but it's the only book I can find that starts with X that I'll actually read.

Y: Yesterday by Kelly Martin
This was on my list a few months ago, so it's probably time to read it. 

Z: The Zahir by Paulo Coelho
I just found this one. It looks okay, so it's on my list now.

And, there you go! That's my list. I messed up a bit. I was supposed to recommend books but I didn't see that and ended up ADDING books to my list. So my list will be longer than anyone else's. Oh, well. So, you can do what I did, or you can do what Bethany and Jill did. Your choice.

Thanks for reading! Hope you find your own list and have fun reading!

The Revised Life of Ellie Sweet blog tour & giveaway

First off, I received a PDF file of this book for free from the author because I'm on the Playlist Street Team. I joined the blog tour so you could all know about the wonderful book that this is.

From the back cover:
Ellie Sweet is a lot of things—good girl, novelist, silent adorer of the new boy at school, Palmer. But when “outcast” gets added to the list, she decides it’s time to take reality into her own hands … and tweak it as needed.
In the pages of her book, she’s Lady Gabrielle, favorite of the medieval Italian court. Her once-friends are reduced to catty ladies-in-waiting, and the too-charming Palmer—who in real life never spares her a second word—gets to be nothing more than a rake wracked by unrequited love for her. She even has a perfect real-life villain in the brooding Chase, who hails from the wrong side of town.
But just when she’s getting along great in her fictional world, the real one throws her a few curves. With Chase pursuing her, Palmer wanting to date her—but in secret—and the details of her manuscript going public, Ellie suddenly receives more attention than she ever really wanted. And when her former-friends discover what she’s been writing, they’re determined to teach Ellie a lesson about the severe consequences of using her pen as her sword.

Ellie is adorable. Absolutely adorable. And she's pretty crazy for naming her friends/characters alike. But, that's Ellie.

This book is fun and light. If you don't want to get into a deep book that forces you to rethink life and everything around it, pick this one up. It's sweet and fun, but it does deal with certain issues. Stereotypes, love triangles, etc.

It's easy to read. I was able to fly through the pages and finish the book in about a day. The characters were fascinating. Each one had their own personality and their own thoughts. It was easy to imagine they were real.

All in all, I give this book 4 stars. It's fun and cute. I think most teen writers can relate to Ellie. Stephanie Morrill did a great job with this. It'd be a crime not to read it.

And now it's time for the fun! We have a giveaway for an e-book! But before we get to that, here's where you can buy it:

Click HERE to buy on Amazon.

NOW we can check out the giveaway. There's not much you have to do here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

  You can go look at the other posts, too. 

Blooming with Books
 Colorimetry
 Gillian Adams
 Jill Williamson
 The Life of a Teenage Writer <---- You are here
 Once Upon an Inkling
 Pages from My Journal
 Rachelle Rea
 The Ramblings of a Young Author
 Shadow Writer World
 Who YA Reading?
 The Writings of Rosie
Worthy2Read

Thanks for reading!

About Team Novel Team:
Team Novel Teen is a group of bloggers dedicated to spreading the word about clean teen fiction. Check out other posts about The Revised Life of Ellie Sweet by Stephanie Morrill by clicking on the links above, and click here for more information about Team Novel Teen.

New Look!

The blog's had a makeover. I was getting tired of the rose and the colors and just everything. So I changed it. 

I do that a lot. I'm a very indecisive person. Not to mention I get bored of everything being the same. I need change of scenery every now and then. 

Also, there's two new pages up there at the top, right under the title. "Fanfictions" and "Short Stories." And "Stories I'm Working On" has been updated. If you're interested in any of my stories, then check it out. And if you like fanfictions and oneshots, you might like mine. 

Short stories is currently empty, but I hope to have one up by Monday. It's what I hope, anyway. Here's a sneak peak at the first short story, There Once Was A Girl.

"There once was a girl.

You didn’t know her. Neither did I. No one did, not even herself. Oh, we all knew the basics. Her name was Amber. She was 15 years old. Born on the 12^th of September. Her hair was blonde, her eyes were brown. She was average height, around 5’5. She was thin; weighed about 95 – 100 pounds. She volunteered at the library on Saturdays from 12 to 3pm."

If it sounds interesting, you should look for it on www.FictionPress.net starting Monday. I'll post a link in the Short Stories tab once it's posted. It would be much easier if you just looked there first. 

That's all for today, lovelies!  

Storm by Evan Angler blog tour

First off, I'd like to make sure it's clear that I received this book for free as an ARC (Advanced Reader's Copy) in order to review it and join the blog tour. It will be released tomorrow. So you can pre-order right now. But be very careful. They are watching.

Also, there may be slight spoilers. Nothing too big or anything that will give the plot away, but if you haven't read the first two books (and want to), you might want to do so before reading this. I shall try not to give much away, just in case.

Evan Angler

Storm is the final third book in the Swipe series by Evan Angler. It's a bit Dystopian, and loosely based off of Revelations (from the Bible, should you not know). Everyone must be marked. That's what DOME says. And they say that the rumors of flunkees are just that. Rumors. Nothing more, nothing less.

But they're lying. And Logan Langley knows it. Because his sister was a flunkee. She never came home from her marking. No one knows what became of her.

***Spoilers for book 1-2 will begin now***

Now, two books later, Logan has teamed up with the Dust. The Markless. The ones DOME wants to destroy. Or maybe not destroy. Maybe they have bigger plans for them. Worse plans. But what could be worse than being killed? Than being crushed into nothing more than the dust you're called?

A lot, it turns out.

What do you do when your sister, who's been dead to you and your family for four to five years, is suddenly very much alive? What do you do when everything you've been told, when everything you've learned, when everything you think you know . . . turns out to be a lie? When the biggest security system, DOME (very much like the FBI), wants you? But not to work for them. Not in the ordinary way. They want you to help them draw out the Markless so they can take all of the them. Eradicate them. Or make them marked.

One way or another, you will be marked.

 Fight all you want. DOME will not be denied. Or will they?

You will find out in Storm. The storm is brewing, and once unleashed, it will not be stopped.

I totally made that tagline up myself. *beaming grin* I'm so clever, aren't I? Okay, so it's pretty bad, but whatever. The important thing is that you need to READ it.

Click HERE to order from Amazon.
Click HERE to order from Barnes and Noble.

Either way, GO ORDER. It's a fascinating book! There's even a . . . . well, there's an incredibly funny happening that almost breaks the fourth wall. But I'm not telling you how or where. You have to read it first. Ha.


Here is a list of the other bloggers participating in the blog tour today. Go check them out too, 'cuz they are all wonderful like me! Nah, just kidding. I'm the queen. But you should still check them out too. It's only polite.

Now, before you visit them, I'm just going to say one thing. If you decide to go through their old posts or they say something you find offensive or something else of that matter, don't come back here whining to me about it, because I honestly. Do. Not. Care. They can post what they want to post, and I'm not about to get myself caught up in some drama because you don't agree with something they say. It's a free country, K? At least, where I am. Don't know about you, but it's free here. We may rank eighth place in freedom, but we were the founders of freedom.

Wow, that got off subject. ANYWAY. I've been on the internet too long. Agh. Okay, well, go check them out! And you've been warned! I am in no way responsible for what they post, so don't blame me. I've said too much, already. DOME will be looking. I've exposed my fellow Dust. But we'll be fine. We'll be hiding in the Dark Lands. Are you brave enough to be Dust?

ADD Librarian
Blooming with Books
The Book Fae
Bookworm Reading
Christian Book Review Blog
Christian Bookshelf Reviews
CTF Devourer
Jill Williamson
Labor Not in Vain
The Life of a Teenage Writer <----- You are here. Heh. Heh. Heh. 
The Maniacal Bookworm
Oh, Restless Bird
The Ramblings of a Young Author
Realm of Hearts
Shadow Writer World
A Slightly Nerdy Bookworm 

 KTHXBAI

Between These Lines blog tour and giveaway

So, does anyone remember that blog post I did about Jennifer Murgia? Well, this post is about her book, "Between These Lines."

Let me start by saying this book drove me crazy. It's the first book to shock me and make me cry in months. Since I read Insurgent, to be exact. It was all cool until the last twenty pages. And then things started getting crazy and twisted and . . .

Well, I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's start at the beginning. We have Chase and Evie, who are basically star-crossed . . . . somethings. They're definitely NOT allowed to be friends. Or anything more.

But fate won't let this be. Chase and Evie have to work on an English project together, and life is suddenly a whole lot harder.

This book will shock you and hurt you and just blow your mind. Prepare for hurt feels, tears, and shock. Stock up on chocolate towards the end, because you will need it.

I can't say much more without giving the whole book away, and trust me, if I talk about it too much longer, I will give it away. 

So, here's the summary from the back of the book:

"I never told anyone how I felt about her. Not even Evie—not in so many words. And now, I’ll never get the chance to."

When a class assignment brings quiet Chase Mitman and the stunning Evie Cunningham together, a mutual attraction ignites. There’s only one problem—Evie already has a boyfriend—one who practically OWNS Whitley Prep, and her.

Knowing their relationship comes at a price, Chase’s life collides with Evie’s, and after entrusting her with a tragic secret, the last thing he’d ever expect is to learn she keeps a few of her own.
An innocent prank turns ugly. An anonymous note changes everything. And lives at Whitley Prep will never be the same.
From YA author Jennifer Murgia (Angel Star, Lemniscate, The Bliss), comes an emotional story focusing on the social agenda of students at a preparatory high school and the impact it has on their lives. BETWEEN THESE LINES offers a haunting reminder that sometimes the person you think you know the most is the one you know the least—and sometimes, that person is yourself.


Fans of Simone Elkeles and Tammara Webber will appreciate Murgia, who understands that first love is heady and complicated and full of surprises.


 If that doesn't make you want to pounce on this book, you might need a check-up. 

  Also, there's a giveaway! Here's all of what you could win!

Just do what this Rafflecopter thing tells you to, and you're entered to win these things! The winner will be announced in 11 days.

I would enter the giveaway if I could. *wink* I'm so jealous of my readers! So enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway