Book Review: Touch of Frost by Jennifer Estep @Jennifer_Estep

Touch of Frost by Jennifer Estep

Publisher: Kensington Publishing

Publish Date: July 26, 2011

Paperback, 350 pages 
Fiction, Young Adult, Paranormal
 ISBN: 978-1402244186
Mythos Academy #1

My Review:

My thoughts:  Touch of Frost was a definite breath of fresh air in the paranormal young adult genre.  Using mythology as a basis, author Jennifer Estep creates an interesting parallel world that Gwen Frost lives in and doesn’t even understand herself.  Gwen has known her power her entire life, but it wasn’t until that day she picked up the hairbrush and saw into Paige’s life that her life turned upside down and she ended up in the Mythos academy amongst the Valkyries, Amazons, Spartans, Greeks and other Gods and great strong people.  Only Gwen can’t figure out how she fits in among these people.

I like Gwen, she’s strong and sure of herself, but she still has doubts.  She doesn’t sit around and think poor pitiful me. When she discovers Jasmine’s body she immediately starts to investigate to see what happened and this sets the stage for the book.  I enjoyed her investigation and the unlikely friends she makes along the way and the mysterious Logan Quinn as well.

Touch of Frost sets the stage for this series and has a great story.  I enjoyed the mystery and learning about the school and some of the main players.  I look forward to the next book in this series, Kiss of Frost which will be out in December 2011.  Ms. Estep has done a wonderful job creating a world and a great cast of characters for a series that I will be following for quite awhile.

My Rating: 4.75/5.0


About the Book:

My name is Gwen Frost, and I go to Mythos Academy — a school of myths, magic and warrior whiz kids, where even the lowliest geek knows how to chop off somebody's head with a sword and Logan Quinn, the hottest Spartan guy in school, also happens to be the deadliest.

But lately, things have been weird, even for Mythos. First, mean girl Jasmine Ashton was murdered in the Library of Antiquities. Then, someone stole the Bowl of Tears, a magical artifact that can be used to bring about the second Chaos War. You know, death, destruction and lots of other bad, bad things. Freaky stuff like this goes on all the time at Mythos, but I'm determined to find out who killed Jasmine and why—especially since I should have been the one who died. . .


About the Author: 
Jen­nifer Estep is a USA Today bestselling author, prowl­ing the streets of her imag­i­na­tion in search of her next fan­tasy idea.

Jen­nifer writes the Ele­men­tal Assas­sin urban fan­tasy series for Pocket Books. The books focus on Gin Blanco, an assas­sin code­named the Spi­der who can con­trol the ele­ments of Ice and Stone. When she's not busy killing peo­ple and right­ing wrongs, Gin runs a bar­be­cue restau­rant called the Pork Pit in the fic­tional south­ern metrop­o­lis of Ash­land. The city is also home to giants, dwarves, vam­pires, and ele­men­tals - Air, Fire, Ice, and Stone.

Books in the series are Spider's Bite (2010), Web of Lies (2010), Venom (2010), and Tan­gled Threads (2011). Spider's Revenge, the fifth book in the series, will be released in Octo­ber 2011. By a Thread, the sixth book, will be released in February 2012, with the seventh book (untitled) tentatively set to be published in the fall of 2012.

Jen­nifer also writes the Mythos Acad­emy young adult urban fan­tasy series for Kens­ing­ton. The books focus on Gwen Frost, a 17-year-old Gypsy girl who has the gift of psy­chom­e­try, or the abil­ity to know an object's his­tory just by touch­ing it. After a seri­ous freakout with her magic, Gwen is shipped off to Mythos Acad­emy, a school for the descen­dents of ancient war­riors like Spar­tans, Ama­zon, Valkyries, and more.

The first book, Touch of Frost, will be out in August 2011, while the sec­ond book, Kiss of Frost, will hit shelves in Decem­ber 2011. First Frost, a prequel e-story to the series, will be released in July 2011.

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FTC Information: I received this book from the publisher through Teen Book Scene for an honest review.  I have Amazon links on my review pages but I do not make any money from these because of NC laws.  I put them solely for people to check out the books on a retail site.

Teaser Tuesday - August 30

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! 

"Why don't we go into the living room?"  Tucker asked.  "I could use a cup of coffee."  In truth he could use a cold shower, but that seemed a bit obvious.

From Deep Disclosure by Dee Davis

Book Review: Calli by Jessica Lee Anderson @jessleeanderson

Calli by Jessica Lee Anderson

Publisher: Milkweed Editions

Publish Date: September 13, 2011

Paperback, 198 pages 
Fiction, Young Adult
 ISBN: 978-1571316998

My Review:

My thoughts:  Calli is an interesting look at a fifteen year-old-girls life.  Calli’s life is a little different from the start.  She has two mom’s, which isn’t all that different, but she does get made fun of from time-to-time.  But then she gets a foster sister as well.  At first Calli is excited, but then Cherish doesn’t seem to fit the mold of sister that she wanted.  She’s sassy, rude and then of all things, she kisses Calli’s boyfriend Dub.

That kiss sets off a series of events that changes Calli and makes the book.  The book seems to be about the choices that we make and the consequences.  It is well written and really teaches a beautiful lesson.  Calli learns the lesson, takes responsibility in her on way and grows.  Things change and she rolls with the changes.  It’s fascinating to watch and an interesting book from beginning to end.  I don’t want to give anything away, but everything is handled really well in the book.  Ms. Anderson writes in a way that’s easy to understand and keeps you interested from the first page until the last.

Calli is a great book, it deals with interesting issues and captivates the readers.  I won’t forget this book anytime soon.

My Rating: 4.5/5.0


About the Book:

Fifteen-year-old Calli has just about everything she could want in life—two loving moms, a good-looking boyfriend, and a best friend who has always been there for support. An only child, Calli is excited when her parents announce that they want to be foster parents. Unfortunately, being a foster sister to Cherish is not at all what Calli expected. First Cherish steals Calli’s boyfriend, then begins to pit Calli’s moms against one another, and she even steals Calli’s iPod. Tired of being pushed around and determined to get even, Calli steals one of Cherish’s necklaces. But this plan for revenge goes horribly awry, and Cherish ends up in juvenile detention.

Isolating herself from her moms, her boyfriend, and even her best friend, Calli wrestles with her guilt and tries to figure out a way to undo the damage she’s caused. When her moms are asked to take on another foster child, Calli sees an opportunity to make amends for her past mistakes.

Funny, moving, and emotionally rich, Calli is a portrait of an endearing young woman caught between adolescence and adulthood, striving to do the right thing even when all of her options seem wrong.


About the Author: 

Jessica Lee Anderson is the author of Trudy (winner of the 2005 Milkweed Prize for Children's Literature), Border Crossing (Quick Picks Nomination, Cynsational Book of 2009), as well as the forthcoming young adult novel, Calli (2011). She's published two nonfiction readers, as well as fiction and nonfiction for a variety of magazines including Highlights for Children. Jessica graduated from Hollins University with a Master of Arts in Children's Literature, and instructed at the Institute of Children's Literature for five years. She is a member of The Texas Sweethearts & Scoundrels and hopes to be more sweetheart than scoundrel. She lives near Austin, Texas with her husband and two crazy dogs.

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FTC Information: I received this book through Teen Book Scene for an honest review.  I have Amazon links on my review pages but I do not make any money from these because of NC laws.  I put them solely for people to check out the books on a retail site.

Guest Blog: Character Blog from Witch Eyes by Scott Tracey

Today I have a special post featuring the characters from the book Witch Eyes by Scott Tracey and they are going to be telling us:

Top 3 things you would never be caught doing:

Drew:

1. Homework/ School work. Unless we're talking gym. Or Home room. I was excellent at home room.

2. Shaving every day. Besides, I look good with scruff.

3. Keeping my mouth shut.

Riley:

1. Huh? Sorry, I wasn't paying attention.

2. No, I get it now. Things would never be caught do--hey, is that the Mayor?

3. (Correct answer: paying attention, as Riley has most likely wandered off).

Jade:

1. Bargain shopping.

2. Going along with the masses. I'm a unique spirit.

3. Hating people just because I'm expected to.

Trey:

1. Compromising

2. Turning away when someone needs help.

3. A Thorpe.

Braden:

1. Staying out of trouble

2. Using magic only when it's necessary and safe

3. Respecting my elders.

Book Tour: Huber Hill and the Dead Man's Treasure + Giveaway

Today I'm the tour stop for B.K. Bostick's Huber Hill and the Dead Man's Treasure.  I'm reading it and the moment and really enjoying it.  I'm going to put up my review later today but wanted to share more information about the book now and share the author's giveaway with you as well.  Read on to learn more about this great book, this generous author and stay tuned later today for my review.

About the Book:
When his grandfather dies, Huber Hill is devastated---until he opens Grandpa Nick's mysterious box. An old gold coin and directions to a hidden Spanish treasure send him and his friends off on an mind-blowing adventure, but he's not the only one on the hunt. Filled with dangerous animals and cryptic puzzles, this book will have you on the edge of your seat until the last page.

The Story Behind the Book:
A lot of people ask what inspired me to write Huber Hill and the Dead Man's Treasure. My answer is my grandpa. He would always tell me stories about Spanish treasure hidden up in the mountains. I always imagined going on these wild adventures to find treasure. As I grew older, I realized that the real treasures were the stories my grandpa told me. I'll always remember those days sitting at his side listening as he showed old maps, books, and artifacts. If there's one theme to the story, it's that relationships with friends and family are invaluable- of much more worth than any kind of money.


About the Author:
B.K. Bostick, author of Dead Man's Treasure, resides among the magnificent Rocky Mountains. In addition to writing, he has spent his career in education. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Utah and his Masters in Psychology from Utah State University. He has worked as a teacher, after school program coordinator, junior high school counselor, and most recently as a teacher mentor for a University. He loves spending time with his lovely wife and two dogs. In his spare time, he enjoys eating cheetos and watching old episodes of the Twilight Zone.



The Fundraiser:

Alyssa, my neighbor, was diagnosed with a Meningioma brain tumor on December 5th, 2010. The only way to get it out was through surgery. It took four surgeries to get out as much of the tumor as they could and now she's almost finished with her radiation treatments. Alyssa is an inspiration to me. Her positive outlook and attitude while facing something so terrible is truly remarkable. Because of the inspiration she's given me, I am trying to give back. I will be donating 100% of profits from all pre orders of Huber Hill and the Dead Man's Treasure along with sales during the first two weeks of launch (Oct. 1-16) to Alyssa and her family. Visit www.treasureforalyssa.com

The Giveaway:

The also be giving away a replicated gold coin/bookmark to each reader who goes to my author page on facebook and clicks the "like" button. Go to: http://www.facebook.com/bkbostickauthorpage

The Trailer:
http://bit.ly/no1y71

Waiting on Wednesday - August 24

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Zero Day by David Baldacci

Release: November 1, 2011

From David Baldacci-the modern master of the thriller and #1 worldwide bestselling novelist-comes a new hero: a lone Army Special Agent taking on the toughest crimes facing the nation.

And Zero Day is where it all begins....

John Puller is a combat veteran and the best military investigator in the U.S. Army's Criminal Investigative Division. His father was an Army fighting legend, and his brother is serving a life sentence for treason in a federal military prison. Puller has an indomitable spirit and an unstoppable drive to find the truth.

Now, Puller is called out on a case in a remote, rural area in West Virginia coal country far from any military outpost. Someone has stumbled onto a brutal crime scene, a family slaughtered. The local homicide detective, a headstrong woman with personal demons of her own, joins forces with Puller in the investigation. As Puller digs through deception after deception, he realizes that absolutely nothing he's seen in this small town, and no one in it, are what they seem. Facing a potential conspiracy that reaches far beyond the hills of West Virginia, he is one man on the hunt for justice against an overwhelming force.

I love David Baldacci so I am eagerly awaiting his newest book and this one looks good!

So what are you waiting on this week?