DemonGlass ARC Give away!!!

I really LOVED Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins.  Her snappy, funny voice full of sarcasm and wit, made me want to hang out in the dorm with her even if it contained crazy witches or possibly murderous vampires.  Sophie could totally be my bud if I was still an awkward teenager instead of a boring old mom...

Anyway, the sequel is being released on March 1, but I have located a give away... so run on over here to get the details. 

~Cinnamon

Finally my review of Across the Universe

I know, I know I'm running late on this...

Across the Universe begins with seventeen-year-old Amy and her parents being processed into cryogenic sleep on a spaceship called Godspeed. Amy is seemingly trapped in dreams during the long 300 year journey to the new planet that her parents are supposed to help colonize.  

The story alternates point of view between Amy and a boy of seventeen named Elder who has been born and raised on Godspeed.  He is the heir apparent to the leadership role on the ship. 

Amy is suddenly awakened 50 years earlier than their projected arrival at the new planet.  Emotionally, the impact of the situation is devastating since her parents are still in stasis and cannot be awakened without endangering the entire mission.  Amy cannot be refrozen without endangering her life as well, so she is alone essentially.  She followed her parents on this frightening journey to avoid being left alone on Earth, but now she must learn to live without them in the very odd culture that’s been established on the ship.

Her awakening itself is the first mystery.  Was it an attempted murder?  That seems to be the case when several other frozen passengers are murdered or nearly murdered.  Elder, Amy and Elders friend must protect Amy’s parents and the other frozen colonists while solving the puzzle of what could motivate the attacks.

Across the Universe is absolutely an engaging read that kept me turning pages late into the night.  I had to know the secrets of Godspeed.  It reminded me of several different classic dystopian stories.  To sum up thought, I would call it a swirl of Soylent Green meets 1984 with a side of dystopian love. So, if dystopian tops your book love list, then this one will definitely be a new favorite!

~Cinnamon

Just received my very first ARC!!! Wahoo...

I'm officially a real book blogger as well as writer!

I actually asked (begged really) for this ARC all over the place and I'm not sure yet who took pity on me...but I will find out so that I can send a million thank yous...(I'm really liking the elipses today. I think it's my more mature version of the !)

Whew.  I am breathless with anticipation.  Not just about Across the Universe, although I have been dying to read it since the first few paragraphs of the excerpt that I read over a month ago.  I am breathless at the idea of being entrusted to read and review books before they are even released.  What a thrill -- and yes, I am aware that I'm a book geek.

So, probably within a day or so, I'll send my first official ARC review out into the blog-iverse or blogosphere, the world basically.  Yes!

~Cinnamon

Strong female lead anyone?? ---Have you read Nightshade by Andrea Cremer?

If you've been waiting for a vulnerable, yet tough female lead in your paranormal YA genre...I found her...

Get lost in Nightshade by Andrea Cremer like I did.  I could not stop turning the pages even though my crazy children expected me to feed them and stuff--the nerve!!  Although I might have chosen a different naming strategy for the main opposing forces in the book since Keepers (masters), Searchers, and Guardians are rather obvious, she otherwise created an fascinating world to explore and characters I will follow directly  into the next sequel in this debut novel.

Oh, and I finished The Replacement and it was really the best 'Faery Fic' I've read of late.  It reminded me of Melissa Marr's Wicked Lovely with a dark, scarily evil faery world hidden underneath the lies and secrets of a whole city.  The story is told from the unique perspective of a 'replacement' child for one that was stolen. 

Someday, if I read with enough deliberate concentration, I will be able to infuse my own writing with some of their creativity.
~Cinnamon

You must read The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff

I am telling you this before I even finish the book myself, because there is something here that makes it not necessary to finish the book before deciding it's good.

Remember how you felt when you first read Maggie Stiefvater.  Come on, if you are reading this, you must have read Shiver, Linger, Lament and Ballad...I know you have.  Anyway, remember how the words sounded almost musical together and you reread some sentences over several times because they were so great--Ok, yeah, it's like that.

“…she still smelled crisp and kind of sweet.  It made me think of flowering trees or something you want to put in your mouth.  The kind of smell you shouldn’t notice about girls who are covered in tragedy…”

I'll post an update as soon as I'm done.  (I'll bet I read until 2am since I must spend time with my family today even though I would really love to drown in this book instead).
~Cinnamon

Just add zombies...

While I was searching for inspiration I read another author waxing poetic about the virtues of Maud Hart Lovelace’s Betsy-Tacy novels.  They’re very early YA books-- first published starting in the 1940s. 

Now, I admit to loving Ann of Green Gables and thought these would be right up my totally uncool alley.  Unfortunately, I found myself unable to read them without copious amounts of skimming.  Betsy, Tacy and all the women in these books are so saccharine sweet, even when they are supposedly not being sweet-- I just couldn’t take it.  Without a little edge to give their personalities some depth, I just end up wanting to smack um. I really missed Elizabeth Bennett slamming the hypocrites every other page.  I was longing for a zombie or something and I don’t even like zombies.

What I did appreciate though was how she captured daily life in a very realistic way--the easy banter of people who hang around together regularly.  The male characters especially were drawn with the sarcasm, humor and rhythm with which people truly interact.  I need to get myself some of that.

Takeaway:  Make your novel’s universe a real, living place instead of cardboard scenery--a place where the reader can get lost and forget it’s just make believe.  And the peripheral characters play an essential role in creating that universe. And—when things get slow for gosh sakes, throw in a zombie or something!

Just read the coolest first chapter from Across the Universe by Beth Revis!

You have to check it out here .  And, while you are at it..tell about your most awesome adventure.  You could win an ARC!!

Since I've only read one chapter, I can't say for sure if there are sparkly vampires, but I do know that it's YA and SCI FI, so I'm guessing aliens only.  Anyway, I was a Star Trek junkie before the Next Generation and am stoked to find a stellar book that combines my love of science fiction and YA-- which has ruled my world for a few years now. 

On a more personal note, this book gives me hope that there will be a market for my genre jumping work when the time comes. 

I just can't wait to read the rest.

I managed to make it to the writers group this week for the latest news, but I didn't stay to read.  Mostly, because I didn't write.  It's been painful the last couple weeks to get anything on paper and I need to bust out of this sludge pit.  I'm thinking about just skipping around and writing whatever chapter is playing in my head at the moment.  I really haven't found that magic formula yet.  Everyone has to discover their own way to get from the point where characters keep talking in their head to where they live and breathe on the page...ugh.

My second hand quote for the week (Kiersten quoted it at her signing) from Aprilynne Pike 'Give yourself permission to write crap.  Then, make it better.'

I like that.

I can write crap.  THAT, at least, I'm sure of!!!

~Cinnamon