{August 8, 2014} {Spotlight} Witch Hunter Olivia by T.A. Kunz

Here’s what New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors are saying about Witch Hunter Olivia by T.A. Kunz:

“Witch hunters and sexy tattoo artists? This New Adult Paranormal is EVERYTHING fans of romance and action are looking for.”

– #1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout

“A fun, action-packed, enjoyable read!”

– New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Cora Carmack

“The perfect blend of New Adult and Paranormal. It’s absolutely fantastic!”

– New York Times bestselling author Nichole Chase

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Reviewers are calling Witch Hunter Olivia “amazing, fun, well-written, and entertaining.” You don’t want to miss the hottest New Adult paranormal romance of the summer!

Read my 5 star review!

ABOUT THE BOOK:

In the town of Piedmont Pointe, where paranormal is the norm, a girl can easily get herself in over her head with a single wrong move. Unfortunately for Olivia Adams, she’s about to make several.

Starting over is never easy, but it seemed like the only option to Olivia. The decision to turn her back on the Guild of Witch Hunters, the very group she devoted her entire life to, was one of the hardest things she ever did. It meant leaving her family, her friends, and her old identity behind forever. Coming to terms with what caused her to abandon her duties in the first place was even harder.

While trying to lay low and stay off the Guild’s radar, Olivia finds herself thrust back into her old ways after unknowingly interrupting an assassination hit on a powerful witch. What follows is the last thing she ever thought she’d agree to do–protect the very thing she was groomed to hunt.

To complicate things even further, Olivia begins to develop feelings for a tattoo artist who also happens to be half warlock, and no matter how hard she tries to fight it, she can’t resist her inescapable draw to him. Olivia’s forbidden relationship isn’t her only issue though, because once the mystery behind the assassination attempt starts to unravel, she’s forced to choose sides when the loyalties still tied to her past life are tested again.

So much for the idea of a fresh start.

BUY THE BOOK NOW:

Amazon ~ Amazon UK ~ Amazon AUS ~ B&N ~ iBooks ~ Kobo

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Author T.A. Kunz has always had a fondness for reading thrilling mysteries and action-packed urban fantasies. So, it was no surprise when T.A. decided to write stories that they’d fall into one of those two genres. T.A. lives in Central Florida with two fur babies and a mechanical engineer who also happens to be quite the culinary badass, which there are no complaints about. Being a self-diagnosed caffeine addict, many joke that T.A.’s addiction to Starbucks coffee will likely be their downfall later in life.

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{July 4, 2014} {Review} Thirty Sunsets by Christine Hurley Deriso

From Goodreads: To Forrest Shephard, getting away to the family’s beach house with her parents and her brother, Brian, is the best part of every summer. Until this year, when her mother invites Brian’s obnoxious girlfriend, Olivia, to join them. Suddenly, Forrest’s relaxing vacation becomes a mission to verify the reality of Olivia’s rumored eating disorder. But the truth behind Olivia’s finicky eating isn’t at all what Forrest expected. And over the next thirty days, Forrest’s world is turned upside down as her family’s darkest secrets begin to come to light.

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This novel turned out to be completely different than what I expected, and I really applaud the author for it, especially as it hits on so many important issues, rape and attempted rape included, and the message for women is an amazing one. While reading, it’s so easy to point at Forrest and to shake your head, yelling at her to get some common sense, but in the end, it’s NOT her fault. Women tend to blame themselves when a man becomes aggressive, or when he takes advantage of her; outsiders tend to blame the woman too, even I was upset with Forrest leading up to the pivotal scene between her and Scott because all the signs concerning an aggressive, unhealthy relationship were there, but Forrest is NOT at fault. And this is an important theme that needs to be put in the hands of young girls more often. Scott is a terrible human being, and the fact that Forrest has never had an admirer before explains her gullibility and the fact that she writes off his pushy behavior, to the point that it’s almost too late. Yes, it did drive me crazy, because I’m an outsider looking in, but when in the heat of the moment, as Forrest finds herself, we tend to be blind to the reality that surrounds us, and this is exactly what happens to Forrest. Luckily for her, she has a supported family willing to stand by her side and help her through the rage and turmoil that Scott leaves in his wake, and I just love how Deriso handled the entire situation.

But the novel doesn’t actually center around this—the novel deals with so much more, such as teen pregnancy, family dysfunction, and secrets as well. The truth about Brian and Olivia’s relationship floored me, but made perfect sense, and the reaction of Forrest’s parents also made perfect sense once the truth about their relationship came to light. Overall, this is an extremely well done novel, though I did find the ending just a tad bit too convenient. Four stars.

I received this novel from the publisher, via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review. This title recently released.

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{April 14, 2014} {Review} X and Y by Rebecca Finlayson

From Goodreads: Olivia Adonane has it all; remarkable intelligence, stunning beauty, and – as the daughter of the head of the Triad, Society’s top three Human Designers – immeasurable wealth. Yet, all is not as it seems. Olivia discovers a dark secret about her homeland, formerly known as Great Britain, where humans are designed in the womb, and she watches her best friend, Lily, die in a secret chamber below the Triad Building in London. From here on, she has a choice. Will she continue on her pre-designed path, following in her father’s footsteps to become the country’s most powerful Human Designer? Or will she seek to rebel against the government, attempting to expose and overthrow the seemingly-invincible regime so that her fellow citizens can be truly free?

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Finlayson’s novel, X&Y, thrusts readers into a society that designs and tags its population, keeping the wealthy beyond rich and the poor barely scraping by. Everyone is designed for a reason, and no one goes against the system; it’s in place for their own protection, and it’s existed long enough that no one really questions it. After all, everyone has a purpose. It’s destiny.

Told in a series of sections, readers really get to know Olivia as she goes from timid high school student to determined university student. Questioning everything she’s ever known, watching people disappear, and believing the worst of her parents, Olivia’s struggles are very real, and though I didn’t always agree with her decisions, it’s easy for me to take the high road as an outsider looking in; it always is. But what isn’t easy is deciding to do what’s right when you know it could end with your death, and worse, the death of those you love and hold dear. This is the obstacle that Olivia is up against, and as she struggles and comes into herself, it’s impossible not to fall in love with her. As the novel progresses, what seems like a lifetime passes as Finlayson weaves together her tale, giving it life and validity. I enjoyed the sectioning within the novel, allowing time to pass easily without any sudden transitions, and for a novel that takes place over a span of years, it was the perfect execution.

What I think perhaps floored me the most about this novel is the fact that the genetic engineering imposed in former Great Britain is actually happening under the radar of the rest of the world. Indeed, the rest of the world, the United States in particular, has continued its existence and democracy much as if this were a present day novel and not a dystopian one, and it was both jarring and awesome when I realized that Olivia’s country was on its own in the technological advances and misuse of genetic engineering. Ingeniously, former Great Britain has adopted this strategy unbeknownst to the rest of the world, and I found that really interesting as Finlayson ties it all in to the idea of world police, a topic that has been in the news much recently due to the civil unrest in many countries, causing the United States to once again attempt to police other countries.

Overall, this was a great read. If you enjoy movies like Gattaka, I think you’ll definitely love this X&Y. Four stars.

I received this novel from the author in exchange for an honest review.

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Check out Rebecca Finlayson’s Guest Post!

{April 13, 2014} {Guest Post} Rebecca Finlayson–Author of X and Y

A Guest Post with Rebecca Finlayson–author of X & Y

“Olivia Adonane has it all; remarkable intelligence, stunning beauty, and – as the daughter of the head of the Triad, Society’s top three Human Designers – immeasurable wealth. Yet, all is not as it seems. Olivia discovers a dark secret about her homeland, formerly known as Great Britain, where humans are designed in the womb, and she watches her best friend, Lily, die in a secret chamber below the Triad Building in London. From here on, she has a choice. Will she continue on her pre-designed path, following in her father’s footsteps to become the country’s most powerful Human Designer? Or will she seek to rebel against the government, attempting to expose and overthrow the seemingly-invincible regime so that her fellow citizens can be truly free?”

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Every author has a dream of where their book could end up – top of the New York Times list, worldwide bestseller, movie deal . Sure, they may not believe it could ever happen but dreaming is still fun. At least, that was the case for me.

The problem I had was to not let those dreams distract me from the actual novel-writing process.

When I sat down to type the first words of “X&Y” I had to forget about all the YA novels I had read, particularly the Dystopian ones, and just focus on my story. How could I make “X&Y” the best it could be on its own terms, and not compared to, say, The Hunger Games? How could I make Olivia, the protagonist, successful as a character in and of herself, and not trying to live up to Katniss Everdeen’s reputation?

Good writers read and learn from successful writers, but for me there came a point where I just had to forget about all the rest, otherwise I would lose sight of what I was doing, which was trying to communicate something about the world I had built in my head. I wanted to build good relationships with my characters because they’re great characters (at least, I think so). I wanted to do something that many good authors have done successfully – i.e. portray a vision of the future as a warning to our society. ‘Society’ (the futuristic new version of Great Britain in X&Y) could exist. At the rate our technology is developing, it wouldn’t be crazy to think so.

Dreams of a movie deal aside, I am personally very proud of “X&Y”. I am letting others decide whether it can stand up to other YA Dystopian novels, but I am glad that it’s out there and that readers are enjoying it. I hope whoever reads this post will join them!

—Rebecca Finlayson