Review and double Giveaway: Tempting Fate, by April White

Hey guys :)

If you’ve been following me for a while, you might remember the time when I had April White on the blog for an interview and reviewed her debut novel, Marking Time. I’ve now had the chance to read Tempting Fate, the second book in the series, and I suggest that you go and pick this series up immediately, because Marking Time is currently free on Amazon (and has a rating of 4.8 stars out of about 250 votes). Below is some more info on the book, as well as two giveaways! One of them is for two Audible gift codes for the audiobook of Marking Time and sponsored by April, and the other is for two ebook copies of Tempting Fate, offered by yours truly. Both are open internationally. But without further ado, let's get to the book!

Relase date: June 28, 2014
Publisher: Corazon Entertainment
Format: ebook and paperback, 400 pages

Goodreads description
Seventeen-year-old Clocker Saira Elian is back on the run and being hunted by Mongers. The Descendants of War are amassing power in the 21st century, bent on controlling all the Immortal Descendants. Their attempt to kidnap Saira, a rare Descendant of Time and Nature, reveals just how brazen they’ve become. Archer, the vampire who has loved Saira for over a century, is willing to risk everything to protect her.

When a horrific vision reveals Ringo, thief and loyal companion from 1888, being tortured at the hands of the bloodthirsty Bishop Wilder in a Renaissance prison, Saira and Archer realize there has been a ripple in the river of Time, and they must travel to 1554 to find its source and save their friend. Their rescue mission lures them to the Tower of London, site of the most notorious executions in history, where they encounter the mysterious Lady Elizabeth who is confronting a terrible fate of her own.

The time-traveler, the vampire, and the thief will need all of their skills and ingenuity as they race against time to steal a document that could change the course of history and put the Immortal Descendants at the mercy of the Mongers. Can they stop a madman bent on collecting the blood of history’s most powerful Seer before the executioner’s axe falls?

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ABOUT APRIL WHITE

April White has been a film producer, private investigator, bouncer, teacher and screenwriter. She has climbed in the Himalayas, lived on a gold mine in the Yukon, and has read the entire Harry Potter series three times; once to herself and twice out loud to her boys. She and her husband share those boys and their home in Southern California with their dog, various chickens, and a lifetime collection of books. April wrote her first novel, Marking Time, because it's what she wanted to read, and now needs to finish the five-book series so she can find out what happens next.

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REVIEW
Just as a quick info, this review contains some spoilers for Marking Time, so read at your own discretion.
I can tell you upfront that there is no hint of sophomore slump to be found here! The action, once more, starts immediately. Saira is still being hunted by the Mongers, the descendants of War, because they suspect that she is a hybrid of Time and Nature (she can time travel but also has heightened senses). Any mixing between the Immortal Descendants is forbidden, so if the Mongers attained proof of Saira’s heritage, she might be executed. Just as they would try to kill her boyfriend, Archer, if they could catch him. He is a descendant of Death – what we’d call a vampire. However, vampires, unlike the other descendants, are shunned. This doesn’t really make their relationship any easier, especially since Saira still has trouble integrating present-day vampire Archer and Archer the human student from 1888 that she fell in love with.

A new threat arises though. Archer was a Seer before he became a vampire, and Saira now shares his vision. And what they see is their friend Ringo, aged sixteen in 1888, being tortured in a Renaissance prison by Bishop Wilder, their old nemesis. Is this vision real? How did Wilder and Ringo end up in the past? And what influence does all this meddling with time have on the twenty-first century? One thing is clear though – they cannot leave Ringo to die in Wilder’s clutches. Eventually, the trio reunites in sixteenth-century London to save not only Ringo but also Elizabeth I – and with her, the future as they know it.

Something I already loved in the first book is the importance and the portrayal of history. And lucky for me, the late Victorian era and the Elizabethan age are among my favorite periods. I once spent almost a whole semester learning about Elizabeth, her strategies to wield and retain her power as queen regent, and her self-portrayal. What I saw in Tempting Fate was new to me though: Elizabeth before she became one of England’s greatest monarchs. Elizabeth, the young woman, often called Henry VII’s bastard, fearing for her life in the Tower of London. Elizabeth in serious danger of being executed by her own half-sister (Bloody) Mary.
I found April White’s portrayal of Elizabeth (both the positive and the negative) believable judging from what I know about her. I think it’s incredibly hard to bring such a well-known historical figure ‘to life’ in fiction, and I think she found a great balance between staying true to history (without simply reproducing clichéd preconceived knowledge) and filling in the gaps to mold Elizabeth into the story. It was very interesting to see Saira and Elizabeth meet, since both can be hard-headed women, and both are strong in different ways. And if they want to safe Elizabeth’s life and Saira’s future, they need to cooperate to stop her execution. Don’t worry though – if you’re not a history geek, everything will still be adequately explained and make sense to you!

Another thing I really enjoyed in Marking Time was the free-running, and I was so happy that it was part of the second book as well! It’s not just a ‘cool’ addition to Saira, it’s part of her character traits: she runs. And part of her challenges in Tempting Fate is to stop running and face the things in her life that she is afraid are slipping from her control. One of these is her relationship with Archer. She’s been alone for most of her life, and she had to deal with her mother disappearing for a week every two years without explanation. It’s hard for her to trust, to rely on other people, to relinquish control.
But she has to learn to do that if she wants to be with Archer. I’m not going to lie, it hurt me to see them struggling to find a way to maintain their relationship because I’m rooting for them so badly. They’re amazing together. But on the other hand, I really like that for once, not everything is hunky-dory as soon as the couple comes together. Having a relationship with someone is not a piece of cake under normal circumstances – add to that the fact that one of them is over a hundred years old and the other a hunted time traveler. It would be unrealistic if they were just peachy.

Another thing that makes this series unique is the world building. That, too, is taken to another level in Tempting Fate. More is revealed about the Immortal Descendants, the families, their politics. I also love how once more, the present and the past are tied together. The secondary characters were fleshed out even more, the stakes higher – in both the past and the present. The pacing was again spot-on and I was never sure how things would turn out. Towards the end, there was no way I was putting the book down. And no way I could have anticipated what would happen.

I could talk about so many more aspects of the book. How happy I was that Ringo was once more a part of it, the relationship dynamics between Archer and Saira, between Saira and her mother. The way the characters’ actions and decisions always make me reconsider my own life and decisions. The story makes me ask questions, and it does so in an unobtrusive, non-didactic way, simply because I empathize with the characters and their situation. Once more, I think what I love most is how all the different, small aspects and parts of the story are tied together into a coherent whole. You can see from the length of this review how difficult it was to try and touch on all the ways in which this novel and series are amazing. And from what I know about book three, I can already tell there’s more awesomeness to come! If you love time travel, shifters, and an intricate world and plot with strong and complex characters, you really should give this series a try!

THE GIVEAWAYS

As promised, there are two of them, both open internationally as long as you can receive books from Amazon. The rules are as usual: one entry per person, you have to be at least 13, and cheating results in disqualification. Check the details in the Rafflecopter rules.

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Top Ten Tuesday: top books I've read so far in 2013

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Every week the participants post their top ten to a specific topic.

This week's topic is the top ten books we've read so far in 2013.
Omg you gotta be kidding. I've read so many fantastic books, it'll be hard to choose only 10 >.<
No particular order.



Divergent, by Veronica Roth
The hype made me suspicious but WOW! I couldn't turn the pages fast enough, and I love Tris :)


In the Shadow of Blackbirds, by Cat Winters
Wonderful and complex, haunting, caught between science and magic in a period of war, sickness, and despair. And still there's a love story, told in the form of memories and by the ghost of a tortured young man.


Marking Time, by April White
I was so surprised and blown away by how much I loved this story! Time travel, paranormal creatures, abilities, grandiose setting, and most of all compelling characters! I've never read anything like it and I definitely need more ;)


Splintered, by A.G. Howard
And Alice retelling in a deliciously creepy wonderland. With Morpheus the moth boy and secret agendas and the threat of madness. More, please. I read the Unhinged sample chapters from Netgalley yesterday and now the wait is even more agonizing...


The Replacement, by Brenna Yovanoff
I cried my eyes out. In the best way. This book made me ache and I marked so many passages because of how beautifully they were written. I've wanted to read a changeling book like that for ages. And it's perfect just as it is. No sequel needed.


Just One Day, by Gayle Forman
It was so good that I bought her other books immediately afterwards and read all 3 in only one week. Gripping and realistic. It made me want to get up and be strong and face my life and try to really live it.


The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, by Michelle Hodkin
What took me so long to catch on to the awesomeness of this series?!?! I read this book in a day. Noah Shaw is now among my top book boyfriends. I loved the dialogue, I loved Mara's family, I hurt for what she had to endure. Also, unreliable narrators are awesome. And the abilities here are really something different from the usual.


The Sea of Tranquility, by Katja Millay
Everyone says it's awesome and everyone is right. These characters are so unique and so realistic at the same time. I love how the events that lead to the characters being how and who they are are slowly revealed, and how there was more to even the minor ones that I'd supposed at the beginning. Really, really interesting dynamics.


Debt Collector serial, by Susan Kaye Quinn
Sci-fi is not my go-to genre, but seriously - this future noir/retro sci-fi series is amazing!! I had volume 1-3 from Netgalley but I had to go to Amazon and order and read 4-6 right away! The world building, characters, and intricacies are fantastic and gritty. I just couldn't stop reading. And despite the violence, it was fun too!


Dance of the Red Death, by Bethany Griffins
Characters, plot, beautiful writing, imagery... and the creepiness of Poe, the desperation of a dying world, the resolve of a girl caught in a deadly power game.


Runners-up:
With All my Soul, by Rachel Vincent (the conclusion! Wrath! Kaylee! Tod!)
Whither, by Lauren DeStefano (wonderful imagery, intriguing premise. Not so happy about the sequel.)
Blood Rights, by Kristen Painter (it's hard to make vampires fresh and unique again but she did it)
Shadow and Bone, by Leigh Bardugo (the world, the powers, the Darkling, the setting, the twists)

Gahh this nearly undid me with how many great books I couldn't feature, even though I sort of cheated with the runner-ups... Did you have a hard time choosing, too? What do you think of my picks, and what are yours?

I-Am-Wowed Review, Author Interview & Giveaway: Marking Time, by April White

Hey guys :)

This is a really special post for me because it includes my first-ever author interview! I enjoyed April White's novel Marking Time so much and was super happy when she agreed to answer a couple questions. You can find that part below my review (which is very long but I'm not sorry because it's one of the best books I've read all year) and I also decided to do a giveaway for a kindle copy because I want more people to discover and love this novel  - you're welcome ;)


So what's it all about...

Release date: October 30, 2012
Publisher: Corazon Entertainment
Format: kindle or paperback, 443 pages

Seventeen-year-old tagger Saira Elian can handle anything... a mother who mysteriously disappears, a stranger who stalks her around London, and even the noble English Grandmother who kicked Saira and her mother out of the family. But when an old graffiti tag in a tube station transports Saira to the 19th Century and she comes face-to-face with Jack the Ripper, she realizes she needs help after all.

Saira meets Archer, a charming student who helps her blend in as much as a tall, modern American teen can in Victorian England. He reveals the existence of the Immortals: Time, Nature, Fate, War and Death, and explains to Saira that it is possible to move between
centuries – if you are a Descendant of Time.

Saira finds unexpected friendships at a boarding school for Immortal Descendants and a complicated love with a young man from the past. But time is running out for her mother, and Saira must embrace her new identity as she hides from Archer a devastating secret about his future that may cost him his life.

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The following review is based on a copy provided to me by the author in exchange for my honest opinion.


Spoilerfree review
This review is so difficult to write because there is no way I can convey to you just how blown away I was by this book, especially without spoiling the experience! Marking Time was even better than I hoped, though it was also different from what I expected. The summary led me to believe that it started out in the present and then did a one-time move to the past, but instead our heroine, Saira, moves between the Victorian age and the present several times – it’s a time travel book! And honestly, the best one I have ever read. But it’s more than just that, it also combines this with vampires, shifters, and other types of gifted people unique to April White’s world. Need more? There’s also a boarding school for said gifted teens, and it now has a spot among my favorite imaginary places (can't beat secret passages and awesome architecture). Still not convinced? It’s a new take on Jack the Ripper, too. And nope, these elements do not jar with one another at all! They are all well-developed and contribute to the story.

Another thing that was wonderfully developed was the characters. Saira was such a refreshing heroine! Tough, with a big heart and a smart mouth. Self-reliant – so much, in fact, that part of her journey is about learning to trust others. Determined. She has her flaws and quirks but those only made her more rounded and likeable to me. Before you think that you’ve seen that type of heroine before, let me add that she is also a graffiti artist and does free running / parkour. Saira is a great combination of brainy and street smart, something I’d like to see more often. I connected with her pretty much immediately and was involved in everything that happened to her. She hasn’t had it easy in life but she used those experiences to grow stronger instead of succumbing to them or whining. Her story is not just about adventure though, it’s also about family, heritage, and love.

Now Archer… well. The thing is, Saira actually meets him twice: in the past, where he is a student who helps her navigate Victorian London, and in the present, where he is a much more mysterious figure. As you can probably guess from the description, something develops between the two of them. But slowly, and not without complications. I cannot go into more detail without major spoilers, but let me tell you that I was fully invested in seeing their relationship bloom and them having a chance at a life together! Which is why some parts of this book were so hard to read for me. I rooted for both of them so much! Yes, me. The girl who is critical of romance. But Saira and Archer’s connection was believable and not cheapened by insta-love. And then the stakes just got higher and higher and the plot twisted, and every turn wrenched at my heart – this book was so difficult to put down I had to keep reading despite the hurt!

There are quite a lot of secondary characters, but they, too, are memorable and I never had any trouble keeping them straight in my head. There are the teachers at Saira’s school, some of them particularly awesome like Mr Shaw, Saira’s grandmother, who makes her distaste for her granddaughter’s lifestyle obvious, and the friends (and foes) Saira makes at school. My favorite among them, though, is a street kid she meets in the past - ‘Ringo’ really stuck with me and I loved his interactions with Saira! The secondary characters have their own mini-arcs of development and never felt cookie-cutter to me. They really bring new dimensions to the story and add depth.

The most amazing thing though? The world building. If you’ve been following me for any amount of time, you know how I feel about world building. I can endure a lot of dislikes in a book if the world building is awesome. The world building here was off the charts fantastic!!! There was so much more to it than I had expected, and it is wonderfully thought-out! No inconsistencies. No weird coincidences – there is a reason for everything. The time travelling is believable, and I really liked the detail that no Clocker, which is what Saira’s people are called, can travel back into their own life time. That takes care of something that annoys me about many time travel stories, which is the whole ‘running-into-your-old-self’ thing. It’s simply not possible here. I also loved how the method of travelling ties into Saira’s other talents and personality traits. The idea of immortal personifications of ideas such as Time, Death, War, or Nature might not be completely new (it reminded me of the Endless in Neil Gaiman’s Sandman series), but the way it is handled and combined here is unique. I really loved finding out about the other descendants’ abilities and histories!

The Victorian age is, again, realistically portrayed in both its light and dark aspects, and I cannot even imagine how much research must have gone into it, from customs to social norms to information about Jack the Ripper to tube lines, the map of the city, and insane asylums. Despite all that, and all the other world building aspects that I cannot mention for spoiler-reasons and that I want you guys to discover on your own, we never get info-dumped. The information comes in gradually and in a natural way. There is enough for the reader to keep up on what’s happening but never so much that it’s overwhelming. It’s the perfect amount to want to know more and keep reading and make up your own theories.

The pacing was also spot on. The action starts right off the bat, which is something I enjoy. However, Saira is not in the dark so long that it gets annoying for the reader who already knows a bit more from the description. The pace is quick and made me want to just keep reading and reading and reading, but it wasn’t too fast. There are books that just leave you breathless or that feel rushed, neither of which was the case here. I was utterly engrossed and also enjoyed the parts of the book that were less on the action side because they established the characters or the world more firmly and let you catch a short break. Marking Time is well over 400 pages long, but it never felt that way, never dragged. I would not have cut a single scene. Even if I sometimes thought I had things figured out, I didn’t.

I want to gush and say so much more, but I can’t because I would give something away and deny you the pleasure of experiencing this book for yourselves. Because I really hope that you will. It’s so original and well-written and I don’t have a single complaint! There are all these little details that are picked up on again and molded into the whole of the story and enrichen it. I wanted to live in it. I know I sound like a silly, smitten person, but I did! This book made me laugh and cry and hope and fear, which I think is all any book can aspire to do. If you are fed up with the ever-same plots and structural relations among characters – read this book. It will surprise you, and hopefully touch you as much as it did me. I am so glad that there will be a sequel, which April White is aiming to release in November. This is one world and set of characters I am so, so not ready to say goodbye to! And I am not at all sorry for making this review as long as it is.



MEET THE AUTHOR
APRIL WHITE has been variously a film producer, private investigator, bouncer, and screenwriter. She writes in the morning before her chickens wake up, follows her husband to the ends of the earth (the Yukon, the jungle) when his work takes him there, and the rest of the time, lives in Southern California with her family, their dog, and said chickens.

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INTERVIEW

What sparked the initial idea of Marking Time, and how did the book come about? You combine quite a few elements in a really unique way – was that the plan from the beginning?

My 18-year-old niece is an obsessive reader, pretty much like all the women in our family, and I was putting together a box of books to give her, using the “I’m buying it for Alexandra so I get to read it first” excuse. I read some amazing YA books I’d never heard of like The Thief, by Megan Whalen Turner, Graceling, by Kristin Cashore, and Daughter of Smoke and Bone, by Laini Taylor. These women were writing fantasy like I used to read in college, and it reminded me how much I loved the genre.

Some of those fantasy novels from college, like On a Pale Horse, by Piers Anthony and The Ivanhoe Gambit, by Simon Hawke inspired the mythology in Marking Time. There are certain rules for things like time travel and vampires that just make sense to me and in Marking Time I got to create a world where all those paranormal and mythological things I love actually exist.

I’m fascinated by history, especially historical mysteries. And like my main character, Saira, I love anything secret, hidden, or underground. So time travel through secret portals to the age of Jack the Ripper was exactly what I would want to read, along with a kick-butt heroine with a slightly snarky sense of humor, dad-issues, and self-reliance that borders on pathological. Basically, I put together all the elements of a story that I would want to read.


Why did you decide to self-publish, and what was your way/background as a writer?

I had wanted to be a storyteller since I was a kid, and I’ve been a screenwriter for ten years. But it was hard to work up the courage to finally write a novel. Like the old studio system in Hollywood, I felt the publishing industry had controlled content to the point where if they didn’t believe a book could hit big in the first three months, they weren’t willing to take a risk. The rise in independent publishing, especially via amazon, createspace and smashwords has definitely changed the game for writers. And with those options in my back pocket, spending two years pouring my heart, soul and dreams into my first novel didn’t seem like such a crazy thing to do.

I did try the traditional publishing route and submitting to an embarrassing number of agents, but the few who sent back personalized rejections really did me the biggest favor. “I love the original concept and your writing is great, but I just can’t sell a manuscript this long to a publisher.” In that first round of queries, Marking Time was 182,000 words long. I was able to cut it down to 151,000 words and those which were all really good cuts. But it was still too long for traditional agents and publishers to consider for a debut novel. So, after considering every possible way to slash a third of the book away, and with my self-confidence somewhere down around my ankles, I finally pulled the independent publishing card out of my back pocket. As soon as I made that decision to publish it myself, I got my confidence back, learned everything I needed to know about formatting, finally designed a cover I could love that didn’t relegate the book to the chicks-only market, and had it out on amazon within a month.


Do you have any writing quirks? (music, snacks, something that must (not) be present, location, ‘casting’ your characters…)

I am a compulsive snacker while I write, and I have to consciously reign myself in and just put a bowl of raw almonds on my desk, or I’d weigh 300 pounds. The best time for me to write is around 4 or 5am, long before anyone else in my house gets up. Then I write while my kids are at school, because after they get home I’m pretty much useless for anything creative the rest of the night.

I’m also fairly obsessive about getting details right. If the place I’m writing about actually exists and I haven’t personally been there, I do every kind of internet research imaginable so I don’t make glaring errors. If I’m not careful I can end up down internet rabbit holes for days, like when I did all the plant research for Mr. Shaw’s botany class.


What is important to you in a book, both as a writer or a reader?

I love strong characters who learn from their mistakes and don’t whine. There’s nothing worse than the totally obtuse girl who can’t believe the stuff is really happening to her. So I want to read about characters I can admire or relate to in some way, because books are investments of time and money, and why would I want to spend either on someone I don’t like?


Tell us a bit about Saira. She made it onto my list of favorite heroines! I loved that she did free running (parkour) and was a graffiti artist! Did she have these attributes from the beginning?

I’ve always been fascinated by graffiti artists and I think Parkour is about the coolest thing on the planet. It’s the way real people can move like super-heroes and it’s how I would want to move through a city if age, physical conditioning and fear were no object. The first thing I knew about Saira was that she was a time traveler. Graffiti and Parkour helped to make her a loner in the “normal” world, and get explained a bit by her unknown heredity in the world of the Immortal Descendants.


Apart from Saira, who did you enjoy writing the most?

Ringo was an unexpected surprise. I didn’t really plan him so much as have him walk up and introduce himself to me as I was writing. And Saira’s banter with Adam was fun for me too. There’s an ease and playfulness to their conversation that siblings might have that’s much different from the significance of Archer’s speech. Mr. Shaw’s classes were also fun to write because he teaches things my character and I both love to learn about.


Which parts of the book were the most difficult to write?

Action scenes are hard to write. In screenwriting the action writing is terse and direct – I can count on the stunt coordinator, director and actors to take what’s on the page and turn it into something exciting. But writing about Parkour when I’ve never been free-running in my life feels a lot like I’m just making sh*! up. I ran a lot of those scenes past my husband, who is a film and TV director, and he could always “see” how the scene would play in the movie, so I could write it more visually.


What has been your most treasured experience during the writing process or after the publication of Marking Time?

I had the opportunity to speak to nine high school English classes over two days about writing and publishing Marking Time. So I brought in every book I could think of that I loved, or that went into the formulation of the story/mythology/characters, and I spent much of the class time talking about everyone else’s books. Each of those classes, from Freshman Lit to the Senior Honors students were amazing to talk to, and the most gratifying thing of all was after every class there was a line at the front to write down the names of the books I’d brought with me. I seriously LOVE readers, and the most satisfying thing in the world is recommending a book to someone that they could love as much as I do.


Thanks so much for doing this interview, April! I loved hearing about your journey as a writer and I think your background in film really shows because there is a strong visual quality to your writing that I enjoyed a lot! Also, respect for getting up so early in the morning to write - I'm definitely too night-owly for that...

As for you, dear readers, I would love to hear your opinions on the interview, my review, or the premise of the book in general! Also, as promised you can enter the rafflecopter below to win a copy of Marking Time, to be gifted via Amazon by yours truly.


Rules: Open internationally to anyone at least 13 years of age who can accept a kindle gift via Amazon (B&N won't let me buy from them since I don't have a US address). I will email the winner and they have 48 hours to get back to me before I draw a new one. Only one entry per person/household. If you cheat on one entry, all of them will be deleted. Good luck!

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Stacking the Shelves: the pretty cover edition

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews to show off all the pretty book goodies we got over the past week. You can include print as well as ebooks, gifted, won, borrowed, bought, whatever...


I got quite a lot of books this week, even though I wanted to put myself on a ban. Yeah, epic fail. But I'm not really sorry, because what I got was awesome ^^ Some of it I had already ordered anyway... but now I really need to stop buying so many books!


Here's what I got for review:

The Nightmare Affair, by Mindee Arnett
Marking Time, by April White

I'm on the tour for The Nightmare Affair (stop on  February 28) and I'm excited for it! Can't dig into it right away though...
I was approached by the author about reviewing Marking Time after I saw it on someone else's blog and put it on my TBR. The description of time travel to the Victorian times, boarding school for gifted people, and Jack the Ripper really intrigued me!


Books I'd meant to order forever, finally did buy, and took ages to arrive:

Insurgent, by Veronica Roth (I'm reading it and forgot to put it on the photo)
Embrace, by Jessica Shirvington
The Faerie Ring, by Kiki Hamilton

Those are the ones I'd ordered new . I got Ultraviolet by R.J. Anderson as a used book from Amazon in supposedly 'good' condition but yeah... I realized that 'good' is a very relative estimate -__-'

The Taker, by Alma Katsu
Lost in Time, by Melissa de la Cruz

These two I found in the bargain box at a local store for only 5 bucks each. That's about a third of what I'd usually pay, so yay :D I've been curious about The Taker for a while, and even though It'll take me time to catch up with the Blue Bloods series to get to Lost in Time, I'd have been stupid not to take advantage of finding it so unexpectedly.


Books I got free or cheap on Amazon:



Silver Lake, by Kathryn Knight
The Deepest Cut, by J.A. Templeton
Demon Kissed, by H.M. Ward (free on Smashwords)
Surrender, by Rhiannon Paille

So, this is it... I like all the books and hope I'll get to them soon! Which is actually fairly realistic with the print copies because I've been reading like mad lately. All the print books in last week's haul? Already devoured them. Writing reviews, especially for books I enjoyed, is so much harder though...

So what do you guys think of my haul? Have you read any of those? What should I start with when I finish Insurgent? And of course I'm curious about what you got this week, so leave me links :)