Rogue by Gina Damico blog tour and scavenger hunt with an awesome giveaway!

Hey guys, today I am super excited to be part of the blog tour for Rogue, the last book in Gina Damico's awesome Croak Trilogy! If you love reapers, sarcasm, craziness and countless death jokes, you should definitely give this series a try! You can read my review of Scorch, the second book, here.
Also, check out the trailer!

And now I'm handing the word over to Gina Damico herself to explain to you guys how this tour is a little different from what you usually see around the blogosphere.

Hey hey Croak fans! Welcome to my blog tour / photo hunt / Roguestravaganza!

From now until ROGUE's release on September 10th, each stop on the tour will reveal an image that represents a chapter in the book - could refer to setting, plot, an important object, mood, or whatever other diabolical visualizations with which I feel like tormenting my dear readers. Each image also contains a hidden letter...though really, they're not that well hidden. (If you have eyes, you should be able to spot them.) Collect the letters every day, and at the end of the tour I'll hold a contest, the winner of which will receive signed and annotated copies of the complete trilogy. (For a complete description of the contest, tour schedule, and links to the stops you might have missed, check out the blog tour page on my website.)

So! This photo is for Chapter 4. I will let the image do the talking.

Thanks for having me! Good luck everyone!

What could this wooden fish possibly mean? Does it mark a town? Is it an omen for dinner? Is it a red herring? Post your theories in the comments and don't forget to follow the tour in order to figure out the solution to the contest!


ABOUT ROGUE

Release date: September 10, 2013
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Format: Paperback, 336 pages

Plot Summary:
Teenage Grim Reaper Lex’s power to Damn souls is getting out of control. She's a fugitive, on the run from the maniacal new mayor of Croak and the townspeople who want to see her pay the price for her misdeeds. Uncle Mort rounds up the Junior Grims to flee Croak once again, but this time they're joined by Grotton, the most powerful Grim of all time. Their new mission is clear: fix his mistakes, or the Afterlife will cease to exist, along with all the souls in it.

The gang heads for Necropolis, the labyrinth-like capital city of the Grimsphere. There, they discover that the Grimsphere needs a reboot. To do that, the portals to the Afterlife must be destroyed...but even that may not be enough to fix the damage. Things go from bad to worse, and when at last the fate of the Afterlife and all the souls of the Damned hang in the balance, it falls to Lex and her friends to make one final, impossible choice.

AUTHOR LINKS

Website   Facebook   Twitter   Goodreads 

Amazon   Barnes&Noble   Indiebound 

GIVEAWAY

That's right! On every stop of the tour, Gina is giving away an awesome Croak prize pack! That's 3 signed bookmarks, 3 signed book plates, 3 magnets, and a scythe pendant! This is open internationally! Just follow the rules and enter the rafflecopter below :)

Rules:

• one entry per person/household
• you must be at least 13 years old
• winner will be emailed and has 48h to get back to me, otherwise I choose someone else
• I give the winner's info to the author, she sends you the prize
• cheating on one of your entries results in disqualification
• please read carefully what I actually want in the rafflecopter entry box! (For instance, don't copy-paste your tweet, give me its URL!)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: Scorch (Croak #2), by Gina Damico

Release Date: September 25, 2012
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Format: Paperback, 332 pages

From the back of the book:
Croak used to be the only place where Lex, a teenage Grim Reaper, felt like she fit in. But after she let the murderous Zara get away - and inadvertently transferred her ability to Damn souls to her on top of that - Lex is a pariah in the little town full of Grims. Her Junior Grim friends have stood by her, but that has only made them outcasts. Meanwhile, Zara is still out there Damning innocents, and no one is safe. It's up to Lex's Uncle Mort, mayor of Croak, to protect the townspeople. But when tragedy strikes, the Grims rise up against him,too.

To escape their wrath, Mort takes Lex and the other Juniors on a wild road trip to DeMyse, a glitzy Grim city, where they can hide out until the chaos in Croak subsides. Though this sparkling desert oasis is full of luxuries and amusements, Lex wants nothing more than to return to her simple little town and the good graces of its citizens. Her best chance at that would be to stop Zara once and for all - but how can she do that from DeMyse, where the Grims seem mysteriously oblivious to Zara's killing spree? Lex needs to track down the secret book that would make Zara even more dangerous. But she has no idea of the chilling lengths her nemesis will go to in order to find it first.

The following review is based on a copy I purchased with my own hard-earned money.

Review (no spoilers):
I read this quite a long time ago but I want to review it anyway. I absolutely loved Croak and I didn’t get around to reviewing that one so I want to do better this time. I might have left out something awesome due to muddled memory though…

Scorch picks up pretty much right where Croak left off. Lex is a mess after her sister’s death at the hands of Zara, a reaper who has stolen her ability to Damn as well as one of the ‘loopholes’ that allows her to Crash (e.g. scythe to anyplace she wants and basically kill at will and off schedule). Once Lex gets back to Croak with her uncle Mort, many of the locals aren’t exactly happy to see her, blaming her for everything that’s happened and afraid of her abilities. They suspect her of basically going wherever and Damning whoever she wants – and there is plenty of Damning being done by Zara, who seems to be completely out of it. The town turns against pretty much all of the juniors, taking away their freedoms and rights and eventually forcing uncle Mort to abdicate as mayor after a terrorist bomb attack. Everything in me bristled at how they were treated and at the way certain members of the community manipulated everyone else!

Through all of those grim things there was still Gina Damico’s incredible sense of humor to lighten up the gloom and doom. When Lex finally dares to visit her twin sister in the Afterlife, Cordy is not mad at her as she had feared! Instead, she’s travelling and enjoying herself and even managed to snatch a pharaoh as a sort-of-boyfriend. Also, Lex and Driggs continue their relationship, finding ever-new places to make-out without Mort noticing. I really love the snark and dynamics between those two, they always manage to crack me up!

Mort is just plain awesome, definitely one of my favorite character (I hope we get to know more about his past! A novella-flashback thing of Mort as a teen would be cool!). He makes decisions quickly and doesn’t beat around the bush or sugarcoat his words, and he’s ready to flaunt the rules if his moral compass points him that way. When things go south, he grabs the juniors and whirls everyone away to DeMyse (gotta love those Grim town names!) which is basically a grim reaper Las Vegas – glitzy, shrill, way-out-there. It was interesting to see the different effect the city had on the juniors and how they eventually got their act back together.

The last part of the book was incredibly fast-paced as twist after twist was added, secrets exposed, things explained… and injustice after injustice was done to my favorite characters. I really hurt for them, but I also have hope. And that one final plot twist!! I never saw that one coming, I swear, but it’s plain awesome genius! I can’t really say much without spoiling it for everyone.

What I didn’t expect was to feel sorry for Zara at times. I really liked her in the first book before her betrayal was revealed. I sort of hated her then for a moment, but after what she’s been through… I could understand how she got to the place she ended up at. And the times she shows up in Scorch, she’s just so… damaged. As she gets worse and worse I really did feel for her even though she was supposedly the enemy.

Another thing I really enjoyed in the novel was getting to know more about the Grimsphere and how it works. DeMyse is extremely different from Croak and I liked comparing the two. The world-building is really expanded in this book and the problems being a reaper brings with itself (e.g. Lex’s parents, basically having lost two daughters since Lex isn’t around anymore) are not simply left out.

Gina Damico’s books are the perfect combination of humor and dark, deadly themes (don’t read this if you have problem with jokes about death!) and even though my review might make the book look quite heavy, I can’t count the times I laughed out loud while I was reading in public places! I read Scorch in a day, the writing flows really easily and the pace never drags. The characters all gained more depth than in the first book, and by the end, the whole plot is so much ‘bigger’ than I ever expected! Also, you can’t go wrong with a book that has a map in it. I need the next book, which will be called Rogue, asap! In the meantime, check out Gina Damico’s blog because it’s awesome and will give your laughing muscles a workout.


And because I like them so much, here are the trailers for Croak and Scorch:

Have you guys read either of these books? What did you think? Do you like Reaper books in general? Let me know in the comments :)

I MADE IT - challenge news and reading update

Yup, I've just finished Scorch - the last book I needed to complete the Sequels Challenge! I really didn't think I'd make it, what with having to finish Ironskin too before it expired and university classes starting again, but I did. My review will be up later in the week because I want to spread them out a bit and I've already posted one on Friday and one today. But yup, Scorch is all read and damn did my eyes grow ever larger on those last two dozen or so pages! Can't wait for the next book!!

So here's the record of my victory:



You can click the first three to read my reviews. As I said, Scorch will be up later this week, as will Ironskin. I'm kinda proud of myself for completing the challenge, as I really doubted that I'd make it. I don't think I would have if Scorch hadn't arrived on release day - I knew this one would be a fast read, while Melissa de la Cruz's Masquerade would probably have taken me longer to finish. So now I'm kinda blinking in surprise at all the sequels I've cleaned up over the summer. I think Masquerade is the last one on my shelf, and it'll have to stay there a while longer while I read all the recent releases I got lately but couldn't read because of this challenge and my NetGalley books.


So here's what I plan to read over the next two or so weeks:



 I've already started reading my NetGalley copy of Death and the Girl Next Door but I'm not far in enough yet to say anything about it. And it nearly killed me to own Carnival and Unspoken and not to be allowed to read them!!! Other awesomeness on my shelf that I might get around to: Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel, Touch by Jus Accardo, Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout, Foretold anthology edited by Carrie Ryan... I'll get around to them. The only good thing about my book buying ban is that I already own so much awesomeness :P

Have you taken part in any challenges recently? What were they for? Did you enjoy them?

Stacking the Shelves and Challenge Update

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews to show off all the books we got that week, no matter what format or how we got them (bought, ARCs for review, gifted, won, borrowed...).

Since I'm still on my book buying ban (sucky but necessary), I only had one in my mailbox because I had preordered it. I was really happy to get it on release day! :D I'll start reading it over the weekend and I hope I can finish by Sunday night, because then I'll have completed the Sequels Challenge I'm participating in.

Scorch, by Gina Damico
Plus some origin swag including a signed sticker. I won that during the Origin Olympics that Jessica Khoury hosted shortly before the release.
Oh, and about the Scorch cover: it's actually shiny silver! That organge is a reflection. Strangely fitting though :P

September is for Sequels Challenge update:
I've reached the first half of my goals, which was to read & review Enshadowed and Black Heart. Click the titles to read my reviews.

I've got a good hundred pages left of Rachel Hawkins' Demon Glass, which I hope to read in the next 1.5 hours before I go to bed. That would leave me free to read & finish Scorch tomorrow (I'm writing this Friday night) and Sunday. I had originally planned to read Masquerade by Melissa de la Cruz but I think Scorch will be a quicker read and the challenge ends on Sunday :P So I might complete it even though I started when half the time was gone, had to re-read a big book and started university again.
I also finished Ironskin by Tina Connolly, which will be published on Tuesday. I hope to get up my review on Monday.

Oh, and in case you haven't noticed: You've got until midnight on Sunday to squeeze in some last entries to my blogoversary giveaway ;) I'll probably pick the winner on Tuesday because I'll be busy on Monday. Good luck!

What books and goodies did you guys get this week? Link me up in the comments :)

Book Trailer Thursday: Scorch, by Gina Damico

I don't post book trailers very often because many of them don't work for me. And I don't know if I like the media transfer from printed word to short film or section of pictures that much, especially if they end up relying heavily on text after all - what's the point of the clip in that case? Then again, there are very well-done trailers that have made me crave a book.

Aaaanyway, I love the Croak series by Gina Damico! And the book trailer for Croak was actually one of the main things that made me want to read this book as soon as possible. So when she released the Scorch trailer a few days ago, I was glad that she kept it in the same style and picked up on the previous one. I also like that the humor and voice of the book totally transfer to the trailer!

And just in case you haven't seen it or don't know the series, here's the one for Croak:

Oh, and you can check out Gina Damico's blog and original post here.

So what are your thoughts? Love? Hate? You can also share what you thought of the book(s) if you've read it/them and would rather comment on that than on the trailers.

Waiting on Wednesday: Scorch, by Gina Damico

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

My pick this week is:

Scorch (Croak #2), by Gina Damico 

Expected publication: September 25, 2012
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Format: Paperback, 352 pages

The goodreads blurb:
Sixteen-year-old Lex Bartleby is a teenage grim reaper with the bizarre ability to damn souls. That makes her pretty scary, even to fellow Grims. But after inadvertently transferring her ability to Zara, a murderous outlaw, Lex is a pariah in Croak, the little town she calls home. To escape the townspeople’s wrath, she and her friends embark on a wild road trip to DeMyse. Though this sparkling desert oasis is full of luxuries and amusements, it feels like a prison to Lex. Her best chance at escape would be to stop Zara once and for all—but how can she do that from DeMyse, where the Grims seem mysteriously oblivious to Zara’s killing spree?

 I enjoyed Croak, the first book in this series, so much! I love me some morbid sense of humor and sarcastic death jokes. I breezed through it in about a day or two, and I'm glad I don't have to wait a whole year for the sequel! I'm curious about where this is all going and I can't wait to see Lex and Zara face off, haha.

Have you read Croak? Do you have other awesome reaper books to recommend?

NOTE: I've prescheduled this post to publish while I'm sitting in a train to Prague... so it might be awhile before I can respond to comments / check out everyone else's WoW. Sorry 'bout that. The hotel should have Wlan though.