
Here are the guidelines as set by Karin:
"People can lose their lives in libraries. They ought to be warned." ~ Saul Bellow
Two more of my Happy Holiday Contests have now officially come to a close.
I'm excited to be giving away a signed copy of Laurie Halse Anderson's fabulously written novel, Chains, a National Book Award Finalist. After using the Research Randomizer, the winner is...
Lea. Check out her blog, YA Book Queen.
And...I'm giving away Michael Sussman's Otto Grows Down, one of my favorite picture books. After using the Research Randomizer, the winner is...
Congrats to both of you! I've sent you an email.
I’m not a fan of thrillers – never have been. I’m that person in the office that can still look at hundreds of thriller queries and just not get the good ones. (Hence why I’m also that person in the office, passing thriller queries to someone else and asking “What do you think?”)
I just don’t read thrillers. I’ve read 1 James Patterson novel (he writes thrillers right?), and I can’t even remember the title. And I read it in the name of teaching, for a homeroom student who was struggling with his independent reading project and had chosen said Patterson novel and needed help writing an essay. I started out trying to help without reading the book and realized it’d be easier and faster to read the book so I knew what I was talking about. (We worked on that essay for two weeks after school and went through multiple drafts, but said student got his first A- on an English paper.)
But I kept hearing good things about Patrick Lee’s upcoming debut novel, a supernatural thriller called The Breach, and I’ll try just about anything once. So I set my mind to it that I would read it. Then some of Patrick’s writing happened to move its way through my inbox, and I caught myself getting sucked into a document I was only supposed to print. (Oops.)
And when I found myself headed home without a book to read on the train ride home, I knew it was time. I borrowed the ARC from the oh-so-benevolent mean and sharkly and oh-so-fabulous agent extraordinaire, Janet Reid. And –
Wow.
I devoured The Breach in an evening, and suddenly find myself wondering – what have I been missing by avoiding these things called “thrillers”?
Here’s the book description:
Travis Chase. Ex-con. Ex-cop. The next action thriller hero.
Deep in the remote Alaskan wilderness, Travis Chase stumbles upon a terrifying mystery – a 747 has crashed, no rescue crews are in sight, and no one heard it go down. Even worse, among the bodies is the First Lady of the United States – and she’s left a cryptic note alluding to “Tangent.” When Travis sees hostages held at gunpoint, he must do whatever he can to rescue the prisoners…and uncover the secret of Tangent.
The hero – Travis Chase? I’m in love (yeah, move over Prince Brigan, I found another fictional hero to add to my unrealistic expectations in men). But more than that I liked and respected Travis right from the beginning. I empathized with him and wanted him to be successful. Almost immediately he became a hero I could – and had to – root for. He’s complex, fallible, imperfect, and real. He comes to life within the first two pages.
From pages 4-5:
There was pressure to go back home of course…What future did he see for himself up north, two thousand miles from his family? What future did he see among them? Even to the few who could understand and forgive what he’d done, he’d always be the brother who spent half of his twenties and all of his thirties in prison. Twenty years from now, in the eyes of the next generation, he’d be that guy. That uncle. You could only get so free.
Seriously. This is a Must Read for anyone who likes thrillers and also likes supernatural and science fiction elements. I love am terrified of the mean and sharkly Janet Reid and now I love Patrick Lee. I've just added Travis Chase to my list of series which I have to buy as soon as they come out.
Check out the trailer and pick up a copy of The Breach on 12/29!
My Lauren Myracle contest has now officially come to a close and I'm excited to be giving away a signed copy of her fabulously fun novel, Peace Love and Baby Ducks. After using the Research Randomizer, the winner is...
Lisa Dez a fabulous YA writer whose manuscript Personal Demons is an obsession of mine. Seriously, I love her characters. Check out her blog HERE.
A prodigal son
A dangerous love
A deadly secret . . .
I Grace Divine, daughter of the local pastor, always knew something terrible happened the night Daniel Kalbi disappeared—the night she found her brother Jude collapsed on the porch, covered in blood. But she has no idea what a truly monstrous secret that night really held. And when Daniel returns three years later, Grace can no longer deny her attraction to him, despite promising Jude she’ll stay away.As Grace gets closer to Daniel, her actions stir the ancient evil Daniel unleashed that horrific night. Grace must discover the truth behind Jude and Daniel's dark secret . . . and the cure that can save the ones she loves. But she may have to lay down the ultimate sacrifice to do it—her soul.
“Some loves are meant to be…others are cursed.
There were no surprises in Gatlin County. At least, that’s what I thought. Turns out, I couldn’t have been more wrong. There was a curse. There was a girl. And in the end, there was a grave.”My Kelly Gay contest has now officially come to a close and I'm excited to be giving away her fabulous debut novel, Better Part of Darkness which just came out from Pocket Books on November 24th. After using the Research Randomizer, the winner is...
Raelena at ThroughtheHaze Reads
Charlie works for ITF (Integration Task Force). It's her job to see that the continued integration of our new "friends" goes smoothly and everyone obeys the law, but when a new off-world drug is released in Underground Atlanta, her daughter is targeted, and her ex-husband makes a fateful bargain to win her back, there's nothing in heaven or earth (or hell for that matter) that Charlie won't do to set things right.
So I've read a lot of urban fantasy with the kick-ass heroine, but what I liked most about Charlie Madigan as a character was that though she fit that mold, but she was also different and unique. Throughout The Better Part of Darkness, Charlie has a tough exterior as a result of numerous different experiences she's undergone - a few of those are reasons she became a cop, a few of them result from her career choice - but she also has a lot of real fears and insecurities. A few times, when everything appears as if it's falling apart and she knows she has to be strong, she still breaks down and loses it before picking herself back up again. My 300 Followers contest has now officially come to a close and I'm excited to be giving away three awesome YA books: Wish You Were Dead by Todd Strasser, The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima, and How to Say Goodbye in Robot by Natalie Standiford. After using the Research Randomizer, the winner is...
She never expects to fall in love with beautiful Prince Po.
She never expects to learn the truth behind her Grace—or the terrible secret that lies hidden far away . . . a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.
Check out Kristin Cashore's blog HERE.This is the story of a boy who used to be a wolf and a girl who was becoming one.
Just a few months ago, it was Sam who was the mythical creature. His was the disease we couldn’t cure. His was the good-bye that meant the most. He had the body that was a mystery, too strange and wonderful and terrifying to comprehend.
But now it is spring. With the heat, the remaining wolves will soon be falling out of their wolf pelts and back into their human bodies. Sam stays Sam, and Cole stays Cole, and it’s only me who’s not firmly in my own skin.
Seriously. Can. Not. Wait.