Review: Miss Fortune Cookie by Lauren Bjorkman

Author: Lauren Bjorkman
Title: Miss Fortune Cookie
Publication: November 13,2012
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Source: Crossroad Tours

Meet Erin. Smart student, great daughter, better friend. Secretly the mastermind behind the popular advice blog Miss Fortune Cookie. Totally unaware that her carefully constructed life is about to get crazy.It all begins when her ex-best friend sends a letter to her blog—and then acts on her advice. Erin’s efforts to undo the mess will plunge her into adventure, minor felonies, and possibly her very first romance.What’s a likely fortune for someone no longer completely in control of her fate? Hopefully nothing like: You will become a crispy noodle in the salad of life.

Thoughts: Erin has a talent for giving advice though none but a select few know about it, not even her semi-bestie, Mei, who has been distant since an incident that isolated Erin and made her sad. She really misses the closeness the two once had yet she struggles with how to broach the topic with Mei.... now she has Lizzy the tie that holds these awkward friends together. Erin is so good at meddling in other people's business that she manages to convince Mei to go against her mother's wish for her to attend Harvard, what happens next is a chaotic world wind of a mess.

I enjoyed the journey that these girls take as they make decisions about what to do with the next chapter of their lives after high school. They must decide if they should stay together and do what's comfortable? Or should they break free of the fear of experiencing life for themselves without the hindrance or desires of one another? These ladies have humor and normal teenage problems that I think anyone dealing with the choice of what do next in life can understand and empathize with their dilemmas. I liked Erin and how she solves problems for everyone else except when it comes to her life; she is conflicted. The writing and the story unfolds nicely, making for a light and fun read. This is a great story about love, family and life lessons.  

Miss Fortune Cookie

By: Lauren Bjorkmamn

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About the Author

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Lauren Bjorkman is the author of the award- winning young adult novel My Invented Life, Henry Holt, 2009.
She grew up on a sailboat, sharing the tiny forecastle with her sister and the sail bags. The voyage started in California and ended in Argentina. During that time, she kept up with school through a program called Calvert out of Maryland. Her dad read stories to her and her sister at night by the light of a kerosene lamp.
She now lives in Taos, New Mexico with her husband and two sons.

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Guest Post & Giveaway: Louisa Klein Author of Supernatural Freak

Short bio: Louisa Klein is 25, lives in the UK but was born in Germany and brought up in Southern Europe by a German dad and an Italian and French mum, which made her a little confused at first. She has a degree in Medieval Studies and a postgraduate one in Marketing. She’s been working in publishing on and off since she was 17 and during the day she is a freelancer and an Urban Fantasy writer. At night, she puts on a mask and fights British crime. She gets very little sleep. Supernatural Freak is her first book, a romantic yet action-packed urban fantasy set in contemporary London.
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5 Fairy books that will blow your mind!

1) The Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa
I may sound banal, but these books make you dream: first, Kagawa draws from Shakespeare
and Meghan, her main character, meets up with familiar characters like Oberon, Titania, and Puck from "A Midsummer Night's Dream." Which I totally support, especially if you are a writer born/living in the UK: why not taking advantage of good old William for the world building? And there isn’t only Shakespeare, you know, but a lot more stuff, like Christina Rossetti’s the Goblin Market, or The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald. If you are a writer and immersed in the British culture, telling a story about Faeries is almost mandatory! (And of course I wrote one!:))

Another thing I liked is the secondary characters who are particularly well-rounded and fun. That is really what makes this book so fresh and interesting. I also LOVE the idea of Iron Fey! There's plenty of adventure, a lot of action, an intriguing love triangle, a charming cat, and a girl becoming something great after having been nothing for a long time. And don't even get me started on the cover. I mean, It’s awesome!

2) The Need series by Carrie Jones (I know, I love series!)
I particularly loved this series because, to an extent, reminds me of the film Labyrinth, one of my favourite films ever. I mean, the goblins in Labyrinth are, well, more than naughty in more than one occasion, but they are not exactly lethal. It’s a children’s movie by Jim Henson, no one for a second thinks that Sarah could die. The Need books are somehow a more adult version of Labyrinth, where faeries are far from only being naughty. In fact, they are voracious predators who glamour themselves to appear human and better trick their victims. I loved every bit of these books, the writing style, the plot, the fact that the main character is a wounded, fragile, neurotic girl. But, most of all, what I truly adored of this series, is the creepy and sinister feeling that will get a grip on your heart until you’ll finish reading this novel…. Priceless!

3)Faerie Wars by Herbie Brennan. 
Another series that will blow your mind! Here, Mr Brennan does something quite unexpected, disregarding Anglo-Saxon traditions and tales about fairies and instead taking inspiration from ‘the Continent’, as we call it in the UK (aka, the rest of Europe). There, fairies have a human appearance and human size, they have their flaws but usually grant you three wishes or/and are working for the king (think about the Sleeping Beauty’s fairies, for example). The author here takes a lot from European traditions to create his fairy world and in his book fairies live in a land similar to ours, only with magic and less technology. 

Here’s the blurb from Goodreads: When Henry Atherton helps Mr. Fogarty clean up around his house, he expects to find a mess and a cranky old man; what he doesn't expect to find is Pyrgus Malvae, crown prince of the Faerie realm, who has escaped the treacherous Faeries of the Night by traveling to the human world through a portal powered by trapped lightning. An egomaniacal demon prince, greedy glue factory owners Brimstone and Chalkhill, and the nefarious Lord Hairstreak, leader of the Faeries of the Night, all dream of ruling the Faerie realm and are out to kill Pyrgus. Enlisting the help of his sister, Holly Blue, and his new friend, Henry, Pyrgus must get back to the Faerie world alive before one of his many enemies gets to him instead. But how many portals are open, and can Pyrgus find the right one before it falls into the wrong hands?

This book is full of magic and demons, wonder and friendship, the story is exciting and magical while still being surprisingly realistic, since the characters are, at least in my opinion, well-rounded and believable. A book I wouldn’t miss if I were you!

4) Knife by R.J Anderson! 
 I discovered this book in the strangest way: during a job interview at Orchard Publishing, in London. It was the third interview for those who had been shortlisted and, at a point, they asked me if I knew the book and what were my thoughts about the story and the cover. I remembered I had seen the cover several times in the teen section in Waterstones (British chain of bookshops), but that was it.

Of course that didn’t make much of an impression and I didn’t get the job in the end. And
you what? They were right, whoever ignores such a great book doesn’t deserve to be hired! I mean, the cover alone won I don’t know how many prizes! How could I have missed it? I, of course, went to buy it straight away AND COULDN’T PUT IT DOWN UNTIL THE VERY END! This is supposed to be a book for early teen, but I totally recommend it to adults too, since it’s really gripping and full of twists! I suppose I liked Knife, the fairy, as a character because of her fighting attitude. And you might know it or not, but I love strong female characters! Knife is different.
She wants to be true to herself. It is through her inquisitive and sometimes reckless nature that she's able to help the fairies. This is a series worth re-reading because of Knife, and the fine blend of drama and humour. Our little fairy is also backed up by a fine cast of secondary characters who are as memorable and believable as she is. It would be really foolish to miss this book!

5) Tithe (The Modern Tales Of Faerie #1)by Holly Black
After Spiderwick, I am absolutely wild about Holly Black's voice and plots! In this dark faerie tale, Kaye Fierch, a teenager who has always believed in faeries, discovers that she herself is one, and that she is the sacrifice chosen for the tithe, a blood ceremony made every seven years to bind the solitary fey to the Unseelie Court. Kaye learns to control her glamour, gets help from her fey and human friends, and encounters some nasty beasties, including the Queen of the Unseelie Sidhe. She also finds her knight in shiny armour but, I have to warn you, said knight is not exactly 100% white, if you know what I mean.

Again, what really got my attention was the main character, a girl who went through thick and thin never losing her courage but resisting, enduring. If you are looking for a story about a misfit girl who gets a glimpse of another world and live to tell about it, than you really must read this book and the others of the series!

About the Book
“When paranormal expert Robyn Wise is offered an outrageous sum of money to cure a boy who is turning into a dead tree, she's very sceptical. A politician ready to pay that much to make his son stop growing branches instead of hair? Come on! She's more likely to be abducted by aliens. This is a trap. Or much worse. And, of course, it's much worse.
The child is turning into a dark portal, created by a powerful entity determined to absorb Fairyland's power.
This means that not only queen Titania and her court are in danger, but the very balance of the magic fluxes.
Robyn'd rather stick a pencil in her own eye but. to learn how to destroy the portal, she has to sneak into the Wizardry Council, a place full of wizards who are hiding something—though it’s certainly not their 
There, she discovers a terrible secret that could help to overthrow Fairyland's enemies for good, but puts her in the midst of an ancient and deadly war, and not as a bystander, but as the main target.”

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Audio Review: Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake

Author:Kendare Blake
Narrator: August Ross
Title:Girl of Nightmares
Publisher: AudioGo
Format:Unabridged Audio
Length: 10 hrs, 4 mins
Publication: 2012
Source: Publisher via Audiobookjukebox

Synopsis

It's been months since the ghost of Anna Korlov opened a door to Hell in her basement and disappeared into it, but ghost-hunter Cas Lowood can't move on. 

His friends remind him that Anna sacrificed herself so that Cas could live—not walk around half dead. He knows they're right, but in Cas's eyes, no living girl he meets can compare to the dead girl he fell in love with.

Now he's seeing Anna everywhere: sometimes when he's asleep and sometimes in waking nightmares. But something is very wrong...these aren't just daydreams. Anna seems tortured, torn apart in new and ever more gruesome ways every time she appears.

Cas doesn't know what happened to Anna when she disappeared into Hell, but he knows she doesn't deserve whatever is happening to her now. Anna saved Cas more than once, and it's time for him to return the favor.

Cas can't seem to stop thinking about Anna, the girl he fell in love with but they have one big problem: she's dead and currently being terrorized in hell. In an effort to save her, he decides that he must go there to get her back...he just doesn't realize that it could kill him in the process and poor Anna's sacrifice would be for nothing. He learns about a group that hand in the forging of his knife that can assist him opening a door to retrieve Anna from hell. He meets up with some interesting characters and goes across the world on a new adventure with his friend Thomas and Carmel. He will be tested in many ways, but his true choice will be should Anna be back in this world, where they could never truly have a relationship or is her presence enough to salve his troubled heart? 

This was an okay listen, honestly I feel like this didn't translate well as an audio. I wasn't able to delve into the story. This won't make sense but it just seemed like it was being read to me, like a parent would read to a child. The narrator did differentiate between male and female as well as young to old but something is missing. I'm not saying the narrator did a bad job. The sound quality is great but the pace is slow. Overall, I should have read this one, it happens from time to time.

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Review & Giveaway: Derailed by Alyssa Rose Ivy

Author: Alyssa Rose Ivy

Title: Derailed

Publication: September 26, 2012

Source: AToMR Tours

When you're lost sometimes the only place you can go is home.
Broken over the death of her fiancé, Molly leaves law school to return to her childhood home inNorth Carolina. Expecting to lay low until she can figure out what else to do with her life, Mollyfinds herself in the arms of her high school sweetheart Ben, the boy who represents everythingfrom the past she tried to leave behind.
Looking for an escape, what she finds is a way back to the girl she almost forgot existed and afuture she never dreamed possible.

Thoughts:Molly feels guilt over the death of her fiancé; she thinks it's her fault. In an effort to regroup and distance herself from Boston, she returns home. She never realizes that this is where she must face the demons she left behind in Boston and the boy she left heart broken when she ran away to college. Ben still loves Molly and he is determined that if he gets her back, there is no letting go this time. However, Molly sees herself as damaged goods; everything she holds dear becomes ruined. She feels like she doesn't deserve Ben's love and that she will only cause him pain. As much as they try, these two are like magnets and when they come together they ignite a fire that can't be tamed. Can Ben help Molly heal the wounds that she's buried deep inside or will his hope at rekindling their love fizzle out? I loved the romantic interactions between Ben and Molly; they balance one another out well. The story unfolds nicely and paces steadily throughout never really lagging. I would recommend this to someone looking for a quick read with bit of romance. I was initially drawn to this book by the cover, which is absolutely beautiful. It made me wonder what her story was and she looks like she has secrets to share. Any who, great story about love, loss and how sometimes the past can be the key to your future. 

Alyssa Rose Ivy is a Young Adult and New Adult author who loves to weave stories withromance and a southern setting. Although raised in the New York area, she fell in love with the South after moving to New Orleans for college. After years as a perpetual student, she turned back to her creative side and decided to write. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and two young children, and she can usually be found with a cup of coffee in her hand.
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Blitz: Flee by Miranda Kavi

FLEE

by Miranda Kavi

I can fly.

I have to keep it a secret.

Everything was fine, until I met him.

I can’t stay away…

Aurora Lockette has a supernatural ability she hides from the world. Gavyn Dhaval is a newly famous actor that shies away from the spotlight. When Aurora and Gavyn literally collide in a fender bender on her first day of law school, they are irresistibly drawn to each other.

When Aurora’s secret is revealed, she has no choice but to abandon Gavyn to go into hiding to escape the media frenzy. A secret society of gifted humans contacts her to warn of dark forces that seek to destroy her and everyone she loves.

Aurora must try to understand who and what she is while she fights to protect herself and her loved ones from a hidden, sinister force.

 

Author Bio:

Miranda Kavi is a YA and Paranormal/Urban Fantasy author. She has worked as an attorney, an executive recruiter, and an assistant in a biological anthropology lab. She loves scary movies, museums, and is hopelessly addicted to chocolate. She lives in the Houston area with her husband and daughter.

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Blitz:Jealousy Glass by Gwen Perkins

BLURB:
"We came to stop a war before it came to Cercia.  And it seems the war has come to us."
Responsibility and patriotism spur Cercia's new leader, Quentin, to protect his beloved country at all costs and he assigns Asahel and Felix to serve as ambassadors and secret agents to Anjdur. Their journey quickly turns awry and Asahel and Felix barely escape a devastating shipwreck, walk a tightrope of political tension, and rescue an empress before they learn they must face an enemy closer to them than they thought.
Will they be able to uncover an assassin's plot before it's too late? Will Asahel be able to unearth a secret that is vital to their mission? Will Cercia survive its own revolution? In The Jealousy Glass, Perkins boldly continues a series of unforgettable characters and events that will leave you begging for more.

EXCERPT I
(This exceprt is from Chapter 1 of the print version of novel)

The white monster swooped down.

All that Asahel could see was a cloud of pale feathers as the Rukh lashed out at the cannon that had fired.  Screams throbbed around him as the Rukh lifted, golden talons now rusted with blood.  Broken bodies lay on the wood, ribs smashed by the weight of unearthly claws.  The men were too distant for Asahel to put faces to as he fell to the deck, heart pounding at the sound of the wings beating once more.

The Rukh dove again, its beak rending the ship's prow.  The heavy timbers cracked like bones against the pressure.  A slow tearing sound cut through the haze of chaos settling over the ship as panic took hold.  Spice spilled out of the hold the beast had torn open.  Pungent scents of oil and cedar clouded the air as chests smashed against the bow, breaking apart into the water below.

Asahel crawled on his knees toward the heart of the battle, his eyes stinging red from the spices in the air.  The Rukh thrashed as another cannon fired its shot, black powder belching into the fading light.  Angry cries from the monster above filled his ears as it lurched down, plucking a sailor off the deck and squeezing its talons tightly around the man's midsection.  Another series of screams began as the ship's port side blazed into flames, but he kept moving toward starboard, trying to reach the first cannon that had been fired.

"Zuane!"  He called, hoping that the captain was near.  When that failed, Asahel shouted out for others.  "Felix!  Nicolas!"  His knee edged forward as he crawled, the coarse wool of his trousers suddenly damp.  He looked down to see the blood of the fallen pooling in the cracks of the boards.

He was near the side of the Serenissma.  Asahel stood, crouching each time the Rukh let out another shriek.  Black smoke surrounded him, choking his lungs as he turned.  The white beast had grown dim as the wall of fire leapt up, flames feeding on the ship's planking.

"Soames—"

Asahel turned but did not see who could have called him.

"Where are you?"  He whispered, afraid to raise his voice.  He saw a pair of hands gripping the railing.  He reached out, his own strong fingers clutching them and pulling the man toward the deck.  He could feel Felix shudder as he came up over the rail, his thin body battered.  The older man began to cough almost immediately as Asahel helped him back to the deck.  They stared through the flames at the carnage.

The Serenissma wrenched sharply to the right.  The Rukh cawed as it rose, white wings blotting out what was left of the sun.  Water splashed across the wood, shooting up from the hold as the lower decks flooded.

"We've got to get out of here," Asahel said.

"There's no rafts." Felix coughed and leaned back against the rail.  His eyes were bright with a fear the other man had never seen.

"Aye."  The fire was close enough to warm them both.  Which will it be?  Asahel thought.  Burning or drowning?

"I can't swim."

"Sure, and now you tell me."  Asahel steadied his expression for Felix's sake, more nervous than he let on.  The Soames family had been merchants and traders for generations.  Unlike Felix, Asahel had been raised at water's edge.

"I never expected it to come up."  Felix grimaced.  "I know.  We're on a boat.  Clearly, I was being an optimist."

"Ship," Asahel corrected gently, looking over his shoulder at the waves.

"Grave—if we don't do something shortly."  Felix inhaled, his body clenched as he turned his back on the flames.  The Serenissma was moving downwards rapidly.  The remaining sailors leapt from the deck, disappearing into the churning tides as they plummeted through the darkness.  He looked at Asahel, his mouth twisting into a crooked grin.  "No time like the present."

Felix climbed back up on the railing, sweat trickling down his forehead, his skin mottled with bruise and shadow.  Asahel followed, his own ungainly body slower to take action.  The two men looked at one another a last time, then back at the burning ship.

With one breath, they jumped.

*  *  *
Click the link for an audio-only dramatization of the entire first chapter for your use at: https://www.box.com/s/a997c064d4539c929739

Author Bio
Gwen Perkins has always regarded the deep rainforest of the Olympic Peninsula as the one place that she feels most at home. Gwen grew up in small towns across the Pacific Northwest, going to slug races and strawberry festivals when she wasn't scribbling on any scrap of paper she could come by. She boasts the dubious distinction of going to a public school with only eight students, learning Irish sea chanteys from a man who sang with the Clancy Brothers, and catching tadpoles during classes.

Her adult life is generally just about as much fun.

She lives in the City of Destiny (better known as Tacoma, Washington). Her hobbies include wandering beaches, baking pies and lampworking. In between all of this, Gwen has written two novels in the Artifacts of Empire series: The Universal Mirror and The Jealousy Glass.  The Universal Mirror has been nominated for a 2013 Endeavour Award.

She is presently at work on future novels in the Artifacts of Empire series while working on another series in collaboration with Wilson Fabián Saravia. 
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TRAILER FOR THE JEALOUSY GLASS

GIVEAWAY
In conjunction with the release of The Jealousy Glass, the author is running a giveaway for an autographed, first edition paperback of The Universal Mirror through Goodreads at: http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/37726-the-universal-mirror