KIERA'S QUEST: SACRIFICES by Kristy Brown Review

Title:  Kiera's Quest: Sacrifices

Author: Kristy Brown

Release date: August 3rd, 2012

Rating: 5/5

Publisher: MuseItUp

Book Summary: 

After almost beating the villainous Witch Queen, Kiera’s triumph is tainted with sadness for the loss of Joe and Daz.

When the handsome Prince Zakk asks Kiera to re-enter his world in order to save her friend, she does not hesitate.

On their perilous journey Kiera realizes that she is there to save many lives. As she comes face to face with her evil nemesis once again, Kiera comes closer to finding out the truth to why she has been chosen.

Will she succeed? Will this be the end to Kiera’s quest?

Review:

 

As the second installment of the book series Kiera's Quest, Sacrifices dealt with the continuation of Kiera's journey after the horrible events that ended the first book.

 

Back on Earth, Kiera is listed as a missing person along with her friends Daz and Joe; Maddy was left alone to carry the burden of her friends' "disappearances." What made the situation worse is the fact that she knows where Kiera is and why she left and she knows what happened to her boyfriend Daz and Joe. She's forced to keep it secret. Kiera, on the other hand, struggles with Prince Zakk to defeat the Witch Queen and indirectly looking for Joe and Daz.

In this installment of Kiera's Quest, we finally get to see Zakk in action and not as a plastic Ken doll. He was brave and very noble (duh, he's a prince). He always made sure that everyone was safe and didn't leave anyone behind. For his introduction as a walking and moving character, he hit it hard and I really liked him.

I'm not going to spoil anything, but Terrance the dog was probably my favorite character as I was reading. He's so awesome and comes to the rescue at the perfect moments. Read the book, and you'll understand why Terrance is definitely the Character of the Week. (Is that even a thing?)

Again, I could really feel myself as Kiera. She was brave  and yet she had her moments of fear and distress. I think the one thing I don't like about Kiera is that she can rely on the ring a little too much sometimes. She does take care of business when it's necessary with the ring or without it.

The Witch Queen strikes again! Wow, she's a pretty awesome villainess and the way Kiera and the others describe her kind of send chills down my back. The things she does to people just for the fun of it; the things she does just to gain her power back. It's really magnificent. In my scale of villains, so far she's up there with Maleficent, Valentine, and Voldemort. (Maleficent is still my favorite though. She did all that stuff because she wasn't invited to the birthday party.) 

Anyway, there is also a twist that no one expects, though both got me mad and yet I was kind of happy with it. (Unlike THINGS IN DITCHES which just made me mad.) We also meet some new characters: Alex, Mouse, Jamie and others.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would love to continue following Kiera on her journey and her battles against the Witch Queen.

A big thanks to Kristy Brown for giving me the opportunity to read the second installment!

   

THINGS IN DITCHES by Jimmy Olsen Review

Title: Things in Ditches
Author: Jimmy Olsen
Release date: December 28, 2000
Rating: 5/5
Publisher: North Star Press
Book Summary:

A murder mystery novel. The story of Phillip "Dutch" Cleland, a man with a hidden past and a future about to explode in his face. A seemingly average man whose love for two women drives him to such extremes that deception, even murder and suicide are not longer unthinkable.   

When a lovely corpse is discovered near Dutch's home town, the nearby ditches begin to yield a harvest of secrets, none of them comforting for Dutch. Soon he is forced to flee for his life, before his past and the police slip a noose around his neck.

Things In Ditches is peopled with small town characters that are so humorous and eccentric, their oddball antics enliven every paragraph and page. A reader can't help but be reeled in by the strange citizens of Willow River, until soon discovering they're really not so different from all of us and Dutch's story is the oldest story on earth; good and evil, betrayal and laughter. And finally, the power of love and friendship, forging one man's determination to overcome all odds, even death.

Review: 

Warning! There are some spoilers!

Marlene came in carrying a candle.
"Ah, Lady Macbeth!" he sighed with great drama. "Whyfore did he kill her now after all these leagues?"
"League is a distance, dope, not a time," she said pouring hot candle wax into a puddle beside him."

Chapter 15, page 159.

Things in Ditches is written in third person past and follows the life of Dutch Cleland, the Butcher of Willow River.

Dutch Cleland is a lying, cheating, sneaky rat, and above everything else, the murderer of his mistress, Vicky Murdock, whom he loved with all his heart. Was it that love that ultimately got her killed?

In a small town like Willow River, stealing is unheard of and murder, even less. Cleland, unable to commit suicide, runs off into hiding, leaving Jean to face the music of his murder of which he detailed in a little note left in the kitchen. But on his way to pick up some food from his butcher shop, he's held up and things for him start getting much, much worse. Whatever Dutch thought he could save of his future was thrown down the drain.

Like most small towns, people start to talk. Gossip circles suddenly have something to talk about and the only name in the mix is Dutch's. He grows into the star of Willow River and news coverage on the little town explodes. What the newscasters don't know, however, is that the body is suddenly missing.

It becomes a race to who can find Dutch first: Len Davis, the lawyer, Carroll Johnson and Murdock, Vicky's husbands, Sherriff Mattson, the Sherriff of the county, or Charlie, the police chief of Willow River.

Who will find him first? Will Dutch ever go back to the home he loved so much?

Jimmy Olsen brings the world of Willow River to life with beautifully crafted sentences and very real dialogue. I felt like I was experiencing what was going on. I was completely lost in this book and would gasp out loud in the middle of class. I had never read a murder mystery before this one, but now I think I may start picking some up. It was humorous, dark, and wonderful. I found myself unable to put it down. Each character was very well-rounded. 

I think my favorite characters may have been Jean. I say Jean, because she was a very strong female character. She didn't let things get to her and she certainly didn't let Dutch destroy her. Jean fought against Murdock and Carroll and although she was shaken up, she didn't let it bring her down. She is an extremely powerful character, that I enjoyed very, very much.

I promise I'm not going to spoil anything, but the ending really made me frustrated and mad. I saw part of it coming, because he does have foreshadowing to it, but I did not see the huge twist that he left behind. I complained to probably every one, and I think that's probably a good thing. I didn't see part of it coming. Then I read the epilogue and I think that made me angrier both because I saw it was coming, and because I didn't see it coming. I really felt involved in this book.

I've even recommended it to my AP Literature teacher!

Thank you, Jimmy Olsen, for sending me a copy of this book!

IN THE BETWEEN Giveaway!

If you're a regular visitor to my blog, you'll know about the book In the Between by May Sinclair, PhD.

Now you can own in the between!

How?

Enter the contest!

Contest starts on 9/20/13 and ends on 10/11/13

What do you win?

A copy of In The Between signed by May Sinclair, PhD!

What do you need to do?

Follow this link to the form, or click the <> button below to fill it out on here:

May Sinclair, PhD Interview!

Here's an interview with May Sinclair, PhD! View my review of her book In the Between here.

______________

Q.  What inspired you to write a novel on reincarnation?

A.  I’ve been attracted to the concept of reincarnation for a long as I can remember.  Especially, after I read The Tibetan Book of the Dead, where the concept of getting to choose our parents is described.  It was all quite intriguing.  Then when I was invited to join a writers’ group and they were all writing fiction, I decided to put aside the non-fiction book I was then working on for a while to write a metaphysical fantasy.  Of course, I also used prior research from other books I’d written, and my personal experiences, along with my imagination, to develop the story. 

Q. What made you decide on those specific places and time periods?

A.  Conversations with various people over the years suggested some places and periods of time that fit into the overall story.  My husband and I used to sit in our kitchen enjoying ourselves as we made up past-life stories about the two of us and people we know. 
My real sister, just like my sister in the book, believed she was buried alive in Egypt and she told me that was why she was claustrophobic.  One of my dearest friends told me she felt she lived in Greece and could picture herself looking out from a set of wide steps to view a columned Greek temple.

Q.  How did you come up with the character of Starry and her traits?

A.  Now that is both psychological and metaphysical.  Psychologically, I, like most people, hear voices in my head that tell me what I “should” do.  Things like: hurry up, you can’t have fun until the work is done, you won’t succeed unless you to this or that.  Those voices come from the pieces of me that I developed throughout my life to cope with it.
 The core of metaphysics indicates there is more to us than our five senses: hearing, speaking, seeing, smelling, and touching, while many religions and philosophies teach that a soul is placed within a physical body to learn—to increase consciousness. 
The Starry character is a creation from those parts of my concept of soul that is both a goad to cope and to evolve consciousness.  She is a blend of instincts that are often automatic and self-protective along with the sense there is something greater than can be comprehended with only five senses alone.  Starry is joyous.  She knows life is infinite and if one choice doesn’t turn out well, there are many more opportunities to choose from again and again.  Still, Starry’s character flaw is that she’s not using the emotional element in the best way to feel compassion and to cooperate with her physical aspect to grow more easily.  Her detachment is necessary yet stressful for evolution of the complete soul.

Q.  Who do you think you were in a prior life?

A.  At one point my life, I experimented with Past-life regression.  Of course, all of it could be from my imagination, but I saw myself during one of the regressions with other young women in the Ambassador’s wing of the palace of Versailles.  I used that as a basis for the parts of the book that took place in Spain, England, France, and the Netherlands.  In another of those regressions I saw myself in a harem where a man (my real husband in this life) was mutilated for some misdeed that could have been attributed to me.  That was a terrible experience and I remember telling my husband after I came out of the trace state that it wasn’t my fault.  He looked at me as though I was nuts and then we laughed about it.

Q.  How much research did it take to write as true to the time periods as possible?

  

A.  The amount of time was lessened because I was able to use my prior research about the sacred marriage rites from Mesopotamia, the medical practices used to produce a son in ancient Greece, and how the throne mysticism of the Kabalah affected temple worship in Jerusalem from another non-fiction book I wrote many years ago: Infamous Eve, A History.

The second book in this series, The Beginning Begins, continues the progression of the soul (two souls rather than one), but it also weaves into the story the mystery surrounding the scrolls that were hidden, along with the Urim and Thummim that were said to be used to get answers to questions from God—by Salome Alexandra in Jerusalem—in this book.
 ______________ 

Thanks to May Sinclair for answering all my questions! The link to my review of her book is posted above. It's an amazing book and it's an interesting concept so please go check it out!

 

Kiera's Quest: Awakenings by Kristy Brown REVIEW

Title: Awakenings
Author:  Kristy Brown
Release date: October 19th, 2011
Rating: 4.5/5
Publisher: MuseItUp
Book Summary:  

Meet Kiera, a pretty, intelligent, and talented girl, brought up by her uncle, and abandoned by her parents. Life is as normal as she believes it to be, apart from the deep ache inside her, telling her she’s different. For years, Kiera had dreams where she ventures into a different reality. She’s not alone; a presence is always there, keeping her safe, yet she feels vulnerable, and hunted.
Zakk, Prince of Zantar, is under the Witch Queen’s spell as she tries to take over his world.He crosses paths with Kiera, and their fates are entwined.
As their journey unravels, she learns that she is not the only one affected by this prince. Who is on her side? Will she find out why she has been chosen? How can someone so young, defeatsuch evil? Will she find the strength to save the ones closest to her? Will this be Kiera’s only Quest?

Review:

Thanks to Kristy Brown's event on her Facebook page I was able to request, read, and now review Awakenings the first book in her, as of right now, trilogy.  If you like evil witches, princes, quests, and magic then this is the book for you. I promise.

I read the book's synopsis and I immediately wanted to snatch it up, curl up on my couch, and read. And once I started, I couldn't stop. I literally read the whole book in one day and when it ended I wanted more of Kiera and Zakk. Brown's imagery was vivid and flowed so beautifully.  Personification brought the scenes to life: "Zakk knew his only response would be that of his own echoes chasing each other round the stone cave walls." And that was only in Chapter One. I read this in one day because I didn't even realize how many pages I had read until I was done. I was so immersed in Kiera's world and her thought process.


However, the reason why I didn't give it a 5 is because I felt that certain things happened too quickly. I can't think of the exact scene when I thought that, but I felt things were kind of sped up. I also have to take into consideration that the time span of the novel was a few days, though I still felt certain things should have taken their time. For example, traveling across the gorge full of spikes. Also, certain lines felt a little cliché. 

Brown's character's were really, really great, though. I could really relate to Kiera. The way she was handling her situation and getting paranoid with the people around her was probably how I would have been. Saving a prince's life and an entire world was on her shoulders and it was her fault if everything was destroyed. She had also come to like the prince that she was trying to help and she wouldn't have been happy with herself if she didn't succeed.

The Witch Queen was a really cool character. Honestly, I wouldn't want to run into her in a dark alley. She knew what she wanted and when she wanted it. It wasn't her fault that her henchman Googe couldn't deliver. (Also, as a side note, I read Googe as Google the first time and I had to re-read it cause I was so confused. Though, it was really funny.) The things she did to Zakk (most of which were just revealed) in the first Chapter in order to rise to the throne was completely insane and wonderful. She was powerful and yet she was vulnerable which is probably why I liked her so much. I hated her so much I loved her!

Joe is probably the most adorable thing ever. I have a friend named Joe and for some reason both his personality and the personality of the Joe in the book really fit. I don't know. Haha. I guess it really made my connection with Joe a little stronger, because he was so similar to my friend in real life, which is a very good thing. Her character was well rounded and exhibited qualities and quirks and personality traits that are seen in normal humans. Joe jumped off the page for me. He was lovestruck and faithful, but he also had his dorky qualities which were super duper adorable.

I fell in love with Daz at the end, and since that was the case, you'll have to read Kiera's Quest: Awakenings.  You'll also have to read it to find out why the ending killed me. (Trust me. You won't be disappointed reading this book.) 

I would definitely love to pick up the remaining book sometime in the near future. Thank you again Kristy Brown and I hope to hear more from you soon!

City of Bones Cast Q&A and Meet and Greet!

On Wednesday (July 31) I was able to meet Jamie Campbell Bower, Lily Collins, and Kevin

Zegers from the City of Bones cast. They were the most down to earth actors ever. 

During the signing, Kevin Zegers, Lily Collins and Jamie Campbell Bower greeted everyone with big smiles and were so happy to see us. 

Jamie Campbell Bower: "Thanks for waiting to see us. It's great to meet you." 
Lily Collins: "It's lovely to meet you." 
Kevin Zegers: "Hey, sweetie. How are you?"

They gave fans hand fives and honestly, treated them like if they were friends. I don't know why that shocks me, but it does. To me, it made them feel more like people I could relate to and not just stars that I see on the big screen. 

During the Q&A it was so much better; all three of them were completely shocked with how many people came out to see them and were standing in the heat just to hear them ask questions. They stood up and started taking pictures on their phones with the sheer volume of people that were standing there. Jamie even said that the fact that so many people were out there made him "super happy." 

They revealed many things about themselves and their characters:

Lily revealed that she read the books and wanted to be Clary; that when she heard it was being turned into a movie got on her email and emailed all sorts of people. She also revealed that she is very close to her mother and was happy to portray that closeness on screen. She said that when she watched the final screening of City of Bones that it was hard to tell when she was acting and when she was having fun because she enjoyed being there and working on the set so much.

Jamie cracked jokes the whole time during the Q&A about Justin Bieber being a poser and how he would really mess up lines during filming. He also revealed that his favorite part about being Jace was Jace's vulnerability. Jamie also revealed that at the end of ever movie, he keeps a momento from the movie; in this case, he had (and was wearing) the Morgenstern ring which he showed the audience (who, again, cheered wildly).

Kevin laughed along with Jamie and Lily and revealed that if he had to choose something other than being a Shadowhunter, he would want to be a warlock (which was followed by loud cheering from the audience). He also revealed that his favorite character other than Alec was Simon (although the audience was hoping to hear Magnus in that answer). 

They were having as much fun as we were. None of them expected a whole audience to go wild over the word "greenhouse" or over their answers and stories. I don't know, I guess it shocked me that they were as happy to see all of us as we were to see them. Seeing them really made me excited about The City of Bones and it also made me excited for the next one (which they frequently mentioned during the Q&A.)

If they do end up reading this, I just want to thank them for taking their time to come out to meet fans and say hello. It was absolutely brilliant.   
 

Book to Movie: City of Bones and Catching Fire

Seeing all this new information coming in about the City of Bones and Catching Fire movies is kind of exciting. Where do I even start? For those of you that have read books and have watched the movies come to life in front of you like if the books had come to life and were talking, you'd know what I'm feeling; those characters and their stories have become a part of you and you wonder how you've managed to live with out them. 

First off, it feels like I've been waiting a life time for the Catching Fire movie to come out. I mean, I read the Hunger Games trilogy when I was in seventh and eight grade (6 years ago). I mean. Wow. I remember begging my mom to take me to the book store after school to buy the final installment (which I got at a discounted rate at the time cause it was the first rate, lol. Go past me!). 

Anyway, seeing these stories on a movie screen, playing right in front of you, is just an amazing feeling. Especially when it's done right, which thankfully the director of the Hunger Games got it pretty well. It's also pretty phenomenal when you see stills like these coming out.  I mean, just look at them! I have to thank the casting director of the Hunger Games  and Catching Fire. I'll be honest, when I saw Jennifer Lawrence was playing Katniss the first time around, I was kind of iffy about it. I didn't know what to think, but when I saw the first movie trailer, and the teasers I knew that no one else could play Katniss like Jennifer Lawrence. That goes the same for Josh Hutcherson as Peeta and Liam Hemsworth as Gale. Of course, this casting only hypes me up for Catching Fire. 

The full cast was finally revealed recently and I'm so happy. The people that they've chosen couldn't be any better. For me, it's still a question of how this movie will be laid out. Will it be like the last where Caesar Flickerman is hosting it like we're watching the actual games again? How will they present the violence in this second installment (which in my opinion the second book is definitely a lot bloodier)? I've seen stills of them in the actual arena, them during the reaping, in the training room with the other tributes, but there's not much else. Unfortunately, we won't know these answers until November 22, but I'm still ecstatic to find out!

I joined the City of Bones fandom a lot later than most. I didn't pick the books up until my Sophomore year, which was almost two years ago. But when I did, I fell in love. Where do I even start with these books? I fell in love with Jace, Clary, and Simon and I tangled myself in their problems, and issues, and worries, and fears. I was hoping Shadowhunters really do walk the Earth protecting us from the demons that are trying to destroy. Again, the casting didn't start settling in until I saw the first trailer. I guess it's just me and having to see the actors in play that makes the casting really set in. 

I fell in love with Jamie Campbell Bower as Jace in--what?--two seconds? Though, I'm pretty sure the fandom was dead set with Alex Pettyfer playing the role of Jace. (I mean seriously, there were pictures comparing him to the cover all over the Internet. You think I'm joking?) Lily Collins took the whole length of the trailer to convince me that she was the one to play Clary. I'm not sure why, but she was and I love her just the same. From what I've seen so far, I can tell that this movie is going to be well done. Of course that doesn't mean anything, as we saw from the Book to Movie rendition of Beautiful Creatures. *rubs temples* (If you need to, refer to my Beautiful Creatures MOVIE Follow-Up post.) I do really have high hopes for this movie though. However, we haven't had a previous movie to judge if this one is going to be good or not like we have for Catching Fire. I'm just putting my trust the director will see that things go well.

We'll have to wait until August 23, which isn't that far, let me tell you. I can't wait to see Jace, Clary, Alec, Isabelle, Magnus, and Simon in action for the first time! 

Trailers:

Catching Fire:

City of Bones