THE IRON KING: Hard hitting awesome

My name is Meghan Chase. In less than twenty-four hours I'll be sixteen. Countless stories, songs, and poems have been written about this wonderful age, when a girl finds true love and the stars shine for her and the handsome prince carries her off into the sunset. I don't think it will be that way for me.

I know, I know... I'm late to the Julie Kagawa party. The important thing is, I got there. I'd seen the covers for the Iron Fae series and the craziness surrounding Team Ash during the YA Crush Tourney, but hadn't read the books. I picked up THE IRON KING several months ago and finally sat down to read.

And I didn't stop until I finished the book.

Good GAWD it was non-stop!

Meghan Chase just wants to turn 16 and get her learners permit. Then maybe, just maybe, she can get out of the sticks and do something, anything, that doesn't have to do with her parents pig farm. Of course, the story doesn't end there. Meghan is central to a centuries long battle between the Summer and Winter Courts of Nevernever, the Fae world. The Fae know she exists, but no one knew where she was, until now. After jumping ship with her best friend, Robbie, to go find her 4 year-old little brother, Ethan, Meghan discovers just how wrong the fairy-tales are.

From the very beginning, THE IRON KING was just punch after punch. Some Faery books start off slow with a lot of back story or world building, but not so here. Miss Julie grabs you by the bottom lip and pulls you through to the very end. From strange disappearances of Meghan's dad, a horribly stale existence for a 16 year old girl, a torturous and humiliating experience with the 'hot guy' at school, things she should not be seeing, a brother who sees too much, a best friend who has secrets of his own, and an evil little changeling that takes her brother's place... And all that before she even discovers Nevernever!

Once Meghan crosses the line over to CRAZY, she discovers the truth of her friend, Robbie. She also discovers that her life will never be the same. The Fae will use her as a pawn, the Wyldwood will eat her alive (literally), her step-mom wants her dead, he father doesn't trust her, the disturbingly hot Winter prince wants her dead, a mysterious Iron King may be the cause of the rapidly deteriorating Nevernever, and saying 'thank you' is equivalent to sealing your own coffin. Words are binding and contracts cannot be broken.

The characters were great! Meghan was adorable. She may be of noble blood, if only half, but she is so not the noble type. She really is just your average teen trying to save her little brother. She makes some grave mistakes, but shows a ton of courage when it counts.

Robbie, or should we say Robin Goodfellow (snicker), is HIGHlarious! True to form, Miss Julie places Puck as the comic relief, but he's just as dangerous as the rest of the Fae. As Oberon's fave lackey, his job is to protect Meghan, and he takes that job seriously.

Ash... Okay, so now I understand the fuss over this Winter prince. Sure he's hot and dangerous and wickedly evil with that icy blade of his, but he is stocked FULL of determination and loyalty it makes my palms sweat. Even when faced with his own death, he pushes on to honor his contracts. There is just something so shmexy about a guy who's true to his word...

THE IRON KING was beyond awesome for me. Like I said, this puppy was full of action and did not let up for a SECOND! Miss Julie racked my socks with this book and I am soooo itchin' to get my hands on the next book, or all of them... *wink*

Through the entire book, there were only two things that really bugged me. Toward the end, Meghan is given a choice (I will not give any spoilers here, if you've read it, you know what I'm talking about). This is pretty standard stuff, but Meghan actually entertains part of the choice that didn't feel in-line with her character. It kind of set me back a bit and I wondered why Meghan suddenly showed this sort of shallow side. She didn't show that before. Maybe I just read too much into it. Who knows.

I also questioned, just a little bit, the connection between Meghan and Ash. She is a Summer princess. He is a Winter prince. Being of the Summer court, she is sensitive to overly cold things. Being of the Winter courts, Ash IS an overly cold thing, complete with cool skin. How are they able to kiss and not cause some major complications? Not sure. Maybe this will be addressed in other books or, again, maybe I'm reading too much into it.

All is all, I loved the book. THE IRON KING is a definite read!!

INESCAPABLE indeed

My name is Evie Claremont and this was to be the making of me–my freshman year of college. I’d been hoping that once I’d arrived on Crestwood’s campus, the nightmare that I’ve been having would go away. It hasn’t. 
I may be an inexperienced seventeen-year-old, but I’m grounded…sane. I look for rational explanations to even the strangest circumstances. Since meeting sophomore Reed Wellington, however, nothing makes any sense. Whenever he’s near, I feel an attraction to him–a magnetic kind of force pulling me towards him. I know what you’re thinking…that sounds fairly awesome. Yeah, it would be…if he liked me, but Reed acts as if I’m the worst thing that has ever happened to Crestwood…or him. But get this, for some reason every time I turn around he’s there, barging into my life. 
What is the secret that he’s keeping from me? I’m hoping that it’s anything but what I suspect: that he’s not exactly normal…and neither am I. So, maybe Crestwood won’t be the making of me, but it could be the breaking of me. I’ve been left to wonder if the dark future my dream is foretelling is…inescapable.

I love bookish get-togethers. Not only do you get to shmooze with like-minded folks (read: book obsessed kindred spirits), but you often discover new authors and new books. UtopYA Con was one of these sorts of get-togethers. Sure, it was uber educational and all around awesome, but I also discovered a few new reads. One such read is INESCAPABLE from Amy A. Bartol.

Miss Amy is a self pubber and INESCAPABLE is the first book of The Premonition Series. At UtopYA, I saw the books, the posters, the tank tops, the swag, and Miss Amy as well. First, let's talk cover love...

Just TELL me this doesn't grab ya! Simple. Darkly intriguing. Yum. And then the tank tops... Just imagine a pair of angel wings with 'Reed' in lovely script between them...

I had to buy it. I had to find out who this Reed was.

And I did.

Reed is yummy, let's just get that out of the way. He is your irresistible rough-around-the-edges-but-will-stop-at-nothing-to-keep-you-safe dream. A warrior. A soldier. And boy does he take his job serious.

INESCAPABLE was a great read. I thoroughly enjoyed the story line. Sure, it's another angel book, but Miss Amy had enough bits to make it a unique story. This is certainly not your "oh angels are so pretty and lovely" sort of book. Uh..no. Them angels is bad, and tougher than 2-day old pizza!

Evie, short for Genevieve, is just beginning her freshman year at Crestwood College. It's the perfect beginning to a new life. *snort* Yeah, right. Then all hell breaks loose and the crazy happens. Evie is tossed into a strange world of heavenly warriors, or the Powers, the Fallen, Reapers, Seraphim, and all she wants is to pass her classes and keep her scholarship!

Nightmares have plagued her for months, a strangely familiar boy wears the very thing she dreams about, another boy produces monstrous butterflies in her gut whenever he's close, and then there's that sorority prank she's helping to plan... Evie is a busy girl.

The characters in INESCAPABLE were fun to read. Evie is just your 'average' girl, well, so we think. HA! But she has some serious guts! She may not think things through very well, just ask Reed, but she aims for the best. Or at the very least, the best fun. *wink* Evie is a likable sort and believable.

Russel is just awesome. He's my Carolina boy. LOL Miss Amy had the dialogue set up to take in his drawl and boy was that fun. I may not be a native Nashvillian, but I hear enough drawl to appreciate. Russell's cadence in speech was there in his words, and it fills you with warm humid nights and lightning bugs.

Reed. Oh Reed. This guy has some serious Patch potential. Those of you who know who Patch is can appreciate. Reed doesn't have Patch's snark or cockiness, but they both share that fierce protectiveness that is totally HAWT!! Grrr... And even though Reed is older than dirt, literally, he has this naivete that is completely endearing. I will never, ever look at Twinkies or mac-n-cheese the same way again.

The pace was great and INESCAPABLE left me certainly wanting more. As is common for self pubs, or some indies, there were some typos and areas that could have benefited from another beta read or CP, but overall it didn't pull me away from the story. As a newbie writer, I think I'm just overly sensitive to these areas. *sheepish grin* INESCAPABLE was thoroughly enjoying, and I look forward to picking up the next installment: INTUITION.

Before we go, I will leave you with two quotes from INESCAPABLE that left my mouth sort of dry...in a super yummy way. Enjoy!

"'I said that you are poised to be the most perfect creature I have ever encountered, under God, and the affection that I feel for you cannot be measured on Earth, or in Paradise.'" -- Reed

"It doesn't feel like a kiss goodbye; that it its masquerade. This kiss is more like having a gentle wind caress my lips in introduction, as if it exists just for me now." 

You're welcome. Now go get INESCAPABLE!

There is room at the top for ALL of us!

Many, many apologies to everyone for sort of falling off the face of the earth. With managing some health issues, my 10 1/2 year old Lab's health issues, and seemingly endless life crap, things just sort of...well, went to the crapper. That's me being honest, and PG-13.

Anyway, that's neither here nor there. As you may have seen from my multiple tweets on the subject, I was very excited about a wee event called UtopYA Con that took place right here in Nashville. A start-up convention for YA paranormal writers, authors, and all the freakin' readers who obsess... stalk... LOVE to read! I knew it would be the cat's meow, and I was right. Over the next several days, or weeks as time wills, I will try to recap some of the awesome I experienced over the last couple days.

For now, I just have to give my thanks. Many, many thanks.

Janet Wallace, Nashville's Kid-Lit Meet-Up group organizer and owner of Social Deviants, birthed this idea for UtopYA and she did a phenomenal job. This was the second time I've gone to this sort of event, the first being the SCBWI Conference in NYC. SCBWI was big and awesome and crazy informative, but UtopYA had something in it I didn't really find at SCBWI NYC. I thought I had, and I'm sure it IS there, but it was not as blazingly obvious as it was at UtopYA.

That thing, is HEART.

I'm not a hard core writer. I will be the first to admit this. There are so many freakin' awesome writers and authors out there. Me? I'm the sort of misfit kid in the back of the room that never really...'fit.' But I LOVE to write. It has freed me in so many ways over the last two years. Quite literally, I have finally found...me. It took thirty mumble-grumble years to do it, but hell if I found her finally.

UtopYA oozed with wonderful people that were just like you and me. Some were traditionally published, most were either indie published or self published, some just budding out on the page. Did they throw it around like a fluorescent pink boa with diamond crusting? Nope. Did they spout stats like a stock broker on crack and zero sleep? Nuh-uh. Were they welcoming? Were they excited to meet someone who has read, or is dying to read, one or all of their books? You bet your buttered biscuit baby!

When I say UtopYA has the heart I didn't find at other, larger, meets, I mean it. We were all there for the same reason: we love YA paranormal. There was a common unity no matter where you are in your career. The writing community really IS a community. It is a family that I am so very proud to be a part of. I still feel sort of like a distant cousin tip-toeing around the edges at times, but I still felt it. I felt the heart of this Con. I felt the heart of UtopYA.

Will it be the same in 2013? I sure as hell hope so! But really, I think it will. Everyone there, I think, picked up on the same vibe. We are readers. We are writers. We are authors. We are a group of people who LOVE to help the next coming. "There is room for all of us!" "A success for one, is a success for all." We all strive to the same goal: readers. And readers LOVE to read...a LOT.

The lovely Willow Cross said in a panel I attended, and I will paraphrase here: it might take her readers a week to read her novel, what are they going to do with the other 51 weeks of the year? 'If you like my books, here, check out my friend's book too!'

That is what we do as writers, as authors. Support. Community. Family. Friends. You CAN do it. We ALL can do it.

Willow Cross, Raine Thomas, Amanda Havard, Myra McEntire, Chelsea Fine, Tiffany King, L.M. Preston, Angeline Kace, Teal Haviland, Tammy Blackwell, M.R. Polish, Amy Bartol, Abbi Glines... oh my word there are just too many. All of these women were phenomenal to meet and share experiences with. We laughed, we cried, we joked, we teased. We were just like those crazy cousins that get together at family reunions and gossip over who is doing what.

And why?

Because we are a community. We are a community of writers. And there is room for ALL of us.

Will YOU be a part next time? UtopYA Con 2013 is on the books. Come be part of the HEART of this awesomesauce community. You will NOT be disappointed. Come play. Come laugh. Come learn. Come fan-girl. Come be a part of the family.





Footnote. Yes, I totally cried writing this whole thing. But I'm a crier. That's how I roll y'all. =^)

Took me by surprise!

Love ties them together. Death can't tear them apart. Best. Birthday. Ever. At least, it was supposed to be. With Logan's band playing a critical gig and Aura's plans for an intimate after-party, Aura knows it will be the most memorable night of her boyfriend's life. She never thought it would be his last. Logan's sudden death leaves Aura devastated. He's gone. Well, sort of. Like everyone born after the Shift, Aura can see and hear ghosts. This mysterious ability has always been annoying, and Aura had wanted nothing more than to figure out why the Shift happened so she can undo it. But not with Logan's violet-hued spirit still hanging around. Because dead Logan is almost as real as ever. Almost. It doesn't help that Aura's new friend Zachary is so understanding—and so very alive. His support means more to Aura than she cares to admit. As Aura's relationships with the dead and the living grow ever complicated, so do her feelings for Logan and Zachary. Each holds a piece of Aura's heart...and clues to the secret of the Shift.

Shade was an impulse buy at one of my frequent stops by Borders while they sold off their store stock. The cover intrigued me and the jacket blurb even more so. When I finally picked up Shade I could not put the blasted thing down.

Jeri Smith-Ready slaps you upside the head right off the bat and in less than a quarter of the way through you are already bawling like a little girl who lost her favorite teddy in an oil slick. Totally ambushed by snot and tears sort of cry.

The premise of Shade was not something I had ever read before and I was completely drawn in by it's uniqueness. I was not sure if I would dig it, but I was drawn in by the nose. The plot was believable and the twist and turn were thrilling.

Then we have Logan and Zach... Let me just savor these boys for a moment. Okay, I'm back. Both of these Shade boys are totally hot in different ways so you will have trouble picking a side. Aura, not surprisingly, is torn between the two. Logan represents her lifetime of friendship and trust, but Zachary brings an element of a possible future that is all too tempting. The triangle here is beyond heartbreaking and I loved every minute of it.

After reading Shade I was not at all surprised by the HUGE TeamKilt uprising on Twitter. It is a phenomena all in its own accord and I highly recommend anyone to try and resist Shade's pull.

Did Shade rock my world? Yes (I say rather breathlessly)! An 8.9 on the Richter scale baby!