Review- REVELATIONS by J.A. Souders

Title: REVELATIONS
Author: J.A. Souders
Pub. Date: November 5, 2013
Publisher: TOR Teen
Pages: 352

ISBN:  978-0765332462

Source: ARC from the publisher

Rating: Loved!!!!!!!!!!!

Find it: Amazon, Barnes& Noble, Goodreads

Six weeks after her arrival on the Surface, Evelyn Winters is no closer to unlocking the memories lost in her subconscious than she was when she first came. Isolated in a strange new society, Evie has only Gavin Hunter to remind her of who she once was.

But even with a clean slate, it’s easy to see that Evie doesn’t fit in on the Surface. And as her differences make her feel more and more alone, she can’t help but yearn for that place she doesn’t remember: the isolated city hidden in the depths of the ocean. Elysium. Home.

But she can’t exactly tell Gavin what she’s feeling. Not when he’s the one who helped her escape Elysium in the first place, and has the scars to prove it. Though the doctors say otherwise, Gavin believes that Evie just needs time. And if her memories don’t come back, well, maybe she’s better off not remembering her past.

But the decision may be out of their hands when Evie’s ever-elusive memories begin to collide with reality. People and images from her past appear in the most unlikely places, haunting her, provoking her…and making her seem not only strange but dangerous.

Evie and Gavin can’t wait around for her memories to return. They’ll have to journey across the Outlands of the Surface to find help, and in the end, their search may just lead them back to the place it all started…

Ok I loved RENEGADE with a fiery passion and dare I say it but I think REVELATIONS was EVEN BETTER! J.A. Souders has created one of the creepiest villains I've ever read. Mother is crazy! I will admit I kind of missed her in this second installment in the Elysium Series but we got to meet a new possibly worse bad guy jury's still out on that...

I was so happy to get back into Evie and Gavin's story and it was so cool to be on the surface for this one. We get to see where Gavin lives and meet his family and his friends. There's one person in particular that we meet whom I fell head over heels in love with too! His name is Asher and Gavin hates him but, he helps out with Evie in ways that Gavin just couldn't and I love that instead of being overbearing and shielding Evie from things he was honest and a bit of a smart ass. He made me smile and laugh even during some tough situations.

J.A has written another book that will make my top 10 list of the year and I highly suggest if you love a Sci-Fi that has an awesome villain and a great love story you should read this series!

I chose an Asher excerpt well because I love him lol

"Weak?" He laughs. "You think you're weak? You totally kicked ass! The way you took care of those vulture-hawks was like something out of a comic book."

I lift my brows at him. "You make that sound like it's a good thing, when all it does is make me a...freak." That was one of Gavin's little brother's words. It was a word he liked to use. A lot. I'd made him tell me what it meant and, ever since, I'd known it applied to me.

Anger flashes across Asher's eyes and he takes my face in his hands, forcing me to look at him. "You are not a freak. You hear me? 'Different' doesn't make you a freak. 'Different' makes you special. And special is good. Special is what makes you 'you'. That's who Gavin loved. He thought you were amazing and wonderful and...perfect just the way you are."

Blog Tour- REVELATIONS by J.A. Souders and a Giveaway!

Hey y'all! I'm so happy to have J.A. Souders here today it's launch day for REVELATIONS so make sure you tell her Happy Book Birthday!! I loved her book RENEGADE and I'm almost finished with REVELATIONS and loving it even more! I had originally asked for a guest post from Gavin the love interest in the books (he was on my Top 10 Book Boyfriends of 2012 list), then I met Asher in REVELATIONS and yesterday I tweeted this to J.A. 

She of course said yes so now you all get to meet Asher the new love of my life (at least in this series lol).

Haven't heard of REVELATIONS? Check it out! 

Title: REVELATIONS
Author: J.A. Souders
Pub. Date: November 5, 2013
Publisher: TOR Teen
Pages: 352
Find it: Amazon, Barnes& Noble, Goodreads

Six weeks after her arrival on the Surface, Evelyn Winters is no closer to unlocking the memories lost in her subconscious than she was when she first came. Isolated in a strange new society, Evie has only Gavin Hunter to remind her of who she once was.

But even with a clean slate, it’s easy to see that Evie doesn’t fit in on the Surface. And as her differences make her feel more and more alone, she can’t help but yearn for that place she doesn’t remember: the isolated city hidden in the depths of the ocean. Elysium. Home.

But she can’t exactly tell Gavin what she’s feeling. Not when he’s the one who helped her escape Elysium in the first place, and has the scars to prove it. Though the doctors say otherwise, Gavin believes that Evie just needs time. And if her memories don’t come back, well, maybe she’s better off not remembering her past.

But the decision may be out of their hands when Evie’s ever-elusive memories begin to collide with reality. People and images from her past appear in the most unlikely places, haunting her, provoking her…and making her seem not only strange but dangerous.

Evie and Gavin can’t wait around for her memories to return. They’ll have to journey across the Outlands of the Surface to find help, and in the end, their search may just lead them back to the place it all started…

Now on to the guest post I introduce you all to Asher!

Oh, wow. I’m so excited to be here today! It’s LAUNCH DAY!!! Finally! I’m still in shock my 2^nd book is coming out. I’m multi-published now. Whee! J  LOL. 

Originally I was supposed to write a post about Gavin and the Surface here for you, but Jaime kind of fell in love with another character that is introduced in REVELATIONS. So she asked if I’d write about him instead.

And that would be Asher. 

I can’t blame her though. Asher’s awesome. I love him a lot myself.   Originally when I was brainstorming ideas with my crit. Partners about what would happen in book 2 we knew we needed to introduce more characters. Specifically someone that would clash with Gavin. So we started tossing around ideas and pretty quickly I thought I had him pretty well figured out.

Of course, Asher had plans of his own and he didn’t agree at all with what I wanted from him and he told me, quite LOUDLY I might add, that he wanted to be someone else.  Asher, to me, is just that happy go lucky guy friend that you find in the strangest places when you’re not looking and whom you can share anything with.  He’s just one of those people you can’t hate, because he’s not fake. He’s genuine and loving, and just simply awesome.

On the surface, he’s hot as hell, maybe a little shallow, all male, completely confident with who he is and knows exactly what to say and when, to get the ladies to like him. Underneath though there’s this really deep, smart, funny and caring person, who isn’t really all that confident in himself at all. He has to constantly live up to his Father’s (who is the mayor of Black Star cove—Gavin’s village) expectations and is constantly having to prove himself.  He sort of reminds me of the male version of Evie.

His motivations for a lot of what he does in REVELATIONS are simple, but I can’t really say why he does them without spoilers so I’ll just say that he has his secrets, some that Gavin knows, some that Gavin doesn’t know, but thinks he does, and some that no one knows at all—maybe not even Asher himself. A lot of his motivations throughout though stem from his insecurities in himself and who he is and pleasing his father, but also in what happened between Gavin and Asher a long time ago, changing them from inseparable best friends to hated enemies on Gavin’s side and regretful resignation of losing his only friend on Asher’s side. 

Asher was only meant to be a device to spur Gavin’s story on, but he turned into this totally awesome character that ended up not just being 2^nd string like Macie’s BFF, but a full blown main character with his own story and strengths and weakness and secrets that just simply endeared him to me, and obviously Jaime too, which I’m so glad to hear.  I was so worried that when I introduced him people would hate him on principle, but from what I hear that’s not the case. I’m so super glad and excited and I can’t wait to see what everyone else thinks about him.  Hopefully, you all will love him as much as I do. J

YES I KNOW THEY WILL!!! Thanks so much Jess!

 About J.A:

J.A. SOUDERS is the author of the Elysium Chronicles and lives in the land of sunshine and palm trees with her husband and two children where she spends her time writing about the monsters under the bed, day dreaming about living in an underwater colony, and failing miserably at playing video games.

Website/Blog/Twitter/Facebook/Goodreads/Pinterest

Giveaway Details:
 

Revelations Giveaway (All US Only!)

Grand Prize- 1 Signed
set of Renegade and Revelations, 1 scrabble tile pendant with covers of both
books, and a $25 gift card to Amazon or B&N!

Second Place- 1 Signed
set of Renegade and Revelations and 1 set of scrabble tile pendants with covers
of both books. 

Third Place- 1 set
revelations themed swag

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Check out the Tour Schedule for more awesome posts and reviews!

Week One:

10/28/2013- Magical Urban Fantasy Reads- Guest Post

10/29/2013- Katie's Book Blog- Interview

10/30/2013- The Book Life- Review

10/31/2013- Curling Up With A Good Book- Guest Post

11/1/2013- That Artsy Reader Girl- Review

Week Two:

11/4/2013- Bookish- Interview

11/5/2013- Two Chicks on Books- Guest Post

11/6/2013- Supernatural Snark- Interview

11/7/2013- Book Haven Extraordinaire- Review

11/8/2013- Jenna Does Books- Review

Review- ENDLESS KNIGHT by Kresley Cole

ENDLESS KNIGHT (The Arcana Chronicles Book 2)

Kresley Cole

Release Date: October 1, 2013

Hardcover: 336 pages

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

ISBN:  978-1442436671

Source: Hardcover from the publisher

Rating: Obsessed!!!!!!!!!!!

Goodreads/Amazon/Barnes & Noble/The Book Depository

From Goodreads.

In this seductive follow-up to Poison Princess, #1 New York Timesbestselling author Kresley Cole takes us deeper into the dark world of the Arcana Chronicles.

Shocking Secrets

Evie has fully come into her powers as the Tarot Empress, and Jack was there to see it all. She now knows that the teens who've been reincarnated as the Tarot are in the throes of an epic battle. It's kill or be killed, and the future of mankind hangs in the balance.

Unexpected Allies

With threats lurking around every corner, Evie is forced to trust her newfound alliance. Together they must fight not only other Arcana, but also Bagmen zombies, post-apocalyptic storms, and cannibals.

Gut-Wrenching Treachery

When Evie meets Death, things get even more complicated. Though falling for Jack, she's drawn to the dangerous Endless Knight as well. Somehow the Empress and Death share a history, one that Evie can't remember—but Death can't forget.

So it took me a bit longer to get out of my reading slump than I thought but ENDLESS KNIGHT was the perfect book to do such that!

I loved POISON PRINCESS with a fiery passion and I didn’t think that ENDLESS KNIGHT could come close but peeps let me tell you IT WAS SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH BETTER!!!!!!!!! 

We finally get to meet Death and of course I fell head over heels in love with the guy. We also get to meet a couple new cards... I won’t spoil here but they’re both very intriguing characters. Oh and there were some scenes in this one that were so hot I felt like my book was going to light on fire from all of the sexiness! I mean I can’t believe Kresley got away with it in a YA book! I just love Kresley’s writing and I can’t wait for book 3 since she left us with a killer ending that actually had Mindy from Magical Urban Fantasy Reads and I in a debate over what happened lol

I chose a passage from the beginning of the book because I loved it. It was sexy and I didn’t want to be too spoilery and Jack makes me laugh. I’d do a death one but it’d be too spoilery ;)

He was right; I was gone for him. Stupid to fight it. I gazed up at

him, whispering, “Just, just don’t hurt me again. If I kiss you, and then

you get disgusted . . .”

He gave a low laugh, moving his hips against mine. “Does it feel like

I’m disgusted?”

I gasped. “Jackson!”

“You smell like honeysuckle. You likin’ ole Jack now?”

“I never stopped liking you. Even when you were warding me away

with the power of Catholicism.”

“Can’t help the way I was raised—anything supernatural is supposed

to be either a miracle or satanic.”

I rolled my eyes. “And you’re still trying to figure out which I am?”

“Non. I’m trying to figure out if I’m still Catholic.” He grinned that

heart-stopping grin.

Gorgeous lips. I wanted them on mine.

Just before he kissed me, he said, “You might be different from what

I thought, but I’m goan to protect you anyway. I’m goan to try to accept

all this. But you got to accept me.”

“Accept you? What are you talking about?”

“I’m a nineteen-year-old bayou boy. I got a fondness for liquor. I’m

goan to say stupid shit. Doan you go getting your feelings hurt at the

drop of a hat.”

I laid my palm against his face. “You’re going to get more than your

feelings hurt if you stay with us. And it will be my fault because I don’t

want to separate from you. You wanted me to let you go.”

“That was before I realized something this week. I wasn’t goan to

live a long life even before the apocalypse. Before there were Baggers,

cannibals, and plague. Now I figure I’ll spend my limited time left

doing what I want.”

“And what do you want?”

His grin deepened. “You’re what I want, and I’d like to be doing

you.” He leaned down, pressing his lips to mine.

At that contact, the rain began to pour down at last, pelting the cabin’s

tin roof. I hadn’t heard that sound since the night I’d gone to Jack’s

home in the bayou.

He drew back. “Christ, your lips are sweet. Douces comme du miel.”

Sweet like honey. He yanked off his shirt, revealing his damp chest, the

rosary around his neck. I’d missed seeing him like this.

My fingers skimmed over the raised scar on his arm. How I loved

that mark. If he hadn’t been getting that wound tended to the night of

the Flash, he would’ve died like most everyone else.

His hands landed on my ass, giving it a possessive squeeze. “T ’es

pour moi, Evie. You’re mine. Every part of you.” He leaned down, took

my lips once more. Between kisses, he said, “I told you once and I’ll

tell you again: there is nothing that can happen to you that we can’t get

past. Just give me a chance to get to you. Promise me.”

“Jack . . .”

“Promise me. You doan leave me again.”

“I promise.” Staring at his lips, I said, “Would you always come for

me?”

He drunkenly murmured, “Chase you like a junkyard dog.”

Blog Tour- Allegiance by KA Tucker Character POV and a Mega Giveaway!!!!

Hey y’all! Welcome to my stop on the Allegiance Blog Tour! I have a POV for one of my favorite characters in the book, Bishop. He’s just gone through hell so he may not make much sense but if you've read Kathleen’s books you’ll understand. If you haven’t read Kathleen’s books first of all why not???? This is a brilliant series! Trust me I am one of her beta readers and, second the first book in the series Anathema is free go grab it! I promise you will not regret it! I normally don’t push indie books but this is one series that I love!

So here’s a bit about all 3 books. 

Add it to your Goodreads Shelves!

Get it Free Amazon/Barnes & Noble/Kobo

Evangeline has spent her teenage years in obscurity. Her foster parents have the emotional aptitude of robots and her classmates barely acknowledge her existence. About to turn eighteen and feeling like a social pariah, she is desperate to connect with someone. Anyone.

When Evangeline meets Sophie after literally stumbling upon her café, she believes she’s found that connection. Willing to do anything to keep it, she accepts a job as Sofie’s assistant and drops everything to fly to Manhattan, where she is thrust into a luxurious world of Prada, diamonds, and limitless cash.

With such generosity and kindness, it’s easy for Evangeline to dismiss certain oddities... like Sofie’s erratic and sometimes violent behavior, and the monstrous guard dogs. She’s even willing to dismiss her vivid dreams of mob-style murders, beautiful homeless people living in caves, and white-eyed demons that haunt her each night as figments of her imagination—especially when one of those figments is the gorgeous Caden. When she wakes up with bite marks on her neck, the fairy tale quickly turns into a nightmare. She slowly unravels the mystery surrounding Sofie and friends, and the reality of the bites and the “dreams.” What she discovers is far more mysterious and terrible than anything she could have imagined.

In a world where everyone has motive to lie for personal gain, Evangeline must decide which deception is least likely to get her killed.

Add it to your Goodreads Shelves!

Only $2.99!!! Amazon/Barnes & Noble/Kobo

Tucked away in Sofie's wintry asylum with no hope of release for years, Evangeline must come to terms with her situation: the curse still plagues her, she's now hunted by a
two thousand-year-old vampire, and the guy she's in love with tried to kill her.
Plus, she's locked up with a cranky Max and the Forero kids—two people everyone
seems to prefer dead over alive. Things aren't looking good.

Meanwhile, back in Manhattan, Sofie struggles to keep forty trapped and bloodthirsty Ratheus vampires at bay and a desperate Viggo from killing Evangeline's friends, all
while hints stir outside the walls of the NYC vampire asylum of a war brewing
between the Sentinel and the witches.

Is there any hope for Evangeline and Caden? Can Sofie control the rival powers? Is the fate of
Earth predestined? Find out in Book 2 of the Causal Enchantment series, a sequel to ANATHEMA.

Add it to your Goodreads Shelves!

Only $2.99!!! Amazon/Barnes & Noble/Kobo

Evangeline finally got what she longed for – the cursed pendant off her neck and Caden in her arms - only it has come at a steep price. An unknown poison now courses through her body, slowly morphing her into something no one but the Fates can foresee. She has her suspicions though...and, if she is right, it will spell certain ruin for her and Caden. She won’t last long enough to realize that though, if Viggo and Mortimer uncover the treasonous secrets she keeps from them– that Veronique is now free of her entombment and in the torturous clutches of the Witches and the Sentinel or that she is protecting a Sentinel within their very midst. 
Always the naive human caught in the midst of the vampires’ web of deceit, Evangeline is now weaving her own dangerous web in order to keep her friend alive, rescue Veronique, and stop a seemingly inevitable war from starting. But can her honorable nature handle the depths of duplicity for which she must go to be in league with the Vampires? 
Dark and gripping, full of angst-riddled scenes, Allegiance will have readers anxiously turning pages to find out if Evangeline can survive this spiraling disaster.

 And now I introduce to you Bishop!

When will this damn plane break through the clouds? I stared out the window, my body hunched and turned outward, focused on remaining inconspicuous. Everyone else was too busy wrapped up with themselves to notice me anyway… Didn't they care that she was gone?

Pain shot through my jaw as I clenched my teeth. Screw them all. They hadn't just lost their entire existence. Friggin’ Mage—that tiny ancient freak— hadn't dragged them away while the sorceresses got away with murdering Fiona.

Fiona… My guts wrenched for the thousandth time. At least it was my guts and not my heart. My heart had long-since shattered, replaced with a comforting detachment in my chest. I kept closing my eyes, searching for my memory of those stunning violet eyes of hers. I'd stared into them for seven hundred years, memorizing them. But all I met was the image of that last moment, the one I had to witness firsthand, playing over and over again like the worst form of torture.

If only we had stayed on Ratheus. I’d take that for another seven hundred years if it meant I could wrap my arms around my girl again. Here, I had nothing. No reason to stay. No reason to live. Nothing but revenge and …

I stole a glance in Evie’s direction and a blip of emotion surged inside me. My little human. Damn, that chick was brave. I still remember the first night we met, when that mousy girl pulled Amelie from the river bank. She had no clue who we were, what we were. And when she found out …  she risked her life to help us.

As if Evie could read my thoughts, she suddenly turned and our eyes locked. Only for a second before I broke the gaze but in that second, I felt those brown eyes dissect me, grasping and sharing the horrid emptiness left. Evie felt the loss. She’s been through hell and back several times and yet I could see by the way her brow pinched together and her lip trembled and her eyes welled with tears, that Fiona’s absence hadn't gone unnoticed by her, even with Caden in her arms.

That’s why I loved that chick. Like a little sister or a best friend, of course. But, damn I loved her. There was no deception, no ulterior motives. And she’s the only reason I hadn't busted open the emergency exit hatch and did a swan dive.  She’d die, this high up in the air. I couldn't be the cause of Evie dying.

My fingertips wrapped along the armrest with anticipation as the altitude suddenly shifted on the plane. Yes! We were starting our descent! They were all busy talking… maybe they hadn't noticed. My eyes scanned the interior again. Idiot … Why didn't I sit closer to the exit? I had to get past Sofie and Mage and… Yup. Mage’s shrewd black eye balls flickered past me for a millisecond. She’s watching… If I could just get to that hatch the second we were close enough to the ground that Evie had air to breathe, this would work. I’d break out, hit the ground running, and not stop until I was back in Manhattan… where I knew I'd die. But not before I ripped those bitches apart.

And then I'd be with Fiona again, if there was any mercy left for my kind.

Suddenly, a set of small but powerful hands seized my shoulders a split second before I found Sofie standing in front of me. “I’m sorry,” she whispered as her lips began moving with a quick incomprehensible chant.

Too late …

About KA Tucker:

Born in small-town Ontario, Kathleen published her first book at the age of six with the help of her elementary school librarian and a box of crayons.

She is a voracious reader and the farthest thing from a genre-snob, loving everything from High Fantasy to Chick Lit.

Kathleen currently resides in a quaint small town outside of Toronto with her husband, two beautiful girls, and an exhausting brood of four-legged creatures.

The first two books in the Causal Enchantment Series, ANATHEMA and ASYLUM, are currently available. ALLEGIANCE will be available October, 2012.

Kathleen is working on a new adult contemporary novel, TEN TINY BREATHS, to be released early 2013

Where you can find her:

Website/Blog/Twitter/Facebook/Goodreads

Ok and now the epic of epic of giveaways! Here’s what’s up for grabs!

• Kindle Paperwhite + $25 Amazon Gift Card
• 5 Signed print copies of ALLEGIANCE
• 5 Signed Allegiance poster
• 4 Custom Designed Bracelets by KHDesigns

a Rafflecopter giveaway