Blog Tour- PLAINS OF SAND & STEEL by Alisha Klapheke An Interview & Giveaway!

Hey everyone! I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the blog tour for PLAINS OF SAND & STEEL by Alisha Klapheke! I freaking love this amazing High Fantasy series it's full of interesting characters, killer world-building, and tons of swoons!

I have an interview with Alisha to share with you today! And make sure to enter the giveaway below!

Haven't heard of PLAINS OF SAND & STEEL? Check it out!

Title: PLAINS OF SAND AND STEEL (An Uncommon World Novel)

Author: Alisha Klapheke

Pub. Date: June 16, 2017

Publisher: Alisha Klapheke

Pages: 325

Formats: Paperback, eBook

Find it: Amazon, B&N, Goodreads

Forced into marriage. 


Chosen by Fire. 


Determined to do what is right.


Seren will do anything to protect her people. Even if it means hiding the body of their dead ruler and telling a lie that could lead her to a brutal end.


As she struggles to accept her role as leader and fails to resist a mercenary she isn’t allowed to love, an army falls on her city. Seren fights to protect her friends—the only family she has left—but her newfound power turns a possible victory in to a storm of chaos.

Now on to the interview!

Hey Alisha!! First I want to say welcome to Two Chicks on Books I’m glad you could stop by for a chat! PLAINS OF SAND AND STEEL is was freaking AWESOME and I can’t wait for everyone to read it!

For the readers: can you tell us a little bit about the events leading up to PLAINS OF SAND AND STEEL and the characters?

The main character, Seren, recently had to marry an older man, and let’s just say, she isn’t real thrilled about the situation. He rules the Empire, but that’s about all he has going for him. Not that she’d say that out loud. That’s not her style. As the wife of a powerful ruler, she helps her beloved people in the little ways she can. Being seventeen and in such a lofty position isn’t easy. An enemy lurks on the horizon. Seren knows the time approaches when her whiny, selfish husband will need to somehow defend their people.

So do we have a title for book 3 yet?

I think it’ll be titled Forests of Silver and Secrets and will feature characters from Plains of Sand and Steel and also characters from Waters of Salt and Sin, the first standalone in the Uncommon World series.

Were any of the characters in the book inspired by people from your real life?

All my characters have touches of real life people either from history books or from my personal life. None are in any way exactly someone I know or have studied. I’m a little bit like Ona from Plains of Sand and Steel. My friend Rae Ann told me that and I can’t argue it. I can be a hot head and I speak very bluntly.

Who was your favorite character to write? What about your least favorite?

It’s a tie between Seren and Ona. They are both so fierce and I love them dearly.

What is your favorite passage/scene in PLAINS OF SAND AND STEEL?

Oooo definitely the ocarina scene because it’s swoony!

What kind of research did you have to do for the story?

Research is my total favorite!!! I read through translations of ancient texts about Spanish and Italian mercenaries. I watched videos about nomadic lifestyles in Mongolia, Kazakhstan, and the Middle East. Because I can’t get enough, I visited museums featuring art, weapons, and texts from Syria, Israel, Europe, and Asia. Did I mention research is my favorite? Especially when it involves traveling the world? :)

Who is your ultimate book boyfriend?

Oh tacos and tribulations, what a question. You just had to hit me with that. If I’m forced, Will Herondale. Or Kaz Brekker. Dang it. What about Sturmhond? Can I just have those three? Come on.

What inspired you to write YA?

I didn’t plan on it; it’s simply what I read and what I get super excited about. I guess I’m drawn to the firsts in life and the recklessness of youth (at least I was reckless anyway).

Lightening Round Questions

What are you reading right now? Or what do you have on your TBR that you’re dying to read?

I’m reading Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor and it is amazing.

What Hogwarts House would the Sorting Hat place you in?

Slytherin because I relish power and want to take over the world. Or I like green. Not sure.

Twitter or Facebook?

Hmmm. Can’t I say Instagram? I’ve only been on IG for a while, but I like it best. I’m enjoying life @alishaklapheke ;)

Favorite Superhero?

Loki DUH

Favorite TV show?

Game of Thrones, Vikings,  and Downton Abbey *cries a little*

Sweet or Salty?

Sweet and spicy is my ultimate taste choice. I adore spicy mango salsa and eat entirely too much of it.

Any Phobias?

Spiders. Sticky things. Tight spaces. Being underestimated.

Song you can’t get enough of right now?

Soldier by Fleurie

2017 Movie you’re most looking forward to?

Oh tough one. Right now it’s the Guy Ritchie King Arthur movie and the upcoming Pirates of the Carribean. I ADORE movies!!!!

Thanks so much Alisha for answering my questions! I can’t wait for everyone to read PLAINS OF SAND AND STEEL!

Thank you for having me! It was really fun! :)

About Alisha:

Award-winning author Alisha Klapheke wants to infuse your life with unique magic, far-flung fantasy settings, and romance. Her inspiration springs from medieval art and artifacts, the world travel she enjoys with her husband, and the fantasy she grew up reading when she was supposed to be doing her math homework.

When she's not writing, Alisha teaches Thai kickboxing, Brazilian jiu jitsu, and krav maga at her family's dojo just outside of Nashville. That may be why writing fight scenes is her favorite.

​

Kathleen Rushall of Andrea Brown Literary Agency represents Alisha in all things books.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Instagram

Giveaway Details:

1 winner will receive signed paperbacks of WATERS OF SALT & SIN, FEVER, and PLAINS OF SAND & STEEL & Swag (Stickers & A Signed Map), AND Paperbacks of AIR AWAKENS by Elise Kova & FIRST YEAR by Rachel E. Carter, US Only.

3 winners will receive eBooks of WATERS OF SALT AND SIN, FEVER, and PLAINS OF SAND AND STEEL, International.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

6/5/2017- MNBernard Books- Interview

6/5/2017- Pooled Ink- Review

6/6/2017- The Autumn Bookshelf- Review

6/6/2017- Rachel's Book Reviews- Review

6/7/2017- Novel Novice- Excerpt

6/7/2017- Hooked To Books- Review

6/8/2017- Taking It One Book at a Time- Review

6/8/2017- Bibliobibuli YA- Review

6/9/2017- Wandering Bark Books- Excerpt

6/9/2017- PC Book Reviews- Guest Post

Week Two:

6/12/2017- Fiction Fare- Guest Post

6/12/2017- What the Cat Read- Review

6/13/2017- Two Chicks on Books- Interview

6/13/2017- Why I Read- Review

6/14/2017- Booklove- Review

6/14/2017- Just Another Bookaholic- Spotlight

6/15/2017- Crystal's Chaotic Confessions- Excerpt

6/15/2017- BookHounds YA- Review

6/16/2017- BookBriefs- Review

6/16/2017- Page Turners Blog- Review

Make sure to grab the companion novels in the Uncommon World Series!

Review- Sever by Lauren DeStefano

Sever (The Chemical Garden Trilogy #3)

Lauren DeStefano

Release Date: February 12, 2013

Hardcover: 384 pages

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

ISBN:  1442409096

Source: ARC from the publisher

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

Goodreads/Amazon/Barnes & Noble/The Book Depository

From Goodreads.

Time is running out for Rhine in this conclusion to the New York Times bestselling Chemical Garden Trilogy.

With the clock ticking until the virus takes its toll, Rhine is desperate for answers. After enduring Vaughn’s worst, Rhine finds an unlikely ally in his brother, an eccentric inventor named Reed. She takes refuge in his dilapidated house, though the people she left behind refuse to stay in the past. While Gabriel haunts Rhine’s memories, Cecily is determined to be at Rhine’s side, even if Linden’s feelings are still caught between them.

Meanwhile, Rowan’s growing involvement in an underground resistance compels Rhine to reach him before he does something that cannot be undone. But what she discovers along the way has alarming implications for her future—and about the past her parents never had the chance to explain.

In this breathtaking conclusion to Lauren DeStefano’s Chemical Garden trilogy, everything Rhine knows to be true will be irrevocably shattered.

So I’ve had a serious love hate relationship with this series. I loved Wither absolutely loved it and I couldn’t wait to read Fever the second book in the series. Now I really didn’t like Fever. At. All. I actually didn’t like it so much that I had a hard time writing a review for it. And I was scared but dying to get my hands on the third book in the series Sever because it couldn’t get worse than Fever could it? Thank goodness it wasn’t bad. Actually it was pretty amazing! Sever was the best of the trilogy hands down!

I was sad to see there wasn’t much Gabriel in this book because I loved him so much in the first book and the second *sighs*. But I was pleasantly surprised at how much I grew to care for Linden. He became his own man and got out from under his father’s thumb and surprisingly if he hadn’t been such an idiot in the first two books he may have stolen my heart.

I think what I loved most about this book is we actually find out what in the hell The Chemical Garden is because I couldn’t remember a single reference about it in the first two books. We also find out about a cure for the illness and find out some interesting truths about certain people including Vaughn, Rhine, and her brother Rowan. And yep there’s something that happens in this one that had me bawling like a baby and nope I’m not going to tell you what it is. I think everyone will be very happy with the ending of this trilogy I know I sure was!

I chose a passage between Rhine and Linden’s uncle Reed because it made me giggle.

“Vaughn was using me to find an antidote,” I say. “Something about my eyes being like a mosaic, or something. I don’t know. It’s hard to follow him.” And at the time, I had so many drugs running through me that I thought the ceiling tiles were singing to me. Those days were so vivid at the time, but now, looking back, the memory is a shadow at the end of a long corridor. I can’t remember much of anything.

“Doesn’t sound like something my nephew would allow,” Reed says. “Don’t get me wrong, the poor boy is as oblivious as a rabbit on a lion reserve, but still”

Animal reserves are a thing of the past, but somehow this comparison feels right.

“He didn’t know,” I say. “And when I told him, he didn’t really believe it was as bad as it was. He still won’t. So we’ve decided it’s best to”—I pause, looking for the right words—“part ways. He and Cecily have the new baby coming, and I need to find my brother.” And Gabriel, but that would require even more explaining, and I’m already starting to feel exhausted and achy just thinking about what’s been said so far.

The dull aching becomes a stab of pain in my temple when Reed asks, “Then, why, doll, are you still wearing his ring?”

Jaime's Review of Fever by Lauren Destefano

From Goodreads.
Rhine and Gabriel have escaped the mansion, but danger is never far behind.

Running away brings Rhine and Gabriel right into a trap, in the form of a twisted carnival whose ringmistress keeps watch over a menagerie of girls. Just as Rhine uncovers what plans await her, her fortune turns again. With Gabriel at her side, Rhine travels through an environment as grim as the one she left a year ago - surroundings that mirror her own feelings of fear and hopelessness.

The two are determined to get to Manhattan, to relative safety with Rhine’s twin brother, Rowan. But the road there is long and perilous - and in a world where young women only live to age twenty and young men die at twenty-five, time is precious. Worse still, they can’t seem to elude Rhine’s father-in-law, Vaughn, who is determined to bring Rhine back to the mansion...by any means necessary.

In the sequel to Lauren DeStefano’s harrowing Wither, Rhine must decide if freedom is worth the price - now that she has more to lose than ever.

I wasn’t going to write a review for Fever because I didn’t think I could come up with the right words as to how I was feeling about this book. I’m still not sure about it. I loved Wither a lot and had high hopes for the second book in the series. It’s not that I didn’t like it, because I did but not as much as I hoped. I will read the third book though because I need to see this one to the end. And I have really high hopes for the end!

Because I couldn’t find the right words about how I felt about this one Andye from Reading Teen  understood we chatted about this one a bit and where I couldn’t find the words she did. So with Andye’s permission I’m linking you to her review at Reading Teen she explained how she felt about this second book much better than I ever could have. So check out her review here.

I know a lot of you loved this one so I’m sorry it was just ok for me L I really did love the cover though!

Buy your copy of Fever.

Add  it to your Goodreads shelves.

Thanks to Simon & Schuster and Simon Teen for the Advanced Readers Copy!