Blog Tour- GRIM Anthology and a Giveaway!

I am so excited to take part in the blog tour for the GRIM Anthology! I love fairy tale retellings and the 3 stories that I am covering today are all really good! I have 3 mini reviews for you and also I'm going to talk about how they comepare to the originals! Make sure to enter the giveaway below for a Harlequin Teen Prize Pack that includes GRIM and other great Harlequin Teen Books!
Haven't heard of GRIM? Check it out!

Title: GRIM

Author: Multiple

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Pages: 480

Pub. Date: February 25, 2014

Goodreads|Amazon | Barnes & Nobles | Indiebound | Book Depository

Inspired by classic fairy tales, but with a dark and sinister twist, Grim contains short stories from some of the best voices in young adult literature today:

Kimberly Derting | Sonia Gensler | Tessa Gratton | Claudia Gray | Rachel Hawkins | Amanda Hocking | Ellen Hopkins| Shaun David Hutchinson  | Julie Kagawa | Malinda Lo | Myra McEntire |Saundra Mitchell | Jackson Pearce | Sarah Rees Brennan | Jon Skovron | Jeri Smith-Ready

Edited by Christine Johnson

Short Stories

1.       The Key by Rachel Hawkins

2.     Figment by Jeri-Smith Ready

3.     The Twelfth Girl by Malinda Lo

4.    The Raven Princess by Jon Skovron

5.     Thinner Than Water by Saundra Mitchell

6.    Before The Rose Bloomed: A Retelling of the Snow Queen by Ellen Hopkins

7.     Beast / Beast by Tessa Gratton

8.    The Brothers Piggett by Julia Kagawa

9.     UnTethered by Sonia Gensler

10. Better by Shaun David Hutchinson

11.    Light It Up by Kimberly Derting

12.  Sharper Than A Serpent's Tongue by Christine Johnson

13.  A Real Boy by Claudia Gray

14. Skin Trade by Myra McEntire

15.  Beauty and the Chad by Sarah Rees Brennan

16. The Pink: A Grimm Story by Amanda Hocking

17.  Sell it Out by Jackson Pearce

Now on to the reviews I'll talk about which retellings they are in my comparison after the reviews!

THE KEY was what I expected from Rachel Hawkins. A good story although I had a hard time pinning down the retelling I knew what it was supposed to be but it was so short it was hard to nail it down. I always like her writing. The only complaint I have is that it was way too short I wanted more. Rating: Liked!

You put something of Jeri Smith-Ready's in my hands and I will DEVOUR it! Just as I did with FIGMENT. This is another that I had a hard time figuring out the retelling but whatever I didn't really care what it was because it was AWESOME!!!! I adored Eli and "Fig" and it totally made me cry. Rating: OBSESSED!!!!!!

THE TWELFTH GIRL....Now this one I knew right away what it was and I loved the modern update Malinda did! It reminded me of the original with a really nice twist. I loved the darkness she brought into this tale and I really wanted to read more. If Malinda wrote a whole story about this I would snatch it up right away! This is the first book by Malinda I've read and she's an amazing writer I plan on picking up all of her books now! Rating: LOVED


Ok so let me tell you a little secret. I love Fairy Tales! Yeah the ones adapted for Disney are cool but I love the originals much more! I loved the darkness and the fear they instilled in children because they weren't the happily ever after tales that as a child we all wanted to be true. The originals were told to scare kids but they were rooted in real life. Children disappeared, men married women to turn around and kill them, and sometimes people just had awesome luck to only have it fail after a year or so. That's what I love about these they're not sugar coated HEA's. The authors in this antho especially Hawkins and Lo brought the darkness and embraced it. 

Hawkins story THE KEY was roughly based off of Bluebeard and it was really good! I wanted to have more of Skye though; his motives were unclear and I didn't understand how or why he was the way he was. I did want more though the ending was very open ended. 

Lo's THE TWELFTH GIRL was The Twelve Dancing Princesses with a modern update that I loved! She went way darker than the original and I loved the twist I also wanted more of this! And I loved that the "castle" was a dorm in an upscale prep school!

Jeri Smith-Ready's was the hardest to nail down but I mean it had a cat wearing boots so maybe a take on Puss in Boots? But he/it was also someone who inspired people so I came to think of him/it as a muse. So maybe Puss in Boots with a bit of the 9 sisters mixed in. Regardless I freaking loved it!!

Giveaway Details:

Contest Info:  

Each tour stop is offering up a copy of GRIM, and one winner will receive a fantastic Grand Prize Package including the following Harlequin Teen titles: 2 copies of GRIM, a copy of WHITE HOT KISS by Jennifer Armentrout, THE SECRET DIAMOND SISTERS by Michelle Madow, THE QUEEN’S CHOICE by Cayla Kluver and an ARC of  LET’S GET LOST by Adi Alsaid.

Please enter via the Rafflecopter form. Giveaway is open to US/Canada and ends March 7th.

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Tour Schedule

Week One:

Monday, February 17th - Harlequin Paranormal Blog

Tuesday, February 18th - Stories 1, 2 and 3 - Two Chicks on Books

Wednesday, February 19th - Stories 4, 5 and 6 - Book and A Latte

Friday, February 21st - Stories 7, 8 and 9 - Fiction Freak

Week Two:

Monday, February 24th - Stories 10, 11 and 12 - Mundie Moms

Wednesday, February 26th -  Stories 13, 14 and 15 - Bumbles and Fairytales

Friday, February 28th -  Stories 16 and 17 - Fiktshun

For more info about the guest posts you can direct your readers to the Tour Page

Tour Hosted by

Ooh there's a trailer now check it out!!!

Blog Tour- THE IRON TRAITOR by Julie Kagawa and a Awesome Giveaway!

Hey y’all! I’m super excited to have this stop today! I am a huuuuuuggggggeeeee fan of Julie Kagawa and her books! Her Iron Fey series is one of my all time favorites! So I get to ramble on about why she makes me cry in this post and Harlequin has an awesome giveaway set up. Thanks so much Kismet Book tours for setting this all up!

Why Julie Kagawa Makes Me Cry Like a Baby

So you’re probably wondering why I chose this topic to write about. I love a good cry IMO a book isn’t great unless I bawl like a baby. And Julie Kagawa makes me cry/bawl ugly, snotty, red eyed tears! And yes I think that’s a good thing. So why does she make me cry? Julie writes stories that I like to call emotional roller coasters. You’ll reach epic highs and epic lows and when you hit those lows you will cry. Trust me on that; and when you think you’ve cried all you can… you’ll cry some more. She has no problem maiming or killing characters you’ve grown to love, characters that have become like family or even characters that you thought you hated but realized you didn’t. Every death, every disappearance, and every frustrating scene she makes you cry.

This is a comment from a person on Goodreads on one of my status updates

“I never doubted your take on this. I was only sorry I didn't follow your advice and have that box of tissues with me. :D”

This in some form has been in every review I’ve ever written about a Julie Kagawa book.

“made me cry and left me very red-eyed.”

Or

“ damn Julie you are evil!”

Or

“Be prepared to have a box of tissues on hand for this one.”

Yep while reading her books I cry a lot and while I am in total mess mode and tweeting to Julie; she teases me (actually anyone who tweets about their tears) saying “Your tears feed my muse.” And I think YES I am happy about that because feeding her muse means more amazing stories for me to cry about!

I want to share a scene with you from THE LOST PRINCE that did just that made me cry and fed Julie’s muse.

Scene set up Ethan has just seen Meghan for the first time in a very long time.

A large metal throne stood on a dais at the end of the room, and I noticed Grimalkin sitting on a corner step, calmly washing a paw. Rolling my eyes, I looked up at the throne itself.

And…there she was. Not sitting on the throne, but standing beside it, resting her fingers lightly on the arm.

My sister, Meghan Chase. The Iron Queen.

She looked exactly as I remembered. Even though it had been years since I’d seen her last, and back then she had been taller than me, she still had the same long pale hair, the same blue eyes. She even wore jeans and a white shirt, much like she had when she lived at home. Nothing had changed. This Meghan could be the same girl who’d rescued me from Machina’s tower, thirteen years ago.

My throat ached, and a flood of confusing emotions made my stomach feel tight. I didn’t know what I would say to my sister, now that I was finally here. ‘Why did you leave us? Why don’t I see you anymore?’ Useless questions. I already knew the answer, much 

as I hated it.

“Ethan.” Her voice, so familiar, flowed across the room and drew me forward like I was a little kid once more. Meghan smiled down at me, and any fears I had that she changed, that she was some distant faery queen, were gone in an instant. Stepping from the dais, she walked up and, without hesitation, pulled me into a tight hug.

The dam broke. I hugged her back, tightly, ignoring everyone else in the room, not caring what they thought. This was Meghan, the same Meghan who had looked out for me, who’d gone into the Nevernever to bring me home. And despite my anger, despite all those dark moments when I thought I hated her, she was still my sister.

‘Come home,” I wanted to tell her, knowing it was useless. ‘Mom and Dad miss you. It’s not the same since you left. And I’m tired of pretending you’re dead, that I don’t have a sister. Why did you always choose them instead of me?’

This scene crushed my heart! I felt for Ethan but I know Meghan so I saw her side too. But still, their reunion was a sob fest!

About THE IRON TRAITOR

Book 2 in the Call of the Forgotten from The Iron Fey series

Publication date: October 29th by Harlequin Teen

The Iron Fey Series | Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

In the real world, when you vanish into thin air for a week, people tend to notice.

After his unexpected journey into the lands of the fey, Ethan Chase just wants to get back to normal. Well, as “normal” as you can be when you see faeries every day of your life. Suddenly the former loner with the bad reputation has someone to try for-his girlfriend, Kenzie. Never mind that he’s forbidden to see her again.

But when your name is Ethan Chase and your sister is one of the most powerful faeries in the Nevernever, “normal” simply isn’t to be. For Ethan’s nephew, Keirran, is missing, and may be on the verge of doing something unthinkable in the name of saving his own love. Something that will fracture the human and faery worlds forever, and give rise to the dangerous fey known as the Forgotten. As Ethan’s and Keirran’s fates entwine and Keirran slips further into darkness, Ethan’s next choice may decide the fate of them all.

About THE LOST PRINCE

Book 1 in the Call of the Forgotten from The Iron Fey series

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

Don’t look at Them. Never let Them know you can see Them.

That is Ethan Chase’s unbreakable rule. Until the fey he avoids at all costs—including his reputation—begin to disappear, and Ethan is attacked. Now he must change the rules to protect his family. To save a girl he never thought he’d dare to fall for.

Ethan thought he had protected himself from his older sister’s world—the land of Faery. His previous time in the Iron Realm left him with nothing but fear and disgust for the world Meghan Chase has made her home, a land of myth and talking cats, of magic and seductive enemies. But when destiny comes for Ethan, there is no escape from a danger long, long forgotten.

 About Julie Kagawa - her website | her blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Julie Kagawa was born in Sacramento, California. But nothing exciting really happened to her there. So, at the age of nine she and her family moved to Hawaii, which she soon discovered was inhabited by large carnivorous insects, colonies of house geckos and frequent hurricanes. She spent much of her time in the ocean, when she wasn’t getting chased out of it by reef sharks, jellyfish and the odd eel.

To pay the rent, Julie worked in different bookstores over the years, but discovered the managers frowned upon her reading the books she was supposed to be shelving. So she turned to her other passion: training animals. She worked as a professional dog trainer for several years, dodging Chihuahua bites and overly enthusiastic Labradors, until her first book sold and she stopped training to write full-time.

Julie now lives in Louisville, Kentucky, where the frequency of shark attacks are at an all-time low. She lives with her husband, two obnoxious cats, one Australian shepherd who is too smart for his own good and the latest addition, a hyperactive Papillon puppy.

Giveaway Details!

The first giveaway is a daily one for the chance to win either a copy of THE LOST PRINCE or THE IRON TRAITOR plus a beautiful locket!

The second giveaway is for unique Trollbeads bracelet inspired by The Forgotten and a one of a kind Chibi Keirran!!

Please note that both the daily and grand prize giveaways are for US/Canada participants only.  See full contest rules here.

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Tour Schedule:

Monday, September 30th – Harlequin Paranormal Blog

Wednesday, October 2nd – Page Turners

Friday, October 4th – Bookalicio.us

Monday, October 7th – Two Chicks On Books

Wednesday, October 9th – Wastepaper Prose

Friday, October 11th – The Book Cellar

Monday, October 14th – Fiktshun

Tuesday, October 15th – Books Complete Me

Wednesday, October 16th – Dark Faerie Tales

Friday, October 18th – YA Bibliophile

Blog Tour- The Girl With the Iron Touch by Kady Cross and a Giveaway!

Hey y’all! I am so excited to be a part of THE GIRL WITH THE IRON TOUCH blog tour hosted by Kismet Book Tours! I absolutely love Kady’s Steampunk series and I have the elusive American Jasper Renn stopping by to answer some burning questions. Some he was more open than others but that’s Jasper for you! Also make sure to enter the awesome giveaway below!

But now I give you Jasper Renn!

1.    What is your honest opinion of Finley? What about Griffin?

Well, Miss Finley sure can be unpredictable, but she’s a loyal friend, and there’s no one else I’d rather have watching my back. Griffin’s the most honorable fella I’ve ever met. I’d trust him with my life. I have, in fact.

2.   How was your time in San Francisco? Are you ready to return to London and meet up with the gang?

I went to San Francisco just after Mei’s death, so it was good to be with my family. That’s all I really want to say about that. It’s good to be back in London.

3.   Your martial arts skills are impressive! What made you want to learn how to fight like that?

Necessity. The West ain’t a place for sissies.

4.   You seem to adapt well in different many different situations. Like hanging out with the rich and famous, to feeling at ease in the not so nice areas in London and New York. How did you learn how to do that? Is it something that just comes naturally?

I reckon I find it easy to pretend, but underneath it all we humans ain’t so different. Not where it counts.

Elusive right? Oh well maybe we’ll get more of an answer in THE GIRL WITH THE IRON TOUCH! Speaking of here’s some information about the book!

In 1897 London, something not quite human is about to awaken

When mechanical genius Emily is kidnapped by rogue automatons, Finley Jayne and her fellow misfits fear the worst. What's left of their archenemy, The Machinist, hungers to be resurrected, and Emily must transplant his consciousness into one of his automatons—or forfeit her friends' lives.

With Griffin being mysteriously tormented by the Aether, the young duke's sanity is close to the breaking point. Seeking help, Finley turns to Jack Dandy, but trusting the master criminal is as dangerous as controlling her dark side. When Jack kisses her, Finley must finally confront her true feelings for him...and for Griffin.

Meanwhile, Sam is searching everywhere for Emily, from Whitechapel's desolate alleyways to Mayfair's elegant mansions. He would walk into hell for her, but the choice she must make will test them more than they could imagine.

To save those she cares about, Emily must confront The Machinist's ultimate creation—an automaton more human than machine. And if she's to have any chance at triumphing, she must summon a strength even she doesn't know she has....

THE GIRL WITH THE IRON TOUCH - BOOK 3 IN THE STEAMPUNK CHRONICLES Pre-order your copy today: Amazon | IndieBound | Barnes & Noble 
THE GIRL WITH THE STEEL CORSET – BOOK 1 IN THE STEAMPUNK CHRONICLES Grab a copy: Amazon | IndieBound | Barnes & Noble | Harlequin 
THE GIRL WITH THE CLOCKWORK COLLAR - BOOK 2 IN THE STEAMPUNK CHRONICLES Grab a copy: Amazon | IndieBound | Barnes & Noble | Harlequin

About Kady Cross - website, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads

In her other life, Kady Cross is a USA TODAY bestselling author of more than twenty books. She is lucky enough to have a husband who shares her love for the slightly twisted and all things geek, and a houseful of cats with whom she shares her darkest secrets. When she’s not listening to the characters in her head, she’s either trying to formulate the perfect lip gloss or teaching herself to solder. She has a weakness for all things girlie, sugar skulls and boots. Her love of books and makeup borders on addiction—of which she never, ever wants to be cured.

Contest Info: There are two giveaways for those following the tour!

The first giveaway is a daily one for the chance to win your choice of either The Girl in the Steel Corset, The Girl in the Clockwork Collar or The Girl with the Iron Touch.

The second giveaway is for a grand prize of a beautiful Clockwork Necklace, the matching Ring and a set of The Steampunk Chronicles books! 

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Make sure to check out the rest of the tour schedule for more chances to win! 

Monday, May 6th - Harlequin Paranormal Blog & Reading Teen 
Wednesday, May 8th - Candace Book Blog 
Friday, May 10th - Rainy Day Ramblings 
Monday, May 13th - Two Chicks on Books 
Wednesday, May 15th - YA Bibliophile 
Friday, May 17th - Fiktsun