Blog Tour- OBSIDIO by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff A Review & Giveaway!

Hey everyone! I am thrilled to be kicking off the blog tour for OBSIDIO by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff!  I am a huge fan of this series and I adore Amie and Jay!

I have my review of OBSIDIO to share with you today! And make sure to enter the giveaway below!

Haven't heard of OBSIDIO? Check it out!

Title: OBSIDIO (The Illuminae Files Book 3)

Author: Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

Pub. Date: March 13, 2018

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers

Pages: 608

Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook, audiobook

Find it: Amazon, B&N, iBooks, TBD, Audible, Goodreads

Kady, Ezra, Hanna, and Nik narrowly escaped with their lives from the attacks on Heimdall station and now find themselves crammed with 2,000 refugees on the container ship, Mao. With the jump station destroyed and their resources scarce, the only option is to return to Kerenza—but who knows what they'll find seven months after the invasion? 

Meanwhile, Kady's cousin, Asha, survived the initial BeiTech assault and has joined Kerenza's ragtag underground resistance. When Rhys—an old flame from Asha's past—reappears on Kerenza, the two find themselves on opposite sides of the conflict. 

With time running out, a final battle will be waged on land and in space, heros will fall, and hearts will be broken.

Now on to my review

Well I’ve got no words for the awesomeness that was Obsidio! But f*** this was amazing!!!

I won't be able to talk about what I want to without spoiling everything about Obsidio. It's funny when I first read Illuminae I liked it I just wasn't obsessed with it like so many others but, after I had put it down I started to appreciate the book for what it was, and that was an awesome sci-fi book. Then I read Gemina and I fell in love! I already liked Kady and Ezra but meeting Hanna and Nik (and Ella) solidified my love for this series! Normally I'm not one who likes it when a book series jumps POV's either but the way they incorporated Kady and Ezra and even AIDAN into book 2 was bloody brilliant! And that's what they did in Obsidio as well! We get to meet Asha (Kady's cousin) and Rhys who are completely new characters with their own personalities that you get to know but, your old faves are back as well and the way they all come together to destroy BeiTech is awesome, heart wrenching, and bittersweet. I'm not going to tell you all how this ends or even spoil any of the story just know that it rocks in the best possible way and get this when it comes out on March 13th! You're going to want to drop everything and read this one!

Go see Amie & Jay on Tour! These two are awesome and you won't regret meeting them!

About Amie & Jay:

Amie Kaufman is the New York Times bestselling co-author of These Broken Stars and This Shattered World, and Illuminae, the first in a new series starting in 2015. She writes science fiction and fantasy for teens, and her favourite procrastination techniques involve chocolate, baking, sailing, excellent books and TV, plotting and executing overseas travel, and napping.

She lives in Melbourne, Australia with her husband, their rescue dog, and her considerable library. She is represented by Tracey Adams of Adams Literary.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

Jay Kristoff is the award-winning author of THE LOTUS WAR trilogy, a Japanese-inspired steampunk fantasy. Part 3, ENDSINGER, is out now. He's also co-author of the upcoming ILLUMINAE (with Amie Kaufman), a YA Sci-Fi... thing, to be released by Knopf/Random House in 2015, and NEVERNIGHT, the first part of a new fantasy trilogy kicking off in 2016.

Jay is 6’7 and has approximately 13380 days to live. He abides in Melbourne with his secret agent kung-fu assassin wife, and the world’s laziest Jack Russell.

He does not believe in happy endings.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

Giveaway Details:

3 winners will receive a finished copy of OBSIDIO, US Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

3/1/2018- Two Chicks on Books- Review

3/2/2018- YA Bibliophile- Review

Week Two:

3/5/2018- Mary Had a Little Book Blog- Review

3/6/2018- BookHounds YA- Review

3/7/2018- Novel Novice- Review

3/8/2018- Adventures of a Book Junkie- Review

3/9/2018- Feed Your Fiction Addiction- Review

Week Three:

3/12/2018- Fiction Fare- Review

3/13/2018- The Young Folks- Review

3/14/2018- A Dream Within A Dream- Review

3/15/2018- The Book Nut- Review

3/16/2018- Tales of the Ravenous Reader- Review

Week Four:

3/19/2018- StuckInBooks- Review

3/20/2018- PaperTrailYA- Review

3/21/2018- Nerdophiles- Review

3/22/2018- Owl Always Be Reading- Review

3/23/2018- YA Books Central- Excerpt

Week Five:

3/26/2018- The Eater of Books!- Review

3/27/2018- Page Turners Blog- Review

3/28/2018- Book Briefs- Review

3/29/2018- Emily Reads Everything- Review

3/30/2018- Mundie Moms- Review

Haven't started the Illuminae Files yet? Now's the time to start!

Blog Tour-JULIA DEFIANT by Catherine Egan An Interview & Giveaway!

Hey everyone! I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the blog tour for JULIA DEFIANT by Catherine Egan!

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

Haven't heard of JULIA DEFIANT? Check it out!

Title: JULIA DEFIANT (Witch's Child #2)

Author: Catharine Egan

Pub. Date: June 13, 2017

Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers

Pages: 464

Formats: Hardcover, eBook

Find it: Amazon, B&N. TBD, iBooks, Goodreads

Fans of The Rose Society, Graceling, and Six of Crows will thrill to the masterful world-building and fiercely flawed heroine in this heart-pounding follow-up to Julia Vanishes, book two in the Witch's Child trilogy.

Adventure, murder, romance, intrigue, and betrayal with a 16-year-old heroine that is both fierce and flawed at the same time. Hypable.com

Julia and a mismatched band of revolutionaries, scholars, and thieves have crossed the world searching for a witch. But for all the miles traveled, they are no closer to finding Ko Dan. No closer to undoing the terrible spell he cast that bound an ancient magic to the life of a small child. Casimir wants that magic will happily kill Theo to extract it and every moment they hunt for Ko Dan, Casimir's assassins are hunting them.


Julia can deal with danger. The thing that truly scares her lies within. Her strange ability to vanish to a place just out of sight has grown: she can now disappear so completely that it's like stepping into another world. It’s a fiery, hellish world, filled with creatures who seem to recognize her and count her as one of their own.


So . . . is Julia a girl with a monster lurking inside her? Or a monster wearing the disguise of a girl?

If she can use her monstrous power to save Theo, does it matter?


In this riveting second book in the Witch s Child trilogy, Catherine Egan goes deep within the heart of a fierce, defiant girl trying to discover not just who but what she truly is.


Praise for Julia Vanishes: 


Egan’s debut novel sparkles. A beautifully rendered world and exquisite sense of timing ensure a page-turning experience. Publishers Weekly, starred review


Readers will find themselves immediately immersed in the narrative and invested in the fate of Julia, who is both feisty and flawed. Booklist, starred review


Julia’s a wonderful, fully realized heroine. . . . For those readers waiting for the sequel to Marie Lu’s The Rose Society, a well-realized page-turner in the same vein. Kirkus

Now on to the interview!

Hey Catherine!! First I want to say welcome to Two Chicks on Books I’m glad you could stop by for a chat! JULIA DEFIANT was freaking AWESOME and I can’t wait for everyone to read it!

Thank you so much! I’m thrilled that you liked it – and I can’t wait for people to read it either J.

For the readers: can you tell us a little bit about the events leading up to JULIA DEFIANT and the characters?

Julia is a 16-year-old thief and spy with the ability to step out of sight while in plain view, in a city where all forms of magic are illegal. When the series opens, Julia is posing as a maid in the household of the wealthy and eccentric Mrs. Och and reporting to a mysterious client. The more Julia finds out about both the client and the people she’s spying on, the more she suspects she’s on the wrong side, and that she is getting tangled up in a conflict far bigger and more dangerous than she’d imagined. Backed into a corner, she does something terrible to save her own skin – and discovers that her ability to vanish goes much deeper than she’d realized.

Book 2 is about trust and atonement (and monsters, magic, and revolution!) and brings the question of why (and how far) Julia can vanish to the forefront. She’s sworn to protect the little boy she almost got killed in the first book, and to do so she has to work with the people she betrayed, as well as her ex-lover, who betrayed her.

All the relationships from the first book get pushed a little farther here – Julia’s brother Dek finds real happiness in another country, while she only longs to go home; her ex, Wyn, wants her back; she doesn’t like or trust her boss, Mrs. Och, who demands obedience; she’s struggling with her guilt while forging authentic bonds with Bianka and Frederick, the people most betrayed by her actions in JULIA VANISHES.

So do we have a title for book 3 yet?

Not official yet! So I’ll keep the current title sekrit ;).

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

Hah! No. (But would it be safe to admit it if the answer was yes?)

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

Pia, the creepy super-powered woman contracted to Casimir, who is hunting Julia & co. across the world. The Pia-Julia bond took over a little more with each book. I just couldn’t get enough of her. I also loved writing the stumbling friendship between Bianka and Julia – it’s a situation where a friendship should be impossible, and yet both of their instincts push them to trust one another.

I don’t think I can point to a least favorite character. If I don’t care about a character, they don’t end up in the book.

What is your favorite passage/scene in JULIA DEFIANT?

Tough choice between two scenes. I loved writing the closing scene in the book and I’m still very happy with it. A close second would be Julia & co. visiting the Imperial Library, which is carved into a mountainside, and her encounter with a super creepy witch I just adore.

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

Yongguo (where JULIA DEFIANT is set) takes a lot of elements from Qing dynasty 

China. This isn’t a historical fantasy, it is straight-up fantasy, but even so I did a lot more reading about furniture and the layout of traditional courtyard houses than I’d expected.

Who is your ultimate book boyfriend?

Jonathan Strange.

What inspired you to write YA?

I think it was something that was trying to push its way into my writing for a long time before I became aware of it. I spent my twenties writing short fiction and one terrible novel, ostensibly for adults, but the experiences and perspectives of teenaged girls were always in some way central to whatever story I was working on.

I don’t know – I think about this a lot, because lately I’ve been having all these ideas for books that would center on adults or younger kids, and so maybe I’ll find I’m branching out. I don’t think I’ll ever be done with YA though. My own teenage years were very intense and fraught and I think there’s just something there – the desperation and terror and joy of it, the emerging-from-childhood-and-perching-on-the-edge-of-the-rest-of-your-life thing – that I’ll never get tired of writing about.

Lightening Round Questions

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

China Mieville’s THREE MOMENTS OF AN EXPLOSION. I am dying to read everything in my TBR pile, but Kiersten White’s AND I RISE and Cindy Pon’s WANT will jump the line the instant they’re released.

What Hogwarts House would the Sorting Hat place you in?

Slayer ;)

Twitter or Facebook?

Both, in small doses.

Favorite Superhero?

Buffy.

Favorite TV show?

Right now – totally hooked on The Americans.

Sweet or Salty?

Salty.

Any Phobias?

Flying.

Song you can’t get enough of right now?

My kids and I have been singing the Hamilton soundtrack for a year straight, basically. Also rediscovering Veda Hille (Vancouver-based singer songwriter) - listening to her album Spine and old fave One Hot Summer while I clean.

2017 Movie you’re most looking forward to?

The Last Jedi! And I hope Blade Runner 2049 is good.

Thanks so much Catherine for answering my questions! I can’t wait for everyone to read JULIA DEFIANT!

THANK YOU!!!

About Catherine: 

My books: JULIA DEFIANT, JULIA VANISHES, Shade & Sorceress, The Unmaking, Bone, Fog, Ash & Star

My superpowers: high-kicking, list-making, simultaneously holding two opposing opinions

My weaknesses: fear of flying, over-thinking and then making bad decisions, excessive list-making

My allies: my made-for-walking-in black boots, Mick, the English Language

My enemies: decaf, low blood sugar, the passage of time

My mission: the coexistence of ambivalence and joy.

photograph by Isabel Chenoweth www.icportraits.com

Website | Blog |  Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Instagram

Giveaway Details:

3 winners will receive a finished copy of JULIA VANISHES & JULIA DEFIANT, US Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

6/5/2017- The Cover Contessa- Interview

6/5/2017- Booklove- Review

6/6/2017- Don't Judge, Read- Excerpt

6/6/2017- Here's to Happy Endings- Review

6/7/2017- Novel Novice - Guest Post

6/7/2017- Read. Eat. Love.- Review

6/8/2017- Fiction Fare- Spotlight

6/8/2017- Take Me Away To A Great Read- Review

6/9/2017- Two Chicks on Books- Interview

6/9/2017- Seeing Double In Neverland- Interview

Week Two:

6/12/2017- Wandering Bark Books- Guest Post

6/12/2017- A Dream Within A Dream- Review

6/13/2017-  Tales of the Ravenous Reader- Excerpt

6/13/2017- Smada's Book Smack- Review

6/14/2017- Crystal's Chaotic Confessions- Spotlight

6/14/2017- Page Turners Blog- Review

6/15/2017- Wishful Endings- Interview

6/15/2017- Bibliobibuli YA- Review

6/16/2017- Book Briefs- Review

6/16/2017- BookHounds ya- Review

Haven’t started the series? Make sure to grab the Paperback of JULIA VANISHES!

Blog Tour- BLOOD ROSE REBELLION by Rosalyn Eves An Interview & Giveaway!

Hey everyone! I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the blog tour for BLOOD ROSE REBELLION by Rosalyn Eves! I freaking LOVED this book! I have an interview with Rosalyn to share with you today! And make sure to enter the giveaway below!

Haven't heard of BLOOD ROSE REBELLION? Check it out!

Title: BLOOD ROSE REBELLION

Author: Rosalyn Eves

Pub. Date: March 28, 2017

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers

Pages: 416

Formats: Hardcover, eBook audiobook

Find it: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Audible, Goodreads

The thrilling first book in a YA fantasy trilogy for fans of Red Queen. In a world where social prestige derives from a trifecta of blood, money, and magic, one girl has the ability to break the spell that holds the social order in place.

Sixteen-year-old Anna Arden is barred from society by a defect of blood. Though her family is part of the Luminate, powerful users of magic, she is Barren, unable to perform the simplest spells. Anna would do anything to belong. But her fate takes another course when, after inadvertently breaking her sister’s debutante spell—an important chance for a highborn young woman to show her prowess with magic—Anna finds herself exiled to her family’s once powerful but now crumbling native Hungary.

Her life might well be over.

In Hungary, Anna discovers that nothing is quite as it seems. Not the people around her, from her aloof cousin Noémi to the fierce and handsome Romani Gábor. Not the society she’s known all her life, for discontent with the Luminate is sweeping the land. And not her lack of magic. Isolated from the only world she cares about, Anna still can’t seem to stop herself from breaking spells.

As rebellion spreads across the region, Anna’s unique ability becomes the catalyst everyone is seeking. In the company of nobles, revolutionaries, and Romanies, Anna must choose: deny her unique power and cling to the life she’s always wanted, or embrace her ability and change that world forever.

Now on to the interview!

Hey Rosalyn! First I want to say welcome to Two Chicks on Books I’m so happy you could stop by for a chat! BLOOD ROSE REBELLION was freaking AWESOME and I can’t wait for everyone to read it!

Thank you!!

For the readers: can you tell us a little bit about BLOOD ROSE REBELLION and the characters?

BLOOD ROSE REBELLION is the story of Anna Arden, a well-born English girl on the fringes of a society that reveres magic, and she has none. After she ruins her sister’s debut ball by breaking her spells, Anna is sent to Hungary with her grandmother, where she meets her cousins, Noémi and Mátyás (an aspiring revolutionary), as well as a Romani boy, Gábor, who might know more about Anna’s failure to use magic than Anna herself does. As she struggles to find her place in this new world, she’s drawn into political intrigue leading up to the Hungarian revolution against Austria and discovers that much of what she understood about her world was a lie.

So do we have a title for book 2 yet?

I do, but I’m not sure I can share it yet!

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

I think a little bit of my husband finds its way into all of my favorite male characters: Mátyás has some of his off-beat sense of humor; Gábor has some of his steadiness and his scientific mind. Noémi, as a friend who speaks her mind to Anna, has a lot of one of my good friends growing up in her.

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

Mátyás is my favorite character to write, simply because he refuses to take things seriously. My least favorite character is probably Anna’s mother, because she’s cold and socially-driven and I find it hard to relate to her.

What is your favorite passage/scene in BLOOD ROSE REBELLION?

My favorite scene is a spoiler, so I won’t include it here! But there is one scene between Anna and Gábor that I love, where she has the opportunity to comfort him. So often, we see male heroes comforting women, but we rarely see the reverse—I think it takes both strength and trust to open yourself to another person that way.

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

Oh, all kinds! I read lots of Hungarian history books, academic articles on the politics of the 1848 revolution (one of my favorites talks about how the actual revolution was one in part on the dance floor, at patriotic balls). I read Hungarian folktales and books on world mythology. I read several books on Romani culture and history, as well as articles that focused more specifically on Romanies in Hungary and surrounding Eastern European countries. And because most of the history books I read favored broad approaches rather than details of contemporary life, I also read several nineteenth-century Hungarian novels in translation, as well as a couple of travel narratives written by nineteenth-century British visitors to Hungary, which helped me envision the kinds of details that Anna would notice. I can’t claim that the book is perfect (I took some liberties with the alternate world), but I think—hope?—that all the details led to a richer world.

Who is your ultimate book boyfriend?

It’s funny, because in books I find myself drawn to the kind of angsty heroes that I would never like in real life! I also like a man with a sense of humor. Nikolai in Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse is pretty near perfect, imho. I also love Maggie Stiefvater’s Gansey.

What inspired you to write YA?

I’ve always read a lot of YA, even as an adult, and I think what I love about it is the sense of possibility in those stories. There’s something magical about having your whole life ahead of you, even when the present reality is hard. I also love how passionate young adults are—I know how much books meant to me at that age, and the thought of inspiring someone else as I was inspired is pretty humbling. (And sometimes scary, to be honest).

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 currently reading Angie Thomas’s THE HATE U GIVE. It’s amazing. The characters are so well-done, the story is so compulsive and important. CARAVAL is on my TBR pile and I can’t wait to get to it, though I might have to wait until I’m through edits because otherwise I think my own writing might suffer by comparison!

What Hogwarts House would the Sorting Hat place you in?

I finally took the official sorting Hat quiz a week or two ago and got Slytherin. I think I’m actually a Slytherin/Ravenclaw mix.

Twitter or Facebook?

Facebook

Favorite Superhero?

Wolverine is the first one that pops into my head (might just be Hugh Jackman, though!). I’m also impressed by Ms. Marvel, Kamala Khan.

Favorite TV show?

This changes frequently, but right now I really love the BBC’s SHERLOCK.

Sweet or Salty?

Sweet

Any Phobias?

Darkness, wild animals

Song you can’t get enough of right now?

Pretty much anything on the Hamilton soundtrack.

2017 Movie you’re most looking forward to?

Right now I’m looking forward to the BEAUTY AND THE BEAST reboot—Belle has always been my favorite of the Disney princesses, and I’m a sucker for Beauty and the Beast retellings in any shape.

Thanks so much Rosalyn for answering my questions! I can’t wait for everyone to read BLOOD ROSE REBELLION!

About Rosalyn:

Rosalyn Eves grew up in the Rocky Mountains, dividing her time between reading books and bossing her siblings into performing her dramatic scripts. As an adult, the telling and reading of stories is still one of her favorite things to do. When she’s not reading or writing, she enjoys spending time with her chemistry professor husband and three children, watching British period pieces, or hiking through the splendid landscape of southern Utah, where she lives. She dislikes housework on principle.

She has a PhD in English from Penn State, which means she also endeavors to inspire college students with a love for the English language. Sometimes it even works.

Rosalyn is represented by Josh Adams of Adams literary.

Her first novel, BLOOD ROSE REBELLION, first in a YA historical fantasy trilogy, debuts Spring 2017 from Knopf/Random House.

Website | Blog | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Tumblr | Pinterest |  Goodreads

Giveaway Details:

3 winners will receive a signed finished copy of BLOOD ROSE REBELLION, US Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

3/20/2017- BookHounds YA- Interview

3/21/2017- YA Book Madness- Review

3/22/2017- Page Turners Blog- Guest Post

3/23/2017- Fiktshun- Review

3/24/2017- NovelKnight- Review

Week Two:

3/27/2017- Once Upon a Twilight- Interview

3/28/2017- YABC- Interview

3/29/2017- Emily Reads Everything- Review

3/30/2017- Two Chicks on Books- Interview

3/31/2017- Book Briefs- Review