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

Dying to Read (30)- Revelations by JA Souders

Hey y’all thanks for stopping by to see my Dying to Read post and of course as always I have to give credit to the lovely Jill over at Breaking the Spine for the Waiting on Wednesday Meme!

This week the book I’m dying to read is Revelations by JA Souders!!!!! I’ve been dying to use this one for a long time! I LOVED Renegade, book 1 in the series and I fell hard for Gavin lol (of course right?) and this book has one of the creepiest villains!

Revelations (Elysium Chronicles #2)

JA Souders

Release Date: November 5, 2013

Hardcover: 320 pages

Publisher: Tor Teen

ISBN: 978-0765332462

Goodreads

Amazon/Barnes & Noble/The Book Depository

The follow-up to J. A. Souders’s riveting SF psychological thriller for teens, Renegade

Six weeks ago, Evelyn Winters was locked away in Elysium, a city hidden miles beneath the sea, brainwashed into submission. With the help of Gavin, she fought free of her captors and the fog in her own mind. He took her back with him to the Surface, a world she's never known. Now she will begin a new life.

But her past is closer than she thinks...

So what do you think? Will you be adding this to your pile? What are you dying to read this week?

Cover Reveal- Revelations by J.A. Souders and a Giveaway!!!!!!!

Eeep I am so excited to take part in this cover reveal! I adored Renegade by J.A Souders it even made my top 10 of 2012 list and Gavin made my top 10 book boyfriend list (you may want to check that post out there’s tons of steamy passages wink, wink lol)! So of course I can’t wait to get my hand on Revelations!

Check out the cover isn’t it gorgeous? And if you haven’t read Renegade yet check out my review here and the blurb below! And make sure to enter the giveaway for signed books!

                                                 Revelations Elysium Chronicles (Book 2)

J.A Souders

Release Date: November 5, 2013

Hardcover: 320 pages

Publisher: Tor Teen

Goodreads | Amazon |The Book Depository

Blurb to come!

About Renegade Elysium Chronicles (Book 1)

Since the age of three, sixteen-year-old Evelyn Winters has been trained to be Daughter of the People in the underwater utopia known as Elysium. Selected from hundreds of children for her ideal genes, all her life she’s thought that everything was perfect; her world. Her people. The Law.

But when Gavin Hunter, a Surface Dweller, accidentally stumbles into their secluded little world, she’s forced to come to a startling realization: everything she knows is a lie.

Her memories have been altered.

Her mind and body aren’t under her own control.

And the person she knows as Mother is a monster.

Together with Gavin she plans her escape, only to learn that her own mind is a ticking time bomb... and Mother has one last secret that will destroy them all.

Goodreads | Amazon |Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

About A Dark Grave: Elysium Chronicles (Book 0.5)

An Elysium Chronicles short story: the beginning.

There is only one place forbidden to the people of Gavin's village; the island just off the shore, rumored to be haunted. Cursed.

All who venture to the island disappear.

But Gavin doesn't believe in such things. He is a hunter; since his father's death, he is the only one who can provide for the family. Silly rumors of ghosts aren't going to stop him from crossing the dark waters to the island in search of fresh game...

Goodreads | Amazon

About J.A. Souders:

J.A. Souders was born in the heartland with an overactive imagination and an overabundance of curiosity that was always getting her into trouble. She first began writing at the age of 13, when she moved to Florida and not only befriended the monsters under the bed, but created worlds for them to play together.

Because she never grew up, she decided she’d put her imaginary friends to work and started writing. She still lives in the land of sunshine and palm trees with her husband and their two children.

Where you can find J.A.

Website | Blog | Twitter | Goodreads | Facebook

THE GIVEWAY!!!

J.A is hosting a giveaway of a signed hard copy of RENEGADE, an e-copy of A DARK GRAVE (for those that don't have it, of course.) and signed copies of ARTICLE 5 and BREAKING POINT by Kristen Simmons! US Only. But International entries are welcome and they will win eCopies of all of the books!

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