In this post: Book Details, Author Details, My Review, Giveaway

Armored Hearts

When a crippled young lord rescues a girl falling from a tree, it reveals a secret about himself and his mother's side of the family that could put him at the center of a war with beings he thought only existed in fairy tales. Tristan Gareth Smyth lived his entire life stuck at home at Waverly Park, left behind while his Grandfather makes trips to London, all because of his blasted wheelchair. Then an American heiress falls in his lap, literally, and he must find a way to keep her at a distance to protect not only his secret, but everyone around him from an assassin sent to kill him.

Pauline Creeden
In simple language, Pauline Creeden creates worlds that are both familiar and strange, often pulling the veil between dimensions. She becomes the main character in each of her stories, and because she has ADD, she will get bored if she pretends to be one person for too long. 
Pauline is a horse trainer from Virginia, but writing is her therapy. 
Armored Hearts, her joint effort with author Melissa Turner Lee, has been a #1 Bestseller in Christian Fantasy and been awarded the Crowned Heart for Excellence by InDtale Magazine. Her debut novel, Sanctuary is scheduled for release September 30, 2013, and has already been nominated for two awards in YA Science Fiction.
One of Pauline's short stories has won the CCW Short Story contest. Other short stories have been published in Fear & Trembling Magazine, Obsidian River and Avenir Eclectia. An urban fantasy short will appear in The Book of Sylvari: An Anthology of Elves from Port Yonder Press, and a vampire short will appear in Monsters! from Diminished Media Group. 
Catch Pauline on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads or at her Official Site.

Melissa Turner Lee

Melissa Turner Lee holds a BA in Communications with a concentration in Journalism from the University of South Carolina. She has studied fiction writing since 2008, attending various writing conferences and workshops, along with guidance from professional writing coaches. She resides in Spartanburg, SC with her husband and 3 sons. 


Catch Melissa at Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads and her Official Blog. 

This post is part of the AH April Blog Tour. Find more posts about the book here.

This book was very well written and provided a fast, enjoyable read in a fascinating new world. As a fan of both steampunk and traditional fantasy I found it intriguing to see this combination of the two, particularly using the Scottish connections to the Fae folk mythology. 

The characters hugely reminded me of the ensemble in Kady Cross's Steampunk Chronicles (another series that I love) - Gareth is another rendition of the Griffin King moody hero type, though he is made much more interesting by his physical condition. I enjoyed all of the characters and found them to be very individual and well developed.

I particularly enjoyed the idea of the 'bonnet club' and the automation elements of the story and would have liked to see more made of them. I didn't really get into the Fae side of the story to be honest so I was glad to have the other element to hold my interest. The relationship between Jessamine and Gareth was well-played and engaging to read.

Speaking as a disabled person myself, however, I did find Gareth to be too whiny about his condition for my liking. Considering the other incredible abilities he has, I don't really buy into his 'suffering in silence' feeling. Perhaps there wasn't enough of his persecution in the tale to really sell it to me, but that was the only thing that put me off this story. I suspect if you're not a disabled person then you won't focus on that sort of thing in the tale and will probably give it five stars!

In this post: Book Details, My Review, Author Hot Seat

Jaded
Book One in the Nirvana Series

Jade has spent her entire life within the confines of the eye-colour- obsessed Nirvana commune. She dreams of experiencing freedom but travel to the Outside is forbidden. Besides, she’s a dutiful daughter who never breaks the rules. As her seventeenth birthday approaches, however, she realizes just how little she wants to follow the commune rules. She doesn’t want to undergo another eye color surgery, or immediately choose a life partner, or follow her parents’ life paths of teaching or wine making. In fact, her green eyes suit her just fine, she’s never even been on a date, and she’s passionate about photography. And yet she’s resigned to do as she’s told because it’s easier for her to close her eyes and follow orders. 
Her Grandmother Ruby’s murder is the catalyst that causes Jade to open her eyes wide for the first time in her life. She’s devastated yet determined to find the killer and their motive. With help from her mysterious friend Tyrian, and Peaches, the commune leader’s sweet daughter, Jade unearths dark secrets which include her mother’s illicit affair, her maternal grandparents’ escape from Nirvana, and a plethora of murders. To make matters worse, someone is hell bent on ending Jade’s mission for the truth, and that someone is most likely the killer. 
Jade can’t continue conforming to an evil society and yet she fears the Outside is just as corrupt. If she resolves to flee and is caught, the punishment is banishment to the slave cabins…and blinding. 

I get really excited when I find a writer who really knows how to tell a story. Kristy Feltenberger Gillespie could have turned the phonebook into a narrative and I would have lapped it up page by page. I am delighted to say that Jaded is a serious page-turner, a well told story with fully formed characters and an intriguing plot that sets up what promises to be a fascinating series.

Gillespie takes puts a huge twist on the tidal wave of (mostly boring) dystopian fiction that the YA world is dominated by right now, taking the idea of totalitarianism, surveillance and control and bundling it into a claustrophobic commune with shocking ways of life and little contact with our modern day existence. It was so well conceived and realistic that I felt as though Nirvana could really exist out there somewhere.

As usual I found that my favourite characters were some of the minor ones (Ivory, Rust and True), but surprisingly for me I sincerely related to Jade, the lead heroine and found her love interest Ty to be sweet and sincere. I don't go in for gushy romantic moments and there was none of that rubbish in Jaded: Gillespie has created something far more important and far more real for her characters to experience.

Overall this was an excellent read. If I had the second book in this series I would be starting it right now. As it is I will have to wait patiently for Hunted and imagine all the possibilities for Jade along the way. A definite recommended read for everyone I know.

1)     If you could choose an eye colour (from those of the characters in your books), which colour would you pick for yourself and why?

I would choose the color blue for a number of reasons. For one, it's my favorite color, my eyes are already blue so perhaps I could somehow dodge the eye color surgery, and like Jade's father Royal, I love wine, so that's the career path I'd hopefully land!

2)     How much research did you do into the professions of Jade's parents to get such vivid descriptions of their workplaces?

Fortunately, I didn't have to do too much research on Jade's parents' professions. I worked at a winery for three years and I currently work as a middle school counselor, so I know quite a bit about wine making and teaching, which helped!

3)     Who would your dream cast actor and actress be for Ty and Jade?

It it was 1994, Claire Danes and Jared Leto, who stared on my favorite show at the time- My So-Called Life (pictured above).  Not sure which actress and actor now!

4)     Can you give us a tease of what's coming next in Book 2: Hunted?

A few teasers from Book Two, Hunted: This novel goes back and forth between Jade and Peaches point of view. Ty's uncle Hunter causes a slight rift between them. At least one person in this novel is hunted, and at least one person in this novel is kidnapped! 

5)     What sort of books and writers influence your storytelling style?

To me, one of the most influential YA writers is Lauren Oliver, who I met several years ago at a writing conference. After listening to her talk, I started thinking about writing in the YA genre. She's fabulous! 

In this post: Book Details and Giveaway, My Review, Character Interview

Soul Stone
Book Two in the Escaping Fate Series

Arrabella thought she was done with dreams, done with curses and the threat of death.
After surviving the ancient Aztec curse that had plagued her family for centuries, Arra was more than ready for her new life in the boring little town of Grainer, Maine. Boring and small sounded perfect...but she should have known better than to think it would last. 
The dream was odd, but Arra passed it off as nerves about starting school in Grainer. Her boyfriend, Tanner, was there to distract her…and get her into a little trouble as well. He pushes the dream out of her mind until they walk onto the school campus and see her. The lonely girl from Arra’s dream. 
Tanner’s reaction is fierce. He won’t risk losing Arra again and demands she stay away from Sibeal, but Arra can’t stop thinking about her haunted expression. What if she can help her? Arra can’t just walk away and let whatever curse has a hold of Sibeal claim her without trying to stop it. But what if Sibeal deserves the punishment? 
Arra’s battle to make the right choice about Sibeal only gets harder when she is forced to turn to the person in town she likes least for help. Sebastian Wallace is arrogant and irritating, but he’s seems to be the only one who can help her. As Arra tries to determine what the right choice is, she finds out saving Sibeal may be the least of her problems.

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This is the second instalment in this series after Escaping Fate and the story of Arra's life gets bigger, better and a whole lot scarier from here!
Like Escaping Fate, this book begins instantly with a supernatural intrigue with central character Arra being plagued by horrific and fascinating dreams. In this tale Arra is pulled into danger once more by the problems of new student Sibeal, a mysterious shy girl newly arrived to the small town of Grainer.
I enjoyed the further development of Arra and Tanner in this book and it was really interesting to see a teen relationship realistically portrayed with all the ups and downs that you would expect a pair of 16 year olds to go through. My favourite character in this tale, however, was Bas: the local hero with surprising hidden depths. He really made the story for me as he brought a new conflict into the action and helped Arra's character develop a lot more than she did in the first novel.
Overall if you enjoyed Escaping Fate, you will definitely enjoy Soul Stone because it mixes the familiar elements from book one with a larger, more exciting plot with a lot of physical action as well as emotional trials. 

See my review of Book One in this series, Escaping Fate by clicking here.

1)     So Bas, people around Grainer really rate you. They say you're a local hero! Care to elaborate on that?

I see you start with the tough questions first, Kim. I can appreciate that, even if I don’t particularly care to talk about this one. People around here only see what they want to see. Maybe it’s easier. They want to move on, to celebrate a hero instead of carrying around the burden of blame. I can understand that, but I can’t let go of what happened.

2)     You're popular with almost everyone in town... except for that new Manhattan girl, Arra. What's up with that?

Have you ever met someone who just brought out the worst in you for some reason? That’s pretty much me when it comes to Arra. I mean, sure, she thinks I’m constantly getting her in trouble, but most of those were completely on accident. I have a knack for rubbing her the wrong way, and at some point she might realize why.

3)     We all know you're a star for the archery team, but what else do you like to do in your free time?

The beaches around Grainer aren’t world class surf spots, but as soon as it’s warm enough, that’s where you’ll find me most days. Being out on the water is liberating. I can get away from everyone’s expectations an attention when I surf. The waves don’t owe me anything. They’re brutal when I mess up and peaceful when we get along. I don’t get that anywhere else, except maybe…never mind.

4)     If you could change anything in your life right now, what would it be?

If you were asking me what I’d like to change about my past, I’d have a whole list for you. Right now? I’d change the way people see me. There are days I want to escape. I think about leaving more than I should. Leaving won’t fix anything, though.

5)     Do you believe in the supernatural?

It’s hard not to when you grow up in my family! I’ve lived in the U.S. my whole life, but my mom grew up in Ireland. She is incredibly superstitious and believes in everything from leprechauns and will-o-the-wisps to curses and magic. She passed all of her stories down to me and my siblings like they were facts, so naturally, we grew up scared of the dullahan and convinced we’d find a selkie on the beach at night. I guess she helped prepare me to hear Arra’s story and not pass it off as fantasy. I can’t even begin to explain how grateful I am for that.