Fall of Thrones And Thorns by Jennifer Ellision Blog Tour: Review & Giveaway!!

Hello there guys!

Today I'm starting the last week of work before I finally get some vacation time being part of another Blog Tour for the new book in a series I love! I will be sharing my review and there's also a giveaway at the end of the post, so don't miss it!


Fall of Thrones and Thorns by Jennifer Ellision
(Threats of Sky and Sea #3)
Publication date: September 27th 2016
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

War hurtles in, a typhoon over the sea.

After Bree’s life was torn apart, Nereidium had represented a haven to her. A place that—if she could save it—was beyond the King’s reach.

And, at last, she’s arrived upon its shores. But things in Nereidium are not what they should be.

The land is plagued by a rash of mysterious earthquakes, the likes of which it’s never known. The governors are distracted by old traditions, while Bree and her friends grapple with changing identities and the sense that the longer they wait to take action… the greater the danger from Egria grows.

Bree is tired of living under the shadow of King Langdon’s power. And she’s tired of waiting for him to be the first to act.

In this final chapter of the Threats of Sky and Sea series, it all comes down to Nereidium or Egria. To Bree or the King. It’s kill… or be killed.

And not everyone will escape the battle unscathed.

 Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iBooks | Smashwords

Previous books in the series:

 

Author Bio:

Jennifer Ellision was born and raised in South Florida and lives in perpetual fear of temperatures below 60F. She spent a great deal of her childhood staying up past her bedtime with a book and a flashlight. When she couldn’t find the stories she wanted to read, she started writing them. She has an OTP, loves character analysis, and is a master of the fangirl flail, with a particular soft spot for fanfiction. She frequently bursts into song (and they are often of a Disney persuasion). Sailor Moon is one of her favorite things on this planet.

Threats of Sky and Sea is her first novel.

She also blogs at The Bevy Bibliotheque, where she talks about books, TV, movies, and other things that she goes fangirl over. For review requests or blog inquiries, please visit http://www.thebevybibliotheque.net to contact the blogger who best suits your request.

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REVIEW

For some reason I had failed to realize that this was the last book in the trilogy till I was nearly halfway reading it and thought that it read like a final book! For some reason I expected 4 books instead of a trilogy! *shakes head at self*

Fall of Thrones and Thorns starts right where Riot of Storm & Smoke ended, with our characters in Nereidium and dealing with the shock and repercusions of the truth about Bree & Aleta being revealed to all.

The beginning seemed to be a bit anticlimatic after the shock, but the slower pace was quite necessary for the characters to deal with the revelations and the change on status and the new reality of the new place. There was character development that needed to happen and there were politics to deal with and that always slows down the pace and the action, both in books and (even more) in real life.

I was glad we got alternate POV for Caden, Bree and Aleta and we also got a few small peeks at what was going on at Egria which helped with not losing sight of where the real danger was coming from.

It's always hard to review a final book in a series because you try to avoid spoiling others that might have not yet started the series, so bear with me while I try to vaguely & spoiler-free continue to try to be articulate about the book!

Both Bree and Aleta do have tough paths to deal with on their own ways, and I was glad that their friendship became stronger for it, even if it was on shaky ground after the revelations. It was great to see how their friendship helped each other, even if it was just in a "WWAD" way for Bree many times!

There's so romance in the book but rather understated and pushed back to something secondary given the dire situations and the importance of the fight, but speaking as a romancephobe, there were times where I wished there was a bit more development to some of the pairings. And also, I wished that at the ending we had a wee bit more of a hint of what's to come? The big conflict is resolved and the future is full of hope, the rebuilding is in progress but I still don't know if those two will find a way to work out! But since that part of the ending is open, I can choose to think yes and be happy about it! ;)

A satisfying conclusion to the trilogy and well deserved 4 stars!

GIVEAWAY!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Fall of Thrones And Thorns by Jennifer Ellision Cover Reveal!!

Hey there guys!!

It seems like this is the week of cover reveals, and oh my goodness, how so very gorgeous they all are!!

I'm so very happy to take part of the reveal of the utterly gorgeous cover of the third book in the Threats of Sky & Sea series by Jennifer Ellision, organized by Xpresso Book Tours!




Fall of Thrones and Thorns by Jennifer Ellision
(Threats of Sky and Sea #3)
Publication date: September 27th 2016
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

War hurtles in, a typhoon over the sea.

After Bree’s life was torn apart, Nereidium had represented a haven to her. A place that—if she could save it—was beyond the King’s reach.

And, at last, she’s arrived upon its shores. But things in Nereidium are not what they should be.

The land is plagued by a rash of mysterious earthquakes, the likes of which it’s never known. The governors are distracted by old traditions, while Bree and her friends grapple with changing identities and the sense that the longer they wait to take action… the greater the danger from Egria grows.

Bree is tired of living under the shadow of King Langdon’s power. And she’s tired of waiting for him to be the first to act.

In this final chapter of the Threats of Sky and Sea series, it all comes down to Nereidium or Egria. To Bree or the King. It’s kill… or be killed.

And not everyone will escape the battle unscathed.

Previous books in the series:

About the author:

Jennifer Ellision spent a great deal of her childhood staying up past her bedtime with a book and a flashlight. When she couldn't find the stories she wanted to read, she started writing them. She loves words, has a soft spot for fanfiction, and is a master of the fangirl flail. She resides in South Florida with her family, where she lives in fear of temperatures below 60 Fahrenheit

 Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

Now And Again by Jennifer Ellision Blog Tour: Review & Interview!!

Hello there guys!!

Happy Tuesday! Today I'm super happy to be part of the Blog Tour for Now And Again by Jennifer Ellision, hosted and organized by the wonderful ladies of Pen & Muse Press (thank you Jolene, you're a dear!).

I'll have Jennifer over for a super quick interview as well as my own review of the book, and don't miss out on the giveaway at the end of the post, so you can win your own copy of the book!

But before all that, a lil more info about the book!

Now And Again by Jennifer Ellision

 Unemployed. Broke. Maid of Honor.

All (unfortunately) words that describe Em Hayes.

Without any job leads in San Francisco, Em caves to her mother’s promise of free rent and returns home. Her best friend, Nikki, couldn’t be more thrilled. Em’s degree in Event Management is gathering dust, and what better way to put it to use than planning Nikki’s wedding?

There’s just one flaw in that plan: Cole Connors. The girls’ former roommate. And part of the reason Em hasn’t been back since college graduation.

Em’s never been able to forget Cole—or how close they were before she pushed him aside and ran for the hills. Cole’s never forgotten Em either— but in the past two years, she hasn’t given him much choice but to try.

And, according to Nikki, there’s no better pair to plan the wedding of her dreams.

Em’s usually good at squashing messy feelings, but being around Cole again brings them all rushing to the surface.

And this time, she’s not sure she wants to run.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iBooks | Smashwords

Jennifer Ellision spent a great deal of her childhood staying up past her bedtime with a book and a flashlight. When she couldn’t find the stories she wanted to read, she started writing them. She loves words, has a soft spot for fanfiction, and is a master of the fangirl flail. She resides in South Florida with her family, where she lives in fear of temperatures below 60 Fahrenheit.

Jennifer is the author of the YA fantasy series, Threats of Sky and Sea, as well as the New Adult contemporary novel, Now and Again.

Review

I'm not the most avid contemporary reader, and even less if we're talking about contemporary NA, but I have been getting myself to read more contemporaries since last year and I'm happy to report that for the most part, it's been a pleasant surprise after another.

I really love Jennifer Ellision's fantasy series, so giving her contemporary NA a try was a no brainer for me, and as with her fantasy books, she hooked me up from page one!

Em is coming back home and she's none too happy about it, since she run away all the way to the opposite side of the US as soon as she graduated college. And now that she's back, she has to face everything that she run away from.

The book is told in dual POV, Em's and Cole's, and also switches chapters between the NOW of Em coming back to Florida in time for her best friend's engagement party & wedding planning and the THEN of college times so we learn about the past that shaped Em's flight response.

Cole's POV was easier to read than Em's, and he felt quite genuinely a male POV, even when he was jumping off a window to avoid facing a girl he had just broken up with (again?) (sort of?)... He was more upfront and open with his feelings and tried his best to be honest with Em at all times.

Em's POV was harder to read because she was so closed up and refused time and again to face the past and her feelings. She's very much still avoiding everyone that means something for her and continues to ignore her feelings about the past and those rekindled in the present too. But as hard as she was to read at times, it was also very rewarding to see her grow and finally accept that the answer is not running away from pain or help or love.

Alternating the timelines worked great since it helped us understand both Em and Cole better, and I really enjoyed seeing their friendship develop in the past as well as see when & how things changed. I really liked Nikki being the common thread (and friend) that connected them both with the present and the past and the friendship. Nikki was also a lovely character, a great balance to Em's closed up nature.

I must confess to want a bit more after the ending, maybe an epilogue of sorts? It is the perfect resolution for the story told, but I really wanted to see a bit more of what comes next! Despite my need for a lil extra pages, I absolutely enjoyed this one, so 4 very well deserved stars to this contemporary NA!

Interview

Hello Jen! Welcome to my lil corner of the blogosphere!

Hi Pili! Thank you for having me! It’s an honor to be here. ^_^

I consider myself a big fan of your fantasy series (cannot wait for book 3!) and was quite surprised when I saw the book you were writing next was a contemporary (that despite contemporary not being my fave genre, I've loved too!). How did the contemporary bug bite you? Anything in particular that inspired you to switch genres?

Buckle in for a long answer, haha. Now and Again was actually the first book I ever wrote, though the published book is very different from what the first drafts looked like. It was my first NaNoWriMo project, my first project that wasn’t fanfiction, and it has its roots in a short piece I wrote for one of my Creative Writing workshop classes in college.

But 1) My female main character, Em was really a tough nut to crack. I couldn’t figure out why she pulled away from Cole (her love interest and the male main character) so much when I knew that she wanted him. And 2) I didn’t have the practiced skill to turn the book into something that I felt was worthwhile. I reluctantly shelved it and spent a couple of years reading more than I ever had before, writing a little fanfiction to remind me what I loved about writing, and starting what would become my first published book, the YA fantasy Threats of Sky and Sea.

Flash-forward to me cleaning out my closet one day and coming across the binder that housed the bare bones of Now and Again. Somewhat afraid of how bad it would be, I read everything I’d
written all those years ago and I realized that I finally knew what made Em tick. And I knew I had to tell her story, so I started the book all over again.

I really enjoyed having the dual POVs on the book. Did you plan it that way from the start? Who was your favourite character to write? Cole or Em?

Oooo, this is tough. Cole’s voice came through for me a lot clearer, so sometimes he was my favorite just because he was much easier. He was a relief to write after the struggle that was Em.

But, there’s something to be said for the challenge of Em. She was never easy to write, but once I understood what made her tick, I connected with her on a level that I really haven’t ever connected with a character before. Em isn’t really cold—she just uses it to hide a vulnerability. She doesn’t hate love or commitment—the idea of letting someone have the power to hurt her just terrifies her. And if I’m honest, those are things I completely understand.

So, I guess I have to go with Em. She’s my girl. ^_^;

The changing timeline from now to then worked great for the book, giving us lil tidbits here and teasing us to discover more. Was it always planned like that?

For the most part, yes! I definitely knew that I wanted to tell both the story of “Now” and the story of “Then.” I toyed briefly with the idea of making it a bit more linear in structure--making the big chunk of “Then” come before the big chunk of “Now”-- instead of a chapter here and there interspersed throughout. But I didn’t even attempt it. It just didn’t feel right.

Thank you so much for being here Jen! 

Thank you again for having me!

Giveaway

Click HERE to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway to win 1 of 3 e-copies of Now And Again!!

Mark This Book Monday: ARC Review of A Riot of Storm And Smoke by Jennifer Ellision!!!

Hello there people!

Today is a new week and one of those Mondays after working the weekend, so nothing much is different for me!

I'm hoping to get some quiet time to read at the cottage during this week since I work the weekend once again... On the bright side that'll mean a lil extra on my next pay check, which will be highly welcome!

For this week's Mark This Book Monday I have an ARC of a book that I have been eagerly awaiting and when the author asked if I wanted to get I'm surprised she didn't go deaf from my squealing... I guess she's like she lives in Florida!

As an ARC it is part of ARC August and as a fantasy book it'll also count towards my 105 Challenge!

Riot of Storm and Smoke by Jennifer Ellision

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


What a fantastic middle book! It's got everything that a second book in a trilogy should have: plot development, action, character development, new conflicts and new characters!

Riot of Storm and Smoke starts right were Threats of Sky and Sea left us, but Jennifer does a very good of jogging our memory to bring us up to speed with lil nudges here and there, but nothing too repetitive that could bother someone binge reading the books.

The book is told in (mostly) alternating dual POVs, Bree and Caden's, and it manages to be distinct enough and to move along the plot, showing us what is going on both sides.

Bree is on the run with her friends and she's keeping quite a few secrets from them, which usually isn't the wisest course of action, but give the situation, I cannot really blame her for trying to figure out things on her own and trying to clutch to the last vestiges of her old life, even if she knows nothing is as she once believed. She's struggling with all the revelations and it shows in her grasp of her power.

Scaping the king will prove difficult enough even with the Underground's help and at every step of their way there's a new difficulty and we get quite a few surprises! We even meet some unexpected allies and an enemy comes back in a very different way winning a measure of reception even!

Kaden's side is no less painful and worrisome to read and although he grows a lot as a character, he is also dealing with some deep worries that sometimes hinder his ultimate goals of freeing his country and doing what's best for his people. His search for allies is not without even more danger than Bree's flight but he also finds himself with a loyal ally and friend that also has enough sass to keep him in check! I adored Lilia's names for him!

There's a lot of tension in the book, with a few more calm moments now and then that simply lull you into a feeling okay before some new worrisome twist is sprang on you! And the ending? Well, talk about an explosive climax in more ways than one! And yes, it does end in a cliffhanger!! BUT it's the exciting kind of cliffhanger, one that leaves you excited and making grabby hands for the next book, but not one that leaves you screaming in frustration!

A fantastic second book very much deserving of 4.5 stars!



View all my reviews

Xpresso Book Tour Blog Tour for Threats of Sky & Sea by Jennifer Ellision!!

Hey there everyone! Today I'm taking part in the Blog Tour for Threats of Sky And Sea by Jennifer Ellision, organized by Xpresso Book Tours!

I will be sharing my review & a Blog Tour wide giveaway, so click HERE for the full tour schedule! But before that, let's get you some more information about the book & author, shall we?

Threats of Sky and Sea by Jennifer Ellision
(Threats of Sky and Sea #1)
Publication date: May 20th 2014
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

Synopsis:
Sixteen year-old Breena Perdit has spent her life as a barmaid, innocent to her father’s past and happily free from the Elemental gifts that would condemn her to a life in the Egrian King’s army. Until the day that three Elemental soldiers recognize her father as a traitor to the throne and Bree’s father is thrown in jail—along with the secrets from his last mission as the King’s assassin. Secrets that could help the King win a war. Secrets he refuses to share.

Desperate to escape before the King’s capricious whims prove her and her father’s downfall, Bree bargains with him: information for their lives. It’s a good trade. And she has faith she’ll get them both out of the King’s grasp with time.

But that was before the discovery that she’s the weapon the King’s been waiting for in his war.

Now, time is running out. To save her father’s life and understand her own, Bree must unravel the knot of her father’s past before the King takes his life– and uses her to bring a nation to its knees.

 Amazon Kindle | Paperback | Barnes & Noble Nook | Smashwords

About the author:

Jennifer Ellision spent a great deal of her childhood staying up past her bedtime with a book and a flashlight. When she couldn’t find the stories she wanted to read, she started writing them. She loves words, has a soft spot for fanfiction, and is a master of the fangirl flail. She lives in South Florida with her family, where she lives in fear of temperatures below 60 Fahrenheit.

Threats of Sky and Sea, a young adult fantasy, is her first novel.

You can find Jennifer online at www.jenniferellision.com, or on twitter @JenEllision.

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter 

 My Review

I have been quite in the mood for fantasy books and this book was the perfect fantasy read to my mood!

I got my ARC from Xpresso Book Tours so thanks a lot Giselle for letting me be part of this tour! I will try my best to keep my review spoiler free, but I might find myself babbling a bit too enthusiastically and end up letting something slip, but I promise no big reveals will slip my lips!

The book starts with Bree in the forest, trying to gather some wood to take back to the inn runs with her father. She finds herself following some screams in case someone needs help but stumbles into something bigger that she could even imagine. Soon her life changes completely and she discovers that her father had kept her in the dark of way too many things and that neither her father or herself are who she had believed they were. Her world changes so suddenly and in such an abrupt and dangerous way that I'm surprised how well she handled things, even if she had her moments here and there!

The world building was quite fantastic! We start small, with this small inn near a river and a small village nearby. With Bree and her Da, that make a fantastic team at staying afloat even in difficult times, and you can see the genuine love between them and how much Bree likes her life. Then little by little we get a bit more information about what's beyond the inn, and then we go on discovering more of the bigger picture and the world as Bree experience and fumble through it. There's a fantastic mix of magic with the Elementals (that made me think a bit of Avatar and the element benders) and the medieval feel of a court full of political intrigue and an overly powerful and ambitious king.

The characters were quite interesting, and I absolutely adore Bree! She's headstrong but kind and with a resilience that I wish I could have if I'd find myself in a situation like hers. She gets the life she had taken from her, mistreated & taken as prisoner, discovers that her father has lied to her... then gets chucked into court (that is like a nest of vipers) and is expected to change who she's always been and be grateful for it. She is spied on, experimented on, threatened by the king and mostly ignored by her own father (even if it was a wise choice due to the spies all over the place)...

Bree's Da was quite a mystery and by the end of book we're still left with quite a few questions about him, that I hope we'll get answered in upcoming books, because we can see he was quite a complex character with a dark past full of hard choices but a real love for Bree. The king was a rather typical villain to hate, but I think there's also more to him than just the ambition and power-crazy tyrant we see. And talking about evil characters I can't not mention Lady Kat, the king's Elemental assassin and right hand, she is one very hateful character that deals with threat and knowledge as well as fear.

Aleta the royal princess was quite an interesting character too, so prickly and distant at first but a character full of layers and that becomes a true friend and ally to Bree. I think these two can make a fantastic team together. Then we have Prince Caden, the heir of the kingdom that finds himself in a most difficult position between family loyalty and what his moral compass tells him to do. An interesting character that has great banter with Bree and makes for an interesting love interesting, even if the romance is very very subtle and develops very nicely and slowly.

I was a big fan of the romance in this book because even if you could suspect where it was going, it was never thrown in your face and you can see a fondness growing and turning into something more, it never takes over the plot, or the characters brains. Even if the hormones might get the best of the love interest in one certain occasion, desperation and all that!

As far as the plot goes this is the first novel of a trilogy (hopefully a longer series) but it's not just world building and barely any plot movement. Here we get a pair of big reveals and although I suspected both beforehand, they were not obvious or dull, and we still don't really get the full picture. The ending is not exactly a cliffhanger but there's a lot to happen and loads of unanswered questions! I'm really looking forward to the next book and give this one 4 to 4.5 stars!

Giveaway

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