Blog Tour for The Nightmare Charade by Mindee Arnett: Review & Giveaway!!!

Hey there guys!!

Today I'm more than honoured to be part of The Nightmare Charade Blog Tour hosted by IFB Tours!
Mindee is one of my auto-buy authors and I'm really sad to say goodbye to The Arkwell Academy series and Dusty and Eli! But with Nightmare Charade we say goodbye to the series with a proper bang!

Before I share my spoiler-free as possible review of The Nightmare Charade and you guys can enter the giveaway, I'll let you know a bit more about book and author, in case you aren't familiar with either of them!

And don't forget to check the rest of the tour schedule HERE!

The Nightmare Charade by Mindee Arnett

Series: Arkwell Academy #3

Release date: August 4th 2015
Publisher: Tor Teen
Purchase: Amazon | B&N

Synopsis via Goodreads:
 
The final installment in a thrilling fantastical mystery series.
 
Sixteen-year-old Dusty Everhart breaks into houses late at night, but not because she’s a criminal. No, she’s a Nightmare. Literally. Dusty is a magical being who feeds on human dreams.
 
Being the only Nightmare at Arkwell Academy, a boarding school for magickind, and living in the shadow of her mother’s infamy is hard enough, not to mention the crazy events of the past year. Dusty may have saved the day, but there are many days left in the year, and with an old foe back to seek revenge, she'll need all her strength to defeat him and save her friends. 

Mindee Arnett thrills again in this stunning final installment in the Arkwell Academy series.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

YA Author of THE NIGHTMARE AFFAIR, a contemporary fantasy coming March 5, 2013 from Tor Teen (Macmillan) and AVALON, a YA sci-fi thriller coming Winter 2014 from Balzer+Bray (HarperCollins). Represented by the fabulous Suzie Townsend of New Leaf Literary. Addicted to jumping horses and telling tales of magic, the macabre, and outer space.

                    WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | GOODREADS | INSTAGRAM

REVIEW

From the first moment that I read The Nightmare Affair, I fell in love with Dusty and her slightly awkward charm and loved this school for different magickind and here I am now trying to review the final book...

Whenever we read the final book in a series we've loved and enjoyed, it's always a very bittersweet feeling and there's a lil trepitation about how well the final book will wrap up the story. In this case, I'm more than happy to report that we needed not fear! Mindee did a fantastic job to solve the big mysteries, move the story along, keep us turning pages like mad and worry about everyone because it seemed like no one was really safe!

I will try my best to remain spoiler free for not just this book but also the previous books in the trilogy, but keep in mind something might slip if I get overenthusiastic, as it might happen!

We knew to expect a mystery since we're talking about the Dream Team after all! (is it cheesy? Yes, but hell I love it!) But things are getting darker and creepier and even more dangerous than ever before! Do you see that barge/boat on the cover? You won't look at it in the same way after you've read the book, let me tell you that!

Not only we have out main guys fighting to be together as the star-crossed lovers they're now (some revelations happen here) but we also have more distrust and misdirection that ever since our new bad minion can be anyone!

We also get a good look at profiling and discrimination done through how different kinds of magickind are treated by each other. Easier to digest when it's not presented as obvious as it'd be through our normal reality but will give plenty of food for thought if applied to our every day life.

High stakes, evil that can be anyone and anywhere, and loved ones that keep on disappearing make for a tense read and if we add the very disquieting dreams that are the only clues our Dream Team has, along with some memories from the sword... Guessing who the bad guy is, turning the page hoping things can be fixed somehow, it all makes for a tense and at the same time fun read, because no matter how high the stakes are, there is always a lil bit of humour in these books, and I'm really thankful for it!

Very well deserved 4.5 stars to this final chapter! Fantastic way to end this trilogy full of charm, fun and plenty of mystery!

GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cover Reveal: Nightmare Charade by Mindee Arnett!!

Hello there guys!!

Welcome to the “official” cover reveal of The Nightmare Charade, the final installment of the Arkwell Academy series by Mindee Arnett from Tor Teen. The book is out August 4th, but below is your chance to win an advanced copy. So scroll down to see the cover and learn a little bit about the book (please note the cover is not quite final but almost).


<<<


*scroll*


<<<<


*scroll, scroll*


<<<<


*scroll, scroll, scroll*


<<<<

The Nightmare Charade by Mindee Arnett

It’s her junior year at Arkwell Academy and Dusty Everhart just wants to be alone with her boyfriend, Eli Booker. But fate is literally keeping them apart. See, Dusty is a Nightmare, who can enter Eli’s dreams to find clues to the future, but an ancient curse predicts that any romance between them is doomed to end in tragedy. Dusty and Eli are willing to take that risk, but the authorities disagree—and have assigned a chaperone to make sure their relationship is strictly platonic.
As if that’s not bad enough, they’ve been recruited by the Department of Intelligence for Magickind Secrecy (D.I.M.S.) to use their dream-seer bond to help recover the most powerful object of black magic known to magickind. The Animus Mortem can raise the dead by stealing the souls of the living… which makes tracking it down a genuine matter of life and death. 

To make matters worse, one of Dusty’s friends is accused of murder, and is counting on her to clear his name.
Dusty has too many dreams, too many commitments, and too many people looking over her shoulder, but a Nightmare seldom plays by the rules. Curse or no curse, chaperone or not, she has to go deep into Eli’s dreams if she’s going to find the truth—and discover a way for them to truly be together at last!

A message from Mindee herself!:

Hello! And thanks for coming to my “official” cover reveal. By that I mean, the cover has been leaked for months now, but we’re not going to let that stop us from celebrating! So firstly, can I just say how much I love this one? I’ve been lucky in all my covers for the Arkwell Academy series, but I adore this color so much. We almost made book 2 this color, but it worked out so much better for this one. Thanks so much to the artist Kate Forester and to my brilliant editor, Whitney Ross.

So what exactly are we looking at here with the strange boat and river scene? Well, if you guessed “dream sequence” then you’re right. Charade starts off two months after the end of The Nightmare Dilemma. Dusty has just returned from a summer-long tour of Europe with her mother, and she’s eager to reconnect with Eli. But of course their reunion doesn’t go as
planned when they are interrupted by a magickind special agent who has come to recruit them for a special—and dangerous—task.

What else can you expect? Well, there’s kissing, and magic, old enemies and new, and kissing, and scary dreams, and good friends, and action, oh and more kissing. Sadly, there are also a few casualties as well. This really is the end of the story for Dusty and Eli, but I hope you enjoy the ride!


Guys, I don't know about you, but I'm super excited to finally get my hands on this one, even more after that cruel ending for book 2 and also a lil sad because we'll be saying goodbye to Dusty and Eli!

Giveaway

-Closes midnight EST on May 13, 2015

-Open internationally

-2 signed advanced readers copies of The Nightmare Charade

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Friday Reads: ARC Review of Polaris by Mindee Arnett!!!

Hello guys!

Friday is here again, and although for me it means work and a working weekend, I have a review for a book that I love for this week's Friday Reads!

I was extrememly lucky to win a print ARC of Polaris, signed by Mindee Arnett in a giveaway that the author herself organized, and I was rightly chuffed because any print ARC are so rare and precious for me to get my hands on! And of course, I had to read it right away! But now, it releases next Tuesday so I can share a bit about the book even if I've had to work very hard at keeping the review spoiler free!


Polaris by Mindee Arnett

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Avalon was one of those books that I loved last year and like all science fiction for me feels like comfort food! So when I was lucky enough to win an ARC of Polaris and got to read it early, I was elated!!

Polaris stars pretty much where Avalon left us, with a lot of heartache, shock and with plenty of anger and loss to go around. And this is not exactly a sunshine and puppies kind of book, it's a darker book, with a lot of strife to get through.

Poor Jeth goes through so much and has to grow so much! He's always been the leader of the Shades, but he's never had wanted more and less to be in charge of everything that he has to in this book. He gets thrown curve ball after curve ball and keeps doing his best to take them in stride but has to learn some really tough lessons about himself, about control and about trust.

I don't really want to talk much (or at all) about the plot because I don't to accidentally spoil something for either this book or Avalon. I'll tell you that the Shades undertake their biggest mission to date in this one, that they don't do it alone and that it is biggest clusterfuck of a mission they ever had to deal with! We travel to two very different but very important places and we learn a lot about life, the universe and everything! (except for a thing or two!).

Polaris has everything that I love in science fiction, bigger questions about ourselves and what we're doing, what defines being human, responsability and consequences, spaceships, banter, adventure!! And some references to other geeky science fiction bits here and here that made me giggle happily even in between tough scenes.

This book is everything that Avalon was and more, everything is kicked up a notch (or two) and by the end of the book I couldn't turn the pages fast enough (while wondering what else could go wrong, and what else could happen to poor Jeth!)!

All I can say is that if you've read Avalon, of course you MUST read Polaris, and if you haven't started the duology, what are you waiting for?? GO NOW! Oh, and a word of advice, also read Proxy, the novella, you'll be better prepared!

Very well deserved 4 to 4.5 stars to this one. I cannot wait to read more science fiction written by Mindee Arnett!



View all my reviews

First Chapter First Paragraph #11: Winterspell by Claire Legrand & Polaris by Mindee Arnett!!!

First Chapter, First Paragraph is one of the two memes that I will be alternating on Thursdays in place of my Ink & Batter posts during the summer, when I won't be baking due to the heat!

I discovered this meme via the ladies of My Shelf Confessions, and it is hosted on Tuesdays by Bibliophile by the Sea. But since I already have my blog tours posts and Tell Me Tuesdays, I thought that it'd work best on Thursdays for me!

The idea of this meme/feature is quite self-explanatory from its name, we share the first paragraph of the first chapter of our current read! Quite a good teaser for others to read and see if they'd be intrigued!

 Sooooo, I really haven't been reading much these past few days, so I'm still reading the same books I talked about on Tuesday and that means you guys are gonna get a peek at two ARCs and one of those is a 2015 one!! Excited?? I hope so!! Bear in mind, these paragraphs are taken from ARCs, so they might or might not remain like that on the finished books!

In case you are wondering why I haven't been reading the past days it's not cause I'm on a reading slump at all or cause I'm not enjoying the books (that I'm loving!) it's all a highlander's fault! I'm binge watching Outlander and falling madly in love with Jamie! *swoons*

 Winterspell by Claire Legrand

"One more hour and Clara Stole could turn criminal.

Could, that is, if she managed to stand her ground until then, for every eye in the crowd was watching her, waiting for her to say something impressive, something to commemorate the day. And she was so tired of fumbling through grand words that were never quite grand enough for such hungry, thirsty people."

Polaris by Mindee Arnett

"The spaceport's casino was the perfect spot for the deal to go down"

What? You want more? Ooookay!

"Jeth Seagrave knew it the moment he stepped inside. The place seemed to envelop him, the light so bright they made it almost impossible to see and the noise a constant vibration, everything from the hum of the slot machines to the shouts of dealers calling for bets. Some kind of mild, hypnotic music played in the background, blending the sounds together in a reassuring soundtrack -- time does not exist here, it seemed to intone. Here you are safe. Here you belong."





What do you think? Would you want to know more?
What are you reading right now?

Tell Me Tuesdays #12!!

Tell Me Tuesdays is a meme/feature created by the awesome ladies of Please Feed The Bookworm and La La In The Library where we can share how we choose the book we are currently reading from our TBR pile!

I'm always curious about that, cause as much as I tend to make myself a rough schedule for books to read and the like, I'm quite a mood reader and sometimes I just HAVE to ignore my schedule and read something else!

 Polaris by Mindee Arnett

"Following the events of Avalon, Jeth Seagrave and his crew are on the run. Jeth is desperate to find the resources and funding he needs to rescue his mother from an ITA’s research lab and leave this whole galaxy behind for a new life somewhere else. But the ITA is just as desperate, and soon Jeth finds himself pursued by a mysterious figure hell-bent on capturing Jeth and his crew—dead or alive. In a last-ditch effort to save everyone he holds dear, Jeth enters into a bargain with the last person he ever thought he'd see again: Dax Shepherd, the galaxy’s newest and most fearsome crime lord. And he’s not the only one: upon arriving back at Peltraz spaceport for the first time since he witnessed the death of his old employer, Jeth discovers Dax has a new partner: Jeth’s mother, Marian.

This shocking turn of events is only the first in another breathless, action-packed sci-fi adventure rife with danger, love, and betrayal, as Jeth has to once again ask himself how much he’s willing to invest in a morally bankrupt galaxy in the hopes of saving those he cares for."

 Winterspell by Claire Legrand

"Darkly romantic and entirely enchanting, this reimagining of The Nutcracker from Claire Legrand brims with magic, love, and intrigue. New York Times bestselling author Marissa Meyer (Cinder) says “this is not your grandmother’s Nutcracker tale.”

After her mother is brutally murdered, seventeen-year-old Clara Stole is determined to find out what happened to her. Her father, a powerful man with little integrity, is a notorious New York City gang lord in the syndicate-turned-empire called Concordia. And he isn’t much help.

But there is something even darker than Concordia’s corruption brewing under the surface of the city, something full of vengeance and magic, like the stories Clara’s godfather used to tell her when she was a little girl. Then her father is abducted and her little sister’s life is threatened, and Clara accidentally frees Nicholas from a statue that has been his prison for years. Nicholas is the rightful prince of Cane, a wintry kingdom that exists beyond the city Clara has known her whole life.

When Nicholas and Clara journey together to Cane to retrieve her father, Clara encounters Anise, the queen of the faeries, who has ousted the royal family in favor of her own totalitarian, anti-human regime. Clara finds that this new world is not as foreign as she feared, but time is running out for her family, and there is only so much magic can do..."


These two are ARCs, and both of them I'm reading more as me reads than actually because I must. Winterspell is a September release, so this one is also working on the review pile, but Polaris... well, Polaris is a total "I want to read it now and I don't care if it's a 2015 release" case. I won the ARC on a giveaway that the author did on her blog and I'm just so happy to have it in my hands! Thank you Mindee!

So what are you all guys reading and how and why did you decide to pick up that book? Shiny new ARC? Comfort read? Scheduled for review? Must have new release? Tell me!!

 

Friday Reads: The Nightmare Dilemma by Mindee Arnett!!

For the first Friday Reads of the week, I have a book that I was very much looking forward to and that I read almost in one sitting and absolutely enjoyed! Made me laugh, made me root for the characters and broke my heart a little bit! Thank you Mindee Arnett for a great sequel!



The Nightmare Dilemma by Mindee Arnett

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I really enjoyed The Nightmare Affair and thankfully The Nightmare Dilemma was even better!

Dusty, Eli and the rest of the Dream Team and for that matters the rest of the hiding magical society, are still recovering from the consequences of the battle with the evil sorcerer with the black phoenix pet and the break of the Will.

If I had liked Dusty before, I simply adored her in this one. She's got this quirky and sarcastic sense of humour and she's beginning to try and learn to put a filter between her brain and her mouth, but she's still hilarious. She's grown a bit since TNA and she continues to do so in this book but never losing that teeanage feel to her, with her dashes of rebellious attitude.

I liked Eli a lot more in this book than I did on the previous one. He came into his own, wasn't acting too stereoptypical and he even find a place for himself in the magical midst of Arkwell. It was very sweet the way the attraction and friendship mix was done between Eli and Dusty, and pretty heartwrenching too.

The plot mix of political manouvers, general danger and character interactions and relationships was done very well, and I really liked how despite the main plot was resolved and this book is a chapter in itself, you also get the feeling of the unrealized-as-of-now but constant threat that will come forward in the next book.

The Nightmare Dilemma was a great sequel, didn't suffer from the middle book syndrome at all, and progressed the characters development and relationships with a very engaging plot of its own. And as a bonus, no real cliffhanger. The ending leaves you feeling for the unfairness of it all, but doesn't leave you heartbroken without hope. Well deserved 4 stars!



View all my reviews

Waiting On Wednesday #31!!

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted at Breaking The Spine  that spotlights those can't-wait-to-get-my-hands-on-them books that we are eagerly awaiting!


What book am I is-it-here-yet awaiting this week? The Nightmare Dilemma by Mindee Arnett!

Goodreads Summary:

"The thrilling new fantastical mystery series from YA author Mindee Arnett continues in The Nightmare Dilemma.

Dusty Everhart might be able to predict the future through the dreams of her crush, Eli Booker, but that doesn’t make her life even remotely easy. When one of her mermaid friends is viciously assaulted and left for dead, and the school’s jokester, Lance Rathbone, is accused of the crime, Dusty’s as shocked as everybody else. Lance needs Dusty to prove his innocence by finding the real attacker, but that’s easier asked than done. Eli’s dreams are no help, more nightmares than prophecies.  

To make matters worse, Dusty’s ex-boyfriend has just been acquitted of conspiracy and is now back at school, reminding Dusty of why she fell for him in the first place. The Magi Senate needs Dusty to get close to him, to discover his real motives. But this order infuriates Eli, who has started his own campaign for Dusty’s heart. As Dusty takes on both cases, she begins to suspect they’re connected to something bigger. And there’s something very wrong with Eli’s dreams, signs that point to a darker plot than they could have ever imagined."



Why am I eagerly awaiting The Nightmare Dilemma? I loved Mindee's debut, The Nightmare Affair and I thought it was such a fun and refreshing read! I cannot wait to read more of Dusty's adventures and after reading online (thank you, Tor Teen!) the first two chapters... I cannot wait to read more!


What are you all (im)patiently awaiting this week?

Friday Reads: Avalon by Mindee Arnett!!

And my next and final Friday Reads for this week is one of those extremely awaited books for this year and one that didn't disappoint at all! This is one that is not part of any of my challenges (except my Goodreads one, of course) but was one that I read just because I really wanted to, I read it just for me!



Avalon by Mindee Arnett

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Avalon was in my list of highly awaited books of the year because it's science fiction, it was inspired by Firefly (one of my fave geeky shows) and it's written by Mindee Arnett and I love her (she's geeky and all around awesome!).

I had to wait for a wait for my preordered copy for a week to arrive (postal services!) and I have to thank Sam from Realm of Fiction cause I won my copy on a giveaway on her blog!

I had read Proxy, the prequel novella, so I had already met Jeth and the crew and had also got a peek at the first chapter of Avalon. And it was just a tiny peek at what we find in this one. I will try my best to share my love and excitement for this book and avoid spoilers as much as possible.

The book starts with the Malleus Shades working on an assignment for Hammer and it doesn't go to well, but instead of all hell breaking loose because of it they are assigned a new and even more mysterious mission. That mission takes them to a remote area of the galaxy, a Bermuda triangle of sorts, where they have to find a ship with valuable contents and no survivors and that's where all the complications start!

Jeth is a very believable character, he's a teenager that deals with a lot of responsability and pressure but still he's a guy that misses an adult in his life that he could rely on. Lizzie is adorable, a genius and a whirlwind, Celeste, Shady and Flynn... fantastic crew of guys! I kept on comparing them with the Firefly crew and what Mindee wrote so well was the interactions between them, they really feel like family!

There's plenty of action and tension and meeting new characters that you aren't sure you can trust. The plot was very engaging and with quite a few twists and revelations that I didn't expect and that were quite game changers, even when things seem to be slowing down. Jeth keeps getting curve balls thrown at him and he keeps trying to do his best to stay ahead and protect those he loves. He keeps on fighting for his freedom and Avalon and even so, he's still a teenager with hormones, so there was a bit of romance there. Not much, not plot driving and definitely more spark of attraction between two teenagers than an "undying love declaration" kind.

This is a perfect piece of science fiction, full of technology, great characters, unexpected twists, high stakes and thankfully without an awful cliffhanger. The story has a sense of closure but with plenty of threads pending to be really looking forward for the next and final book in the series!

Very well deserved 4.5 starts!



View all my reviews

Release Day for Avalon by Mindee Arnett! And a Giveaway!!

Hello everyone! Welcome to the celebration of one of my "uber awaited" books of the year!

Avalon by Mindee Arnett
Release Date: Today 21st Jan 2014!

Of the various star systems that make up the Confederation, most lie thousands of light-years from First Earth—and out here, no one is free. The agencies that govern the Confederation are as corrupt as the crime bosses who patrol it, and power is held by anyone with enough greed and ruthlessness to claim it. That power is derived from one thing: metatech, the devices that allow people to travel great distances faster than the speed of light.

Jeth Seagrave and his crew of teenage mercenaries have survived in this world by stealing unsecured metatech, and they're damn good at it. Jeth doesn't care about the politics or the law; all he cares about is earning enough money to buy back his parents' ship, Avalon, from his crime-boss employer and getting himself and his sister, Lizzie, the heck out of Dodge. But when Jeth finds himself in possession of information that both the crime bosses and the government are willing to kill for, he is going to have to ask himself how far he'll go to get the freedom he's wanted for so long.

With pulse-pounding action, a captivating mystery, and even a bit of romance, Avalon is the perfect read for hard-core sci-fi fans and non–sci-fi fans alike.

Amazon

B&N

Books-a-million

IndieBound

Google Play

Kobo

iTunes

 

About the author: 

 

Mindee Arnett is the author of one other book for teens,The Nightmare Affair. She lives on a horse farm in Ohio with her husband, two kids, a couple of dogs, and an inappropriate number of cats. Her dream home, though, is aboard a spaceship.

Website: http://www.mindeearnett.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/mindeearnett

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Mindee-Arnett/215046761888669

Tumblr: http://mindeearnett.tumblr.com/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5145808.Mindee_Arnett

 

The Shiny Giveaway!

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/7511d06/" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway

And now excuse me while I'm gonna go see if my preorder has arrived in the mail! Happy Shiny Avalon Day guys!

Waiting On Wednesday #20!!

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted at Breaking The Spine  that spotlights those can't-wait-to-get-my-hands-on-them books that we are eagerly awaiting!

 This week's very much awaited, is-it-out-yet book? is Avalon by Mindee Arnett!!

Goodreads summary:

"A ragtag group of teenage mercenaries who crew the spaceship Avalon stumble upon a conspiracy that could threaten the entire galaxy in this fascinating and fast-paced sci-fi adventure from author Mindee Arnett.

Of the various star systems that make up the Confederation, most lie thousands of light-years from First Earth-and out here, no one is free. The agencies that govern the Confederation are as corrupt as the crime bosses who patrol it, and power is held by anyone with enough greed and ruthlessness to claim it. That power is derived from one thing: metatech, the devices that allow people to travel great distances faster than the speed of light.

Jeth Seagrave and his crew of teenage mercenaries have survived in this world by stealing unsecured metatech, and they're damn good at it. Jeth doesn't care about the politics or the law; all he cares about is earning enough money to buy back his parents' ship, Avalon, from his crime-boss employer and getting himself and his sister, Lizzie, the heck out of Dodge. But when Jeth finds himself in possession of information that both the crime bosses and the government are willing to kill for, he is going to have to ask himself how far he'll go to get the freedom he's wanted for so long.

Avalon is the perfect fit for teens new to sci-fi as well as seasoned sci-fi readers looking for more books in the YA space-and a great match for fans of Joss Whedon's cult hit show Firefly."


Why am I eagerly awaiting Avalon? I am a huge science fiction fan so I was quite excited when Mindee Arnett announced her new series, and even more when she pitched it as Firefly but with teens! (Yes, huge Firefly fan here!) And when she said that her main character was like a young Han Solo? Squee!! (Yes, also huge Star Wars fan here!!). So, all in all this book is shaping up to be a massive geekgasm for me!

What are you all (im)patiently awaiting this week?

Friday Reads: Mini Reviews: Proxy and Annie and Fia!

I'm gonna start this week's Friday Reads with a pair of Mini Reviews for two novellas that released this week.



Annie and Fia by Kiersten White

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Annie and Fia is a short novella that can be considered a prequel to Mind Games. It is told in the same way that Mind Games was, jumping through time in each chapter and alternating between Fia and Annie's POVs.

We get a look at some of the events that shaped the Annie and Fia that we met in Mind Games, some of the events that seemed to have been the turning point for both of them. We get to see Annie's first vision and we get to see how she had to deal with people being cruel to her. And we see Fia losing her innocence and getting herself tangled more and more in the darker side of the "school" and how she keeps on putting Annie before her every time.

Might be cause of its short length or maybe cause we've already heard about some of the events that happen, or we already see the sisters changed in Mind Games, this one didn't seem to add that much to the overall story for me, maybe a bit more understanding to the way Annie clings to the only happiness she had in the school and how Fia seems to sacrifice everything to keep Annie happy.

All in all, 3 stars for me.




Proxy by Mindee Arnett

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Proxy is a prequel novella for the new science fiction series by Mindee Arnett.

In Proxy we meet all the main characters that we will be following in Avalon, the first book in the series, Jeth and the rest of the Shades. We are introduced to them and what they do for a living. We're thrown right away into the action and we get to know the characters by the way they act.

I was quite excited about Proxy cause it is an introduction to the world of Avalon and I'm happy to report that I'm already in love with Jeth and his band of smart misfits! I am a lover of science fiction and if Avalon is like Proxy, it is quite promising! Full of action, with enough development to make you care for them and look forward to read more about them. There were no hints at a romance at all, and I wouldn't be upset if there was none in Avalon. Not that I don't appreciate a well done romance, but I feel like I need a bit of a break and reading some adventures in space without romance taking over the plot sounds great.

There's also the first chapter of Avalon at the end of Proxy and damn, does it leave you wanting more!

4 well deserved stars to this introduction to the Avalon world.



View all my reviews

Release Day for Proxy by Mindee Arnett! Excerpt and Giveaway!

 

 

Proxy by Mindee Arnett.

If you need something stolen from any star system in the Confederation, you need look no further than the Shades. Jeth Seagrave and his band of teenage mercenaries have been making a name for themselves for being able to steal anything—and for disappearing before anyone is the wiser.

Their latest job, a jewel heist on Grakkus, should be no different. But when Jeth's boss replaces a key member of his crew just before takeoff, and Jeth discovers a betrayal within his own ranks, he begins to suspect that not everyone is going to be coming back from his job alive.

Proxy is an action-packed introduction to a world like nothing readers have seen before.


About the author:

Mindee Arnett lives on a horse farm in Ohio with her husband, two kids, a couple of dogs, and an inappropriate number of cats. She’s addicted to jumping horses and telling tales of magic, the macabre, and outer space. She has far more dreams than nightmares. She's the YA author of The Nightmare Affair (Tor Teen), an urban fantasy series about a girl who is literally a nightmare and must use her skills to solve a murder, and the forthcoming science fiction series, Avalon (B+B, 1/21/2014), where Jeth and his teenage mercenaries need to pull off one last big job in order to earn their freedom.

Website: http://www.mindeearnett.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/mindeearnett

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Mindee-Arnett/215046761888669

Tumblr: http://mindeearnett.tumblr.com/

I am super excited to read Proxy, the prequel to Avalon, and if you guys are as excited as I am, here's an excerpt for your reading pleasure!:

"The thrill of the job never got old. Jeth Seagrave lived for it. For the way the anticipation sent electricity pulsing through his veins, making his blood burn hotter, his heart beat harder, and sharpening his senses until he felt like something more than human. A superhero from one of the ancient myths of First Earth, perhaps. 

You’re no hero. The automatic thought skidded through his mind, barely registering. No, he wasn’t. He was a thief. One of the best. 

And that was all that mattered. Never mind that he was only sixteen. Never mind that most of his crew was even younger. Together they were an unstoppable force, a gang of teenage thieves their adult marks never saw coming. The thrill pulsed harder inside him, and with an effort he focused on the nav monitor in front of him. They would be entering the patrolled zone around the planet Grakkus soon. 

To his left, Celeste piloted the Debonair forward, her hands steady on the control column. Jeth would’ve preferred to pilot this job—he would prefer to pilot every job—but he and Celeste took turns. All of the members of the Malleus Shades held specific roles that played to their strengths. Celeste’s forte was counterintelligence, particularly the art of distracting marks. Jeth’s was strategy, and he typically took point on every job. But when it came to piloting, he and Celeste were equally matched. 

Jeth drew a breath, still struggling to focus. He couldn’t help it. The upcoming job was the most challenging, complicated one they’d taken on yet. The target was located in a vault at the top of a tower only accessible through the emperor of Grakkus’s personal bedchambers—not some insignificant politician or petty crime lord, but an emperor. Pulling it off would be like flying a spaceship through a solar storm without getting fried.
A grin threatened to break on his face. The job was going to be fun, and with a payout well worth the risk. 

At last the nav computer flashed an indicator that they were heading into the patrolled zone.
Celeste glanced at him, her dark eyes narrowing. Straight black hair hung in a blunt cut down to her shoulders. “Are you going to turn on the stealth drive or what?”
“I’m thinking about it.” A part of him didn’t want to. The so-called stealth drive was brand new and untested, at least by the Shades. If it didn’t work, things were going to get a whole lot more interesting real quick. And if it did work, well, then things weren’t going to get interesting. He couldn’t decide which he preferred. 

In the end, Celeste made the decision for him, reaching over to a switch on a sleek new section of the control panel. Jeth sighed. It was the right thing to do, of course, and there would be plenty of risks to be had once they landed. 

Or it might not work properly, he thought, examining the nav monitor once more. Best not to blindly trust some newfangled technology. Within minutes he spotted a blimp on the monitor, a patrol to their starboard. The ship was far off, but within range to scan them. 

“What should I do?” A hint of panic colored Celeste’s voice. They had never before flown so boldly through a patrolled area.
“Hold course,” Jeth said, not taking his eyes off the blimp. So far the patrol ship hadn’t given any sign that it had spotted them.
“You sure you’re right?”
“Aren’t I always?”
Celeste snorted. “Do you want an honest answer?”
“Nope. I prefer my own version of the truth.”
“Right.” Celeste tightened her grip on the controls. According to the instructions they’d received from their employer, who owned the Debonair, the stealth drive worked best when the ship maintained a constant speed and course. Any sharp turns or drastic acceleration or deceleration could turn up on a system scanning for thruster signatures, stealth drive or no. 

Maybe it was for the best that Celeste was piloting, Jeth realized. He would’ve been tempted to test the theory of what constituted “drastic.” 

They passed out of range of the patrol a few minutes later, and Jeth sat back in the copilot’s chair, folding his arms across his chest as he tried to ignore his disappointment. They flew within range of three more patrols but moved past them without incident, finally breaching Grakkus’s atmosphere.
Once through, Celeste headed for their rendezvous point, an isolated forested area a few hundred kilometers outside of the capital city. Beyond the bridge’s main windows, the first rays of sunlight were breasting the horizon, heralded by a swath of purple, pink, and vermillion. 

At last Celeste set the Debonair down on a large stretch of tall grass the color of seaweed. She powered off the engines and turned on the auxiliary, which would keep the shipboard systems running, including the stealth drive. It wasn’t likely that anyone would spot them out here—the place was well off the main thoroughfares, not to mention how inhospitable the swamp surrounding them was—but Jeth decided not to point that out. 

Celeste stood and stretched, the movement languid as if she were part cat. The dark, fitted clothing she wore aided the illusion. “So, what now?”

Jeth checked his watch, which he’d synced to Grakkus time. “I say breakfast or lunch, whichever works, and then a couple hours’ R and R. The setup man’s not due to arrive until fourteen hundred.” They’d had to get here early to avoid being detected during landing. The stealth drive hid them from sight, but it couldn’t disguise the sound of the engines or the wind raised by the thrusters.
“Think I’m going to shower again, before—” Celeste broke off as a voice echoed over the ship’s comm system. 

“Um, Boss? We sorta have a situation. You might want to get down to the common room.”
Jeth blinked, all his disappointment from their unadventurous journey vanishing in the space of a single breath. It wasn’t often that Will Shady sounded nervous. 

Wondering if maybe the ship was on fire, Jeth turned and headed off the bridge with Celeste quick on his heels. They arrived in the common room on the deck below moments later. Jeth stopped in the doorway, surveying the scene. There wasn’t a fire. There wasn’t anything amiss at all, as far as he could tell. Shady was sitting on one of the sofas, his attention focused on the 3D projection from his portable gaming system, a wave of bloodthirsty robots coming at him, each one falling to his simulated gunfire. The comm unit he’d used to radio the bridge sat discarded on the sofa beside him, in danger of being swallowed by a cushion. 

Jeth approached him. “What are you doing?”
“Practicing,” Shady said, not looking up. The scowl on his face as he let off a triple blast, drilling a robot right between its bulbous black eyes, made his features look distinctly leonine, the appearance aided by his shaggy mane of blond hair. Shady’s assigned role in the Malleus Shades was ordnance officer.
Jeth put his hands on his hips. “We’re not going to be shooting anybody on this job. And please tell me this wasn’t the thing I needed to see.”
Shady shook his head. “Nope. It’s in that storage locker.” He pointed to the row of lockers along the wall across from them. “The one in the middle.”
Jeth arched an eyebrow. He considered pressing Shady for more, but knew there wasn’t much point. All the crew dealt with prejob nerves in different ways, and once engrossed in his ritual video game, it was hard to get Shady to concern himself with anything else.
Jeth crossed the floor to the locker in question, wondering where the Debonair had been last. Their employer used the ship for lots of different jobs, and it was possible it had been parked planetside somewhere a wild animal could’ve gotten in. An image of something furry and clawed and with teeth the size of fingers flashed through Jeth’s mind. He wasn’t wearing a gun, and he briefly considered getting one before finding out what had Shady so nervous, but then he shrugged and pulled the door open. 

There was something alive in there all right, but it wasn’t a wild animal. Even still, it took Jeth several moments to come to grip with what it was. Who it was."

 Aaaaaand, there's also a giveaway!! Click to enter the rafflecopter giveaway!

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/7511d04/

Thankful Thursday: The Silver Linings!

Hello everyone!

I think I've missed two weeks of my Thankful Thursday posts, and it's not that I didn't have reasons to be thankful for, quite contrary, since I was spending time with the bf and that's not as common as I'd want!

For today's Thankful Thursday I wanna say thank you for the silver linings, all those little things that put a smile on your face even after being in a bad mood, or having a crappy day at work...

I've had a pair of those both yesterday and today. Yesterday I had a super crazy busy end of shift at work, which meant I ended up leaving late and was super stressed, but when I got home... ta dah! A parking spot right in front of my door! And parking is really a sore issue here, so made my day!

And today? Feeling blah, aunt Irma around, work quite busy again... but, when I got home I had some awesome bookmarks from author Mindee Arnett in the mail, AUTHOGRAPHED!! Again, big smile!

Thinking positive is not easy, do I know it! But we always need to remember to always look on the bright side of life! *whistling*

Mark This Book(s) Monday: Vessel by Sarah Beth Durst, The Midnight Spell by Rhiannon Frater and Kody Boye and Nightmare Affair by Mindee Arnett!! !!

Hiya everyone!

Happy Monday (may it be Easter Monday or whatever else it might be to you)!

This week I have no new recipe of cupcake to share with you, and this time is not for lack of time, but for lack of inspiration. I've had a few days off, but I've barely done anything productive, unless practicing saree draping while listening to Iron Maiden or Pearl Jam counts!

So today, we're having a Mark These Books Monday! Instead of just one book, I'm gonna recommend you three different books!

So let's start!

Vessel by Sarah Beth Durst

Well, I was expecting good things from this book, cause the only other book of Sara Beth Durst that I read, Drink, Slay, Love, I loved, and this one didn't disappoint at all!

What a gem of a book! The world building here is fantastic! From the legends of the lands to the gritty sand storms to the sand worms and the Gods... everything is so well weaved, you just feel like you are there!

Liyana is a wonderful character, and I was rooting for her from beginning till the end of her journey! I loved her practical side, how she faced all adversities focusing on the task on hand, one day at a time, and one hour at a time when things threaten to overwhelm her.

An absolute must read for anyone looking for a great YA fantasy or just for any fantasy lovers out there!


The Midnight Spell by Rhiannon Frater & Kody Boye. 

No photo available cause I read this one on my phone's Kindle app, and I don't know how to take a screen cap on my phone!

 I so thoroughly enjoyed and loved this book!

This is not your usual YA book, there are bits of horror and the romance is not really what you'd be mostly used to see, but whatever makes it different, also makes it great!

The characters feel as real teenagers, despite the paranormal bits, from the "outcast" witch that it's still growing into her powers (can you imagine dealing with all the crap that being a teenager is AND worrying about whether if you'll finally come into your witchy powers or remain a fraud-ish?) to her gay best friend, that has to deal with not being popular and being gay in a town full of straight and mostly not-gay-friendly people. Changelings, vampire hunters and loads of geeky references to Buffy!

The story weaves from the personal to the paranormal, from dealing with first loves and relationships to saving the world. And it's done in such a great way you just can't help to keep on turning the pages!

I so hope we'll get a second book for Christy, Adam and the gang!


The Nightmare Affair by Mindee Arnett. 

 This book was so much fun! Full of magic and teenagers, but taking a look at magic in a different way, and exploring magic beings that don't usually appear so much in books.

A magic school is nothing new, neither is a magic sleuth, not even a teenager one, or mundane mixed with the whole story, but this book does it in a very refreshing way, and despite our dear Dusty being a headstrong and slightly oblivious to common sense kinda main character, you just have to like her.




There's also a look at much bigger issues that the high school ones in the shape of the magic world politics, and in way that it mirrors our world, an issue of what we are allowed to use our powers for, and why should we not use them for the wrong reasons.

All in all, a very refreshing read, and I'm really looking forward to book 2: The Nightmare Dilemma.


That's all on books for this week! Next Monday more books for sure, and maybe some cupcakes too!