Waiting on Wednesday - #15: Darker Still by Leanna Renee Hieber

{ ++ }  This weekly event/feature is graciously hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine.  You know that feeling you get when you're browsing upcoming books on Goodreads or Amazon and one strikes your fancy?  Maybe you squee.  Maybe you giggle to yourself.  Maybe you bounce in your seat.  We all get excited (I do a combination of all three of the previous choices...) about new books, be it a favorite author you're familiar with, or someone whose work you'll be reading for the first time.  Jill's meme gives us the chance to spotlight what we are anxiously awaiting this week.

I'm waiting on...

The Picture of Dorian Gray meets Pride and Prejudice, with a dash of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.


New York City, 1882. Seventeen-year-old Natalie Stewart's latest obsession is a painting of the handsome British Lord Denbury. Something in his striking blue eyes calls to her. As his incredibly life-like gaze seems to follow her, Natalie gets the uneasy feeling that details of the painting keep changing...

Jonathan Denbury's soul is trapped in the gilded painting by dark magic while his possessed body commits unspeakable crimes in the city slums. He must lure Natalie into the painting, for only together can they reverse the curse and free his damaged soul.

 Darker Still by Leanna Renee Heiber

Expected publication: 11.08.2011 (Sourcebooks)
Further info: Goodreads | Amazon

{ ++ } First of all, the cover is gorgeous.  And secondly, the plot sounds really spooky and kind of awesome.  I definitely feel drawn to this book and am going to give it a try!

{ ++ } What about y'all?  What are you waiting on this week?

In My Mailbox - #13

{ ++ } Kristi at The Story Siren hosts this weekly meme which gives bloggers a chance to highlight the books we bought, checked out, won, or otherwise procured over the last week.  And whether I've came into money (brb, laughing forever) or only had the goods to splurge on a book or two, they all deserve some love.

{ ++ } This is my first IMM in a couple of weeks, so enjoy!  Be sure to leave me links to your IMMs so I can come visit.  :)

Received for Review

(Thank you to Michelle McCleod, Ashley Willis, and Macmillan publishing)

Tempest by Julie Cross [ Goodreads | Amazon ]

Love Potions by Michelle McCleod [ Goodreads | Amazon ]

The Calling by Ashley Lynn Willis [  Goodreads | Amazon ]

  

Purchased

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick [ Goodreads | Amazon ]

Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick [ Goodreads | Amazon ]

Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick [ Goodreads | Amazon ]

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor [ Goodreads | Amazon ] 

Lord of Rage by Jill Monroe [ Goodreads | Amazon ]

Giveaway winner: Take This Regret by Amy Lichtenhan

{ ++ } I'd like to send out a huge congratulations to the winner of the e-book copy of Amy Lichtenhan's Take This Regret.  The winner is Sharon at Obsession with Books! 

{ ++ } Thank you to everyone who entered.  Check back soon for a new giveaway and another chance to win!

Guest Post: Author Amy Lichtenhan

After Amy approached me to read and review her novel, Take This Regret,  I knew within a few chapters that I was reading something very special.  I stretched out my reading of the novel over several days simply because I quickly grew so attached to the characters, and to Amy's writing - so much so that I partnered with Amy to host an e-book giveaway of Take This Regret, which is going on now!  Please head on over to check that out once you read Amy's guest post on the subject of why she writes, as she so aptly calls it, "romance with more."

_______

Thank you to Molli for inviting me to be a guest on Once Upon a Prologue! 

I was really excited when she asked me to share with you about the reasons I write Romance With More.

At the heart of it all, I guess the answer to that is pretty simple – I read and write romances because the stories make me feel so good.  I love immersing myself in two character’s lives and witnessing firsthand the progression of their relationship and the intimacy that goes along with it.

When reading I rarely venture out of romance. There are so many worries as we travel from one day to the next, the stresses and fears, that when I sit down with a book, I want to be guaranteed that happily ever after. When in real life I know things can’t always work out the way I might want them to, I know in the pages of my favorite book they can.

Anyone else out there with me?

So what about this whole Romance With More thing?

When writing both Pulled and Take This Regret, I tried to delve deeper into the characters emotions and, in the process, really give you as a reader the chance to connect with them.  When you read one of my novels, I want you to feel what my characters feel, to hope for them and to hurt for them, to care about them and their ultimate happiness. I also love to write children into my plots since as women we either have children or, if we don’t, we can understand wholeheartedly the innate need to protect them. Mix those two together and the story lines can get a little intense.

The tag line Romance With More really came by way of reader’s comments. I kept hearing things like, I loved this book, but it wasn’t what I expected and This wasn’t a typical romance, there was more.

But my books are definitely romances—a hero and heroine on their way to a happily ever after, even if they have to face some very difficult trials before they get there.

So Romance With More just ended up sticking!

Now that you know why I write Romance With More, tell us a little about you. What is your favorite genre to read/write and why?

More about the author

(Bio taken from the author's website)

Amy Lichtenhan first found a love for writing during her days as a young mother and college student. She filled the journals she carried with short stories and poems used as an emotional outlet for the difficulties and joys she found in day-to-day life.

Years later, she shared a short story she’d been working on with her two closest friends, and with their encouragement, this story became her first full length novel, Pulled.

Amy resides in Southern Arizona where she lives with her husband and three beautiful children, where she enjoys the freedom of working from home. Her favorite pastime is spending time with the ones she loves.

Read the first chapter of Take This Regret here | preview chapter one of Pulled here

Visit Amy's Facebook page

Follow Amy on Twitter or Goodreads

Review: Eve by Anna Carey

Eve by Anna Carey

Published:10.04.2011

Pages: 318

Series: Eve (1)

Rating: 3 of 5 stars

Further info:  Goodreads | Amazon

Find the author online:  site | twitter

The year is 2032, sixteen years after a deadly virus—and the vaccine intended to protect against it—wiped out most of the earth’s population. The night before eighteen-year-old Eve’s graduation from her all-girls school she discovers what really happens to new graduates, and the horrifying fate that awaits her.

Fleeing the only home she’s ever known, Eve sets off on a long, treacherous journey, searching for a place she can survive. Along the way she encounters Caleb, a rough, rebellious boy living in the wild. Separated from men her whole life, Eve has been taught to fear them, but Caleb slowly wins her trust...and her heart. He promises to protect her, but when soldiers begin hunting them, Eve must choose between true love and her life.

My Review

The night before her graduation, sheltered Eve has an eye-opening experience: she discovers what waits beyond the walls of her school.   And for the first time in her life, Anna Carey's sheltered heroine has to make a decision for herself that will profoundly affect her future.  I admired Eve's courage...the bravey it takes to leave behind the only life she's ever known, but I wanted to cringe reading about her on her own, because of how ill-prepared she is to cope with the situation she's in.  Eve doesn't know how to make a fire or hunt, or gather any food.  She simply has never been taught anything; the school and the Teachers have always provided everything she needed.  

Eve loses a little of her doe-eyed innocence throughout the book, but her naive view of the world colored the book for me, and I never really connected with her as a character.  I couldn't help but sympathize with her to an extent - everything she's ever believed is in question.  She's being forced to ask herself if the people who have always taken care of her ever had her best interest at heart, if the King of New America can really be trusted, and so forth.  But I think I kept waiting for her to take some major steps forward, which didn't really happen until the very end of the book, for me.  

I found a lot about this book interesting though.  I thought Arden, a secondary character, was fascinating.  I am really hoping she will show up in the sequel.  I enjoyed her both as a foil to Eve, and as an individual.  I also loved Caleb.  He was a rather swoon-worthy love interest (and I could kiss Anna Carey for NOT including a love triangle.)  Caleb and Eve gravitate toward one another a little quickly, but much more slowly than in some books I have read.  To me, their connection felt sweet and genuine, and was one of my favorite things about the books, as well as Eve's time with the group of refugee boys.  

Some things that got under my skin: the King's ulterior motive.  It was tossed out there, but never really fleshed out.  I assume that will be explained in the sequel.  Also, it bugged me that at one point Eve clearly stated she didn't have many memories of her mother, but then throughout the book, she has vivid flashbacks.  And I was kind of dismayed that there wasn't more information about the plague. I feel like the world-building could have been a little more fleshed out.  

Otherwise, this was an interesting look at a rebuilt America, and I am definitely intrigued enough to look into the sequel when it is available.  

Disclaimer

This book was provided to me from the author in exchange for an honest review.  No money or compensation of any kind changed hands.  

Memorable Quote

I opened my eyes to the face I'd imagined so many times.  Caleb smiled, his hair tickling my forehead.  I pressed my hands to his cheeks, wondering if I was having a waking dream.  His skin was warm against my fingers.  I wasn't sure whether to cry or laugh. 

Instead, I just hugged him.  Our bodies pressed into one, our arms pulled the other nearer and nearer still, until nothing was between us, not even air. 

Review + E-book Giveaway: Take This Regret by Amy Lichtenhan

Take This Regret by Amy Lichtenhan

Published:

Pages: 252

Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Further info: Goodreads | Amazon

Find the author online: twitter | site

There are some mistakes we make that we will regret for the rest of our lives. For Christian, it was the day he betrayed Elizabeth.

Christian Davison has a plan for his life. He is determined to become an attorney and to one day take his place as partner in his father’s law firm. Nothing will stand in his way, not even Elizabeth Ayers and their unborn child.

After Christian cuts her from his life, Elizabeth spends the next five years struggling to provide for her daughter and willing to sacrifice anything to give her child a safe, comfortable life.

For five years, Christian has regretted the day he walked away from his family and will do anything to win them back just as Elizabeth will do anything to protect her daughter from the certain heartache she believes Christian will bring upon them.

When Christian wrestles his way into their lives, Elizabeth is faced with asking herself if it is possible to forgive someone when they’ve committed the unforgivable and if it is possible to find a love after it has been buried in years of hate. Or are there some wounds that go so deep they can never heal?

They say everyone deserves a second chance.

My Review

In Take This Regret, we are introduced to two unforgettable characters: Christian Davison and Elizabeth Ayers.  They are both pursuing a career in law for different reasons, but an unexpected pregnancy changes Elizabeth's course.  Within the first few pages of the prologue, my heart went out to her - this strong female, determined to have her child, with or without Christian's support.  I immediately wanted to hug Elizabeth tight, and I so admired her courage.  Fast-forward five years: Elizabeth is a single mother; Christian is a rising star in his father's law firm.  But even though he has the life he has always wanted, until a chance encounter with the daughter he walked away from before she was born.  

Amy Lichtenhan propels the story forward with perfect pacing - there is action when needed, heart-pounding and intense at times, and other, slower periods where the reader gets to watch a changing Christian bond with his young daughter, Lizzie.  Wrapped around the pacing is the heart of this story: Christian and Elizabeth, and their love for their daughter.  We see Elizabeth struggle with letting Christian have any part in her life, just as we see him battle with the guilt and the shame he carries for having missed the first five years of her life.  Lichtenhan does an seamless job of lifting these characters and their emotions off the pages.  I cried, more than once, reading this story, because of what it made me feel.  

The characters were all genuine, people you would want to know, or have known, but Christian, for me, was by far the most fascinating.  An arrogant rich boy following in his father's footsteps when we first meet him, the growth he goes through, the changes he exhibits, and the humility he learns, are truly fabulous and well-told.  Elizabeth grows so much as a character, as well.  I thought a great deal about these two, when I wasn't reading Take This Regret, and about their relationship.  So much bloomed between them over the course of hte story, sometimes unsaid, often complicated, but to me, they felt so true-to-life.  Relationships happen, they end.  It's all of it hard work, and I feel like Amy did an amazing job of showcasing Christian's redemption, and Elizabeth's hesitation.   

I had a few issues with getting into the book.  The prologue rapidly switches point-of-view, which threw me off a lot, but after the first couple chapters, I was hooked.  I also was not okay with someone Elizabeth did, a choice she made that affected her daughter, and was glad, so glad, to see it all resolved.  And...I wish the book had been longer!  The story was wrapped up nicely, but those 252 pages flew by, and I would have liked a little more time with a few of the characters, especially Christian's mother, who also showed fantastic character growth.  There was just so much of that in the book that I'm still swoooning a little.  

Overall I would recommend this book for fans of both contemporary romance and women's fiction . Amy Lichtenhan's writing style is easy, natural, and her story-telling is spell-binding.  Take This Regret is a story with a strong, beating heart.  It will stay with you, even after you read the last page, because along the way, you didn't just meet characters: you made friends.  

Memorable Quote>

Why? I begged him with my thoughts, with my touch as I kissed him again. Why did you have to ruin us?   My mouth traveled to his jaw, kissed him there against the rough skin, fire against my lips and torment to my soul, where I mouthed out my deepest secret, “I love you, Christian.” 

Sickened and ashamed, I ripped myself away, escaped upstairs, and wept for a man I’d never allow myself to have. 

Disclaimer and Thank-You's

This book was sent to me by the author in exchange for an honest review.  No money or compensation of any kind changed hands.  I would like to thank author Amy Lichtenhan and The Writer's Coffee Shop Publishing House for allowing me to read this novel.

The Giveaway

In My Mailbox: #12

{ ++ } Kristi at The Story Siren hosts this weekly meme which gives bloggers a chance to highlight the books we bought, checked out, won, or otherwise procured over the last week.  And whether I've came into money (brb, laughing forever) or only had the goods to splurge on a book or two, they all deserve some love.

{ ++ }This my first EVER VLOG edition.  In it, I learned two things. One: I really hate filming myself. Two: I have been in denial for a long time about how bad my Southern accent is.  But I hope ya'll enjoy it.  :)

Lord of the Vampires by Gena Showalter

Further info: Goodreads | Amazon

Matched by Ally Condie

Further info: Goodreads | Amazon

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Further info: Goodreads | Amazon

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Further info: Goodreads | Amazon

Giveaway Winner: Hourglass by Myra McEntire

{ ++ } Today I'm announcing the winner of my Hourglass giveaway, and that lucky winner is Anna over at Literary Exploration!  Congratulations, Anna!  I've also notified her by email so that I can get the prize out soon.

{ ++ } I want to send out a BIG BIG thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway and helped make it such a huge success.   You guys really put in a lot of work, following me via GFC and Twitter and talking up my giveaway.  Through this giveaway, I've increased to an amazing 258 followers, which is totally wild and wonderful.  So again, THANK YOU to everyone who participated.  I am so glad to have ya'll here with me.

{ ++ } Keep spreading the word about my little blog and I promise an awesome giveaway at 300 followers!  Until then, happy reading everyone.  And if you didn't win this time, enter next time for a chance.  : )

Review: The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab

The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab

Published: 08.02.2011

Pages: 288

Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Further info: Goodreads | Amazon

Find the author online: site | blog | twitter

The Near Witch is only an old story told to frighten children.

If the wind calls at night, you must not listen. The wind is lonely, and always looking for company.

And there are no strangers in the town of Near.

These are the truths that Lexi has heard all her life. But when an actual stranger—a boy who seems to fade like smoke—appears outside her home on the moor at night, she knows that at least one of these sayings is no longer true.

The next night, the children of Near start disappearing from their beds, and the mysterious boy falls under suspicion. Still, he insists on helping Lexi search for them. Something tells her she can trust him.

As the hunt for the children intensifies, so does Lexi’s need to know—about the witch that just might be more than a bedtime story, about the wind that seems to speak through the walls at night, and about the history of this nameless boy.

Part fairy tale, part love story, Victoria Schwab’s debut novel is entirely original yet achingly familiar: a song you heard long ago, a whisper carried by the wind, and a dream you won’t soon forget. 

My Review

Sixteen year old Lexi Harris lives in the small town of Near - a town on the edge of the moor that could be anywhere and nowhere.  The Near Witch starts us out by slipping unobtrusively into her life, introducing us to headstrong Lexi, who is caught between trying to be the person who family wants her to be, and assuming the responsibility of taking care of her mother and younger sister, Wren, after her father's death.  Victoria Schwab then propels the story forward when a stranger appears in the anachronistic town of Near, stirring everyone's suspicions.  Near, it seems, has always been just what it is: a place where everyone knows one another, where an outsider is unheard of.  When the first child disappears shortly after the stranger's appearance, everyone except Lexi leaps to the conclusion that "the stranger" is to blame.

This is where the story really picks up, and Victoria introduces us to the colorful and vivid cast of characters who inhabit the town: her mother, who is more of a ghost than a person since Lexi's father's death, the Thorne sisters, Magda and Dreska (who were by far the most fascinating additions to the story), Otto, Lexi's uncle, Tyler, her would-be suitor, and her best friend Helena, among others.  Victoria does a very solid job of inter-weaving all these characters into the story, and fleshes them out well for the most part, although I think there were a few whom I wish she had devoted more attention to, especially Tyler, who sometimes seems a little flat. 

Nevertheless, the story holds up to the premise, as Lexi and Cole, as she names the stranger, begin a frustrating quest for the town's missing children.  I was immediately just as drawn to Cole as Lexi was, and just as loathe to suspect him of any wrong-doings.  As the clock ticked away, narrowing Lexi's chances of locating the children before her uncle's suspicions fasten on Cole, my heart definitely pounded at the delicious sense of mystery Schwab creates.  I enjoyed Lexi and Cole's interactions, as well as their connection.  The bond they develop is actually one of my favorite things about this book, as well as the fact that thankfully, there is no love triangle, and what romance there is is given time to flourish and grow, though it never overshadows the looming mystery of the whearabouts of the missing children.

The climax of the book was pretty much what I imagined it would be, and yet, in no way was it disappointing.  I did feel like it was all wrapped up just a little too quickly (ie with only about ten pages to spare), but it was very spooky really, which I loved.  This book was part historical fiction (I say that because with Near, while it wasn't geographically or historically pinpointed, I got the sense we were reading about "the old days,"), part folk lore, part scary story, and part romance.  I also loved the author's writing style - very dreamy and whimsical, very lilting, I do wish it had been a bit longer, so that Victoria could have spent more time on Lexi's relationship with her father, and possibly also the Thorne sisters too, but overall The Near Witch was a fantastic read, definitely one everyone should have on their bookshelves!
  

Memorable Quote

If the moor wind ever sings, you musn't listen, not with all of your ears.  Use only the edges.  Listen the way you'd look out of the corners of your eyes.  The wind is lonely, and always looking for company.

Once Upon a Prologue Giveaway: Falling Into Books Blog Hop

{ ++ } This week, I am thrilled to be one of the blogs participating in the Falling Into Books Blog Hop, hosted graciously by Michelle at Oh! For the Love of Books.  Many in the blogging community are going back to school, be it any various institution, so Michelle decided why not put together a giveaway to ease y'all back into the backpack-and-books thing?  Plus...who doesn't love a giveway?!

Head on over to Michelle's blog for the links to all the other awesome blogs participating, but first check out my giveaway below for all the details on how to enter!  From what I've heard from the other bloggers, there are some awesome books up for grabs.

{ ++  } The Hop is open from September 26 - September 30.  A winner will be picked from each blog's individual giveaway on October 1, 2011.  Being a GFC follower to enter my giveaway is NOT required, just encouraged.  : ) 

Up for Grabs...

Hourglass by Myra McEntire 

Why this book: First off, read my review here.  Then the only other thing you need to know is: this book is awesome.  One of the very few books I have ever rated 5 stars!  Myra has a way of telling a story that feels so genuine, and so many aspects of her book were very refreshing!