Blog Tour: Innovera Yakov by Kia Garriques

Title: Innovera Yakov By: Kia Garriques Summary: Innovera Yakov is a beautiful world of crystals that turns under five moons and two brilliant suns that never set. Flitters take care of domestic chores while Starbirds and Starflies soar through the never-ending sunlight of this crystalline world. The Circle of Knowing decides their fate; the forbidden forests of the Dimmer Zone swallow trespassers. And at the very edges of Innovera Yakov there is the terrifying watery darkness of Verheer. We meet Ayana, the healer and lonely outcast with her scarred face; Vinton, her protector (or is he her imaginary friend?); Gamma and Blu Tara, the beautiful, fiery twins who can kill with one look. These twins are important characters in the book. They could hardly be more different from each other. Krave, beloved by Gamma, hated by Blu Tara, ‘tall and upright as a polished spear with a beautiful crop of golden hair that cascaded down his back in waves’; his ‘brother’ Skylar, pure trouble with ‘muscles on his arms and legs that stood out in lumps’; Ryder with his crystal spear, forever seeking Ayana’s approval although she, refusing to believe she's worth it, can only wonder, ‘What does he see in me?’ And Ice, mysterious, dangerous, murderous with eyes like bright furnaces who feeds on Innoverans. These young Innoverans are often haunted by a forgotten past recalled only in strange dreams. They form friendships, make enemies and face constant physical and emotional challenges that test them to their limits. They have amazing powers; they can fly, they can communicate through 'thought-words', their minds can travel to other worlds. They harbour secrets. But life is not easy on Innovera Yakov and the young Beings must live in constant fear of Blu Tara; ‘What I want, I have. What I can’t have, I destroy.’ They find that the great powers they are gifted with are nothing compared to the dangers they face. They must shelter from Solar-storms. To fall in love is dangerous. Lovers long to combine to become stronger, better Beings but it can go terribly wrong and when that happens they perish. Their survival is further threatened by Ice, who consumes Innoverans and holds both Blu Tara and Ayana in his control. Everyone seeks a partner with whom they can ‘merge.’ This desire to ease the passage through life by joining forces with a true companion, is one of the main themes of the story. Love for Blu Tara, is a terrible thing. She tells her sister, ‘It is a curse. You will scoop out your core and abandon it just to have the Being that you love... You will steal another person’s life force if it makes it easier to get it. You will kill or die for it. And you’ll hate yourself for the weakness that it brings on you.' They are told that they must embark on 'The Journey', this journey will be more terrifying than any of them could imagine and a strong leader must be elected from their midst. They are shocked to discover who that leader is, none more so than the chosen one herself. Many of them will perish as they make their way through the watery darkness of Verheer while battling the army of underworld warriors bent on destroying and consuming them. Finally, diminished in strength and numbers, they reach their journey’s end only to learn the final brutal truth.

Excerpt

Blu Tara stared her sister in the face. ‘Let me tell you what you don't know about love, Gamma. It is a curse. You will scoop out your core and abandon it just to have the Being that you love. You will steal another person's life force if it makes it easier to get it. You will abandon the world you have been cradled in, betray everything and everyone you care for. You’ll give up your name for it.’ Blu Tara's voice went soft and dreamy. ‘You will gladly close your eyes and embrace the world of darkness. You will kill or die for it. And you will hate yourself for the weakness that it brings on you. So don’t talk to me about love.’ Gamma shook her head. ‘You're not making sense,’ Blu Tara. ‘You talk as if... I’m the one who should be upset about all this.’ Blu Tara lifted her hand dismissively. She pointed a hot finger at Gamma. ‘Anyway don’t forget what we are.’ 'And what are we?’ Gamma glared at her.. 'Different. Strange. Something to be frightened of. Two Beings that can fuse and burn everything to ashes. That's the way they all see us down there. That's what the Stardog wants from you - the powers you possess. ‘I hate them all. With their suspicious, shiny faces and their empty games. I hate that Voice which drones on and on at us in the Learning Dome as soon as we've finished resting. Innoverans! All those perfect, pretty Beings; they remember nothing — it’s the curse of this shallow, shining world. Tell me, Gamma - what do you remember of the world we come from before your Odors Apeno dumped us here?’ Gamma swung around to face her sister fully. ‘Blu Tara! What's got into you? Where’s all that coming from? I've never heard you speak like that before. This is about Krave and I- not you!’ Krave and you - don't make me laugh. And, oh! Here’s a big difference — between you and I this time, Twin Sister. It’s the answer to your question that you brought me up here to ask.’ Blu Tara mimicked Gamma's soft and musical voice, Why do you want to kill Krave? Here's the answer, Gamma. I will do whatever I have to do to save myself. I'm the half of you that's not like you. I don't have a weeping heart. Now I'm out of here. I need my Rest.

  Reviewers Wanted: Review Innovera Yakov on amazon for your chance to Win A Kindle Fire. Love reading and reviewing books? Want the chance to win a Kindle Fire? Kia Garriques’ Innovera Yakov fantasy series launches today on Amazon with The Journey of a Thousand Eyes. This story is an action-packed fantasy drama where characters with powers of healing and destruction live, love, compete and disappear without a trace while they are being prepared for the Journey. To celebrate the launch of ‘Innovera Yakov: The Journey of a Thousand Eyes’, Kia is giving away a Kindle Fire to one lucky winner, as well as the chance of having their work promoted by Kia herself across her website and social media. To enter the competition, simply follow these instructions below: 1.Write a short review on Amazon about your favourite scene from the book, who your favourite is and why, and what you think the main message of the book is 2.Then, send an email to competitions@kiagarriques.com including a link back to your review on Amazon, in order to be entered into the competition. Put the title ‘Innovera Yakov Kindle Competition’ in the subject line of the email. The winning entry will be the most creative and original response to the book and will be chosen by Kia Garriques herself. In addition, the top ten inspiring entries will have their work promoted in a blog which Kia is currently working on, called ‘Up and Coming Writers to Watch in 2013’. In recognition of their creativity, Kia will be turning the spotlight on these writers by presenting their biographies and a link to their current work. RULES: 1:This competition will run from the launch of ‘Innovera Yakov: The Journey of a Thousand Eyes’ on today and is open to entrants from any country 2: Anyone may enter, but entries are limited to one per person 3: The winner will be selected by Kia Garriques after the first 250 reviews have been received. Make sure to get your entry in early to stand the best possible chance of being entered into the competition and winning your very own Kindle. If you send your review of Innovera Yakov: The Journey of a Thousand Eyes before March 31st 2013, then you will be eligible to win a $20 amazon gift card. Be sure to send on your review via email to competitions@kiagarriques.com to claim this exclusive offer or leave a link to your amazon review in Kia’s Wattpad comment section. So, what are you waiting for? Get ‘Innovera Yakov: The Journey of a Thousand Eyes’ now and prepare to enter a whole new world of magic and mystery, danger and adventure. Click here to get the ebook on amazon now. Author Links Twitter Goodreads Facebook Tumblr Wattpad Pinterest Website Audio Link to listen to the first chapter of the book. Read the first chapter of the book here Author Bio Kia Garriques studied writing and English literature at University and has been a published short story writer since 2009. Her first story “The Invisible Alien Watcher” was published by Micro Horror in 2009 and reprinted by Pill Hill Press in 2011. Innovera Yakov: The Journey of a Thousand Eyes – is her first novel in the ‘Worlds’ series and will be out on amazon mid February. visit www.kiagarriques.com/books to read the first chapter. Book Blurb: Innovera Yakov – The Journey of A Thousand Eyes takes you into a world of excitement and danger where thoughts and feelings are overheard and minds can travel to other worlds. Be prepared to immerse yourself in a world where falling in love could cost you your life and nothing is as it seems. Innovera Yakov – The Journey of A Thousand Eyes is the first book in an action-packed fantasy drama series where characters with powers of healing and destruction live, love, compete and disappear without a trace while they are being prepared for the Journey.

Book Review: The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach

At Westish College, a small school on the shore of Lake Michigan, baseball star Henry Skrimshander seems destined for big league stardom. But when a routine throw goes disastrously off course, the fates of five people are upended.

Henry’s fight against self-doubt threatens to ruin his future. College president Guert Affenlight, a longtime bachelor, has fallen unexpectedly and helplessly in love. Owen Dunne, Henry’s gay roommate and teammate, becomes caught up in a dangerous affair. Mike Schwartz, the Harpooners’ team captain and Henry’ best friend, realizes he has guided Henry’s career at the expense of his own. And Pella Affenlight, Guert’s daughter, returns to Westish after escaping an ill-fated marriage, determined to start a new life.

As the season counts down to its climactic final game, these five are forced to confront their deepest hopes, anxieties, and secrets. In the process they forge new bonds, and help one another find their true paths. Written with boundless intelligence and filled with the tenderness of youth, The Art of Fielding is an expansive, warmhearted novel about ambition and its limits, about family and friendship and love, and about commitment—to oneself and to others.

*Summary from Goodreads

When I first started this book I thought it was going to be strictly about baseball. Some of you are probably thinking that sounds crazy with all the people that have been talking about it and reviewing it but when I know I want to read a book I make sure I don't listen to what people are saying about the book so I am surprised by it when I read it. I was pleasantly surprised by this book. Now, on with the review.

Plot: The plot of this book was fantastic. I'm a sports nut. I love reading about sports, writing about sports, and playing sports. So, I loved the baseball aspect of this book, especially that the Cardinals were worked into the plot. Being born and raised in St. Louis, I'm a total homer for the Cardinals. So bonus points to Chad for that. 

The non-sports aspect of the plot was one of the best crafted plots I've read in a very, very long time. Chad does a fantastic job of weaving the stories of all the characters together. I'm not an author, but I would think that it's got to be incredibly difficult to wind some many complex stories together. Chad Harbach has crafted a gem in "The Art of Fielding". He has managed to intertwine baseball, failed relationships, new beginnings, college life, adult life, and many other things into a masterful story about baseball and growing in life. 

Characters: The characters in this book are fantastic. There is a depth and relate-ability to these characters that is hard to find in many books today. There is a character in this book that relates to everyone that reads it. I think this is the case because the characters are dealing with real world situations that are easily related to by anyone. Sometimes in the realm of fiction, the author struggles to make the character realistic enough to relate to. That's not the case in this book. This may be my favorite set of characters since I started reviewing books on this blog. 

Readership: This is one of those rare books the transcends a specific genre. Yes, it's fiction and it has sports in it, but it's also got so many more things that I don't want to post on here because it would ruin the plot for potential readers. I think this book would appeal to sports fans, fiction fans, romance fans, suspense fans, etc...Basically I'm saying that I think anyone can read this book and find joy in it. This is a book for all people that love reading. 

Overall Score: 5/5 One of the best books I've ever read.

Hey Guys

Hey guys, just a quick post to let you know that I'm still around and still reading. My wife and I had a baby 3 weeks ago, so that is consuming all of our time right now, but I promise I am still reading and there will still be book reviews coming :)

Blog Tour: Awaken

Author Kristen Day has stopped by today with a guest post for the Awaken (Daughters of the Sea #2) blog tour!

What inspired you to write The Daughters of the Sea series?

Paranormal is my normal: I may or may not be completely in love with YA Paranormal Romance Series. Actually, it’s more of an obsession. I devour them like strawberry shortcake cheesecake (best dessert EVER) and have no control over the need to read them over and over. I’ve read The Hush, Hush series four times so far, but who’s counting? I fell in love with writing since succeeded in writing that pesky letter G in cursive (or Z for that matter). Then I fell in love with it all over again when I learned how to diagram sentences. It became more of a work of art to me. It just…made sense. So anyway, after reading every YA paranormal romance novel on the planet, I found myself craving certain aspects to the story that I wasn’t getting in the books I was reading. I wanted a stronger heroine, less drama with more action, and a different kind of ‘darkness’. That’s when I decided to create my own imaginary world and characters; intertwining all of the things I couldn’t seem to find in other books. Life’s a Beach: Choosing the beach as my location for the series was a balancing act. I despise mermaids, but love the idea of having a connection with the sea. This is where my favorite classics came into play: The Odyssey and The Iliad. I know what you’re saying - seriously? That awful monstrosity of a story we were forced to read in high school? Yes, that’s the one. I didn’t have the normal gag reflex most of my friends had to reading them though; I fell in love. The challenges, the beasts, the sirens, the twists and turns and the intertwining love story; all sucked me in and had a profound effect on me. Couple that with a love of the beach and it suddenly occurred to me what I wanted to write about. My family lives on Oak Island, with Bald Head Island a mere ferry ride away. Bald Head is truly magical and enchanting (if you have never been, you should go!) and was the perfect setting! Reality meet Fiction: I desperately wanted to read about a heroine that had a real reason for being strong. Last I checked being gifted with magical powers doesn’t make you an instant leader/hero/bad*ss. Experience is the only thing that can give you that kind of mental strength. So, that’s what inspired me to incorporate a little bit of tough reality into my fiction. Thank you so much for hosting the Awaken Blog Tour! I hope everyone has enjoyed reading the Daughters of the Sea series as much as I enjoyed writing it!  

Title: Awaken (Daughters of the Sea 2)   Author: Kristen Day   Publisher: Self Published   Release Date: October 2, 2012   Blurb:   The sacrifices we make have the power to shift the very fabric of who we are, and ultimately who we are meant to be…   After learning of her true destiny as the intended Leader of the Tydes, Anastasia Whitman must now embark on a perilous quest to the Underworld before the age of eighteen in order to plant the seed of immortality and complete her essence to become a true Sea Goddess. But before she can make her legendary journey, an unexpected new student transfers to Lorelei; initiating a sequence of events that will unravel Stasia’s new life, and test the boundaries of her relationship with the mysterious, dark, and sexy Finn Morrison. The line between the Underworld and the Living begins to blur as gruesome ghosts, morbid reveries, and pure evil haunt her waking hours as well as her sanity. Once the details of Finn’s own startling destiny are revealed, the dangerous secrets he’s been hiding will threaten the very love Stasia believed to be indestructible. As time begins to run out, she will be forced to choose between the one she loves and the destiny she cannot escape.     About Kristen Day   Kristen Day is a southern belle at heart with a crazy streak that desperately tries to escape at every opportunity. She loves all things nostalgic, rustic, and quirky. She’s been told she sees the world through rose-colored glasses, but she prefers to think of them as kaleidoscope glasses - swirling and morphing reality into something she can digest (who hasn't pretended those pasty lima beans were really kiwi strawberry jelly beans?).   She is the author of the DAUGHTERS OF THE SEA trilogy, which includes FORSAKEN, AWAKEN (Oct 2012), and CHOSEN (Winter 2012). She loves all books, but really enjoys writing young adult, paranormal romances. She’s loved to write for as long as she can remember. Her first published work was her poem RED in second grade (you guessed it - it was a poem about the color red - life altering, right?) that won her 5 gold stars and a spot in her elementary school's poetry book. That's when her addiction to the written word officially began. She was the only kid in fifth grade that actually enjoyed diagramming sentences. Go ahead and laugh - its okay.   When she’s not writing she’s making jewelry, painting, feeding her addiction to sweet tea, watching the Discovery Channel, or going on random adventures in the mountains of North Carolina with her amazing husband. She was born in Boone, NC and graduated from Appalachian State University with a degree in Marketing in 2001.   Author’s Links   Purchase on Amazon Purchase on Barnes and Noble   Goodreads Blog Twitter Facebook        

Book Review: Deadlocked by A.R. Wise

David was caught in the middle of the city when the zombie outbreak started. His wife and daughters were at home, stranded on the roof as zombies waited below. He would have to fight through hordes of undead, merciless other survivors, and a series of death defying stunts to get home. However, even if he makes it there, how can he be sure they're safe?

Deadlocked puts you into David's head as he struggles to get home. Then a final confrontation occurs that will guarantee his family's survival, but at what cost?

*Excerpt from Goodreads.com

Plot: The plot was a little too abrupt for my liking in this book. There was no build-up to anything. The suspense of the plot was lacking in my opinion. It was almost like reading a check list. The thought of the plot was good, but the it just didn't get there for me. 

Characters: I know I harp a lot on this blog about characters and the right amount of development. Having said that, I feel like the characters in this book were very much under-developed. They lacked depth in my opinion therefore it made it hard to get into the book as well.

Readership: This book is for someone looking for a quick read that is into zombie books.  

I appreciate the author sending it to me, but I probably would not recommend it to anyone to read.

Overall Rating: 1/5

Book Review: From Out of Chaos by Nathan Wrann

The Cor Griffin Bloodsuckers' story continues in the thrilling sequel to Dark Matter Heart.

Cor, Taylor and Caitlyn have put an end to The Creeper’s reign of terror, but at what cost? The teens’ lives are thrust deeper into turmoil as Detectives Tolliver and Orlovsky keep Cor under surveillance; Caitlyn copes with her transformation, and Taylor sets off a cataclysmic chain of events that will tragically change their lives forever.

"From Out Of Chaos" is Book 2 in the "Dark Matter Heart" Trilogy.

* Excerpt from Goodreads.com

 Plot: Since this is the second book in a series, I'm always worried about the plot. It always seems to be that the second book pales in comparison to the first book. That wasn't the case with this book and it was a pleasant surprise. The plot picks up seamlessly from the first book while still doing a great job of identifying the characters for someone who may be reading this book without having read the first one. My favorite part of this book by far is the fact that Nathan ties in things from classic horror novels such as Frankenstein and Dracula. I think it is great that he his tying into the roots of the genre that he is not writing in. It's not a knock off of those works in any way either. He has carved out a fresh new niche while incorporating elements from these wonderful classics. This book will keep you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end. 

Characters: I really enjoy the characters in this book series. They are easy to follow and understand (as much as you can understand a vampire and his friends). They are well developed and all play an intricate part in the story. Without just one of the characters in the book it would leave an irreparable void in the plot and story overall. 

Readership: This book is readable for anyone that's in middle school or older. I would recommend high school as a good starting point though. I believe this book will appeal to you if you like vampire books, horror books, suspense books, and action/adventure books. It's got a little bit for everyone. 

This book is another solid effort by Nathan Wrann.

Overall Rating: 4/5

A Beautiful Gift

Thank you to the fine folks at Sterling Publishing for sending me these beautiful books to add to my collection. These covers are a wonderful redesign by noted fashion illustrator Sara Singh. They are part of the new "Classic Lines series" and they both were published just last month. They are gorgeous to look at and a colorful and fun addition to my bookshelf. Check them out and pick up a set of your own here.