Steamborn - YA Steampunk with 2 giveaways + excerpt

Today I'm featuring a book blitz for Steamborn by Eric Asher along with an excerpt, a giveaway (or two) and short author Q&A.

Steamborn by Eric Asher

(Steamborn, #1)

Publication date: 1 December, 2015

Genres: Steampunk, Young Adult

Synopsis:

Jacob, a tinker’s apprentice and sometime thief, has lived his entire life in the mountain city of Ancora, protected by the city walls. These towering barriers keep the Deadlands creatures at bay, but the monsters move higher into the peaks every year. More and more, they breach the defenses of the Lowlands while the Highlands rest easy.

A swarm overruns the walls and wreaks utter devastation on the Lowlands. Charles, the old tinker, suspects the attack may not be natural. With help from Jacob’s closest friend, Alice, and Samuel, one of the city’s elite spider knights, Jacob and Charles will uncover a terrible darkness at the heart of their city.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26227014-steamborn?ac=1

An excerpt from Steamborn:

They waited a minute in the wind and silence at the top of the wall. Another gust of wind caught the old man’s beard, and the largest grin Jacob had ever seen on Charles’s face lifted his beard even higher.

“Ready?”

Jacob nodded. He put one foot up on the rampart and then stepped backwards, shaking his head. He took a deep breath.

“Go, go, go!” Charles said.

Jacob hopped up onto the ramparts and shouted, “Cock-a-doodle-doo!” He launched himself into the air before he could decide it might not be such a good idea. Jacob tilted forward slightly as the earth fell away beneath him. The cold, solid stone no longer held his weight, and he screamed in pure joy as his heart dropped into his stomach.

“Now!” he heard Charles shout from above him.

Jacob pulled the lever. He felt the backpack shift when the leathery wings snapped out and stretched to their full span. The brackets shook as they locked into place, and a gust of wind caused Jacob to tilt to the north when he meant to go south. He slid his arms up into the loops on the wings and carefully tilted them, changing his flight path over the streets below.

Jacob turned his arms, and the next gust of wind took him higher. He heard his name, only a distant shout. Far below him someone waved, and then the faces on the street all turned up to see what Samuel was yelling at. Jacob laughed and pulled the wings in, diving closer to the astonished crowd below. He spread his arms and twisted, soaring around the chimney of one of the highest roofs in the Highlands as he angled for the gatehouse.

“Come down farther!”

Jacob barely heard the words over the howl of the wind, but he saw Samuel running along the ground beneath him, diving and weaving through the crowds. The switches in Jacob’s wings whirred and clicked as he dropped his altitude low enough that he could touch the roof of every home he soared past. Jacob streaked into the courtyard.

“Clear the way!” Samuel shouted.

As part of the book blitz, there are two giveaways. There first is exclusive to Nadaness In Motion (which gives you a bigger chance of winning), while the second is a blitz-wide giveaway.

For this one, I have one ebook copy up for grabs of Eric Asher's Steamborn. The giveaway is open internationally and the winner will receive their book after 16 December.

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Giveaway no. 2: Blitz-wide giveaway for 5 paperback copies of Steamborn (open internationally)

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A quick Q&A with Eric Asher about his books and writing in general

Q: What is your favorite book that you wrote and why?

Eric Asher: It seems the latest book I write is always my “favorite.” Hazards of our creative minds, I suppose. Steamborn is definitely near the top of the list. I love the balance between plot, characters, and … umm, stuff I can’t mention without spoilers.

Q: Who or what inspired you to be a writer?

EA: I’ve always enjoyed making up stories. I had some fantastic teachers in high school that always urged me to pursue writing. I wasn’t really into the idea at the time, as I was still convinced I’d be a rock star. Let me tell you how well that worked out … ;)  It wasn’t until about 2005 when I realized I really wanted to sit down and write an entire novel.

Q: What books have most influenced your life?
EA: I will always owe thanks to Robert Asprin for his Myth Adventures series. They are such a wonderful blend of humor and adventure that I loved when I was a kid. Northworld by David Drake single handedly turned me into a huge fan of military science fiction.

Q: Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?

EA: Right now, at this moment, my favorite author is Neil Gaiman. What has always struck me about his work, ever since The Sandman, is the flow of the story and the flow of the prose. Everything is clean and the visuals are stunning.

Buy the book at 99¢ pre-order price for a limited time!

iTunes Pre-order: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/steamborn/id1036880598?mt=11

About the Author:

Eric is a former bookseller, guitarist, and comic seller currently living in Saint Louis, Missouri. A lifelong enthusiast of books, music, toys, and games, he discovered a love for the written word after being dragged to the library by his parents at a young age. When he is not writing, you can usually find him reading, gaming, or buried beneath a small avalanche of Transformers.

Author links:

http://daysgonebad.com/index

https://www.facebook.com/ericrasher

https://twitter.com/ericrasher

Wish for Me - Review & Blog Tour

Wish for Me by A. Star

(The Djinn Order #1)

Publication date: April 27th 2015

Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Steampunk

Synopsis:

Three wishes. Two lovers. One destiny.

When the snarky Glory St. Pierre discovers the gold mechanical vase in her deceased grandmother’s basement, she has no idea that she has uncovered a priceless treasure: a genie lamp. With a real genie inside. A very sexy genie with a not-so-sexy grudge against the entire human race.

Irving Amir hates being called a genie. He’s a Djinn, and he is none too happy to be in the service of Glory, who is as intolerable, and beautiful, as humans come. Now he owes her his gratitude for freeing him and three wishes. Damn his luck.

But an arrow through the shoulder alerts Irving to the fact that he is being hunted, and after a truce dinner with Glory ends with them both almost being killed, hating each other goes right out the window. As feelings change and love starts to develop, they must dig through the secrets and lies to find the truth…a truth neither of them will ever see coming.

This book is not suitable for ages 18 and under.

Review:

Wish for Me by A. Star is the first instalment in The Djinn Order series. It is an action-packed steampunk, adult, fantasy and romance novel.

The novel is narrated in the first person by Glory St. Pierre, who seems rebellious but is plain obnoxious. Glory stumbles on a strange looking vase which turns out is more of a genie or Djinn lamp. The contraption, nothing like the lamp Aladdin finds, houses the Djinn Irving Amir, who gives Glory the chance to make three wishes. The two characters start out their relationship on a sarcastic note but an arrow to Irving's shoulder quickly changes their relationship.

Although there is significant character development for Glory, the protagonist and narrator, I did not like her; I liked her sometimes but those instances were few. The first few chapters put me off the two characters but bit by bit I began to like Irving Amir and respect him.

Apart from the sweet-talk and "uber-sexy abs" and away from the early dislike of humans, Irving is overall an experienced, wise and loveable character, as opposed to Glory.

"Humans are shallow creatures with shallow desires and they only ever wish for shallow things. Fame, infinite wealth, love from the one who would not love them otherwise… the story is always the same." This Irving's view of human in chapter one, but as the novel progresses, his view begins to change and begins to fall for Glory and she for him, although at first she is more attracted to him sexually than anything else.

The sarcasm coming from both characters offers a bit of comic relief every now and then to ease the tension, which is a lot in the novel.

After Irving gets a poisoned arrow to his shoulder and Glory accidentally wishes for magic, things change drastically. Both become hunted by more than one side.

The ending of Wish for Me was much stronger than I anticipated. Not only that, many of the hunter-prey roles become reversed as Irving and Glory must team up with enemies to fight other enemies.

A. Star uses several Arabic words and names, which I thought was cute considering Arabic is my mother tongue.

I enjoyed the contraptions created by Irving. He likes to tinker and create. In his realm, everything is mechanical – the steampunk element – and I enjoyed the description of many of his creations, especially Nagi.

One of the things that bothered me while reading, however, was the author's constant and repetitive use of "questioned". I mean there are options like "asked" and "said", and certainly others, but the excessive use of "questioned" irritated me beyond measure – it was worth a star or half a star in my rating.

Also, there were several major shifts, from tit-for-tat arguments to romance in a jiffy. I didn't like that and felt it disrupted the flow of the novel. It also felt awkward in places.

The adult content in Wish for Me is mainly because of the language and a couple of love scenes, which I didn't see as romantic or at least not what I was expecting with the author's bio (below). Still it is unsuitable for ages 18 and under.

I did enjoy the action in the novel and felt like I was in a movie.

A. Star uses several interesting and creative images such as "Irving still treated me like a pimple he was itching to pop."

Several revelations come at the end of the novel, paving the way of the second instalment in the series, which I would like to read if I get the chance.

Overall rating: 3.5 stars

Note: I received a free copy of Wish for Me via Xpresso Book Tours in exchange for an honest review as part of this blog tour.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24301457-wish-for-me?ac=1

There is a tour-wide giveaway, open internationally for a $10 Amazon GC, a signed print copy of Lover, Divine + a bookmark - ends 6 August.

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About the Author:

A. Star is a fan of dirty passion. She loves to read it, and she damn sure loves to write it. She is the author of the Mythos: Gods & Lovers series, the Djinn Order series, and the Knights of the Joust series. She is a night-owl and a coffee junkie, and the only sneaker she would be caught dead wearing Converses.

Connect with the Author via:

http://www.diantha-jones.com/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6896192.A_Star

https://www.facebook.com/dianthajones

https://twitter.com/DianthaJones

Purchase the book via Amazon and B&N.

Chronicles of Steele by Pauline Creeden - Book Review

Chronicles of Steele: Raven by Pauline Creeden is my first ever steampunk read, and I must say I thoroughly enjoyed both the genre and Creeden’s storytelling. The book is divided into four episodes, each is subdivided into scenes.

The novel is about Raven Steele, a reaper. Reapers are not entirely mercenaries, or at least they did not start out as such. Their main code is, for every life they take, they must redeem it by saving another. This code stops them from falling in a downward spiral of becoming unfeeling and heartless.

The novel opens with Raven having made up her mind to go to Gregory and declare her love for him. On the way, a broken automated horse pulling a carriage lands in the water and Raven saves the young boy in the carriage. The boy turns out to be the young Baron, the second in line to rule New Haven. Raven is taken to the Duke and there his older son, Solomon, tells her that the young Baron, Darius, has a demon and that he just suffered a failed exorcism. He asks her to take his brother to the Wood Witch to cure him, or their father, the Duke, will kill him. Raven sees an opportunity to redeem herself by rescuing Darius.

At the beginning of the novel, we see Raven trying to think of other people as human. A short while after that thought and in her first confrontation in the book, Raven is arrested and the scene is described with “…gripped the chain between the cuffs and pulled her forward like an ox.” The image is highly ironic as she tries to think of others as people, whereas such people treat her like an animal even though she gets out of her way and saves a life.

Throughout the book, Raven tries to escape the Duke’s guard to get Darius to the Wood Witch. Getting there isn’t easy, but the worse is yet to come as it turns out the Darius is very special and the Wood Witch has much better and bigger plans.

The novel is narrated in the third person. The language is simple with many beautiful images:

“Sunlight sifted through and between the buildings stacked next to one another like books on a shelf.”

Every scene in every episode begins with a few lines of advice or notes in the reapers’ code. For instance “Defeat is a state of mind. The loser is not the person who fails, but one who gives up. If one never gives up, lost ground can be easily recovered when the opportunity presents itself.” Also, “Actions must be guided by reason, not emotion. The moment decisions become based on feelings, one will err”.

I particularly liked Credeen’s use and choice of colours in these lines, which reflect both Raven’s and the author’s views as to the Duke’s choice since his guard wears brown coats. “Brown might be a good colour for a dirty job, but a bloody one? As a reaper, Raven wore black – the appropriate colour for the purpose.”

In the Chronicles of Steele, there are many bits of sound and advice and food for thought. For example, Raven is highly intelligent and calculating, often anticipating her opponents’ moves. In one scene, she tells Darius, “You don’t have to be faster than a bullet, you just need to be smarter than the man holding the gun.”

Despite being such a strong character, certain little things still get to Raven. She’s hard on the outside but afraid of a tiny thing like spiders. This makes her character more realistic and believable. “As a reaper, she trained to conquer her fear. Yet the thought of eight hairy legs creeping across her skin made her cringe.”

Moreover, we say Raven develop, particularly in terms of emotions. She begins to care for Darius and worries about him. Is he cold? Is he well fed? Later, she draws strength from his faith and trust in her.

Chronicles of Steele is rich in characters from Raven, to Monroe, Captain Jack Grant, Darius, Colton and even Nikki the dog. Credeen’s storytelling is enjoyable and when you think you’ve been let down, Credeen shows you she’s just been teasing – I liked that bit.

What I particularly loved about the novel is that it mixed so many genres into one beautiful read. It is action, adventure, disguise, mystery, fantasy and supernatural with a tiny tinge of romance.

“That woman’s passion was like a storm, and he could either cower from the lightning, or be brace and stand in the rain.”

Note: I received a free copy in return for an honest review and as part of the Chronicles of Steele: Raven blog tour via Xpresso Book Tours.

Note: The books were originally published separately, though my copy is of all four episodes.

Keep reading for more info about the books and the author:

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23277025-chronicles-of-steele

Purchase:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NLL6S42/ref=x_gr_w_bb?ie=UTF8&tag=httpwwwgoodco-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00NLL6S42&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-chronicles-of-steele-pauline-creeden/1120594003?ean=9781502357595

About Pauline Creeden:

In simple language, Pauline Creeden creates worlds that are both familiar and strange, often pulling the veil between dimensions. She becomes the main character in each of her stories, and because she has ADD, she will get bored if she pretends to be one person for too long. Pauline is a horse trainer from Virginia, but writing is her therapy.

Armored Hearts, her joint effort with author Melissa Turner Lee, has been awarded the Crowned Heart for Excellence by InDtale Magazine. It is also the 2013 Book Junkie’s Choice Winner in Historical Fiction. Her debut novel, Sanctuary, won 1st Place Christian YA Title 2013 Dante Rosetti Award and 2014 Reader’s Choice Gold Award for Best YA Horror Novel.

Author links:

http://paulinecreeden.com/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5284782.Pauline_Creeden

https://www.facebook.com/PaulineCreeden

https://twitter.com/P_Creeden