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Tuesday, September 24, 2013

VEILED SHADOWS Blog Tour!

I'm thrilled to be the first stop on Morgan Wylie's brand new book VEILED SHADOWS.  This is book two of the Age of Alandria Series, which is a YA Fantasy for those who didn't know.  If you want to check out my review of book one, SILENT ORCHIDS, it's right HERE.  Today's post will be slightly long, but I've got lots of goodies for you.  Following my review, there will be an excerpt and a rafflecopter for some sweet prizes, which let's be real, that's a post full of awesome! 







Shadows linger where light is obstructed, and truth is veiled. 
Evil is an untreated disease in the once beautiful realm of Alandria.
Kaeleigh is faced with a revelation that she must reconcile. She will decide if discovering the truth is worth the unknown consequences to both herself and her friends.
Daegan, the Ferrishyn warrior, is conflicted by more than his loyalties, and is confronted with emotions he doesn’t know how to deal with. A choice must be made. A choice… that may cost him more than he ever wanted to give.
The Droch-Shúil—enforcers and servants of the ancient darkness—continue to cast their shadow over Alandria seeking those who can be turned to their side. 
The magic of The Orchids is growing, but not everyone will survive what is to come.
Veiled Shadows is the second installment in The Age of Alandria series: the story of the Sol-lumieth’s quest for freedom of self and the power to battle the evil of the Droch-Shúil.

Review:  Coming into VEILED SHADOWS we're immediately thrust right where we left off in SILENT ORCHIDS.  Kaeleigh reunites with family members she never knew she had.  One reunion in particular was so sweet and sad at the same time.  

One thing that I think Wylie did extremely well in VS was Kae's character progression.  I really connected with how her character was resistant to these responsibilities that were immediately thrust on her, and I think that she still struggles with the idea that she's got so much resting on her shoulders.  Kae never really has this overall accepting what she is prophesied to do, rather she focuses on the love and support of her friends telling her she can do this.  I thought that these moments were portrayed very realistically.  

Something else I admired about Kae's character is that she's never been a passive character.  She's always been a character that doesn't need to be saved, and I think Morgan Wylie took it a step further in VS and we start to see more instances of self reliance in Kae which makes her a standout character that girls can actually look up to. 

While the Chel, Finn, Daegon, and Hunter all feature in the book, I think the purpose of VS was to largely create a finite persona for Kae.  Although we still have the lacings of romance weaved throughout the plot, the main focus continues to be about Kae and Kae's journey in rebuilding Alandria as well as the search for her identity in Alandria. 

For you folks that have read a review on this site before, you might have come across my detest for love triangles.  I'm scared because there are hints of a love triangle forming and I love shipping Daegon and Kae.  While it's not really the first thing on Kae's mind in this book,(hello, girl's got a lot on her plate) I'm waiting with bated breath to see how this "triangle will be handled in book three.  I'll reserve judgement until there's a bit more meat to sink my teeth into, and not jump the gun with VS.  But, for you fellow triangle haters, be warned that there is a possibility of that happening later.  

Now, with that said, I loved the progression of the plot in VS.  It felt a bit long at the very beginning, but it still held my interest.  Once they got back on the open road, my interest was completely held.  What can I say, I love a good road trip.  I loved the inclusion of different myths and legends that Wylie included, and her descriptions continue to be very vivid.  At parts I felt like I was peeking in on the characters in the scenes. 

We see a few new faces in VS, one who I have a very big conspiracy theory about.  You'll meet him towards the latter part of the book.  I also loved why Wylie named this book Veiled Shadows.  I'm one of those people who likes to connect the title to the actual content of the book, so when that clicks for me I get pretty stoked. 

If you like Fantasy books, you need to be reading some Morgan Wylie!  It always amazes me how much world building goes into a fantasy novel, and I think that The Age of Alandria series has an intensely rich setting, that Wylie has put careful and extreme effort into.  I'm loving this series and I can't wait for the next to come out!  Do yourself a favor and pick yourself up a copy of book one if you haven't started.  Get hooked and fall into VEILED SHADOWS if you're already on this epic fantasy ride! 
4.5/5 Oh Yeah I really liked it a lot!

Here's an exclusive except from VEILED SHADOWS! 

About Morgan Wylie: Morgan Wylie, originally from the Pacific Northwest, now resides near Nashville, TN with her husband and daughter. She and her husband work everyday at their individual and combined creative pursuits while she learns to balance being “Mama”, wife, and mediator to the many voices and muses constantly chattering in her head.
Buy VEILED SHADOWS!
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Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Watercolor Review!

If you haven't started reading the DRAGONFLY series by Leigh T. Moore yet, get in gear because you are missing out on a truly FANTASTIC series.



Love is stronger than distance...


Finishing senior year is supposed to be the best time in a person’s life.
Finishing senior year as Julian’s girlfriend should’ve been the icing on the cake.
Knowing the secret that could change everything for him is the only thing threatening to spoil it all. 
Until Jack returns.



Anna and Julian are together at last, and it’s as hot and happy as they knew it would be. The only problem is The Secret. 


And Jack. 


But while Anna is determined to fight for the guy she loves, she could still lose Julian when he discovers the truth she’s been helping to hide.


Review:  After reading WATERCOLOR I have one thing to say guys.  I am a total Anna and Julian fan.  I've even gone to far as to try and create a cutesy moniker for them: Analian, Julina, Anju?  Whatever, point is, I've waited two books to finally get what I want from these characters, and it is suhweet satisfaction. 

Book one DRAGONFLY hooked me in because Anna had this Nancy Drew vibe, and third grade me had a love affair with all the original yellow bound Nancy Drew books.  I was even Nancy Drew for Halloween one year, (you know you read too much when...).  So Anna's sleuthing tendencies made me totally love her.  Anna's quest for the truth leads her to love, heartbreak, lust, heartbreak, and then serious like.  With who?  I'm not going to spoil it for you dear reader, if you haven't yet embarked on this journey.   UNDERTOW, book two took us on a heartbreaking journey that gives Anna answers she didn't necessarily want, but definitely needed. 

Now we're here.  Anna and Julian are together, finally!!! (I didn't give anything away.  That's in the synopsis people).  Anyway, Julian and Anna are adorable.  Seriously that's the only word I have for it, because whenever they were on the page together my heart was doing the little flutters of happiness.  But, there's always that one thing that has to go a screw up a perfect time.  His name is Jack.  Oh and there's also this huge secret that Anna's keeping from Julian that threatens to pretty much rock his whole life as he knows it.  But, anyway, back to Jack. 

I rooted for him in book one so hard, but then he had to go a be a punk and hurt Anna.  So I joined the Julian alliance.  I'm totally for team good guy now. Not to say that Jack's bad, but he has a hold over Anna.  You know that first love hold?  Yeah that's the one.  Well let's just say it takes Anna a moment to get her thoughts in order.  But, when she does it is so gratifying to see what happens. 

I feel that UNDERTOW was Anna's wake up call that life can get really messy.  While we didn't see her that much in it, we see how much she grew from what she learned in WATERCOLOR.  I really enjoyed Anna in this book, and let me just say there's a teaser at the end for book four MOSAIC that has my head spinning. 

All in all, WATERCOLOR is a fantastic addition to the Dragonfly series.  With each and every book Leigh T. Moore just impresses the heck out of me.  When I first started the series, I wasn't sure this series would hook me.  Lies.  I've been waiting for each book like it's my own personal version of crack.  If you haven't started the series, do it.  It's such a fun and great series about growing up, with some small town soap opera drama sprinkled in.  If you have read the series so far, you will adore WATERCOLOR.  So pick up a copy when it comes out on October 3rd people!  You won't regret it! 

Happy Reading!
5/5 OH YEAH I LOVED IT


Thursday, September 5, 2013

SOAR Cover reveal!

I can't wait for this to come out people!  Get ready for a really fun continuation of the Pteron world from the amazing Alyssa Rose Ivy!   

Releasing Fall 2013

In the city that never sleeps the Chronicles continue…
Serving coffee is temporary, just like Casey's year off from school. She’s going to come up with a plan to stay in New York City and go back to college, and that plan does not involve dating a paranormal creature—let alone two.
Running the supernatural society of New York is not as fun as it sounds, especially when you still have to answer to your ex-girlfriend’s fiancé. Toby doesn’t mean to bring Casey into the chaos of his life, but he can't resist the girl who makes him smile when he thought no one else ever could.
Jared's in New York checking out a security risk for his best friend, the king. He plans to return to New Orleans quickly, but not if it means losing his chance with the brunette who pretends she wants nothing to do with him.
In over her head with a bunch of winged creatures who most definitely are not angels, Casey has to figure out who to trust with her life and maybe her heart.

WE GET MORE JARED.  Allow to me to express my joy in gifs...
When I first read the synopsis I was like this:




And then this: 

And now I'm in a constant state of this:


Needless to say: I. LOVE. JARED.  

Get excited people because I'm freaking over the moon!  



Alyssa Rose Ivy is a New Adult and Young Adult author who loves to weave stories with romance and a southern setting. Although raised in the New York area, she fell in love with the South after moving to New Orleans for college. After years as a perpetual student, she turned back to her creative side and decided to write. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and two young children, and she can usually be found with a cup of coffee in her hand.