Y.A. Tuesday: "The Guardian" by Katie Klein

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Paranormal & Urban. 175 pages.

Price: $0 FREE (at time of post) 

Publisher & Date: Amazon Digital Services, Inc. July 22, 2011.

Book Link: Click Here

Listed Rating:. 2

Price I Paid: $0 (got it FREE on April 18, 2015)

My Rating:

My Thoughts: A Bodyguard and Maybe Something More?
        A Bodyguard and Maybe Something More? The cover is what lured me into reading the novel, however the story ended up being an okay young adult read. The main characters never really had depth and lacked a connection to me as the reader. However I will give the author huge points for the use allusion throughout the story. 
       Life for 17 year old Genesis Green has never been easy. When Genesis isn't at school she is working to help her mom pay the bills. So dating a rich boyfriend like Carter should be a wish come true but all it does is cause tension. A fight between them leads to a car accident that has Genesis waking up in the hospital. Genesis begins to see clearly and makes changes in her life. Especially when she meets a few new men in her life. One in particular named Seth, who only she can see and only seems to appear when he wants to. Seth saves Genesis again and reluctantly begins to reveal a whole new reality to her about the Guardians. Genesis now finds herself in a war between good and evil, all while trying to be a normal teen. 
       Overall, okay read, started off slow but got more interesting by the end. Genesis appears to be complex but her life is just a mess. The extra guy drama added insult to her character that was growing in independence. The greatest moment was when she tells her mom to stick it. Now Seth as the male lead is subpar, he's meant to be her guardian and immediately falls for her. All I could think was little creepy, since he's something and unknown age. Seth even throws a fit when Genesis agrees to help, because he'd have to really watch her back now since evil would be after her. Like duh dude still your job! If I was Genesis I'd have made Seth beg to get back in my good graces after ditching me. Anyways, the biggest fact about the book is the allusions of each name (ex. Genesis means origin) hinting at things to come or were all to culminate in the epic good vs. evil finale. So if you're looking for a new paranormal young adult book about a teen girl with a gift ready to take on evil because she had good and a guardian on her side, hen his book might lead you into a new series.

Hey, It's A Review Blitz for "Demigods and Monsters" by Raye Wagner

by Raye Wagner

Book 2, in The Sphinx Series
"Demigods and Monsters"
Genre: Young Adult, Urban Mythology. 273 pages.

Price: $3.99 ebook (at time of post)

Book Link: Click Here

- SYNOPSIS -

Can Apollo’s curse be broken? 

 Seventeen-year-old Hope Nicholas is done running. Apollo’s curse has ruled her entire life, limiting her choices and robbing her of the things that matter most. But she refuses to live in fear any longer. In fact, she’s ready to do whatever it takes to break the god’s power over her existence. 

 When the goddess Artemis instructs Hope to impersonate a demigod and infiltrate a conservatory to get access to the Olympian library, she doesn’t hesitate. As she sees it, there’s nothing left to lose. 

 But once inside, Hope discovers the only way to get what she needs is to work with her sworn enemies. As the lines between demigod and monster are crossed again and again, Hope has to dig deep for the courage to accept her fate or fight for the freedom to save herself.

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My Rating:   

My Thoughts: Mission, Break The Curse!

       This is book 2 in the Sphinx series and you'll definitely need to read book 1 "Curse of the Sphinx" before diving into this book, trust me I tried reading book 2 before 1 (by mistake) and was totally lost. The novel picks up a little after book one and continues on with the main character as she seeks out new people and more information. The writing style in this novel changes a bit from the previous book and I love the series even more.

      After fleeing the small town of Goldendale, Hope Nicholas is now hiding in Seattle with her aunt Priska. However, Hope decides she isn't content with just hiding anymore and now wants to pursue ways to break the curse of Sphinx, which has controlled the women in her family for too long. The problem is Hope is a monster hunted by Apollos' sons and she may just have to step into a house of demigods for answers. Meanwhile, Athan son of Hermes is out searching for Hope trying to find her before Skia get him or worse Apollo finds Hope. With so many gods, immortals, secrets and curses in the world around her, Hope begins to wonder who are the real monsters and will ever be able to break the curse of Sphinx?

      Overall, truly enjoyed this sequel. The first book was written in a different writing method, which took time to get used to. However, this novel had a lot more dialogue that helped connects readers to Hope and the new characters introduced. Plus there is a quite a few more fighting scenes included too. Now as the heroine, Hope definitely shows she has a lot of growing up to do as her world is one big frustrating mystery and she seems to lack wisdom and understanding. That's the one great thing about Greek mythology, it gets more twisted and twisted the more you try to untangle it. Only bummer for me personally was the serious lack of Athan in this novel. The guy only got a small portion and Hope barely lets him in at the very end, which made me want to slap her because he is obviously more awesome than a certain friend she makes in this novel. But I digress, so if you haven't read the first book do so, and then read on to get wrapped up in Hope's journey to understand herself, her history and family curse.

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EXCERPT

Hope went into the sparse guest room and closed the door behind her. She let out a long, slow exhale and leaned against the door.

“How long have you been at the conservatory?” 

Hope yelped. Turning around, she noticed Athan sitting on the edge of the bed. “Sorry.” He was quickly at her side. “I didn’t mean to startle you.” 

“Then what the Hades are you doing in my room with the light off?” Hope flicked the light on and glared at him. 

“Right.” He took a step back. “Sorry. I wanted to talk to you, and you left abruptly.” 

Hope clenched her teeth. “Oh. Well then, it’s all okay. Come on in.” Sarcasm dripped with the words. “What do you need to say?” 

Athan frowned. “What’s with the hostility? Did I do something to you?” 

She sputtered in her attempt to say anything, but words formed and disappeared before she could get them out. Finally, she said, “I trusted you.” She knew she was being irrational, but all the pent-up emotion erupted, blasting into the air between them. “I don’t even know what to believe anymore.” 

Athan reached his hand out to touch her face, but something in her expression made him hesitate before contact. He dropped his hand to his side. “I never lied to you, Hope.”

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Also Available ....

Curse of the Sphinx (Book #1)- Click Here
Price: $2.99 (at time of post)

Origin of the Sphinx 
(Prequel Novella)- Click Here

Price: $0.99 (at time of post)

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    Raye Wagner

Author Links: Amazon Page, Facebook, Website, Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads.

Raye Wagner grew up in an urban fantasy just outside of Seattle, Washington. As the second of eight children, she was surrounded by monsters, demons, and her sometimes mortal parents. She read heaps of fantasy while locked away in the upstairs room of the family cottage.

 Raye studied the art of medicine long before she had an interest in the Gods on Mount Olympus.

  One sunny afternoon, the history of Apollo’s ancient curse and the myth of the Sphinx dropped into her consciousness, and she’s been scribbling and typing stories in her spare time ever since.

 Raye writes young adult fiction for teens and adults.

"Y.A. Tuesday": Caller 107 by Matthew S. Cox

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal, Coming of Age, Urban. 176 pages.

Price: $4.99 (at time of post)

Publisher & Date: Curiosity Quills Press. July 21, 2014.

Book Link: Click Here

Listed Rating:   

Price I Paid: $0 (got it FREE on July 24, 2015) 

My Rating:    

My Thoughts: Written For All Who've Been Hurt By Divorce As Either The Parent Or Child. 

       Honestly I grabbed this book without reading much of the description thinking it was only to do with a teenager and her wanting to connect with a DJ. That is soooo not the case, this book is way more than I was expecting but in a good way. The plot feels confusing at first especially with the verb tense and perspective being a bit off, but as you read on and more of the situation is revealed, a reader can see such a depth to this book you may not have expected. I certainly wasn't, which made this book a great emotional read that has left a huge impression on me for life.
       After a two year bitter divorce in which her two parents want only to destroy each other, left thirteen-year-old Natalie Rausch in the middle and alone, now she is nothing but hardened towards those around her. Natalie absolutely hates everything her mom says and does, since Natalie is convinced she is all to blame for destroying their family. She also hates her dad for cutting her out of his life and leaving her alone with the one person in the world she really hates. Natalie lets herself spiral out of control by dropping her grades, shop lifting, dressing like a punk and swearing worse than a sailor all in an effort to enrage her mother and get attention from her non-existent father. However, it's not until Natalie hits her lowest point by hanging out with a group of dangerous older teens that she finds herself in real physical danger. It's then that redemption in a series of tasks given by a spirit in the form of DJ Crazy Todd may be possible if, and only IF, Natalie can fix her wrongs in time. Natalie takes the offer of a second chance and winds up on a journey with her mother and father exploring where her family fell apart and why, but most importantly how they can move forward together, if Natalie completes her tasks and wins approval for her second chance. 
        Overall, this story has such a grasp on how much divorce destroys kids and families, that for me a person who has not experienced divorce firsthand, now feels more attuned to help the kids I do know who have gone through these types of messy divorces with more clarity. Now the plot flow, perspective, verb tense and story structure was a bit rough for me to get through for a couple chapters, but once I got a third of the way in I realized this book was emotionally golden. Natalie is hurting and expressing it as best she knows, which is basically wreck whats left of her life since her parents helped destroy what happiness she had once before they started fighting. So when they, as a family, finally get a chance to let the hurt and blame fall away, by allowing the whole truth to come out it helps them all heal. Natalie is clearly a thirteen year old girl who is trying to be older than she needs to be, but her life changed the moment her parents decided to divorcee. As an adult who helps kids, many who come from split families, I know the kids are always hurt from the experience and this book helped remind me their actions are reactions, which may be for attention not always self destruction. So if you were once an angry teen from a bitter divorce, or know a teen(s) that are angry at everyone and everything when the people in their world seem against them, than this book may be a good choice.