Plague by Lisa C. Hinsley

Last month the folks over at Pocket Star, Simon & Schuster's eBook imprint, released Lisa C. Hinsley's novella Plague. The description called it a thriller in the vein of Contagion... so of course I had to read it!

Maybe not the best book choice while still suffering from an epic cold turned sinus infection but I finally dug it out of the digital TBR pile last night and dove in. And it's a whammy of a read! Brutal both in terms of gory description and heartwrenching emotion, Plague is a terrifying premise.

London has been hit by a deadly new strain of bubonic plague. Antiobiotic resistant, the outbreak has proved to be 100% fatal. At first, authorities are able to keep the outbreak fairly low key by claiming that it's been limited to the southern areas. Certain that it hasn't reached their neighborhood, Liz and Johnny at first believe that their young son, Nathan, is suffering from a cold. When his neck begins to swell, however, Liz can no longer hide from the truth: her son has the plague. Now the family has been forcibly quarantined in their home as they count down their son's final days and wait to catch it themselves. 

This is a short read that takes place of the span of just a few days. It really is a scary story especially considering I do live in an area that's still affected by what most consider to be a medieval contagion. And it's true that there are still fatalities due to plague even today, minimal as they may be.

Hinsley very quickly sets the tone and pacing of the book, moving right into the action so to speak. And since the infection progresses so quickly, the pacing is pretty breakneck. But the main focus of the story is the impact this has on the family. Liz and Johnny and Nathan have so little time left together once the infection begins and Hinsley quite impressively portrays the emotions at play. I think it makes Plague an incredibly intense read that definitely makes Hinsley one to watch.

Hinsley's next book, The Ultimate Choice, is due out from Pocket Star in February. In the meantime, I have to recommend Plague to anyone in search of a great (nightmarish) night's read!

Rating: 4/5

The House on the Cliff by Charlotte Williams

Morning, readers! Today I'm a stop on the TLC book tour for Charlotte Williams's debut, The House on the Cliff.

When Gwydion Morgan hires Jessica Mayhew as his therapist, it's under the guise of treating a button phobia and insomnia he fears will hinder his burgeoning acting career. Gwydion is charming and attractive but soon confesses he's been dealing with another issue: a recurring dream that reveals itself a bit more with each session. Jessica soon learns that a young woman died while working for the family when Gwydion was just a boy. As Gwydion recalls more and more of the dream, it soon becomes clear that it's linked to the woman's death and a secret the Morgan family has tried to keep under cover for many years now. Gwydion isn't Jessica's only concern either. Her own family is in turmoil as she faces the fact that her husband has recently cheated and her teenage daughter becomes entangled with one of Jessica's former clients.

This is apparently the first in a series that will feature Jessica Mayhew. It's just been released here in the States but was previously released in the UK.

This is a tough post to put together because while I know I can't possibly love or even like every book that I read, I still expect to love or at least like every book that I read. The House on the Cliff should have had everything necessary for me to like it - a UK psychological suspense debut described as "pacey" and "intriguing" by The Guardian. The publicity material even compared it to Daphne DuMaurier. With all of that in mind I'd started Charlotte Williams's debut with pretty high expectations, not the least of which comes with the new Bourbon Street Books brand.

Unfortunately the book just doesn't deliver on any of those counts. It was not very suspenseful, though the pacing was fine. Williams's writing over all was fine as well. Fine. Not wonderful, not particularly intriguing, and sadly not what I would expect at all from a psychological suspense or as the set up for a new crime series.

Jessica Mayhew comes across as a kind of lackluster therapist as well. I hate to say it, but the way her character is set up and the way things play out I was scratching my head the whole time wondering if a real therapist would react in the same ways and seemingly miss all of the various things going on around her.

The House on the Cliff was an unfortunate miss for me.

To see more stops on the tour, visit the official TLC tour page here. For more on Charlotte Williams and her work, check out her website.

2014 TBR Tackle Challenge

Last year I signed up for a few challenges in an attempt to work down the TBR a bit more and I think they were pretty successful. So this year I'm starting my own challenge for myself.

It'll be fairly unofficial but my goal is to work in two books books a month that have been languishing in my TBR mountain for six months or longer. Hubs even made me a cute little button to go with it :)

Guest Post from Patricia Bracewell + a Giveaway

Good morning, all! January is just brimming with treats here on the blog and today I've got yet another one for you: a guest post from Patricia Bracewell, author of Shadow on the Crown, plus a chance to win your own copy of the newly released paperback.

Shadow on the Crown is the first in a proposed trilogy about Emma of Normandy, the "twice crowned queen." The daughter of the duke of Normandy, Emma was married off to the Aethelred of England in an attempt to secure protection (for England) against the Vikings in 1002. Surprisingly, though, most of us haven't read anything about Emma... until now.

Patricial Bracewell explains why she chose Emma as the topic for her debut.

Why Emma?

If you were to stand on the street and ask 100 passers-by if they’ve ever heard of Emma of Normandy, I promise you that all but maybe one of them would frown and say, “Who?”

Right. So why, you may ask, did I write a book about a woman that few people have ever heard of? My answer to that: Because I thought it was outrageous that this early queen of England has become little more than a historical footnote. Something had to be done.

To illustrate, let’s look at one of the better known queen consorts of England, Ann Boleyn, and compare her with the not-so-famous Emma of Normandy.

Ann Boleyn married a king of England.
Emma married two kings of England.

Ann was a queen for three years.
Emma was a queen for thirty-two years.

Ann’s daughter was crowned queen, but only after Ann was dead. She had no hand in her daughter’s rise to power.
Emma witnessed the coronation of two sons, and her influence was instrumental in their ascent to the throne.

How is it, then, that one queen consort has become a household name and the other remains almost a complete unknown? Does it have something to do with the impact that Ann Boleyn’s marriage had on the future history of England – Henry’s break from the Catholic Church? Maybe; but Emma’s marriages, too, had a huge impact on English history. There would have been no Norman Conquest in 1066, an event that changed the face of England, were it not for the marriages of Queen Emma.

And lest you think that an 11th century queen was just a cipher, just a woman who sat in an upstairs chamber and did no more than produce babies and beautiful embroideries, let me assure you that Emma would have been responsible for a large royal household and would have managed properties scattered across England. She was a guardian of royal treasure, and quite possibly she was regent in the absence of the king. She could forge alliances with powerful men precisely because she understood the politics and the culture of Anglo-Saxon England and how to use that knowledge to her advantage. She experienced the horrors of war. At one point in Emma’s long career it appears that she held London against an invading army, so she was no fainting maiden. For crying out loud, she married a Viking.

When I considered Emma and the many queens who followed her – all the Anns, Margarets, Marys, and Elizabeths who have been written about again and again, it seemed to me that Emma deserved the same recognition. With that in mind I began writing my novel, Shadow on the Crown. It’s the first book of a trilogy, and covers only a few years in the life of the young queen. The next two books will continue her story, so I still have a great deal of work to do. I hope, though, that someday, upon hearing the name Emma of Normandy, people will nod sagely and say something like this:

“She was an 11th century queen and the only woman in history to wed two kings of England. She played a pivotal role in England’s early history, and she was a powerful woman for her time. Emma of Normandy was a formidable queen. Really, you know, she must have been amazing.”

About the author:

PATRICIA BRACEWELL grew up in California where she taught literature and composition before embarking upon her writing career. She has always been fascinated by English history and holds an MA in English literature. Her historical research has taken her to Britain, France and Denmark. She has two grown sons and lives with her husband in Oakland, California.

Big, big thanks to the folks over at Viking/Penguin for setting this up and to Patricia for being on the blog today!

To enter to win your own copy of Shadow on the Crown, simply fill out the Rafflecopter below before Monday, January 27. US only please and no PO boxes.

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Starter House by Sonja Condit

Good morning, everyone! Today I'm a stop on the TLC book tour for Sonja Condit's creepy debut, Starter House.

Lacey and Eric are expecting their first child and are in search of the perfect first home. But until she sets eyes on the house at 571 Forrester Lane, none of them feels right to Lacey. After a lifetime of moving place to place, the house calls to her - it seems meant to be. Eric is less smitten with the home but the asking price is low and their search has yielded no results to this point, leaving him inclined to agree to any place that suits their list of needs and location. Even learning that previous owners had died there can't sway their decision to buy; the house is old enough, after all, that this is an inevitable reality. Unfortunately, Lacey's dream home has a nighmarish history, one that only begins to reveal itself to the couple after they've moved in. And those dead previous tenants? This house has seen more than any home ever should.

Sonja Condit's debut is a poetic and chilling read! The perfect blend of creepy suspense and lyrical prose, I feel Starter House is sure to appeal to readers who enjoy literary fiction as well as the darker stuff.

I would technically place this book in the horror category but with the understanding that it's much more of an atmospheric horror rather than a gore soaked read from the other end of the genre's spectrum. This is a haunted house/ghost story but one with a very unique twist, something I really appreciate considering ghost stories are my favorite! I've read a lot of haunted house books and Condit still managed to put a new twist on it for me.

Lacey and the reader meet Drew in the opening chapters of the book and soon realize that he's more than just a local wandering child. Lacey's next door neighbor ominously answers her queries saying the boy has never revealed himself to him, meaning we know he's a ghost even before Lacey realizes it. But Lacey's approach to Drew even after beginning to learn his nature is pretty fabulous. Condit's lead character is a teacher who prides herself on bringing out the best in unruly young boys, putting her talents to the test with her spectral houseguest.

I loved the way the story played out with Lacey eventually learning more and more about the previous inhabitants and incidents in her house. The added stress of a risky pregnancy and her husband's issues make the book a tense read even without the haunted house aspects. Condit easily fits all of these pieces together to create a captivating and hair raising tale.

Rating: 4.5/5

To see more stops on the tour be sure to check out the official TLC tour page here. For more on Sonja Condit and her work, you can visit her website here.

Guest Post from James Dashner + a Giveaway

Good morning, readers! Today I'm super excited to be taking part in the blog tour to promote the paperback release of James Dashner's The Kill Order. If you aren't familiar, it's the prequel to the Maze Runner series (The Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials, and The Death Cure).

As part of the tour, I've got a guest post from the author himself and I'm able to offer up one copy of The Kill Order as a giveaway (US only please). To enter, be sure to read through to the end.

And now I'll hand it over to James!

HEARING The Maze Runner come to life:

I thought I'd share with you guys a little of the film experience. If I tried to cover every facet of it, I'd have to write a book, not a blog post! But I recently made a trip to LA that will give you a real taste of what it's been like: the scoring for the film's soundtrack.

Over the last year or so, I've thrown out a lot of superlatives about this movie and its process. Anyone who follows me on Twitter (@jamesdashner) will know that I'm slightly obsessed with the whole thing. From the studio (Fox) to the director (Wes Ball) to the cast (many amazing people), I've had one good experience after another. I'm almost scared people have stopped believing me because it's been such an extremely positive process, everything beyond even my wildest hopes.

Well, seeing composer John Paesano record the music for the film was just the icing on the cake. I was excited way back in the beginning when Wes Ball told me that he wanted an "epic, orchestral score" for the movie, something with which I agreed 100%. As much as I (and my fans) love to listen to the latest and greatest pop music, I didn't want the typical YA soundtrack that seems to have become the norm. Wes and I wanted something that soared and ripped out your emotions, and Paesano delivered in a big way.

It's amazing. Seeing a full 75-person orchestra (and a choir) record the music over several days brings up a lot of adjectives that I could throw at you. Surreal. Fantastic. Moving. Thrilling. I had a life's worth of goosebumps, and even shed some tears (something I fully expect to happen to my fans as well). I don't know what I'm more excited about: my readers seeing the story come to life visually or hearing the music that goes with it. Of course, one feeds the other and I really think everyone is going to love it.

So, as you can imagine, that was a trip that I'll never forget. It's become impossible for me to put everything into words. As a huge film buff, seeing a movie behind the scenes would've been cool on its own. Throw in that it's based on a book I wrote, and that's just ridiculous.

The film comes out on September 19th in the US. (Worldwide release dates are mostly around then, too.)

See you at the movies!

I don't know about all of you but I am definitely looking forward to seeing The Maze Runner on the big screen!

And now for the giveaway! To enter, simply fill out the Rafflecopter below before Monday, January 27.



a Rafflecopter giveaway



Be sure to check out the rest of the stops on the tour as well!

1/7/14 Alice Marvels

1/8/14 A Dream Within A Dream

1/9/14 Book Twirps

1/10/14 Adventures in YA Publishing

1/11/14 Lytherus

1/12/14 Skiffy and Fanty

1/13/14 Suvudu

1/14/14 Sci Fi Chick

1/15/14 Evie's Bookish

Fugitive X by Gregg Rosenblum

A short and sweet one today as I'm still battling a raging cold. One of the handful of books I was able to finish this infected holiday season, though, was the follow up to Revolution 19. 

Nick, Kevin, and Cass have managed to escape the City but were unable to save their parents. They're headed to the nearest Freepost where they hope to reunite with Farryn and Lexi when they're separated. Cass is injured in a bot attack and Nick has no choice but to leave her to be picked up by the City's forces in hopes that they can cure her. Meanwhile Kevin is taken in by the Island, a group of survivors living behind a camouflaged wall and led by a mysterious leader who has a way with bots. And Nick ends up joining forces with a group of rebels while he tries to figure out a way to save his siblings.

Fugitive X picks up right where Revolution 19 left off and while it does provide some additional explanation as to what's going on in this new robot ruled world, the book does fall a bit prey to the sophomore slump: not much happens by way of moving the overall story along. 

Not that I cared all that much. The premise is one that I enjoy and the book made for a super quick escapist read. I liked returning to the characters and the world and while I had hoped for a bit more in the way of the overall story, reading the two books back to back definitely made them much more satisfying. I look forward to continuing into the third installment. 

Fugitive X hits shelves on January 7. 

Rating: 3/5