Here is the banner for my next tour.
In a modern day holocaust, 14-year old Dephon Johnson's only goal is to stay beneath the radar. Unfortunately secrets from the past threaten his aninimity, bringing the evil government straight to his door. In an attempt to stay alive Dephon must boldly attempt to overthrow the government, but the only person who can help him has been dead for thirteen years.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Blog Blitz
I know I have been MIA. I've been doing a lot of work to make sure that more people hear about The Exemeus. I've been setting up tours and arranging promotions. I should be back around to posting reviews, reading books, and writing the sequel by the end of the month. We'll see.
Here is the banner for my next tour.
Here is the banner for my next tour.
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Friday, February 1, 2013
Review-Switch
In the novel Switch the author, Karen Prince, creates an
intricate story about self-discovery set in the heart of Africa. Prince
seamlessly blends multiple points of view and a dynamic setting together in a
way that makes for a wholly original coming of age story about a germaphobic,
hypochondriac named Ethan. When Ethan is
sent from the technologically advanced city of Cape Town to stay in the
underdeveloped countryside of Zimbabwe with his father, Ethan has to decide how
far he is willing to go to survive and what he’s willing to do to save those he
loves.
The story begins in the mythical land of Karibu with a soul
swapper pondering whose body it wants to inhabit. His current body is getting
old and he needs a new one in order to continue living, but for him to live,
someone else must die. In a conundrum, since he is not keen upon ending someone’s
life he peers out over the city and his eyes land on his victim-a witch named Gogo
Maya.
Gogo Maya is soon captured a long with her familiar, a leopard
named Salih. In order to escape Gogo Maya performs a magical ritual called a
switch. Unfortunately, she ends up switching right out of Karibu and into
Zimbabwe, inadvertently sending Ethan’s cousin, Joe, into the wilds of Karibu.
Through an interesting series of events Ethan ends up gaining the witch’s power
and is placed in charge of traveling to Karibu to find Joe.
Along the way Ethan runs into deadly creatures and perilous
situations. The best part of Prince’s story is the development of Ethan’s
character. In the beginning, his thoughts were riddled with phobias about the
native traditions and their possible impact on his cleanliness and his health.
As the story progresses and Ethan finally runs out of hand sanitizer, he
becomes more and more concerned with the well-being of those around him,
growing into an unlikely hero. In countless situations Ethan puts aside his
fears, to save others, but most impressively he puts aside his beliefs of
superiority and learns the value of other cultures and traditions.
With a cast of side characters such as a witch with a
vacillating moral compass, a scrupulous soul jumper, and a shape shifting Hyena
with his own agenda Switch is unlike any other young adult book on the market.
The characters are multi-dimensional, with motivations that make them seem more
human than your average protagonist or antagonist. No one can be classified as
all good or all bad, which is an accurate depiction of the world-- and people
--not often seen in books. This setup challenges the reader to consider all
possible outcomes, and to constantly reevaluate the characters for who they
become as the novel progresses.
Although this story shines, because of its innovative
setting and its cast of characters, there are portions of setting and inner monologue
that could have been edited out to ensure a continuous flow of action. Additionally, there are aspects where complex
problems are quickly and easily fixed (or not fixed) with no consequences.
Despite these flaws, Prince has written a timeless coming of age piece that
will appeal to people of all ages.
*********** 3.5 STARS ****************
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Review- Angelfall
I know I've done a mini review for this book, but it deserved more. Here it is.
This book has everything.
1) A really original plot, that had me perched on the edge of my seat for the 6 hours it took me to read it. There was even a creepy subplot about children who have been reconstructed into evil killing machines, that made the hairs on my neck stand up.
2) An amazing heroine who doesn’t whine or complain, but does what she has to do, to save her family. Too often in YA books, the heroine dissolves into a ball of tears the instant her nails break.
3) An amazing Angel, Raffe, who is the ultimate
definition of swoon worthy. No
insta-love, but a romance that hummed along right beneath the surface, which
left me wondering if the characters felt it too.
4) And a creepy setting that heightened the book’s
overall tension. Having grown up around
the area that the book takes place it was surreal to hear about it being so
desolate. The author uses amazing descriptions and Imagery to make the setting
seem so vivid. The writing truly
conveyed the wasteland that the Bay Area had become, which made the story more
real, and less a work of fiction.
This book was an amazing start to what will
hopefully be a successful series.
Angelfall. Where have you been all my life?
This book has left me speechless. It ties for the best book of 2012. I don’t
care that it came out in 2011, it is clearly transcendent.
Despite its focus on
angels, the premise is highly original. Recently, angels have inundated the
reading waves, but these books have been nothing like Angelfall. This book
breaks the mold.
When the story
begins it has been 6 weeks since Angels have disseminated the world—only
pockets of humanity remain. 16 year old Penryn is responsible for her disabled
sister and her schizophrenic mother. During her attempt to move her family to a
secure location, they end up in the middle of a fight amongst angels, resulting
in her sister being kidnapped. To save her sister’s life Penryn has to make a
deal with an Angel, Rafael.
An angel who has
recently lost his wings, Raffe is only concerned about himself. He has never
cared too much for humans, but Penryn has offered to help him find someone who
can sew his wings back on. In exchange, he will take her to where her sister is
being kept.
Together they forge
an unlikely bond as they travel across the deserted Silicon Valley streets
heading to the Angel headquarters in San Francisco. Along the way they are
attacked by a gang, captured and held hostage, but together they escape and
head to the final showdown between Rafael and the Angels.
In the end, nothing
is the way you would have hoped, but the characters have grown so much and there
are interesting twists and subplots that come to a successful conclusion.
This book has everything.
1) A really original plot, that had me perched on the edge of my seat for the 6 hours it took me to read it. There was even a creepy subplot about children who have been reconstructed into evil killing machines, that made the hairs on my neck stand up.
2) An amazing heroine who doesn’t whine or complain, but does what she has to do, to save her family. Too often in YA books, the heroine dissolves into a ball of tears the instant her nails break.
Friday, January 18, 2013
Review of The Exemeus by "I'm an eclectic reader"
Hello all,
I'm back after a little break. Today I'm reposting someone else's post about our book. It's included below:
I have to start this review with a confession. I don’t like the name Hyalee, which happens to be the name of the main character in The Exemeus. I can’t help it. The name just doesn’t work for me. So I had trouble liking a character named like that. It’s a weird pet peeve of mine, and here more importantly, I have the feeling the name didn’t match the character, which is another pet peeve of mine. At around page twenty, I was convinced this book wasn’t going to be for me. But I kept on reading, hoping to find something I liked.
And I did. Because by the time I very well realized it, I was halfway through this book and eager to read more. Even despite my initial reservations, I absolutely loved this book. I devoured it. By the time I was at midway point, I couldn’t stop reading anymore.
The story is amazing. Dephon is trying to find a way to survive ninth grade in the post-apocalyptic world she lives in, which is pretty dystopian. By the way, Dephon is a pretty cool name, which made up for Hyalee’s name being not as cool, in my opinion. But Dephon has powers, powers the government want to eliminate, because, like most dystopian governments they’re highly allergic to anythigng that can cause a threat to them. So they want Dephon out of the picture, and they literally sent an army of assassins to do so. Dephon has no choice but to fight back, and help the greatest warrior in history. Problem? Hyalee, said great warrior, well, she’s dead.
And that’s where the rollercoaster ride that this book is truly picks up, and everything beyond that point is amazing. I didn’t just enjoy this book, I LOVED it. Dephon isn’t your typical YA fantasy character, and neither is Hyalee, but they both pretty much rock. The society of Trepton, where they live, isn’t entirely dystopian but it comes pretty close. Most of all I loved the background story, the setting and the lore.
If you choose one YA novel to read in January and you like fantasy, choose this one.
I'm back after a little break. Today I'm reposting someone else's post about our book. It's included below:
I have to start this review with a confession. I don’t like the name Hyalee, which happens to be the name of the main character in The Exemeus. I can’t help it. The name just doesn’t work for me. So I had trouble liking a character named like that. It’s a weird pet peeve of mine, and here more importantly, I have the feeling the name didn’t match the character, which is another pet peeve of mine. At around page twenty, I was convinced this book wasn’t going to be for me. But I kept on reading, hoping to find something I liked.
And I did. Because by the time I very well realized it, I was halfway through this book and eager to read more. Even despite my initial reservations, I absolutely loved this book. I devoured it. By the time I was at midway point, I couldn’t stop reading anymore.
The story is amazing. Dephon is trying to find a way to survive ninth grade in the post-apocalyptic world she lives in, which is pretty dystopian. By the way, Dephon is a pretty cool name, which made up for Hyalee’s name being not as cool, in my opinion. But Dephon has powers, powers the government want to eliminate, because, like most dystopian governments they’re highly allergic to anythigng that can cause a threat to them. So they want Dephon out of the picture, and they literally sent an army of assassins to do so. Dephon has no choice but to fight back, and help the greatest warrior in history. Problem? Hyalee, said great warrior, well, she’s dead.
And that’s where the rollercoaster ride that this book is truly picks up, and everything beyond that point is amazing. I didn’t just enjoy this book, I LOVED it. Dephon isn’t your typical YA fantasy character, and neither is Hyalee, but they both pretty much rock. The society of Trepton, where they live, isn’t entirely dystopian but it comes pretty close. Most of all I loved the background story, the setting and the lore.
If you choose one YA novel to read in January and you like fantasy, choose this one.
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Review-Pure by Jennifer L Armentrout
At the end of last year, I got the ridiculous notion to review all the books I read for the year and put it on one blog. I quickly realized no one would want to read that hodgepodge and so I'm going to individually review all of my favorites from last year, until have enough favorites from this year to think about.
My first pick for the year is Pure by Jennifer L. Armentrout. Prior to this book, I had read others in this series, as well as her other series, Obsidian. The books were all good enough to make me finish, but not quite strong enough to make me crave more...until this one.
I loved this book. The main character Alex poses a threat to the covenant and the entire governmental system, because, once she turns 18, she will raise the god killer. Her "mate" will be able to suck power form her and become this destructive force that is powerful enough to wipe out the gods. The covenant and a secret society, desperate to ensure this doesn't happen, attempt to nullify her as a threat by condemning her to servitude... or worse.
This book is incredibly well written. The action starts from the beginning and continues non-stop until the end. It is believable and well written in a way that makes you feel like you're there. But the best aspects are the characters Alex and Aiden. Their relationship is intense, their attraction to one another smolders, seeping through the pages. Like most YA love stories, is a forbidden love, but it doesn't feel rehashed. Jennifer L Armentrout makes this plot device feel new and original, breathing a life into all of its own.
She manages to make Alex seem headstrong and powerful, while still giving her an heir of uncertainty and most importantly, femininity. Her ability to fight with the big boys, but to still be gentle enough to love and be loved by Aiden, made her a character easily worth remembering.
Aiden is an amazing character. Armentrout does a great job of making him stoic, dependable, and noble. Aiden’s adherence to rules could be a bit grating at times, but when he ultimately breaks the rules it means even more to the story. Armenttrout puts these two drastically different characters together in a way that forces them to grow. Armentrout made the dreaded second book be better than the first, a rare feat from any author. I truly look forward to reading more from her in the future.
My first pick for the year is Pure by Jennifer L. Armentrout. Prior to this book, I had read others in this series, as well as her other series, Obsidian. The books were all good enough to make me finish, but not quite strong enough to make me crave more...until this one.
I loved this book. The main character Alex poses a threat to the covenant and the entire governmental system, because, once she turns 18, she will raise the god killer. Her "mate" will be able to suck power form her and become this destructive force that is powerful enough to wipe out the gods. The covenant and a secret society, desperate to ensure this doesn't happen, attempt to nullify her as a threat by condemning her to servitude... or worse.
This book is incredibly well written. The action starts from the beginning and continues non-stop until the end. It is believable and well written in a way that makes you feel like you're there. But the best aspects are the characters Alex and Aiden. Their relationship is intense, their attraction to one another smolders, seeping through the pages. Like most YA love stories, is a forbidden love, but it doesn't feel rehashed. Jennifer L Armentrout makes this plot device feel new and original, breathing a life into all of its own.
She manages to make Alex seem headstrong and powerful, while still giving her an heir of uncertainty and most importantly, femininity. Her ability to fight with the big boys, but to still be gentle enough to love and be loved by Aiden, made her a character easily worth remembering.
Aiden is an amazing character. Armentrout does a great job of making him stoic, dependable, and noble. Aiden’s adherence to rules could be a bit grating at times, but when he ultimately breaks the rules it means even more to the story. Armenttrout puts these two drastically different characters together in a way that forces them to grow. Armentrout made the dreaded second book be better than the first, a rare feat from any author. I truly look forward to reading more from her in the future.
Thursday, January 3, 2013
The fun in fiction
Today, on the day of our successful book launch, I thought I should write about why I love ya fiction.
Fiction in general is amazing to me. You can create an alternate world where there are flying pink monkeys, where Sarah Palin became president, where the flu is an alcoholic beverage and no one should tell you anything about it. I love fiction because it is so totally freeing. As a writer of YA fantasy, you're unencumbered by the rules of society, free to alter the world in whatever way you see fit. But fiction to me is more than just freedom. Fiction is a platform for your beliefs-- a place where you can (subtly) talk about and comment on whatever you want, the things that resonate with you the most.
Today I read a post criticizing my characters' names, of all things. It was like a flash back to third grade. Ever since I was a child people have made fun of my first name because it was different. Despite everything that America stands for: the freedom to be different, to be original, to forge your own path, people have always asked me why my parents didn't conform. Why I wasn't named Sally or Susan or Alicia.
Overtime I have grown to love the oddity that is my name, but I realized that their are other people who haven't had that luxury. People who are ashamed that their name is different than the traditional. So I wanted some of my characters to have those same issues. People will always ask me why I picked "weird" names, such as Hyalee and Dephon for my lead characters. I picked it for the people who will never see their name in a book or on those key chains at souvenir shops. So for just a brief glimmer in time, people can be absorbed into a character who isn't normal, right down to the spelling of their name, and hopefully everyone can identify with that on some level-- even the Sallys, Susans, and Alicias of the world.
This is why I love fiction. For just those moments of freedom.
Fiction in general is amazing to me. You can create an alternate world where there are flying pink monkeys, where Sarah Palin became president, where the flu is an alcoholic beverage and no one should tell you anything about it. I love fiction because it is so totally freeing. As a writer of YA fantasy, you're unencumbered by the rules of society, free to alter the world in whatever way you see fit. But fiction to me is more than just freedom. Fiction is a platform for your beliefs-- a place where you can (subtly) talk about and comment on whatever you want, the things that resonate with you the most.
Today I read a post criticizing my characters' names, of all things. It was like a flash back to third grade. Ever since I was a child people have made fun of my first name because it was different. Despite everything that America stands for: the freedom to be different, to be original, to forge your own path, people have always asked me why my parents didn't conform. Why I wasn't named Sally or Susan or Alicia.
Overtime I have grown to love the oddity that is my name, but I realized that their are other people who haven't had that luxury. People who are ashamed that their name is different than the traditional. So I wanted some of my characters to have those same issues. People will always ask me why I picked "weird" names, such as Hyalee and Dephon for my lead characters. I picked it for the people who will never see their name in a book or on those key chains at souvenir shops. So for just a brief glimmer in time, people can be absorbed into a character who isn't normal, right down to the spelling of their name, and hopefully everyone can identify with that on some level-- even the Sallys, Susans, and Alicias of the world.
This is why I love fiction. For just those moments of freedom.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Book Launch Tomorrow
With the new focus of my site pertaining to books and book reviews, I'm going to start taking note of books that are coming out this year. I'm going to talk about the launching of my favorite books like the sequel to Demons at deadnight, Angelfall, Legend, anything by Jennifer L. Armentrout, and of course the launching of The Exemeus series, which by the way launches tomorrow.
I am beyond excited that the world will get to finally read our work. I hope you all love it as much as we do. To kick off the launch we're having a huge release day party on all of your favorite blogs, as well as two months of back to back blog tours and book giveaways. Below is our tour schedule. Hope to see you there.
January 1st: Starter Day Party @ I Heart Reading
January 3rd: Release Day Party The Exemeus
January 4th: Book Excerpt and Giveaway @ The Book Daily
January 5th: Book Excerpt @ Classy Me Books
January 6th: Author Interview @ Forever Book Lover
January 7th: Book Excerpt @ Hollow Readers
January 8th: Book Review @ I’m an Eclectic Reader
January 9th: Author Interview @ Cassidy Crimson’s Blog
January 10th: Book Excerpt @ 365 Days of Reading
January 11th: Author Interview @ Majanka’s Blog
January 12th: Book Excerpt and Giveaways @ Andi’s Young Adult
January 13th: Author Interview and Book Excerpt @ The Victorian Vanity
January 15th: Book Review and Author Interview @ One Emily’s Bookshelf
January 17th: Author Interview and Book Excerpt @ Books and Tales
January 19th: Book Review and Giveaway @ I Heart Reading
January 21st: Book Review and Excerpt @ Kari’s Bookshelf
January 22nd: Author Interview @ Suzanne van Rooyen’s Blog
January 23rd: Book Review @ The Single Librarian
January 25th: Book Review @ Sara In Bookland
January 27th: Book Review @ Forever Book Lover
January 29th: Book Excerpt and Giveaway @ Cassidy Crimson’s Blog
January 30th: Author Interview @ Blooding Book Reviews
January 31st: Book Review @ 365 Days of Reading
February 1st: Book Review @ Bianca2B
I am beyond excited that the world will get to finally read our work. I hope you all love it as much as we do. To kick off the launch we're having a huge release day party on all of your favorite blogs, as well as two months of back to back blog tours and book giveaways. Below is our tour schedule. Hope to see you there.
January 1st: Starter Day Party @ I Heart Reading
January 3rd: Release Day Party The Exemeus
January 4th: Book Excerpt and Giveaway @ The Book Daily
January 5th: Book Excerpt @ Classy Me Books
January 6th: Author Interview @ Forever Book Lover
January 7th: Book Excerpt @ Hollow Readers
January 8th: Book Review @ I’m an Eclectic Reader
January 9th: Author Interview @ Cassidy Crimson’s Blog
January 10th: Book Excerpt @ 365 Days of Reading
January 11th: Author Interview @ Majanka’s Blog
January 12th: Book Excerpt and Giveaways @ Andi’s Young Adult
January 13th: Author Interview and Book Excerpt @ The Victorian Vanity
January 15th: Book Review and Author Interview @ One Emily’s Bookshelf
January 17th: Author Interview and Book Excerpt @ Books and Tales
January 19th: Book Review and Giveaway @ I Heart Reading
January 21st: Book Review and Excerpt @ Kari’s Bookshelf
January 22nd: Author Interview @ Suzanne van Rooyen’s Blog
January 23rd: Book Review @ The Single Librarian
January 25th: Book Review @ Sara In Bookland
January 27th: Book Review @ Forever Book Lover
January 29th: Book Excerpt and Giveaway @ Cassidy Crimson’s Blog
January 30th: Author Interview @ Blooding Book Reviews
January 31st: Book Review @ 365 Days of Reading
February 1st: Book Review @ Bianca2B
The best YA books 2012 (part 2)
The second part of my list of young adult books for 2012 is coming soon. Currently, I'm gearing up for the launch of The Exemeus, but I'll update the list soon and finish my reviews.
-Folami Morris
-Folami Morris
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