Emblaze Blog Tour: Interview with Jessica Shivington

Title: Emblaze

Author: Jessica Shirvington

Series: The Embrace Series #3

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Once again Violet Eden faces an impossible choice ... and the consequences are unimaginable.

Violet has come to terms with the fact that being part angel, part human, means her life will never be as it was.

Now Violet has something Phoenix - the exiled angel who betrayed her - will do anything for, and she has no intention of letting it fall into his hands. The only problem is that he has something she needs too.

Not afraid to raise the stakes, Phoenix seemingly holds all the power, always one step ahead. And when he puts the final pieces of the prophecy together, it doesn't take him long to realise exactly who he needs in order to open the gates of Hell.

With the help of surprising new allies, ancient prophecies are deciphered, a destination set and, after a shattering confrontation with her father, Violet leaves for the islands of Greece without knowing if she will have a home to return to...

I'm so excited to have you on the blog for the Emblaze blog tour! The Embrace Series is one of my most favorite angel series right now!

Thanks so much for having me as a guest. And, yay! I'm so excited to hear you are enjoying the books!

How much research of angels and demons went into starting Embrace?

The research was extensive. Once it starts it kind of just escalates. I find that I stockpile a lot of different stories and take my times to become familiar with them and then, at the least expected times, I find an interesting way to weave them into Violet's world. Sometimes it is obvious to the reader and other times it is more subtle.

When featuring scripture through out the novels, do you find verses that fit the story or do you mold the story to fit a particular verse?

I find verses that fit my story - though that isn't to say that biblical stories and verses don't influence me along the way.

Who is your favorite character to write?

I write in Violet's point of view so I naturally feel closest to her. That said, I love them all. It is like asking a mother to choose between children. Very hard! And I really shouldn't! ;-)

Were you a big reader while growing up?

No. Not at all. In fact, I'd probably go out of my way to avoid reading books that I was told I should - even now I find it hard to be told what I am supposed to read. Although I am getting better!

It wasn't until I was in my twenties that I really discovered my love of reading. It is strange sometimes to think about what I missed out on now that I know what a huge part of my life reading and writing are. I really feel a bit cross with myself over it to be honest.

Who are your inspirations as a writer?

To tell a good story. That's it. Then once I do that, I'd really like to do that again.

If you had to recommend one book (or series) that you believe is a must read, what would it be?

Any book that grabs your attention. I don't know. Like I said above, I don't love being told what to read - it's personal, so I don't want to do it to other people. I love authors like C.S Lewis and I think there are some amazing authors like Neil Gaiman out there who should not be missed, but that's just me. Everyone is different.

Sum up The Embrace Series in 140 characters or less.

Angels are not always good. Consequence chases every choice. And love will kill them all.

Can you give us any spoilers or hints at what the future holds for Violet and Lincoln?

At the moment I'll give everyone a chance to enjoy EMBLAZE since it has just come out. ENDLESS will be out soon in October this year and then the final book will follow shortly after that. I'm very excited to share ENDLESS in October and I can let you know this much - I cried when I wrote it. A lot.

Thank you so much for stopping by today! The Embrace Series is fantastic and I'm eagerly anticipating the rest of the novels!

Thanks Crystal!! xx

Review: Firelight by Sophie Jordan

Title: Firelight
Author: Sophie Jordan
Series: Firelight #1
Publisher: HarperTeen
Find it here: Barnes & Noble, Goodreads, Mysterious Galaxy
Source: Purchased

A hidden truth.

Mortal enemies.

Doomed love.

Marked as special at an early age, Jacinda knows her every move is watched. But she longs for freedom to make her own choices. When she breaks the most sacred tenet among her kind, she nearly pays with her life. Until a beautiful stranger saves her. A stranger who was sent to hunt those like her. For Jacinda is a draki, a descendant of dragons whose greatest defense is her secret ability to shift into human form.

Forced to flee into the mortal world with her family, Jacinda struggles to adapt to her new surroundings. The only bright light is Will. Gorgeous, elusive Will who stirs her inner draki to life. Although she is irresistibly drawn to him, Jacinda knows Will's dark secret: He and his family are hunters. She should avoid him at all costs. But her inner draki is slowly slipping away—if it dies she will be left as a human forever. She'll do anything to prevent that. Even if it means getting closer to her most dangerous enemy.

Mythical powers and breathtaking romance ignite in this story of a girl who defies all expectations and whose love crosses an ancient divide.

My thoughts:

The main reason I wanted to read this book is because it is about dragons! I didn't even know what is was about expect for the fact that the characters are shape-shifters who turn into dragons! It was the first book that I had ever read concerning dragons and I really really liked it! 

Jacinda, the main character, is a twin (her twin never shifted into a dragon at puberty) who lives with her mom and sister in their draki tribe somewhere in the mountains.  After she breaks the rule and is nearly caught by dragon hunters, her mother makes them leave the tribe so Jacinda can escape a very harsh punishment. 

Cassian, the son of the tribe's leader, is someone I would want to punch in real life! One of those guys who walks around like they're entitled to everything they have and can get anything they want. I really felt bad for Jacinda and was really mad when her mother and sister wanted her to stop shifting into a dragon so that she could become a normal person. She really didn't complain when I felt like she could have.  She is a strong character that made the best of her circumstances.  There's so much mystery surrounding Will! I can't wait to read Vanish and find out what's going on with him and what happened to him when he was younger! The forbidden romance between Will and Jacinda made this an even more exciting read!

Firelight was such an exciting read for me! I've read a lot of reviews where the readers felt like it was kind of a redundant romance and a predictable story. But what made it so special for me is that they're DRAGONS!!! I give Firelight 4 hearts for being a refreshing read is a sea of cookie-cutter books! 

Review: A Need so Beautiful

Title: A Need So Beautiful

Author: Suzanne Young

Series: A Need So Beautiful #1

Publisher: Balzer & Bray

Find it here: Amazon, Goodreads

Source: Borrowed

We all want to be remembered. Charlotte's destiny is to be Forgotten...

Charlotte’s best friend thinks Charlotte might be psychic. Her boyfriend thinks she’s cheating on him. But Charlotte knows what’s really wrong: She is one of the Forgotten, a kind of angel on earth, who feels the Need—a powerful, uncontrollable draw to help someone, usually a stranger.

But Charlotte never wanted this responsibility. What she wants is to help her best friend, whose life is spiraling out of control. She wants to lie in her boyfriend's arms forever. But as the Need grows stronger, it begins to take a dangerous toll on Charlotte. And who she was, is, and will become--her mark on this earth, her very existence--is in jeopardy of disappearing completely.

Charlotte will be forced to choose: Should she embrace her fate as a Forgotten, a fate that promises to rip her from the lives of those she loves forever? Or is she willing to fight against her destiny--no matter how dark the consequences.

My thoughts: 

This book truly shocked me! For a long time I resisted reading A Need So Beautiful because the synopsis really didn't interest me. I finally caved in when I received an unsolicited ARC of A Want So Wicked. I borrowed A Need So Beautiful from my good blogger friend Nicole @ The Reader's Antidote who was kind enough to lend me her copy!

As I said before, I was truly shocked! I was immediately sucked into the story and genuinely intrigued by Charlotte's story! She doesn't have any memories from before she was found in the hospital when she was six years old and has always has a need to help people. She can't run away from this need and finds herself in immense pain if she tries. Charlotte discovers her destiny and it's nothing she could have ever imagined!

Of course, Harlen is like one of my favorite guy characters ever! When everyone else around her is forgetting her, he absolutely refuses to forget her! Their relationship is so cute and they are so completely in love with each other! Charlotte is also a great character! She really is pure of heart and realizes that as much as she wants to fight her destiny, she know what the right thing is! My only complaint about Charlotte is that she's kind of the typical heroine. She doesn't want to have a destiny, she doesn't want to be special and she just wants to live a normal life. I feel like most heroines within the young adult genre have those exact same feelings. They always fight their destinies before they realize that they really don't have any other choice.

A Need so Beautiful really is a great book! Suzanne Young's writing is stunning and incredibly beautiful! I give it 4 hearts for it being a very unique story! And that ending was pretty killer!!

Review: Succubus Blues

Title: Succubus Blues
Author: Richelle Mead
Series: Georgina Kincaid #1
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corp.
Find it here: Amazon, Goodreads
Source: Purchased

Succubus (n.) An alluring, shape-shifting demon who seduces and pleasures mortal men. Pathetic (adj.) A succubus with great shoes and no social life. See: Georgina Kincaid.

When it comes to jobs in hell, being a succubus seems pretty glamorous. A girl can be anything she wants, the wardrobe is killer, and mortal men will do anything just for a touch. Granted, they often pay with their souls, but why get technical?

But Seattle succubus Georgina Kincaid's life is far less exotic. Her boss is a middle-management demon with a thing for John Cusack movies. Her immortal best friends haven't stopped teasing her about the time she shape-shifted into the Demon Goddess getup complete with whip and wings. And she can't have a decent date without sucking away part of the guy's life. At least there's her day job at a local bookstore--free books; all the white chocolate mochas she can drink; and easy access to bestselling, sexy writer, Seth Mortensen, aka He Whom She Would Give Anything to Touch but Can't.

But dreaming about Seth will have to wait. Something wicked is at work in Seattle's demon underground. And for once, all of her hot charms and drop-dead one-liners won't help because Georgina's about to discover there are some creatures out there that both heaven and hell want to deny...

My thoughts:

I have a lot of love for Richelle Mead and it borders on developing into fangirl/stalker tendencies. She has a special place in my heart because she freakin’ created Dimitri, my ultimate bookish crush! But the Vampire Academy series were the only books that I had read by her and with a least a year in between the Bloodlines series releases, I knew I needed more Richelle to hold me over! Thank God for my friend Thuy @ Nite Lite Book Reviews who told me how amazing the Georgina Kincaid series is! It has everything I love about Mead’s writing with some really hot sexy times thrown in!

A lot of times the internal dialogue of main female characters really starts to annoy me and grate on my nerves halfway though books. But Georgina is so entertaining! I can see why this six book series is really popular because she is a really likeable character! She also just seems to have the worst luck and not everything goes her way. These are the types of characters and stories that I like to read.

I loved almost all the characters in this book! We already covered that Georgina is awesomeness! Seth is just so adorkable in all his geek glory! I wanted to just eat him up! I love characters that don’t realize the effect they have on other people. Seth doesn’t realize how hot he is and even though he has a lot to learn about relationships his small gestures go a long way.

Even though I liked Roman a lot, I could just tell that he was too good to be true! There were some pretty steamy sexy times between Georgina and Roman that were just crazy! But I always got the feeling that there was something that he was hiding. He was a really great character and brought a surprisingly enjoyable love triangle into the mix!

Richelle Mead’s Georgina Kincaid series has the potential to be one of my top ten favorite series! I hope the rest of the books don’t disappoint. If anything they can hold me over in between Bloodlines book and keep me satisfied until her new Age of X series comes out! I give Succubus Blues 5 hearts for being amazing and giving me a love triangle that I actually liked!