Sentinel Book Tour-Apollyon

November 1, 2013November 1, 2013Leave a comment

Tomorrow is a VERY exciting day, mind at least if you’re a Jennifer L. Armentrout fan.

The final book in the Covenant series will be released: Sentinel. I’m SO excited for this. I just recently read all the books of that series, cialis 40mg in September, and I loved each and every one of them. I’ve been eagerly waiting for the release of Sentinel :) I can’t imagine how all of YOU have been waiting even longer!

I am lucky enough to be participating in the Sentinel blog tour. With Sentinel releasing tomorrow (insert happy squeal), I am happy to bring you a post on the book just previous to it, Apollyon!

First, let’s learn a little bit about Jennifer!

# 1 New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Jennifer L. Armentrout Lives in West Virginia.

All the rumors you heard about her state aren’t true.

Well, mostly. When she’s not hard at work writing, she spends her time, reading, working out, watching zombie movies, and pretending to write.

She is the author of the Covenant Series (Spencer Hill Press), the Lux Series (Entangled Teen), Don’t Look Back (Disney/Hyperion) and a yet untitled novel (Disney/Hyperion), and new YA paranormal series with Harlequin Teen.

Jennifer also writes New Adult and Adult romance under the pen name J. Lynn. The Gamble Brothers Series (Tempting the Best Man/Tempting the Player) and Wait for You. Under her pen name, she is published with Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.

You can find her on her website, Twitter, Facebook and GoodReads.

Now, her Covenant series tells the story of Alex, a demi-god known as a half-blood. In Alex’s world, being a half-blood is not a good thing, and she must train to become a Sentinel, a sort of protection force, or she will be made into a servant, a slave. Alex struggles to keep herself on track, one step outside the line will land her in trouble, and all her freedom will be taken away. Then she discovers she is the next Apollyon, a sort of powerful half-blood, with the possibilities of killing a god. This leads to a whole world of trouble, but Alex is determined to use her powers for good, and to change the world for half-bloods.

Apollyon is the fourth book of the series.

Fate isn’t something to mess with… and now, neither is Alex.

Alex has always feared two things: losing herself in the Awakening and being placed on the Elixir. But love has always been stronger than Fate, and Aiden St. Delphi is willing to make war on the gods—and Alex herself—to bring her back.

The gods have killed thousands and could destroy entire cities in their quest to stop Seth from taking Alex’s power and becoming the all-powerful God Killer. But breaking Alex’s connection to Seth isn’t the only problem. There are a few pesky little loopholes in the whole “an Apollyon can’t be killed” theory, and the only person who might know how to stop the destruction has been dead for centuries.

Finding their way past the barriers that guard the Underworld, searching for one soul among countless millions, and then somehow returning will be hard enough. Alex might be able to keep Seth from becoming the God Killer… or she might become the God Killer herself.

You can purchase this book on GoodReads, Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

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You can check out my reviews for the entire Covenant series: Half Blood, Pure, Deity, and of course, Apollyon.

In just a few days, I shall have a review for Sentinel AND an interview with Jennifer, as well. I hope you stayed tuned for that!

But until then, Spencer Hill Press is having an awesome giveaway, where one lucky reader will win a $200 gift card to Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Book Depository or an indie bookstore of their choice! You can’t go wrong with that!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Exclusive Interview with Jewelry Designer Viviane Hebel!

October 5, 2013October 4, 20131 Comment

Its not hard to be part of the fan girl world, prescription and not run into the awesome and talented, Viviane Hebel.

Vivi Hebel runs her own business, Hebel Design, which specializes in handcrafted jewelry based on your favorite novel series like the Shadowhunter Chronicles by Cassandra Clare, the Curse Workers and Faerie stories by Holly Black, Unremembered by Jessica Brody, the Grisha trilogy by Leigh Bardugo, the Covenant series by Jennifer L. Armentrout and SO many more.

The first I heard of Vivi and Hebel Design is when I met Cassandra Clare back in March, and interviewed. As a gift, Cassie gave me a clockwork angel necklace, that I wear SO often. Almost exactly a month later, I met Vivi at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books when she pointed out that I was wearing her necklace. I’ve been addicted to her stuff ever since. Her family rings, rune bookmarks, and jewelry for all books are just TOO beautiful.

She’s also been featured in Huffington Post, Epic Reads, The Examiner and more!

So, of course, I had to try and get her on this blog, with an interview and I’m really excited to bring her to you guys today!

Sara: How did you get into jewelry making and jewelry design? What sort of skills did you have to learn?

Viviane: I went to college for integral design-graphic, textile and industrial. So I had my base in materials and methods. I’ve always been more interested in 3D than 2D work so it was more of an evolution for me. Some 10 years ago, I took classes in silversmithing and so it began.

Sara: How did you get involved with all these authors like Cassandra Clare, Holly Black, Leigh Bardugo, Sarah Rees Brennan, Jennifer L. Armentrout, Anna Banks, Jessica Brody, etc?

Viviane: I read Cassandra Clare’s 3 first books from TMI, what was published so far, and fell in love with the world and the Runes. I had some kind of vision and did some research before I contacted her to present my idea. There’s always been a market for movie props and replicas so I thought fans of the books would like them too. It’s been an evolving thing since then I thought of expanding to other series. So the process is the same, contacting the author and proposing my ideas. Since I’ve been in business for a bit, sometimes authors come to me with their ideas.

Sara: Where do you get your inspiration from? Do you read the books to design these pieces, or do the authors ask for something specific?

Viviane: I always like to read the book first, to get the whole context. Whenever there’s a new book in the series that is not available to read yet I have to rely on author’s descriptions. Then I try to get details of when, where, why, who…and so on.

Sara: What is your favorite part about having this business?

Viviane: Being able to create an actual piece that an author just conjured in her head. Sometimes it’s a real challenge to go from imagination to reality, I like those the most.

Sara: Was having a jewelry making business always something you had wanted to do, or did you have other career aspirations?

Viviane: As I said, its been an evolution as a designer. I like looking for new things to do. Jewelry has been the longest one so far, so many possibilities.

Sara: What is the process like when making a piece for your business?

Viviane: First, I need to visualize how it would look more or less, then sketches and possible materials. Making samples and prototypes, sometimes it stops there, sometimes production of molds and such.

Sara: What are some of your favorite books to read, movies to watch and bands to listen to?

Viviane: The list is super long. I am a big fan of fantasy, paranormal and science fiction. In movies too, I like animated movies a lot! I just love their attention to detail. Music is very eclectic, if you looked at my playlist, it has all kinds of old and new, from pop to rock to latin, country, new age. All time favorites that I never get tired of are James Taylor and Prince…Goo Goo Dolls, see a pattern here? Not really.

Sara: What are some of your favorite book-related pieces that you have designed?

Viviane: The ones that have been more of a challenge. The Clockwork Angel, the Morozova Collar, the Family rings. The Midnight Flower just came up in my head and it actually came out like I imagined. Not always it happens like that. I also like when I can reproduce exactly what’s described in a book, like the turquoise necklace. I love the new Lynburn hands.

Sara: Do you have any pieces, or new collaborating authors that we can look forward to?

Viviane: There’s always new stuff in the works…just to keep the interest up!

Sara: I ask this to all my interviewees, who is your fictional crush?

Viviane: You’re allowed to have more than one, right? Rhett Butler, as a classic, growing up. Will Herondale tops this list, but there’s so many more, I could actually embarrass myself.

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I hope you enjoyed this interview with Viviane, and that you are able to head to her website, and check out her awesome work. I seriously want EVERYTHING, especially a stele pen and the Lightwood family ring. Her stuff is awesome.

All pictures are courtesy of HebelDesign.com

September Book Wrap Up!

October 2, 2013October 1, 20136 Comments

Okay, viagra approved I totally copied this from my fangirl best friend, Sylvia, from FanGirlFeeels, so I want to show her much credit. Check out her own September Book Wrap Up here!

I think I want to start doing this every month because I read a LOT of books in a month and I want to be able to share at the end of the month, all the books I’ve read and reviewed in one spot. Click on each book title to read my review of it!

So here we go!

Books Pledged to Read in 2013: 200 Books

Read so Far: 150

On Track?: For once, yes!

The Enchanter Heir by Cinda Williams Chima

The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp

The Transfer by Veronica Roth

Angelfall by Susan Ee

Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead

Burn for Burn by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

Half Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Saving Raphael Santiago by Cassandra Clare and Sarah Rees Brennan

3:59 by Gretchen McNeil

Pure by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Deity by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Elixir by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Apollyon by Jennifer L. Armentrout

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What books did you read in September? What were some of your favorites, and which ones fell flat? As always, share in the comments!

Apollyon by Jennifer L. Armentrout Book Review

October 2, 2013October 8, 2013Leave a comment

Apollyon by Jennifer L. Armentrout

You Can Find the Book At:

GoodReads Summary:

Fate isn’t something to mess with… and now, more about neither is Alex.

Alex has always feared two things: losing herself in the Awakening and being placed on the Elixir. But love has always been stronger than Fate, cure and Aiden St. Delphi is willing to make war on the gods—and Alex herself—to bring her back.

My Review:

Please keep in mind: this review will not spoil this particular book, but it most likely will have spoilers for previous books.

Literally everything is starting to come together in this book. Alex has finally become the Apollyon, and her deepest fear has come true: she loses herself and she wants nothing more than to be reunited with Seth, because she wants what he wants, and she is devoted to him. I had been hoping so HARD that it wouldn’t happen and when it happened, I almost died. I wanted to throw the book across the room, especially when I read the short novella between Deity and Apollyon: Elixir and we see inside Aidan’s head, as he struggles with Alex.

But I think that’s a huge reason why this book got to me so much. We see Aidan’s point of view briefly in Elixir, and we know how he feels about her and both his fears, and his worries for Alex. Coming back into the book with Alex as the wacked out Apollyon was something that was frightening, especially knowing what to expect, and wondering how on earth they were going to manage to get the real Alex back. I think the entire book, we see the devotion and love and friendship that Alex is able to get from Aidan and Marcus and Olivia, and Caleb, and even the god, Apollo. I think there is a lot to be shown in that, and in their faith that she can break the bond with Seth.

Which leads to me Seth. I had such mixed feelings about Seth since the beginning. I’m a big shipper of Aidan and Alex (what’s their ship name? does anyone know?) but Seth was kind of sexy in a dark way. I’m not going to lie, my cheeks got all flushed when Seth and Alex had those steamy scenes. But then Seth just…he went so bad in Deity with his attack on the Covenant, and his allegiance with Lucian, and I wanted to kill him. I especially wanted to kill him when you hear him in Alex’s mind, while she’s not herself, connected at him through the bond. He’s so slippery and sneaky. But Alex and Caleb are so determined that there is some kind of hope for him, and so its interesting to see where it goes, especially when its obviously that Alex cares for him, and that Seth does for her, bond or not.

But I also love that we’re building up more and more for what is going to take place in Sentinel, which releases in exactly one month. There are so many aspects to be concerned with. You have Ares, who is the God who is determined to use Seth for his own means, you have the bond between Seth and Alex, and Alex’s task to strip him of his power, or kill him. There’s the issue of the completely torn apart Covenant world, and the laws that need to be changed in regards to half bloods and their relations with pure bloods. There is so much at stake, and it makes for a great cliffhanger, a great desire to read the next book and a completely impatient Sara.

Rating:

5 out of 5 stars

Deity by Jennifer L. Armentrout Book Review

September 30, 2013September 29, 2013Leave a comment

Deity by Jennifer L. Armentrout

You Can Find the Book At:

GoodReads Summary:

“History is on repeat, discount and things didn’t go so well the last time. “

Alexandria isn’t sure she’s going to make it to her eighteenth birthday–to her Awakening. A long-forgotten, sick fanatical order is out to kill her, and if the Council ever discovers what she did in the Catskills, she’s a goner… and so is Aiden.

If that’s not freaky enough, whenever Alex and Seth spend time “training”–which really is just Seth’s code word for some up-close and personal one-on-one time–she ends up with another mark of the Apollyon, which brings her one step closer to Awakening ahead of schedule. Awesome.

But as her birthday draws near, her entire world shatters with a startling revelation and she’s caught between love and Fate. One will do anything to protect her. One has been lying to her since the beginning. Once the gods have revealed themselves, unleashing their wrath, lives will be irrevocably changed… and destroyed.

Those left standing will discover if love is truly greater than Fate…

My Review:

Please note that while this review will NOT have spoilers for this novel, it most likely will have spoilers for the first novel, Half Blood. You can read the review for that here. It may also include spoilers for the second book, Pure, the review of which can be read here.

Is it possible to give this book 6 stars out of 5? Seriously. I keep thinking that this series canNOT possibly get better, and it totally gets better.

This one is SO steamy, and what I have waited for has finally happened, but not easily, of course. Sigh. I need to move on to the next book.

This book feels like the climax, which makes me wonder what happens in Apollyon to need Sentinel as the final book. There is so much build up, so much tension, so much electricity, and Alex is smack in the middle of it. She has so much to deal with. Her mother and best friend are dead. People hate her. She has to go Council, where half bloods aren’t exactly welcome. She is madly in love with Aidan but her bond with Seth makes her attracted to him as well. She has to train as a Sentinel and an Apollyon, and oh yeah, there’s that whole daimon plan that her mother told her about before she died. No big deal.

So all of that put together really makes for a tense filled novel. One minute, you’re sighing as Aidan and Alex share an intimate scene (I am so rooting for Aidan St. Delphi in this series), and you’re reluctantly also sighing when Seth and Alex share a scene. You’re on the edge of your seat as Alex is treated terribly at the Council and you know there is so much more to it than you know. Her life is threatened, she almost dies. SO much is going on in this novel that it was a wonder that I didn’t finish it in a couple hours.

I really loved that the problems of the books are continuing. New problems are coming up, but its an extension of the previous problems. Jennifer Armentrout is creating a great series by creating this building issue that eventually is going to explode. I keep thinking that maybe things will be figured out and then the world gets even more mysterious and slipperier. She really knows how to build the story for you, so you can’t help but want to continue. I finished this at 3:30 am, and it took a lot of resolve to tell myself to go to bed, and that I could read the next book in the morning. She is that addicting.

Plus, can I just add how seriously sexy both Aidan and Seth are? I mean, I’m all about Aidan St. Delphi, but Seth has his moments where you’re like, “I seriously hate to love this guy.” Props to Jennifer L. Armentrout for creating these characters that make me want to fan myself.

Read these books, seriously. I’m moving on to book four now. Ciao!

Rating:

5 out of 5 stars

Pure by Jennifer L Armentrout Book Review

September 28, 2013September 28, 20131 Comment

Pure by Jennifer L. Armentrout

You Can Find the Book At:

GoodReads Summary:

There is need. And then there is Fate…
Being destined to become some kind of supernatural electrical outlet isn’t exactly awesome–especially when Alexandria’s “other half” is everywhere she goes. Seth’s in her training room, medications outside her classes, pill and keeps showing up in her bedroom–so not cool. Their connection does have some benefits, troche like staving off her nightmares of the tragic showdown with her mother, but it has no effect on what Alex feels for the forbidden, pure-blooded Aiden. Or what he will do–and sacrifice–for her.
When daimons infiltrate the Covenants and attack students, the gods send furies–lesser gods determined to eradicate any threat to the Covenants and to the gods, and that includes the Apollyon… and Alex. And if that and hordes of aether-sucking monsters didn’t blow bad enough, a mysterious threat seems willing to do anything to neutralize Seth, even if that means forcing Alex into servitude… or killing her.
When the gods are involved, some decisions can never, ever be undone.

My Review:

Please note that while this review will NOT have spoilers for this novel, it most likely will have spoilers for the first novel, Half Blood. You can read the review for that here.

These books literally just keep getting better and better. I absolutely loved the first one but I’m not going to lie, I saw a ton of similarities between it and the first Vampire Academy novel. But I really loved the characters, and I love the story, and the idea of the Greek gods, and the way she represents it as opposed to others. I was even more relieved when I read this second book, and realized that it took a much different direction than the storyline of VA.

I really love the issue that Jennifer L. Armentrout creates. Alex is the second Apollyon of the generation, which makes her better than any pure blood, half blood or mortal but she has been a half blood her entire life, and she still technically is a half blood. She still feels the pains of being a half blood. You either train your butt to become a Sentinel or a Guard, or you drink the elixir, and became compliant, a slave. One step, one TOE out of line and thats it for a half. Pures are everything: they have a say in how the world is run, and the laws are all in their favor. They have no regard for the halfs, and some are so high strung that the death of a half means absolutely nothing to them.

So I think its very hard for Alex. She is the Apollyon, and so much is on her shoulders but she still feels that sting of being a half blood, especially since most of her friends are half bloods and I think that internal struggle and that issue she has with trying to figure herself out, now that she has even more to learn, is really what makes the core of this novel. There’s a lot of action but I think so much of what makes this novel so easy to bust through is the fact that there is so much tension, mentally and emotionally and in the politics and in the relationships and friendships that she has. Everything seems so calculated and everyone seems to have their own different opinion and plan for her and its a lot for her to sift through. She doesn’t know who to trust completely, or who to listen to.

Which leads to me to the whole Seth and Aidan thing. Aidan is a pure, her trainer, but she’s madly in love with her, even though they most definitely canNOT be together. Then there’s is Seth, the first Apollyon, who Alex is bonded to, and so they have this intense attraction to each other, but she’s so unsure if she really feels that way or if its just the bond. And even this bond can’t take away the love that she feels for Aidan. The triangle would normally bother me incredibly but it doesn’t so much because neither one of them really gives her much, which only serves to frustrate her more, which frustrates me to no end either. I adore them both for different reasons, though I’m totally rooting for Aidan. I think that the differences between the two: Aidan, a pure Sentinel and Seth, a half blood Apollyon, only makes her conflicting thoughts on what is going on in her community even worse.

In all, it was a satisfying sequel to the first novel that I enjoyed so much. I think it really takes the issues of the first book, expands it, and expands the universe that she has built. She really presents real conflicts, conflicts that exist anywhere, and have existed, and so they feel so much more real, especially since Alex is a half blood, and she’s on the bottom scale of everything. I love all the characters of this novel, and the story. I’m about half way through the third book, which I can’t wait to review for you all. I’m catching up fast!

Rating:

5 out of 5 stars