Giveaway: Antigoddess by Kendare Blake (UK/Europe)

Antigoddess
Kendare Blake

Series: Goddess War #1
Genre: YA Fantasy/Mythology
Publication date: September 10th 2013
by Orchard Books

He was Apollo, the sun, and he'd burn down anything that tried to hurt her... Cassandra and Aidan are just your average high-school couple. Or so Cassandra believes. Blissfully unaware that she was once a powerful prophetess, Cassandra doesn't even know that god exist...Until now.

Because the gods are dying - and Cassandra could hold the answer to their survival. But Aidan has a secret of his own. He is really Apollo, god of the sun, and he will do anything to protect the girl he loves from the danger that's coming for her. Even if it means war against his immortal family...

Sexy, irresistible characters; romantic and mythological intrigue; relentless action and suspense - ANTIGODDESS is the YA novel you've been waiting for.

Thanks to the wonderful people over at Hachette Children's UK, I have a pretty ARC of Antigoddess for giveaway unique to my UK and Europe readers. I'm telling you - this one is not one you want to miss! Enter away!

Waiting on Wednesday (64)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event that is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. 

My pick this week:

Antigoddess

Kendare Blake

Release date: September 10th 2013
 by Tor Teen

Old Gods never die…

Or so Athena thought. But then the feathers started sprouting beneath her skin, invading her lungs like a strange cancer, and Hermes showed up with a fever eating away his flesh. So much for living a quiet eternity in perpetual health.

Desperately seeking the cause of their slow, miserable deaths, Athena and Hermes travel the world, gathering allies and discovering enemies both new and old. Their search leads them to Cassandra—an ordinary girl who was once an extraordinary prophetess, protected and loved by a god.

These days, Cassandra doesn’t involve herself in the business of gods—in fact, she doesn’t even know they exist. But she could be the key in a war that is only just beginning.

Because Hera, the queen of the gods, has aligned herself with other of the ancient Olympians, who are killing off rivals in an attempt to prolong their own lives. But these anti-gods have become corrupted in their desperation to survive, horrific caricatures of their former glory. Athena will need every advantage she can get, because immortals don’t just flicker out.

Every one of them dies in their own way. Some choke on feathers. Others become monsters. All of them rage against their last breath.

The Goddess War is about to begin.

Honestly, I don't really care what it's even about, Kendare Blake is a mastermind! You know it, I know it. This will be epic!

What are you waiting on, this week?

Link me up! :)

Xpresso Reads' Blogoversary Kick Off

Welcome to my 1 year blogoversary celebration week kick-off! 

Get ready for a week of awesome posts and epic giveaways!

Xpresso Reads turns 1!

Xpresso Reads turns one TODAY (September 9th) and I have a great week planned for my fabulous followers, readers, and friends who made it all happen! Without all of my supporters, I wouldn't be where I am today after only one year. I wasn't sure what I was getting into when I started my blog and I am overwhelmed with how much it all means to me now. The blogging, of course, but I have made friends for life as well. I have completely changed the way I see authors and publishers who intimidated me so much just a year ago. I have posts planned that will go into more details on these subjects so Today is just a kick-off THANK YOU and welcome to my blogoversary celebration week! I hope you love what I have planned for you!

What do I have planned? 

Every day I will be posting about different subjects on what an exciting year I had. I will be thanking so many people, talking about my experiences as part of the blogging community, and also answer the questions that I get on a regular basis about my blog. So, this week is all about me? Well yes, yes it is. >.< I will be posting my scheduled reviews as well so you won't miss any epic (or failed) reads!

Did you say giveaways?

What's a party without some prizes? Every day this week I will be including giveaways where you can win some fabulous books, swag, and book related surprises. I have SO many incredible authors and publishers who were very generous to help me make this celebration the best it can be! So don't forget to thank them along the way. They helped make this week fantastic! Plus, where would we be without these fabulous people? *gasp* So THANK YOU to the fabulous authors and publishers who offered goodies for this event. It means the world!

What better way to launch this blogoversary bash than with a chance to win a few of my very favorite books!

Review: Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake

Girl of Nightmares
Kendare Blake
Series: Anna, #2
Release date: August 7th 2012
by Tor Teen

 

It's been months since the ghost of Anna Korlov opened a door to Hell in her basement and disappeared into it, but ghost-hunter Cas Lowood can't move on. 

His friends remind him that Anna sacrificed herself so that Cas could live--not walk around half dead. He knows they're right, but in Cas's eyes, no living girl he meets can compare to the dead girl he fell in love with.

Now he's seeing Anna everywhere: sometimes when he's asleep and sometimes in waking nightmares. But something is very wrong...these aren't just daydreams. Anna seems tortured, torn apart in new and ever more gruesome ways every time she appears.

Cas doesn't know what happened to Anna when she disappeared into Hell, but he knows she doesn't deserve whatever is happening to her now. Anna saved Cas more than once, and it's time for him to return the favor.

 *A copy was provided by Macmillan for review purposes*

This is one example of a book I would read for the cover alone. Heck, slap this cover on a 9000 page Spanish history book, and I will read it ALL! Even though I don't know Spanish >.< Luckily, what's inside this cover is just as incredible as the outside and will leave you equally spellbound!

It was clear from the beginning that Anna was not going to be as big a character as in the first novel. I was a bit disappointed at first because Anna is fabulous and crazy, but I can assure you that her absence is filled so formidably that you will not be left with any longing for her. She's not completely absent either, she has her way of making herself present in the story. Cas, though, he's still there in his full glory. He's got a fabulous sense of humor and incredible charm that fill the pages yet again. His loyalty to his friends, the determination behind his wants; it's admirable and makes him a positively strong, enchanting character. He's definitely kept his place as my favorite YA male protagonist.

Along with Cas, comes the laughs. (This was a totally unintentional rhyme, I swear!) It's really one of my favorite aspects of this series: How Blake can easily blend in laugh-out-loud funny dialogue inside such a creepy, dark story is a great feat! It makes it not only scary, but just plain fun and entertaining, too.

“Every time I question him about the feasibility, he smiles at me like he's Yoda and I'm just a dumbass without the Force.”
-Quoted from the uncorrected proof.

Aiding him in his mischief, Carmel and Thomas are worthy of mention as two fantastic supporting characters that have just as much soul in this series as Cas himself. The group dynamics make them a powerful trio and I was pleasantly surprised by the direction Blake takes them in this sequel.

In Anna Dressed in Blood, the plot was creepy and horrific. In Girl of Nightmares, it is turned up a notch. Although it may be a tad less creepy, I felt much more afraid in this one; it has a more serious, all encompassing tone. The vibe is more sinister and the scary parts are downright terrifying. Let's just say, things get pretty out-of-hand-serious. I loved it. I've been a fan of horror my whole life and while I truly enjoyed the first book, I completely fell in love with its sequel!

As for the ending: Perfection! True, immeasurable perfection!

An absolutely thrilling sequel that will render you speechless in awe, Girl of Nightmares is filled with compelling characters and spine-chilling events. Fans of Anna Dressed in Blood will not be disappointed!

5 Hot Espressos

 The Anna series:

 Find my review of Anna Dressed in Blood here!

WoW (6) - Halloween Edition, Week 3

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event that is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. 

With October upon us, my WoWs this month will feature books that would be perfect for a Halloween read.

My pick this week:

                                    Girl of Nightmares

                                    Kendare Blake

                                    Release date: 2012

Anna Dressed in Blood synopsis. (Girl of Nightmares synopsis not yet available.)

Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead. 

So did his father before him, until he was gruesomely murdered by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father's mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.

When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn't expect anything outside of the ordinary: track, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he's never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, now stained red and dripping with blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.

But she, for whatever reason, spares Cas's life.

How incredibly fantastic is this cover? Anna Dressed in Blood's cover was great, but this one is just amazing! When I saw the cover reveal I couldn't resist using it for one of my Halloween WoWs. There is no release date for this puppy yet but I think we're all hoping it will be out very soon! I can't wait to read more about Cas and Anna. If you haven't read Anna yet, the first in the series, I really recommend it!  

Click here for my review of Anna Dressed in Blood.

What are you waiting on this Wednesday?

Review: Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

Anna Dressed in Blood Kendare Blake
First published August 30th, 2011

Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.

So did his father before him, until he was gruesomely murdered by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father's mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.
When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn't expect anything outside of the ordinary: track, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he's never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, now stained red and dripping with blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.

But she, for whatever reason, spares Cas's life.

Anna Dressed in Blood is YA meet Amityville Horror. It was creepy and ominous, but also funny. I didn't find it incredibly scary, just kind of spooky - well ok, a lot spooky. I did love it though, I absolutely did!

Firstly, it was refreshing to have a male protagonist. I wish there were more books as such. Theseus Cassio (Cas) is our main character in this novel and he's awesome! He has a great sense of humour and he's such a sweetheart. I adored his character. He's had a tough life being a ghost hunter, but he makes light of his situations. He's also great at interacting with others. Unlike your stereotypical egocentric teenage boy. 

Cas receives information regarding Anna, a ghost who's been murdering anyone who enters her house. All 27 people of them… so far. Subsequently, they pack up and move to her home town where Cas plans on stopping her. I loved the Anna story, it was typical but not cliché. I also loved how the author went beyond the usual YA and made it more graphic; more horrific. It really gives you the creeps!

I love my horror, this was 100% a book for me, and the author did a great job. Kendare knows how to tell a story, and tell it well. I didn't think it was over the top, but I could still see myself getting nightmares from this story. She gives us enough details to make us experience it - which considerably adds to the creep factor. There were a few minor traits that bothered me though. Mostly, it's the reaction of the characters that were often unconvincing: Anna, who is scary as heck, attacks and almost kills Carmel, and  all she says is "My god, she's awful".. yeah.. a little.

"You forgot about the bad part. You know, the part where we have to get Anna inside the circle and throw chicken feet at her."

Another noteworthy aspect in this novel is the humor that is mixed in with the horror. Cas is funny and witty even in the worst situations. He knows his stuff, but he also sounds his age. This makes it all very easy to get into the story.

Ultimately, this is pure horror it's its finest form. If this wasn't enough to convince you to read it, just look at that cover and title. What's not to love?

4/5 hot espressos

View review on Goodreads