The Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney

Title: The Iron Witch (The Iron Witch #1)

Author: Karen Mahoney

Publisher: Flux

Release Date: February 8, 2011

Source: Purchased

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

When she was seven, a horrific fey attack killed Donna Underwood’s father and drove her mother mad. Her own nearly fatal injuries were fixed by alchemy--the iron tattoos branding her hands and arms. Now seventeen, Donna feels like a freak, doomed by the magical heritage that destroyed her parents and any chance she had for a normal life. Only her relationship with her best friend, Navin, is keeping her sane.

But when vicious wood elves abduct Navin, Donna is forced to accept her role in the centuries-old war between human alchemists and these darkest outcasts of Faerie. Assisted by Xan, a gorgeous guy with faery blood running through his veins and secrets of his own, Donna races to save Navin--even if it means betraying everything her parents fought to the death to protect.

There were many things that made me want to read The Iron Witch. First, it is part of the debut author challenge; and second I had heard only great things about it. But most of all, the gorgeous cover is what drew me in more than anything. As it turns out, the book was a lot more than just a pretty cover.

When she was young, Donna lost both her parents to the fey. Her father was killed saving her and her mother is now in a mental facility not even able to recognize her own daughter. But something also happened to Donna’s arms and now they are mostly made of iron and covered with an intricate pattern. Everything was going fin with Donna’s life. She was living with her aunt and her best friend, Navin, is next door. but then at a party Donna meets Xan and things start to change. Wood elves start attacking Donna and even go so far as abducting Navin. With the help of Xan, Donna goes after to wood elves to save Navin. But in order to get Navin back, Donna may just have to betray the alchemists who saved her as a child and everything her parents believed in.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started reading this book. I had read other books about fey but never ones that revolved around alchemists so I was a little intrigued. To be honest, I could not have enjoyed it more. Basically it became addicting really fast and I found myself getting the book out every time I had a spare few minutes. Karen Mahoney wrote a fast-paced and action-packed story in a way that made it hard to believe that this is her first book. The story was incredible and beautifully written. I particularly liked that the story was written from the third person point of view. As much as having books told from the first person point of view can help me relate more to characters, but every once in a while, third person is a nice change.

The characters were all interesting and unique. Donna was not necessarily your usual protagonist. While she was an outside like most of them tend to be, Donna was more than just the typical outsider. She had never really fit in at school and had even gotten herself expelled. To me that made her more real and made me want to get to know her more. I loved her friendship with Navin, it was simple and perfect. It even reminded me of the relationship I have with my own best friend which made me enjoy the book that much more. As for Xan, I still don’t quite have him figure out but I did like him a lot. I loved how quickly and how willing he was to help Donna despite barely knowing her or what she needed help with. Plus he sounded quite dreamy and that’s never a bad thing.

The Iron Witch was a superb debut novel that I could simply not get enough of. I can’t wait to read more from Karen Mahoney, especially the sequel to The Iron Witch.

Guest Post: Jennifer Brown

Today I have the pleasure of having Jennifer Brown, author of the recently released Bitter End, here on the blog. She is here to talk a little about the music behind the book, the music that both inspired her and the music that makes her think of the story and characters she wrote. Here is what she had to say.

I tend to be very inspired by music, so it only makes sense that my writing and music go hand-in-hand. In some ways, my first novel, Hate List, was inspired by the Nickelback song “If Everyone Cared,” and Bitter End is no different, in that there are some songs that really made me think of my novel and vice versa.

Now, this is not to say that these were the songs I was listening to while writing Bitter End. That’s something very different. I’m one of those singalong kind of people, and if a song has words in it that I know, I’m going to spend my brain power singing along. But I can’t write in silence. That’s just too boring. So I end up writing to music that either has no words, or foreign music that I can’t understand. I raid the 99-cent bin at Vintage Stock, looking for African or Chinese or Native American music, or old New Age instrumental music like Ray Lynch, and that’s what I write to every day.

But I do have a playlist that I like to think of as my unofficial Bitter End playlist, which begins with the song that I felt like was my “anchor” song, the song that most defined the story in my mind being the first song, and the others just being songs that reminded me of my characters or the story.

1. “Landslide,” by The Dixie Chicks

2. “Fall for You,” by Secondhand Serenade

3. “Face Down,” by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

4. “Broken,” by Lifehouse’

5. “Learned My Lesson,” by Daughtry

6. “I Would be Stronger than That,” by Faith Hill

7. “A Broken Wing,” by Martina McBride

8. “Falling Away from Me,” by Korn

9. “Sympathetic Character,” by Alanis Morisette

10. “Island,” by Heather Nova

11. “Overcome,” by Within Temptation

12. “Rain on Me,” by Ashanti

13. “The Silence is Broken,” by Damn Yankees

14. “With a Little Help from My Friends,” by The Beatles

15. “Friends Forever,” by Thunderbugs

    The great thing about playlists and novels, though, is that the songs never stop coming. Very often I will hear a song that will remind me of something I’ve written. I could keep adding to my playlist forever! I don’t mind. Not one bit.

In My Mailbox (8)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi of The Story Siren and inspired by Alea of Pop Culture Junkie. It's a post where we talk about the books we received during the week either for review, from the bookstore or anywhere else.

With the Canada Post strike still going on, all the books I got this week are ones I bought myself because I currently have no other way of getting books (unless I finally go and get myself a library card). I have also found out that I should not be allowed anywhere near my bookstore when they are having a Buy 3 Get the 4th Free sale, not that that's something that's going to happen any time soon. But anyways, here are the books I got this week.

- Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson (Simon & Schuster May 4, 2010) - I've been wanting to read this book since last year but my bookstore never seemed to have a copy in stock. Now I finally have it and look forward to reading it over the summer as it sounds like the perfect summer book.

- Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready (Simon & Schuster May 4, 2010) - This is another book that I've been meaning to read for quite some time. I've heard so many good things about it and I finally gave in and bought a copy. I look forward to finding out for myself if it's as good as everyone says it is.

- Spellbound by Cara Lynn Shultz (Harlequin Teen, June 28, 2011) - My bookstore had this one on the shelves already and I've heard only good things about it so I decided I just couldn't leave it behind.

- Uncommon Criminals by Ally Carter (Disney Hyperion June 21, 2011) - I read Heist Society last week and absolutely loved it. I decided I couldn't wait to read the next one so I bought Uncommon Criminals. I've already started it and already I love it.

- Keeping the Moon by Sarah Dessen (Speak 2004) - Other than this one and Dreamland I own all of Sarah Dessen's other books. I've already read it but it's been quite a while so now that I have it I may be revisiting it in the near future.

- Dreamland by Sarah Dessen (Speak 2004) - Like I said about the previous one, I read Dreamland some years ago when I read all of Sarah Dessen's books but I look forward to being able to re-read it.

- Unwind by Neal Schusterman (Simon & Schuster November 6, 2007) - Until I few days ago I had never heard of this book. But then I read Amelia of Imagination in Focus's review of the book and decided that I just had to read it. I have been loving the dystopians lately and this one sounds like I will really enjoy it.

- Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce (Little, Brown June 7, 2010) - I have watched Jackson Pearce's YouTube videos and watched some of her liveshows, yet I haven't actually read any of her books. If on paper she is anything like she is in her videos I have a feeling that I will really enjoy this book.

- Trial by Fire by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (EgmontUSA June 14, 2011) - I finished reading Raised by Wolves yesterday and absolutely loved it. When I saw that my bookstore only had one copy of Trial by Fire left I jumped on it and even started reading it while I was still in the store. I can't wait to find out what happens next. Plus, I'm hoping to be able to meet Jennifer Lynn Barnes in October during the Smart Chicks tour.

So that's all that I got this week and I am definitely putting myself on a book buying ban until I read at least a good amount of the books I currently have on my shelves but haven't been read. Hopefully the Canada Post strike ends soon that way I can get the books I have in the mail but until then I still have plenty to read.

Comment below and let me know what you got in your mailbox and I'll come check it out!

Once Every Never by Lesley Livingston

Title: Once Every Never (Never #1)

Author: Lesley Livingston

Publisher: Razorbill Canada

Release Date: July 14, 2011

Source: Purchased

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

Clarinet Reid is a pretty typical teenager. On the surface. She’s smart, but a bit of a slacker; outgoing, but just a little insecure; not exactly a mischief-maker...but trouble tends to find her wherever she goes. Also? She unwittingly has a centuries-old Druid blood curse running through her veins.

Now, with a single thoughtless act, what started off as the Summer Vacation in Dullsville suddenly spirals int a deadly race to find a stolen artifact, aver an explosive catastrophe, save a Celtic warrior princess, right a dreadful wrong that happened centuries before Clare was even born, and if there’s still time--literally--maybe even get a date.

Once Every Never is one of those books I had been looking forward to for the longest time. So you can imagine how excited I was to finally be able to read it. Let me just say that it was even better than I even hoped it would be and I wish there would have been more of it.

Clarinet Reid was most definitely not looking forward to spending her summer in London with her boring archeologist aunt. The only upside to it all was that her best friend Allie was coming to London too. That and Milo, Al’s geeky cousin who has turned into a hot geek since the last time Clare saw him. But soon enough, what Clare had thought would be a boring vacation turns particularly interesting and exciting. Soon enough Clare discovers she can travel back in time when she touches certain objects. Now her vacation is filled with Celtic princesses and hot Druid dudes. But of course it’s not all fun and games when it turns out that certain people want to use Clare’s ability for their own ends. But will Clare be able to save a Celtic princess in the past, all the while keeping her friends safe in the present without changing history too much?

Lesley Livingston is a fantastic writer. This is something I already knew from having read her Wondrous Strange trilogy but it was reinforced with Once Every Never. In this new book, she crafts a story that takes place in two completely different worlds that works perfectly. The time traveling doesn’t feel out of place at all and the two worlds fit together as if they were always meant to be that way. While reading the book I could easily picture the places where the story took place in London having been to many of them. But I could just as easily picture Celtic Britain and the Iceni village as well as imagine myself in some of the places described. That’s how amazing a writer Lesley Livingston is.

Clare was sort of like a reluctant heroine. At first she wasn’t really interested in anything but as the story progressed, she became more and more interested in everything. All of a sudden she was actually paying attention to the information everyone was giving her. But that might have had something to do with Milo and Connal. What was particularly interesting with the characters was how the present day characters fit perfectly with the Celtic princesses and the Druid princes. I could just as easily picture Clare with either Milo or Connal even though the latter has technically been dead for some two thousand odd years. Same goes for having Al and Comorra as Clare’s best friend. It’s not so much that the characters from the past and the present were interchangeable but more that they all felt completely real and I could relate to all of them regardless of the time period they were from.

Once again, Lesley Livingston has proven how great a writer she is with Once Every Never. I strongly recommend everyone reads this book. But be careful, Lesley Livingston’s writing becomes just as addictive as the story she tells. 

In My Mailbox (7)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi of the Story Siren and inspired by Alea of Pop Culture Junkie. It's a post where we talk about the books we received during the week either for review, from the bookstore or anywhere else.

This week was a pretty good week for books. I received two for review and bought a few myself. So here's what I got.

For Review:

- Dust and Decay by Jonathan Maberry (Simon & Schuster August 30, 2011) - This is actually the second book in a series. I haven't read the first but I now have it as well and I look forward to reading both of them. From my understanding of it all it's about zombies and it sounds a little gruesome so I'm excited to try something new.

- Witchlanders by Lena Coakley (Simon & Schuster August 30, 2011) - I haven't really heard anything about this one but from the summary on the back it looks really interesting. From what I gathered it's about witches which isn't something I read about that much so I look forward to reading this one.

Bought:

- Rot and Ruin by Jonathan Maberry (Simon & Schuster October 5, 2010) - This is the book that comes before Dust and Decay. Like I said above, I really look forward to it and to reading something new and different.

- Once Every Never by Lesley Livingston (Puffin Canada June 14, 2011) - I absolutely loved Lesley Livingston's Wondrous Strange trilogy so I can't wait to read her new book. This one sounds really neat and involves some time travelling so it definitely sounds like it will be a fun read.

- What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen (Viking May 10, 2011) - Sarah Dessen is one of my favorite authors of all time. I have read all of her other books so I can't wait to start reading What Happened to Goodbye and see what wonderful story Sarah Dessen has written.

- Blood Red Road by Moira Young (Margaret K. McElderry June 7, 2011) - I've read and heard all sorts of good things about this one but don't really know much about it other than what the summary says. Though the lovely lady working at Chapters assured me that if I loved Divergent I will also love Blood Red Road. I guess I'll just have to wait and see.

That's it for me this week. I do have some books that I won and a R.A.K. from the lovely K of The Lady Critic's Library but unfortunately Canada Post has decided to go on a lock out and no mail is being delivered anywhere across the country. Hopefully it ends soon so I can get my books!

Comment and let me know what you got in your mailbox and I'll come check it out!