We here at The Paperback Princesses often receive emails from Indie authors requesting reviews and are blessed with free book copies. Often we are unable to get to so many titles before our mass market published books take over our TBR shelves. That doesn't mean there aren't plenty of great reads though! We want to give back to those Indie authors and are declaring EVERY SECOND SUNDAY our SHOUT OUT TO INDIES MEME. For those of fellow bloggers, please feel free to add our meme to your regular schedule. We only ask that you quote and link back to us as a courtesy. For all of you Indie authors, we invite you to contact us at the contact link to your top left. We will select 1 - 3 titles (each time we post) that sound interesting. Lastly, for you readers, this is a bit of a test so please do comment and let us know what you think. We will also be offering up giveaway copies whenever we can! So without further ado, here is this week's pick
Originally published: October 2012
Pages: 298
Summary: Goodreads
Enter a hidden world of magic, mystery, danger and romance in this YA fantasy from Amazon bestselling author, Rachel Morgan...
Protecting humans from dangerous magical creatures is all in a day’s work for a faerie training to be a guardian. Seventeen-year-old Violet Fairdale knows this better than anyone—she’s about to become the best guardian the Guild has seen in years. That is, until a cute human boy who can somehow see through her faerie glamor follows her into the Fae realm. Now she’s broken Guild Law, a crime that could lead to her expulsion.
The last thing Vi wants to do is spend any more time with the boy who got her into this mess, but the Guild requires that she return Nate to his home and make him forget everything he’s discovered of the Fae realm. Easy, right? Not when you factor in evil faeries, long-lost family members, and inconvenient feelings of the romantic kind. Vi is about to find herself tangled up in a dangerous plot—and it’ll take all her training to get out alive.
[This novel was originally published in four separate parts: Guardian, Labyrinth, Traitor and Masquerade. It includes bonus scenes at the end that were not published in the individual parts.]
Rachel had this to say when we asked her why she writes for YA
I love writing YA because I love writing about firsts. When you’ve kissed someone hundreds of times, it’s not that exciting anymore, but the first time . . . Well, it’s a kiss to remember, for good or for bad! The first time someone holds your hand, the first date you go on, the first time your heart is broken, the first time you sneak out of the house to do something you shouldn’t . . . Life goes on and you can forget what these things feel like, but pick up a YA book and an author can make you remember exactly what that moment felt like when you were first there.
For our second choice this week:
Published: April 26th, 2014
Troubled schoolboy’s life becomes even more challenging after he accidentally acquires dark magical powers, in teacher’s exciting Young Adult fiction debut.
“If you could have your very own wish, what would it be?”
When fifteen year old Jamie Lomax moves from London to the countryside, he is plagued by the usual anxieties of fitting in, making new friends, and talking to girls. After he inadvertently offends Spencer, the school bully — who threatens to make Jamie’s life a misery — things get even worse. When Jamie finds himself stuck at home one weekend, sheltering from his new tormentor and the rain, he come across a mysterious glass orb which seems effervescent with life. He soon discovers that the artefact has magical powers; powers only he can activate. Jamie learns from his enigmatic grandmother that whoever has the ability to unlock the orb’s magic must use their powers to help five other people. In return, they will be granted a single wish. Though drawn by such temptation, Jamie discovers that the price of failure is high: he risks losing his soul forever.
Before Jamie has a chance to even consider whom he might help, he accidentally activates the orb and finds himself face-to-face with a sinister figure, known only as The Warrior. He is the orb’s original owner and the malevolent force behind its power, who will come to claim Jamie’s soul should he fail to complete his quest within one month. Will Jamie be able to complete five good deeds before his time runs out? How will he know who really needs his help? And, if he does succeed, what will be his only wish?
We asked the author why he writes for a YA audience:
I've always written stories, but really took up the habit at university. I wrote stories with children for one of my dissertations and have carried on ever since. I have notebooks full of ideas ready to make a break for freedom one day. The Wish was one of those ideas that took a life of its own.
We asked the author why he writes for a YA audience:
As I teach children how to write creatively, I wanted to give something back. Young people don't have the experience of life that we as adults do, but their ideas are priceless and my job is to help them learn the skills of storytelling. In my book, I'd like to think that children and teenagers would enjoy the language and the very idea that they could be granted a wish.
I love her answer for why she writes YA!
ReplyDelete