Review
Standalone or series? Melanie - Standalone Susan - Standalone How did I get this book? Melanie - Offered to me on Netgalley Susan - I had it on my Wishlist for ages and when Mel got a copy, I read it too. Why did I choose to read this book: Melanie - Mainly because Susan wanted to read it and we could do a joint review. Although the premise did look interesting. Susan- what Mel said LOL Genre: Melanie - YA Thriller Susan - Ya Thriller Who would enjoy this book: Melanie - Anyone looking for books with a "Cruel Summer Vibe" - although this was no where near that level. Susan- This story would appeal to anyone who wants some twists with their teen angst. And Now To The Review! First Impressions: Melanie - This throws the reader in at the beginning of a school year after what we soon discover is the aftermath of the death of the protagonist's best friend, that she had been driving for, and her guilt over the events she can't remember happening. Susan - You jump right into the main character living with the fallout from a crash that killed her best friend and also dealing with the fact that her memories of that night are gone. General Review Melanie - The premise definitely had interesting potential. The book deals with a lot of the regular issues that come with teenage death, while also presenting a mystery as to what actually happened. It fast becomes apparent that things aren't as they seem, and that all of these kids come from questionable home situations. There was a lot of the story that didn't work for me as a reader. I figured out both twists very early on, the whole not reading the diary as soon as she got it didn't feel authentic, and the whole boyfriend situation just felt forced, and some of the language was so flowery (and included entries with complete word for word conversations remembered) just didn't connect for me. Susan - The blurb drew me in and I liked that we were immediately dropped in at the deep end. The twists I saw coming from the jump. Where the author was trying to lead the reader off the track only gave more hints to the true outcome of the book. Like Mel, the word for word recollections seemed a bit, unnatural, because in a two person conversation, two people will remember it differently- and unless you have an Eidetic memory, that's not happening, especially with teenagers. Final Thoughts Melanie - I loved the idea of the story, but sadly with being able to spot the twists so easily, and the over-the-top language and word-for-word conversations recalled, it just didn't work for me. Susan - The premise of the story was good, though it was ruined because I was able to spot the twists so early one. Some aspects of the way the story was retold, made it hard to believe it was YA. Rating: Melanie - 2 1/2 stars rounded up to 3 The idea had potential but I felt the twist was predictable, and the writing didn't always fit the character narrative. Susan - 2 1/2 stars for me - I just felt that the hints that were thrown in an attempt to steer you in the wrong direction, gave away more than I like when there is a mystery. As always let us know what you think in the comments! ***Disclaimer - Any Links To Buy and/or Subscribe to Amazon Programs On Amazon on this website are Amazon Affiliate Links Melanie's Muses is part of the Amazon Associate program and earns from qualifying purchases which in turns helps support all the Muser giveaways we do!***
Melanie - Founder of Melanie's Muses - You should know who I am lol If not click - All about Melanie!I didn't really know what we should do for Win It Wednesday this week and Krista suggested Summer - as it officially starts this week, and New York currently has a heat wave, so that's what I went with! I LOVE summer! Let me be clear .... I don't like the sun, well being in the sun, direct sunlight is decidedly NOT my friend, but I do like the warmth. I love it when it feels like you step outside and could be in Florida - the VERY thing that Greg hates lol. I like to read my book in the shade by the pool (I don't like to go IN the pool - but being by it works just fine), I like when Greg cooks out on the grill, and I like that there is NO SNOW! On the other hand I don't like to go to the beach - I absolutely LOATHE the feeling of sand between my toes and I don't understand why anyone would want to go in the sea! I like the little festival we have for Treason Day in our area (4th of July for anyone who is new to the blog lol), and I would say that I like that it stays light longer, but honestly I still like to go to bed ridiculously early! So what about you Musers? Are you summer folks? Or are you all waiting for it to cool off again? The Pineapple Code Word For This Article Is Summer And Now For The Giveaway Melanie's Muses will be giving away a summer prize pack including Ocean's 8 DVD, Plastic Cup with lid and Wednesday Straw, Can/bottle cozy, hair clip, sunglasses, hairbrush, a set of 90's butterfly clips, bubbles, a temporary tattoo, slap bracelet, and an inflatable lemon can holder - all from the Melanie's Muses Prize Hoard. For your chance to win- FILL OUT THE FORM and tell us: What is your favorite thing about Summer? Comments about the article are encouraged - but for now only qualifying entries on the form will go in the bag! What your answer is will not influence whether you go into the hat - Only that you answer the question!
Winner will be announced during the Live show on June 30th and then posted on the page as well on July 1st if the winner isn't at the live.) Full Rules Below! Good luck everyone! Rules Only comments posted on THE FORM will be considered. This is open internationally. If you win and you cannot accept mail due to Covid issues we will hold the prize until such time as you can. Some exceptions may apply based on Post Office Regulations. Melanie's Muses takes no responsibility for rules beyond her control. Void Where Prohibited. Sharing is always appreciated but is not required for entry. Winner Will Be Picked At Random. One Entry Per Person / Household Prize is provided via Melanie's Muses and will be mailed by her. Winner will be announced during the live on June 30th and posted on the Facebook page on Monday July 1st if they aren't at the live. Winner will have 48 hours to claim by messaging their address to - https://www.facebook.com/MelaniesMuses/ Or prize is considered forfeit. Failure to claim will result in a no future giveaway entry being counted for 30 days. We want people to claim their prizes! Don't get on the list! Any questions please contact Melanie on the Facebook page ***Disclaimer - Any Links To Buy and/or Subscribe to Amazon Programs On Amazon on this website are Amazon Affiliate Links Melanie's Muses is part of the Amazon Associate program and earns from qualifying purchases which in turns helps support all the Muser giveaways we do!***
Melanie - Founder of Melanie's Muses - You should know who I am lol If not click - All about Melanie!OK I am having a crazy sort out week so this week because SO much is going on. I put a bunch of books in a box and you get the chance to win in. This is what you get this week lol. The Pineapple Code Word For This Article Is Books And Now For The Giveaway
Melanie's Muses will be giving away a box of books. There are 4 HCs and 1 PB in there. For your chance to win- FILL OUT THE FORM and tell us: What was your most recent 5 Star read? Comments about the article are encouraged - but for now only qualifying entries on the form will go in the bag! What your answer is will not influence whether you go into the hat - Only that you answer the question!
Winner will be announced during the Live show on June 23rd and then posted on the page as well on June 24th if the winner isn't at the live.) Full Rules Below! Good luck everyone! Rules Only comments posted on THE FORM will be considered. This is open internationally. If you win and you cannot accept mail due to Covid issues we will hold the prize until such time as you can. Some exceptions may apply based on Post Office Regulations. Melanie's Muses takes no responsibility for rules beyond her control. Void Where Prohibited. Sharing is always appreciated but is not required for entry. Winner Will Be Picked At Random. One Entry Per Person / Household Prize is provided via Melanie's Muses and will be mailed by her. Winner will be announced during the live on June 23rd and posted on the Facebook page on Monday June 24th if they aren't at the live. Winner will have 48 hours to claim by messaging their address to - https://www.facebook.com/MelaniesMuses/ Or prize is considered forfeit. Failure to claim will result in a no future giveaway entry being counted for 30 days. We want people to claim their prizes! Don't get on the list! Any questions please contact Melanie on the Facebook page ***Disclaimer - Any Links To Buy and/or Subscribe to Amazon Programs On Amazon on this website are Amazon Affiliate Links Melanie's Muses is part of the Amazon Associate program and earns from qualifying purchases which in turns helps support all the Muser giveaways we do!***
Review
Standalone or series? Book 1 in a new Trilogy How did I get this book? Em saw it on her Kindle Unlimited and thought it would be something I would like. Why did I choose to read this book: The idea of a professional secret keeper sounded interesting. (And I had a free 30 day trial of Kindle Unlimited available - You can see if you are eligible for a free trial HERE.) Genre: Technically this falls under Women's Fiction - but it's definitely not what I think of when I hear the words "Women's Fiction". Maybe because I don't really read anything other than Paranormal Women's Fiction. Who would enjoy this book: Anyone looking for something summery but different. There's a little romance but the main focus is set around other things. And Now To The Review! First Impressions: I have never heard of a professional confidant like this. The whole idea of it is quite fascinating and I have no idea if this is based on a real thing or not - but it is super intriguing. The prologue gives you a quick intro before skipping 5 years forward to the main story. General Review I haven't read Maggie Miller before, (and honestly looking at her other titles she probably isn't an author that would have crossed my radar), but I am glad Em suggested this. The story is a surprising page turner. It was very easy to get wrapped up in this lifestyle that is so beyond anything I think most of us can imagine it's almost the perfect escape but with a strong enough story to keep you paying attention. The book switches between a few characters POVs as you go on with my favorite being the famous author that lives next door (as an aside I REALLY wish this author was real - I would totally read his series AND watch the NETFLIX show based on it), plus he gets bonus points for having an English housekeeper. Aside from the unfolding mysteries the story manages to unapologetically deal with some very real issues such as grief, which really resonated in me in a way I wasn't expecting. Final Thoughts At one point it seemed to me that everything was going to be resolved for the most part and I wondered if the second book of the trilogy would focus on a totally different story ..... but no, it is quite clearly set up for book two to continue with the same cast of characters which I am pleased about. I am very intrigued as to where this series will go next. Rating: A surprising 4 1/2 rounded up to 5 stars for this and I will definitely be on the lookout for book 2. As always let me know what you think in the comments! ***Disclaimer - Any Links To Buy and/or Subscribe to Amazon Programs On Amazon on this website are Amazon Affiliate Links Melanie's Muses is part of the Amazon Associate program and earns from qualifying purchases which in turns helps support all the Muser giveaways we do!***
Melanie - Founder of Melanie's Muses - You should know who I am lol If not click - All about Melanie!About 5 years ago Susan messaged me to talk about a possible YA Vampire series. We talked through SO much lore, and SO many creative choices, and Covid striking, it was almost surreal in May 2020 to see Chaos Theory release. I described the book as "The new YA series fans of the Vampire Academy have been waiting for" and I stand by that to this day. Now, 4 years later, the series has had a cover makeover, and the books are available as hardcovers for the first time ever. If you haven't started the series yet you can get book 1 for Free HERE! All books are available to purchase in ALL formats by clicking the banner below!  Click The Picture To Go To The Series Page On Amazon! And check out the interview that was original posted when Chaos Theory released in 2020! Exclusive Interview With Author Susan Harris- Originally Posted in May 2020 when Chaos Theory Released!Melanie (M) Hello Susan! Thank you so much for joining me today from Ireland. How is everything over there? I hope you are staying safe! Susan (S)Like the rest of the world, Ireland is dealing with Covid 19 as best we possibly can. I find the online community has been so awesome, and even the author community has helped to allow us to escape reality for a couple of chapters by offering discounted or free books. (M) So before I get to the Muser’s questions, I have to ask, how excited are you to finally be able to share this with the world. I feel like we have been talking about it behind the scenes forever! (S) I am excited and nervous at the same time. I think this is the most nervous I’ve ever been for a release. You and me have been discussing Ryan and her world for so long, even when it was a concept and Ryan was just this badass who was beautifully broken. These characters have taken over the last year of our lives and I think readers are ready to meet Ryan…and Nicky ? (M) So true! They have definitely monopolized a LOT of our conversations, but I wouldn't have it any other way! OK let’s get down to some Muser Questions! This one was submitted by Toni Pill - How much of events in your life do you put in your books? Give us an example, please. XOXO (S) You would be surprised how much of me goes into a character. I take conversations and use them in books. I wrote Shattered Memories as therapy after being diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. There is a chapter in Chaos Theory, with something that happens to Ryan that happened to me in real life. I don’t want to spoil anything and Ryan’s experience was different to mine, because Hello, vampire, but it was something traumatic I went through and needed to write about it to get some closure on it. (M) Ha – and I will add that I know for a fact that LOTS of things that happen in conversations both with me, and things that have happened during live definitely have been known to “pop up” on the pages! And with that thought in mind it leads nicely to this question submitted by Jaime Cross - Just what would you do with Tom Hardy if you ever got your hands on him? Kidding. I already know. Love you. Love your books. Who has been the hardest, and easiest, characters for you to write? (S) For question one, see Night of the Hunter, because Donnie is Tom Hardy lol The hardest character to write I think had to be Erika. She wasn’t a planned main character; I had intended to kill her off but she became this larger than life character who demanded centre stage and I was powerless to stop her. And the easiest, I’d say Ricky or Ryan as they just write themselves; I have no say in what they do or what they say; I am merely she who documents their awesomeness. (M) I love that about them! Their voices are so strong. I think that’s what I often have so many opinions about what I think they would do. Sometimes I can totally feel in their head….. Which now sounds a bit weird … so moving on we have a question submitted by Holly McMiller - Who is the most fun character to write for and which of your characters can be the hardest to write for? (S) See Jaime’s question for the hardest. But the most fun, omg there are a few…Ryan has been terribly fun to write because she just has no filter, she says what she wants. I also love the bromance between Donnie and Ricky, which can be very fun to write. I think if they had known each other as teens, then I’d have had a LOT of writing material. (M) I’m sure that really Melanie is the easiest – I mean she is based on a combination of 2 rather awesome people – One real and One TV Character….. but enough of that. Let’s move on to a question submitted by Ashley Brilinski. If you could pick another author who has done their own take on vampires to cowrite with you who would it be? (S) OMG Ashley- that’s a hard question to answer. I’d love to see Ryan bump into Cat and Bones from Jeaniene Frost’s Night Huntress series…or have her fangirl over Anita Blake from Laurell K Hamilton’s series. Well I don’t personally think she will be running into Cat and Bones – I mean they are kind of off the grid right now lol but I agree Ryan would definitely be fangirling hard with Anita! And the running commentary as she makes a fool of herself would be hilarious. (M) Ooooh this is an interesting question from Diana Stamatis Dalton. I know how much work you put into to researching your books so I can’t wait to see your answer to this. Diana says - I love the Ever Chace Chronicles. You have melded the supernatural with the mythical Gods together beautifully. Did you do a lot of research before or as you were writing the series on Greek and/or Roman Gods, myths and supernatural beings? (S) I have a lot of books in my research library about all aspects of my books, from criminal psychology to vampire encyclopedias. I make sure I know what I’m writing about. With the Norse Gods, I read books and blogs online so I follow the legends as much as possible, but give it my own flair as well. If it doesn’t feel authentic to me, then it will not feel authentic to the reader and the story then loses its trueness…well as much as a story about vampires and werewolves can. (M) Yup that sounds about right. I think that’s one of the things I love most about your books. The characters do feel so authentic! Which leads nicely to this question by Ashley Brilinkski - Do you get emotionally attached to your characters? (S) Absolutely. You create these characters and they become part of your daily life. I have no doubt I will cry when I say goodbye to the EC series, even with a spin-off planned. When I wrote Night of the Hunter, I spent a lot of time with tears in my eyes because I felt that Caitlyn deserved a happy ever after. I felt so terrible during the Defy series for Toby and what happens to him, that I wanted to change things because I felt I was being to hard on him. But I think it’s my duty to write the hard stories even if it breaks my heart sometimes to do it. (M) Sometimes I think the hard choices are the most compelling. That being said I have been known to moan about a few, and especially certain characters lol. Following up from the last questions from Ashley – she has another one that is more are your writing process. She asks - When it comes to plots, endings, characters, & settings what do you focus on/outline first? (S) First, it’s a general story outline from book 1 to book whatever and how I think the story will go. The plot for Arsonist’s Lullaby was planned from day one, the villain and supernatural creature planned from day one. Then I mold my characters. I like to listen to music that the character may listen to, even if it’s not my usual tastes. I find actors or actresses that could play the characters that I see in my head and then use my city as my scene. It’s all a process that I love creating worlds and characters and then letting them loose in my head.
(S) I would love to do another Shakespeare retelling! Macbeth is my favourite play of Shakespeare’s and I would love to continue in the Defy world, with the children. Or maybe I can use one of the bards plays when I write a Mercy and Toby book…exclusive news there … and if you have any suggestions on what plays you’d like me to retell, let me know! (M) WOO HOOO Got to love an extra exclusive! You heard it here first! I would totally be down for both a Mercy and Toby book – and a Macbeth reimagined. Macbeth is one of my favourites as well. I mean who can resist something that is so cursed you have to call it “The Scottish Play? Final question from Ashley - If you were invited to write an episode of any tv show which show would you want it to be & what would happen? (S) I love this question! I would love to write an episode of The Blacklist and have a Blacklister called The Leprechaun. I think it would be very tongue in cheek, with The Leprechaun being a dealer of luck, not at all stereotypical, with Jaime Dornan or Colin O’Donoghue as the Blacklister, with like a gambling ring and people who lose their luck end up dead. I can just imagine Raymond Reddington sitting down with The Leprechaun with his usual suave, as the team chance their luck …I haven’t thought of this at all as you can tell. (M) Oh yes I can see that you have put zero thought into that AT ALL!! Quite obviously that just all popped into your head spontaneously. (S) No comment (laughs) (M) Well Susan, it is always a pleasure talking to you. Thank you so much for taking the time out to answer these fan questions, and give us a little more insight into you and your fabulous writing world. Is there anything else you would like to say before we go? (S) I really want to thank Melanie's Muses and ALL of the Musers for the love and support you have shown for me and my books. You guys are an amazing group of people and I'm so happy to be a part of everything. Especially on Sundays! Go raibh míle maith agat go léir (Thank you all so much) The Pineapple Code Word For This Article Is Ryan And Now For The Giveaway Melanie's Muses will be giving away a Sanguine Crown Mug & Keychain (provided by Susan Harris) For your chance to win- FILL OUT THE FORM and tell us: Have you read any of Susan Harris's Books? If so which one was your favorite? Comments about the article are encouraged - but for now only qualifying entries on the form will go in the bag! What your answer is will not influence whether you go into the hat - Only that you answer the question!
Winner will be announced during the Live show on June 16th and then posted on the page as well on June 17th if the winner isn't at the live.) Full Rules Below! Good luck everyone! Rules Only comments posted on THE FORM will be considered. This is open internationally. If you win and you cannot accept mail due to Covid issues we will hold the prize until such time as you can. Some exceptions may apply based on Post Office Regulations. Melanie's Muses takes no responsibility for rules beyond her control. Void Where Prohibited. Sharing is always appreciated but is not required for entry. Winner Will Be Picked At Random. One Entry Per Person / Household Prize is provided via Melanie's Muses and will be mailed by her. Winner will be announced during the live on June 16th and posted on the Facebook page on Monday June 17th if they aren't at the live. Winner will have 48 hours to claim by messaging their address to - https://www.facebook.com/MelaniesMuses/ Or prize is considered forfeit. Failure to claim will result in a no future giveaway entry being counted for 30 days. We want people to claim their prizes! Don't get on the list! Any questions please contact Melanie on the Facebook page ***Disclaimer - Any Links To Buy and/or Subscribe to Amazon Programs On Amazon on this website are Amazon Affiliate Links Melanie's Muses is part of the Amazon Associate program and earns from qualifying purchases which in turns helps support all the Muser giveaways we do!*** |
About The BlogMelanie's Random Musings About The Entertainment World - From Books to TV and Anything Else That Comes To Mind! Archives
August 2024
Categories |
RSS Feed