Lost in Starlight by Sherry Soule Review + Guest Post

“Why I Love the Young Adult Genre”

Guest post by author, Sherry Soule

Today author, Sherry Soule has some exciting news to share with us! She will be publishing a brand new Upper YA / Sci-Fi Romance series: the “Starlight Saga” with scorching-hot character chemistry, exciting suspense, and epic romance on June 26, 2014. 

To help promote this amazing interstellar love story, “LOST IN STARLIGHT,” Sherry is doing this guest post to share the news with fellow bibliophiles. 

Hi everybody, I’m author, Sherry Soule—waving from the SF Bay Area. Thanks for letting me visit today, it’s an honor to be a guest here and meet fellow booklovers.

Ever since I was a child, I have recognized that books are a way to travel to other places and have incredible adventures. Even though I am older than the average teen reader, I’ve always loved reading Young Adult books and strongly believe you’re NEVER too old to read them. 

One reason that I enjoy reading YA Lit is because most novels in this genre are fast-paced and thrilling. And teenage characters tend to have a more hopeful perspective, which draws me in—plus the fact that I’m really a big kid at heart. I also adore that there are so many books created into a series nowadays, so that you can continue to have additional adventures with your favorite characters. 

Could my love of YA Lit be simply because I’m still stuck at age sixteen, just a teenager-at-heart in disguise? 

Could be. And like many of you, I’ve read hundreds of YA books and I can actually say that I enjoyed almost all of them. Some I genuinely loved, and these books became like good friends that I didn’t want to part with, so they adorn my bookshelves and wait patiently to be reread again one day. Other novels were simply read and then disregarded with a contented smile. 

Although I buy many of my books through Amazon, I am never embarrassed to buy YA novels in bookstores, or carry them around with me. I love the genre and always have and always will.

We all have diverse tastes in literature. Most of you will have various genres that you love to read, and probably some of my favorite books are simply your forgotten reads. That is what makes the world of YA Lit, and reading as a whole, so fascinating. Each one of us will enjoy different types of characters, plots, and, of course, a writer’s voice, the way only they can tell a story.

At its core my new novel, LOST IN STARLIGHT, is basically a love story about two lonely hearts finding each other and how their “forbidden” friendship changes both of their lives. Sure, there is an element of danger regarding this star-crossed romance, but they are both young and reckless. Who isn’t at that age? 

And I don’t know about you, but I need some romance in almost every book I read. Even in YA! And if you’re a hopeless romantic at heart, then you’ll enjoy reading my new book.

Thus, LOST IN STARLIGHT is the first book that I’ve ever written that focuses mostly on romance rather than any paranormal baddies trying to kill the heroine or having the plot center around a supernatural mystery to solve. And I think the heroine of my new series, Sloane, is rather unique. To me, she’s not your average “Mary Sue” or flawless heroine. She has some self-esteem issues, but she’s also headstrong and gutsy, with an eccentric fashion sense. 

Thank you for letting me chat about my love of young adult literature. I hope you enjoyed this post. Now go feed your mind and read a book! Preferably one of mine. :-D

Please mark your calendars to buy your copy of LOST IN STARLIGHT on June 26th 2014!

Read the first five chapters for free on wattpad

VOLUME ONE of the Starlight Saga

Publication date: June 26th 2014

Disenchanted Publishing, 350 pages

Find the title on Goodreads - Amazon - All Romance ebooks - Kobo 

High school reporter Sloane Masterson knows she has one helluva story when she witnesses hottie Hayden Lancaster bending forks with his mind.

Like any good journalist, Sloane sets out to uncover the truth, even if it includes a little stalking. When the superhuman feats start to pile up and the undeniable heat rises between them, Hayden has no choice but to reveal his secret: he’s an alien hybrid.

They’re as different as night and day—she’s a curvy, purple-haired, horror junkie and he’s a smoking hot, antisocial, brainiac—yet the intense fascination between them refuses to go away. Even at Hayden’s insistence that dating each other is “off limits” and crazy dangerous, their fiery attraction threatens to go supernova. 

Now Sloane’s dealing with creepy government agents, über snobby extraterrestrials, and a psycho alien ex-girlfriend out for revenge. After a crash course on the rules of interstellar dating, Sloane must decide if their star-crossed romance is worth risking her own life...

- Goodreads.com description

Well, this was interesting. I just finished Lost in Starlight and the ending made me feel quite good about it. I must admit I liked the ending the most.

Sloane is the heroine of the story. She is this geeky purple haired girl, and most of the time she is super fun. She is a reporter for the school newspaper and she is working on this story about this boy, Hayden, whom she has been crushing on for years. Sometimes she gets a bit too intense with the questions.. but overall is ok.

Hayden. Oh well well, Obsidian meets Twilight. This guy is a total mystery. First he ignores her. Then he completely and utterly likes her. And then.. Ah. 

The love story fell a bit too flat for me. I mean, first he was ignoring her and pushing her away and then all of a sudden they were in love. Like really in love. And all I kept thinking was.. you don't even know each other. You don't talk about yourselves to each other. But they were in love. I don't know.. it just didn't do it for me. 

The story though, has a lot of potential. The plot is good, and there is some action and some twists you were kind of expecting but not really. Like I said, the end was quite good. I was surprisingly surprised. 

Overall, this was a good story. So, if you are searching for a young adult book, filled with cheesy romance, some good twists, a surprise here and there, and all topped up with an interesting and somehow different leading character, then Lost in Starlight is the perfect book for you.

About Sherry Soule

Sherry Soule lives with her family and one very spoiled black cat in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is the bestselling author of the adult novel, “Immortal Eclipse” and the popular YA series: Spellbound. Sherry writes thrilling tales of romance and suspense, often mingled with a dash of the mystical and a splash of trendy fashion. Her love of literature began when she was a young girl and it has continued throughout her life.

Her published novels do not include any graphic sex scenes or explicit violence, nor excessive profanity, so that all of her novels can be read and enjoyed by both teens and adults. 

Sherry’s debut novel, “Beautifully Broken” was nominated for Best Paranormal Romance in the 2011 Wizard and Witch/Sorcery category by The Romance Reviews (TRR). Her adult novel, “Immortal Eclipse” is a *TOP PICK* by Night Owl Reviews.

Places you can find Sherry Soule:

Official Blog: http://www.sherrysoule.blogspot.com/

Twitter: @SherrySoule

Add LOST IN STARLIGHT to your TBR on goodreads

The awesome book cover was designed by the talented, Kristen Thompson-Oh of KCT Designs at www.kctdesigns.com 

Eager to read a sneak peek on your Kindle? FREE every Friday from Amazon

An Evening with Cassandra Clare

Oh my God, my dream has just come true!!

GUYS, my FIRST book signing event EVER!! God bless United Kingdom!!

Overwhelmed doesn't even begin to cover it. 

I don't even know where to begin. Maybe at the beginning?

The event started at 7pm at the Assembly Roxy, Edinburgh, organized by Waterstones. The guests were Cassandra Clare and Sarah Rees Brennan. Oh my God they were hilarious. Instead of reading a chapter from City of Heavenly Fire, they read the (probably will ever be published) the voice mail messages on Magnus Bane phone after the event in City of Lost Souls. It was the most hilarious thing EVER. Honestly, my favourite one was from Simon. :D Wish I had recorded it. Really.

Then there were questions. 

I got to ask a question!! Excitement, excitement!!

I asked how on earth could a newborn Maureen killed the skilled, old, twisted Camille?

And the answer was.. Camille created Maureen. So there is this thing about vampires being loyal to their Masters. Plus, Maureen has killed a lot of people, therefore she became stronger and stronger. Camille really wasn't expecting it. And we all know how crazy Maureen is.. And this is how it happened. I was satisfied with the answer. Because really, it has been bugging me since May 2012 when I finished City of Lost Souls.

The rest of the questions were more about inspiration and where she got the names from and which character she likes the most. There was also some talk about The Infernal Devices. It was interesting. :) But nothing you, my dear book blogger how follows Cassandra Clare twitter, wouldn't know about it ;) Nonetheless, it was very interesting and exciting! You know, authors really are rockstars to us.

And then there was the book signing. 

Oh my God, I have to say this. I might have totally been a fangirl. Ok, scratch that, I totally was. Looking back at it, it might have been a bit embarrassing, but hell, I meant every word I said. 

You wanna know?

I told her that I was a book blogger and that I post the excitement about her book and that I posted one of the first reviews on City of Heavenly Fire. I told her that she was the best author ever. That her mind is a masterpiece of a mind and that I wish one day I will be like her. And that Clockwork Princess is one of the most beautiful and perfect books ever written. And that City of Heavenly Fire is really close to that. That I loved it!! I loved every second of it.

I was pretty much blushing all over. 

And she asked me about my blog and if I twitted her my review. And I was.. Ok, this was one of the rare occasions in my life that I was actually shy. Like really shy. And she said "You were scared?" And, I admitted it. I was actually shy and scared. 

All of it was overwhelming. And perfect.

And so.. because this was my first signing ever, I decided to stay till the end. Because I could. And at the end when all the people left and there was only Waterstones staff left, I picked up my courage and asked her, if I can ask a last question. 

This is a major spoiler, so if you haven't read City of Heavenly Fire, do not read this.

You know all the talking in the past 2 years, and the saying that one of the major characters was going to die? Ofcourse you do. I know I did. I dreaded every moment of the book, so scared that Jace or Clary were going to die. Or Isabelle, or Alec, or Simon, or Magnus. I was so scared. So, ofcourse when I finished the book, I was like "Huh? None of us really died." So, I asked how come there was this rumour? 

She said that she really didn't want to kill anyone of our favourite gang, and that she wanted a happy ending. I mean Jace already died or he almost died few times, so she couldn't kill him for real, because really. Clary, she didn't really wanted to give a message to people by killing a strong female character. About Alec and Magnus, she didn't want to give a message by killing one of our gay protagonists. Really, she just wanted a happy ending. :)

And to our delight (!!) there is gonna be a wedding by the end of The Dark Artifices. Hint, hint - the one Clary saw in the Demon dimension. OMG OMG!!

In the end she shook my hand. This event was magical and awesome and everything I wanted it to be and more, and like I said, overwhelmed doesn't even begin to cover it! I am still overwhelmed!! 

Cassandra Clare and Sarah Rees Brennan THANK YOU for the amazing evening!

Just Not Mine by Rosalind James Cover Reveal

Just Not Mine - Cover Reveal

Rosalind James

Contemporary Romance

Date Published: June 5, 2014

  

  

Destiny has a way of sneaking up on you .  . . or of smacking you in the face.

Hugh Latimer's coping with a few problems just now. A broken hand, missing the European rugby tour . . . and a half-brother and sister who are playing havoc with his love life. Instead of packing down in the scrum, he's driving the carpool to ballet--or forgetting it's his turn. When he hears his neighbor wailing out bad pop in the wee hours, it's the last straw.

Josie Pae Ata is a fortunate woman. A new house, good friends, a gorgeous boyfriend--oh, and stardom, too. Getting involved with her new neighbors would bring risks she doesn't need. But life has a way of changing the rules. And when you get more than you can handle, sometimes all you can do is hang on for the ride.

EXCERPT

        

And then he was standing just the other side of the kitchen bench, and she was looking at the depth of his chest, being reminded about the size of his arms, and he was smiling at her, and her hands had stilled on her knife.

“Do the ballet run, then?” she asked him, forcing herself to start cutting through the dense orange flesh again.

“Yeh. I take it you finished the job? Get your swim?”

“Yeh.” She smiled herself. “Bet I had a better time.”

He laughed. “Bet you did. I was going to say I’d take the kids home, because we all need showers, but d’you need a hand here first?”

She needed to stop smiling at him. “Again, a hand’s what it’d be. Don’t think you could do too much with one.”

“I can do quite a lot with one,” he said, the look in his eyes letting her know exactly what he could do, and suddenly, her oven wasn’t the only thing warming up. All he was doing was standing there, and he was still sending tingles to places they had no business being, evoking every shivery, delicious sensation that the most heated on-screen kiss failed to arouse, and it took all the training she had not to show it.

She looked down again hastily, resumed her hacking progress. “Nah, got this. Go take your shower. Then come back and help me christen my new deck.”

He glanced sharply at her, opened his mouth to say something, then shut it, and she realized what she’d said and very nearly blushed. She never got flustered with men, and she’d worked with, dated, been chatted up for years by men infinitely more handsome, polished, and urbane than Hugh could dream of being, but she was flustered now.

All he said, though, was, “Right. See you in a bit. Hour or so OK? Enough time?”

“Perfect,” she said. “See you then.” And kept chopping her vegies, moving around her dark little kitchen in her bare feet, and did her best to pretend that this was about a thank-you and nothing more.

Rosalind James

PERSONAL STUFF: I met my husband Rick at UC Berkeley when I was 21, so I really do believe in True Love and Happily Ever After—which helps a lot in writing about them! We renewed our vows a few years ago with the help of our two grown sons. Our home base when we’re not having our own adventures is in Berkeley, California, where the summers are foggy and the food shopping is the greatest.

WHY NEW ZEALAND: My husband’s job as an engineer, and mine as a marketing consultant, have given us the opportunity to live in many different wonderful places in the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand. During the latest stint, 15 months living and working in Auckland, I fell in love with New Zealand: the beauty and diversity of the landscape (not to mention the seascapes), the Maori culture and its integration into the country’s life, and, perhaps more than anything, the people: modest, good-humored, unfailingly polite and hospitable, and so very funny.  I wanted to share what I loved so much about the country with everyone I knew—and didn’t know!

THE BOOKS: We had traveled to Wellington to watch the final of the Rugby World Cup in a pub as the start of a North Island holiday. I was absolutely overwhelmed by the intensity of All Black fever that gripped the entire nation during the World Cup, and the stature of the players themselves at all times. I had never seen anything remotely like it. I started wondering what it would be like to be so intensely admired and instantly recognizable in a country that has zero tolerance for bad behavior—and how hard it would be to find the right partner in that kind of spotlight. And that is where JUST THIS ONCE was born—walking through the rhododendron gardens of Mt. Taranaki, two days after the World Cup final. Writing that first page was terrifying, but within weeks, I knew that I’d finally figured out what I wanted to be when I grew up.

WHEN I’M NOT WRITING: I raise bantam chickens, foster Labrador Retrievers, and try to remember to cook dinner for my long-suffering husband.

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City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare Review

City of Heavenly Fire 
The Mortal Instruments #6
by Cassandra Clare
Published on May 27th 2014
Margaret K. McElderry, 725 pages

ΕRCHOMAI, SEBASTIAN HAD SAID. 

I am coming.

Darkness returns to the Shadowhunter world. As their society falls apart around them, Clary, Jace, Simon and their friends must band together to fight the greatest evil the Nephilim have ever faced: Clary’s own brother. Nothing in the world can defeat him — must they journey to another world to find the chance?

- Goodreads.com description

I finished it last night and I cannot even.. it blew my mind. Cassandra Clare is a genius and she is awesome and amazing and has such a masterpiece of a mind that wow, just wow. Let me tell you, this book didn't disappoint one little bit. It was perfect. Almost as perfect as Clockwork princess was.

Clary was super badass. Her gift really is powerful. 

Jace, oh, Jace. You really are a book boyfriend. And I really wish you were real. 

Our gang is as much fun as it used to be. I still found myself laughing like crazy through the dialogues. It was hilarious. 

I wish I could say more.. but after waiting for this book for 3 years, I will be damned if I spoil this book for you. Go ahead, read it and enjoy the journey. It's a fantastic one.