Ishiee's Book Blog: Blog Tour

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BLOG TOUR: A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E Schwab

Monday, May 18, 2015

Title: A Darker Shade of Magic
Author: V.E. Schwab
Published by: Tor Books on 24th February 2015
Series: A Darker Shade of Magic #1
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Format: Hardcover, 400 pages
My Copy Source: Pinoy Book Tours

Kell is one of the last Travelers—rare magicians who choose a parallel universe to visit.

Grey London is dirty, boring, lacks magic, ruled by mad King George. Red London is where life and magic are revered, and the Maresh Dynasty presides over a flourishing empire. White London is ruled by whoever has murdered their way to the throne. People fight to control magic, and the magic fights back, draining the city to its very bones. Once there was Black London—but no one speaks of that now.

Officially, Kell is the Red Traveler, personal ambassador and adopted Prince of Red London, carrying the monthly correspondences between royals of each London. Unofficially, Kell smuggles for those willing to pay for even a glimpse of a world they’ll never see. This dangerous hobby sets him up for accidental treason. Fleeing into Grey London, Kell runs afoul of Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She robs him, saves him from a dangerous enemy, then forces him to another world for her 'proper adventure'.

But perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, Kell and Lila will first need to stay alive—trickier than they hoped.

Multi-designed coat

A thief aspiring to be a pirate

Kings and Queens

Elemental Magic

Dark Magic

Blood Magic

and

A DARKER SHADE OF MAGIC

Okay, what? It's my second time to read another novel with parallel universes! And the fact that they are still completely different and there's so much more to parallel universes that I have never known before is so amazing.

Let me start this by telling you about this new world that I have discovered when the key has been handed to me by Dianne of oopsireadagain. The door lead me to these four Londons:

Grey London: London without magic

White London: Magic hungry London

Red London: vibrant and full of magic

Black London: the fallen London

This is my first ever V.E. Schwab novel and I can say that I was really impressed at this adventurous tale that it made me love her even though I haven't had any of her past novels before. I've also been reading a lot of positive reviews for Vicious so maybe I am going to try that when I have the money. :D

Let me start this review by enumerating some characters that I loved and the characters that reminded me of someone from somewhere.

Of course there are two characters that became dear to me as it was obvious that they will also be dear to you because they are the main characters in this novel. Here they are:

Kell

OF COURSE KELL! Kell is like super handsome in his quirky own way. He actually reminded me of Howl in the Howl's Moving Castle(HMC). If you haven't watched that one yet, I insist that you do. If you loved Spirited Away, then you'll definitely love HMC, they are both from the same maker.

I am pretty much in love with Howl and I see most of Kell in him.

Kell is pretty damn hot. He's badass and easy to love. Who doesn't want badass?! Certainly not me, I'm drawn to those guys. Oh how I miss Kell right now.

Here's a photo of Howl for you wormiees. He's kind of the face I've been putting on Kell all this time. Even the coat is fitting. OMG.

+Howl and Calcifer+ by ~Orenji-kun on deviantART

Lila

Delilah Bard, the thief. Everyone who don't pay attention knows her as a HIM. She's a cross-dressing thief and she's wanted. Lila is a strong and stubborn citizen of Grey London who wants nothing more in life than to escape and have an epic adventure of a lifetime.

Another fun fact, she dreams to be a pirate, and I love pirates. I dressed once as a pirate (you can find one photo here)and I absolutely love it. I love books that have hot pirates in it then pair it with mermaids... *stop* I'm straying too far.

Here's another photo that can pass as Kell and Lila from HMC again. Aren't they the cutest?

Some other characters that reminded me of someone from another world.

Fletcher

Do you watch Once Upon a Time? If you do, then you are familiar with Mr. Gold. Fletcher reminded me of him not because he was described like Mr. Gold, but because he owns a shop that resembles Mr. Gold's. If I'm not mistaken, it's called a pawnshop? I don't remember but it's full of trinkets and valuable stuff.

Lila hitting Kell with a book

It actually reminded me of Rapunzel hitting Flynn with a pan. HAHA, in ADSoM, Lila hit Kell with a book! That was so funny.

I love one of the Danes Twins ruler of White London. Now I actually forgot her name. I like her character description, she's like a snake and even though I hate her she has interesting characteristics that made her stood out to me somehow, I just don't have someone in mind for her.

Okay, so now back to the review? All in all, I recommend this book for everyone to read! And read it.... RIGHT NOW! HAHA . The sad part is, the next book is not out yet, and it won't be out til Feb2016:(. I really want to get back to that world again and I am getting impatient but I can't do anything about it. For the mean time though, I found the cover reveal for the next book, I'll post it below, huhu, trying to distract myself for the long wait. UGH.

I love the world built and it made me happy that the fantasy books I've read lately gave me a fantastic and vivid world to step in for a moment. Plus, the characters are easy to love, despite their flaws and imperfection, the dialogue just seems to make you want to fall in love with the characters. We all want that in a book right? To fall in love with one or two of the characters at some point, and somewhere at the beginning, I just fell magically (pun intended) in love with Kell and his aura and somewhere out there, I fell in love with Lila and Kell and I can't wait for their love story to begin! Next book, where are you???

I can't think of anymore to say, I already blabbed too much about the characters and now I am out of words. I can't thank Dianne enough for sending a wrong book to me, because if she got it right, I wouldn't have met Kell and Lila ♡

On to you guys, I expect you to read this and let's discuss if you like it or not. But I'm sure you'll love it! =) Here' the cover of A Gathering of Shadows:

Credits to tor.com

Follow the tour:
May 18
Jothee of The Bookwhore Diaries - Excerpt
May 19
Nickole of Ishiee's Book Blog - Review
May 20
Inah of Bibliophile Confessions - Review
May 21
Jhed of When Books Defy Gravity - ExcerptLuigi of Reading with Luigi - Excerpt
May 22
Jayvee of Writer for Misfits - Review

Blog Tour: Chronicles from Chateau Moines by Evelyne Holingue [INT Giveaway]

Saturday, March 7, 2015

Welcome to my tour stop for Chronicles from Chateau Moines by Evelyne Holingue. Today I'm gonna be doing an author interview, I'm really happy that the author took the time and effort to answer my questions about the book that I am also able to learn things about her too, check it out below and get to know the author and her book as well. The tour runs March 2-13 with reviews, interviews, guest posts and excerpts. Check out the tour page for the full schedule.

About the Book:

September 1970: Scott’s mother has recently died and his father gets the crazy idea to move his family from California to Normandy. Now Scott has to learn to live without his mom while adjusting to France. In his seventh grade class there is only Ibrahim who comes from another country. Scott doesn’t even want to play his guitar anymore. Why does his father think that life will be better so far from home?

Scott has no idea that his arrival is also a challenge to Sylvie. While her best friend is excited to have an American boy at school, Sylvie cannot say one word to Scott. She can’t even write good songs in her notebook anymore. Why is life so different since Scott moved to Château Moines?

Set against the backdrop of the Vietnam War protest era and told from the perspectives of twelve-year old Scott and Sylvie, this is a story about loss and friendship, music and peace, and also about secrets.

Although this is a work of fiction, the cultural, social, and historical background of the early 1970s in France and the United States inspired the writing. At the end of the book the reader will find a list of the songs, the names of singers, and bands mentioned through the novel as well as some elements about fashion, immigration in France, the Vietnam War, and other cultural, social, and historical facts relevant to the period of time.

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N

Author Interview:

1. What was your inspiration in writing your new novel, Chronicles from Chateau Moines?

It started with my desire to write a story where music would play a role. From this simple idea my main character was born. I knew from the beginning that he would a boy and a budding musician. At that time I was running schoolbook fairs and met lots of kids. I noticed that many liked stories told from the perspectives of two characters. Quickly I knew that my other main character would be a girl. I have a special fondness for middle grade novels, which I think start long-term relationships with books. So I knew that my two protagonists would be a boy and a girl and that they would be twelve years old, an age I find fascinating because it marks the official last year in childhood. I like these moments in life when we are in between stages.

Then because I was born and educated in France but make my life in the USA, I like to show my affection to my two homes through my writing. As someone who learned English from scratch (English in middle and high schools help a little, but it took me a while to become proficient, and of course much longer to be able to write as well as a native-speaker. I am still a work-in-progress) I know first hand of the struggles to learn a different language and to adjust to a different culture.

So very quickly I knew that it would be interesting to have one character from the USA and the other one from France. Scott would be from California, a state I know well and Sylvie from Normandy, my native French region.

Music being universal, regardless of countries and languages, the theme of my story quickly evolved around the idea of home. At that time I was reading lots of historical fiction and thought that it would be great to have a story from a rich period of time, but still fairly contemporary.

The 1960’s and 1970’s are among the richest in terms of music but also in terms of deep cultural and social changes. The Vietnam War was raging and from that came the idea of peace. With characters from different places, I knew that they could sometimes clash and not be at peace.

Of course, a story needs different layers to move the plot but moreover to give a chance to the characters to grow. With peace now at the heart of my theme, I wanted Scott to be conflicted. He has lost his mom, his best friend’s brother has lost a leg in Vietnam and he was involved in peace rallies with his family back in California. Now he finds himself in France with his brokenhearted father and eight-year-old smart and adorable little sister, and of course feels lonely, different and yet curious about his new surroundings.

French girl Sylvie would be of course the opposite of Scott, and yet the two of them would find a common passion for music.

Set in France it gave me the possibility to write about the changes the country was starting to see through the recent waves of immigration, particularly from the former North Africa French colonies. Racist incidents will challenge the small fictional town of Chateau Moines where my story is set.

I read many books where siblings don’t like each other. I wanted to create families where siblings would love and protect each other despite normal annoyance that exists between brothers and sisters.

And I love secondary and tertiary characters in any novel, so I had fun to create a cast of people who inhabit the small town of Chateau Moines.

Because my characters are kids, they go to school and I decided to have them live through the course of a school year, starting in September 1970 to the spring of 1971. It allowed me to incorporate lots of elements from the recent past and add current events.

And because I love surprises in life and books, I also added parental secrets that Scott, Sylvie and the readers will discover as the story unfolds.

In the end this is a story about finding a place to call home and being at peace, there, despite world violence.

2. Is Chateau Moines a real place in France? If yes, why did you choose this to be the setting for the novel? If not, was there a real place where you patterned the place?

No, it’s a fictional name. I was looking for a name that sounded French and wasn’t too difficult to pronounce for an American. The combo of Chateau and Moines was the result of this search. I kept the accent on the first A of Chateau to be true to the French spelling. To be frank, it wasn’t that easy to find this name because France is a land of many small villages. But I haven’t found any named Chateau Moines.

Although my novel holds true elements in terms of music, world events and culture, it is a work of fiction and I wanted to depict a town that was the product of what I know of France and my imagination.

3. Why did you pick 1970 as the time frame for this novel?

I wanted to write a story where music would play a significant part. Music, I think, holds the universal power to reunite people, regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality, and even beyond our time. Think of a concert where musicians play pieces written in the 17th or 18th century and how we still emotionally respond. Music, in my opinion, has the power to create peace.

From this notion I quickly considered a story written in the early 1970s, a period that benefited from great music from the 1960s and also a period marked with significant popular opposition to the Vietnam War, to violence in general and to the excessive power of governments.

4. Which character did you enjoy writing and which one have you had a hard time embodying?

I had an easier time to write from Scott’s perspective. It’s strange because I am a woman, so you would think that finding Sylvie’s voice would have been a no-brainer. Perhaps because I wrote the story in English I immediately connected with Scott who is an English speaker.

5. The book is enriched in historical backgrounds, did you have a hard time writing these histories and incorporating it in the novel?

The hardest part in writing is to incorporate elements of storytelling as organically as possible. In this novel, I tried to do that mostly through the conversations between Scott and Sylvie and through their personal reflections on current events. Since Scott was involved in peace walks when he lived in the USA, it was an easy way to introduce historic facts through this character. Sylvie is less politically educated but she’s curious about Scott, so as she learns more about the Vietnam War and the American activism from Scott, the reader does the same. On the other side Scott learns about France’s history through Sylvie and Ibrahim, his new friend from Algeria. In addition the adults in the story helped also to bring to life some of the elements that defined this period of time in France and the USA.

About the Author

I was born and raised in Normandy, France, where I spent most of my childhood reading.
My first published piece of writing was a poem about a man spending Christmas behind bars. I was eleven years old and wasn’t paid for my work, but I was hooked.
I studied French Literature at the Université de Caen and at the Sorbonne in Paris and worked in a publishing house before moving to California, following my husband.
It was a challenging time in my life as I was leaving my own career, my family, my friends and my beloved Paris behind. But how could I say no to the dreams of the man I love?
Readers enjoy escaping the familiar for the unknown. Being a foreigner is discovering the unknown day after day, not only for the time of a book. However, since most things in life come with a silver lining, I credit this move for giving me the opportunity to write. Through my words, I share my affection for my native and adoptive countries that I love equally.
Website

Giveaway:

Two (2) kindle copies of Chronicles from Chateau Moines (INT)

Ends March 18th

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour Review: The Necromancer by Alex Stargazer

Saturday, January 17, 2015

I am excited to host my first ever blog tour. I am doing a review for it and if you want to follow the tour until its completion, feel free to check out the schedule at the bottom.

Welcome to my blog tour stop for The Necromancer by Alex Stargazer.

Book Blurb:

‘I am Neshvetal. My name carries the bitter taste of death; my magic brings it to my enemies; and my laughter sings with the howling wind.’
From ice and fire he was born; but death is his master now.
His children—decaying and sadistic, merciless and cruel—smile as they grow ever more.
The Dead are rising. Will you join them?

A tale about death and life, magic and ordinary people; the Necromancer is a story for the brave and the strong of heart. Read it—if you dare. For it is often in the darkest times, in which the heroes emerge...

Book Review:

A tale full of magic that is both dark and powerful. This book takes you to a place that introduces us to different kinds of beings that bear magic.

The book is beautifully written with rich words that stretches throughout the pages sucking you in with its powerful intrication. It is both poetic and majestic in its own world. The beautiful thing about it is that there is a map introduced to us, it reminded me of the middle earth that was built for us by the ever great story teller, J.R.R. Tolkien. There will also be characters that would be unfamiliar at first but it was introduced in the beginning of the book.

The story is well beyond words, you never know who are on the good and on the bad side. You will be surprised at the twist that unravels as the story continues. A sequel won't be so bad Mr. Alex Stargazer,

About the Author:

Hello! I’m called Alex Stargazer. That’s not my real name. And no: I’m not going to tell you. I like a little mystery.

What I will tell you: I’m sixteen. I have a passion for fantasy; and a soft spot for romance. I like to write about anything fantastical (elves are a favourite; dragons too) and my favourite book’s either Narnia or Northern Lights—never could decide, poor vacillating me.

Anyway: give my stuff a read. You might like it. No, really; I got fans. (If you listen carefully at night, you’ll hear them whispering my name. They’re shy, are my fans; but they’re a determined lot.)

PS: if you want to know more, email me at alexstargazerwriterextraordinaire@outlook.com. Yes, the address is deliberately long; I don’t like stalkers. They scare me.

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