Release Day Blitz - The Angel Killer by Lisa Voisin

We are super excited to celebrate the release of Lisa Voisin's THE ANGEL KILLER, the second book in The Watcher Saga, with an awesome excerpt from the book and a giveaway!

And if you haven't yet heard about this exciting series, there's also some information on the first book, THE WATCHER, along with its book trailer, a bit further down in this post.

First up, here's some information about THE ANGEL KILLER.

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THE ANGEL KILLER

Title & Series: THE ANGEL KILLER (The Watcher Saga #2)
Author: Lisa Voisin
Release date: January 5, 2015
Publisher: InkSpell Publishing
Pages: 286
Formats: Paperback

Description

Now that she’s found him again, all Mia Crawford wants is some downtime with her fallen angel boyfriend, Michael. But the call of duty keeps him away—from school and from her—with more demons to smite than ever.

When Michael is mortally wounded by a cursed sword, Mia must perform an ancient blood ritual to save him. But the spell exacts a price. Haunted by visions of war, torture, and despair, Mia discovers the world is in more danger than she ever imagined. Behind the scenes, an evil adversary pulls all the strings.

After redemption, there’s Hell to pay.

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | KOBO | AMAZON CA | GOODREADS

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About Lisa Voisin

A Canadian-born author, Lisa Voisin spent her childhood daydreaming and making up stories, but it was her love of reading and writing in her teens that drew her to Young Adult fiction.

Lisa is also a technical writer, a meditation teacher, and the leader of the Young Writer’s Club, a local writing group for teens in her home town. A self-proclaimed coffee lover, she can usually be found writing in a local café. When she's not writing, you'll find her meditating or hiking in the mountains to counteract the side effects of drinking too much caffeine!

Though she’s lived in several cities across Canada, she currently lives in Vancouver, B.C. with her fiancé and their two cats.

WEBSITE | BLOG | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | GOODREADS | MAILING LIST

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The Excerpt

I found Michael waiting on the stone path outside his basement suite. He greeted me with a brush of his lips, lacing his fingers through mine, and led me into a large back yard, bordered by evergreens. The center of the soft, moist grass featured a rocky pond, complete with a trickling stone fountain and two Adirondack chairs. Though the yard was well kept, leaves from a giant maple lay strewn about like reddish-brown confetti, glistening with raindrops in the late afternoon sun.

Michael tugged off his old, gray hoodie and slung it over one of the chairs. Underneath was the white tank top he normally wore flying. Goose bumps raced along the length of his bare arms. Turning to face me, he shook out his shoulders, the muscles rolling as he gave them a shrug.

“Ready?” he asked.

“For?”

“Combat training.” He stretched an arm across his chest and cracked his neck as though he were warming up. Was he expecting a workout?

“Combat training? Don’t you think that sounds a bit intense?” I swallowed. My voice sounded tight and high. “Violent, even?”

“What did you expect? Origami?” Stretching his other arm now, he cocked an eyebrow at me. “You wanted me to teach you, right?”

“No—yes.” I cleared my throat. “I mean no, I didn’t expect origami and yes, I want to learn.”

“Good.” He smiled. Was he enjoying my awkwardness? I tuned into his energy, attempting to get a feeling off him, but hit a wall. Was he blocking me? His expression became neutral too.

Above our heads, flyers hovered at the edges of the sigils that surrounded the yard, circling a constant threat, like giant vultures. I motioned to the sky. “Can’t they see us?”

“Not really. They can’t see or hear anything inside the protected space.” Changing the subject, he turned to me and winked. “Ready for your origami lesson? I thought we’d start with escapes.”

I folded my arms across my chest. The idea of fighting Michael felt like a joke—a David and Goliath joke. “Escapes?”

“Yeah. We’re gonna start with the basics. Teach you how to get out of that stranglehold the soldier demon had you in yesterday.” His feet shoulder-width apart, he motioned for me to come closer. “But we can’t do it if you’re all the way over there.”

I took a hesitant step toward him. Though I’d asked for this, the reality of it sounded painful. “Combat training,” I muttered disdainfully.

“I won’t hurt you.”

“I know,” I said, but I wasn’t so sure.

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The Giveaway

The release day blast includes an awesome giveaway to ONE WINNER for a print copy of THE WATCHER (US/CA/UK) OR THE ANGEL KILLER (US/CA/UK) AND a $10 Amazon Gift Card.

Enter in the Rafflecopter below...

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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About The Watcher

Series: The Watcher Saga #1
Release date: March 4, 2013
Publisher: Inkspell Publishing
Pages: 556
Formats: Paperback, eBook

DESCRIPTION

Millennia ago, he fell from heaven for her.

Can he face her without falling again?
Fascinated with ancient civilizations, seventeen-year-old Mia Crawford dreams of becoming an archaeologist. She also dreams of wings—soft and silent like snow—and somebody trying to steal them.
When a horrible creature appears out of thin air and attacks her, she knows Michael Fontaine is involved, though he claims to know nothing about it. Secretive and aloof, Michael evokes feelings in Mia that she doesn’t understand. Images of another time and place haunt her. She recognizes them—but not from any textbook.
In search of the truth, Mia discovers a past life of forbidden love, jealousy and revenge that tore an angel from Heaven and sent her to an early grave. Now that her soul has returned, does she have a chance at loving that angel again? Or will an age-old nemesis destroy them both? Ancient history is only the beginning.

AMAZON | AMAZON CA | INDIEBOUND | KOBO | CHAPTERS/INDIGO | GOODREADS

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The Trailer

Review: Chaos Walking Trilogy by Patrick Ness

Story Synopsis

Prentisstown isn't like other towns. Everyone can hear everyone else's thoughts in an overwhelming, never-ending stream of Noise. Just a month away from the birthday that will make him a man, Todd and his dog, Manchee -- whose thoughts Todd can hear too, whether he wants to or not -- stumble upon an area of complete silence. They find that in a town where privacy is impossible, something terrible has been hidden -- a secret so awful that Todd and Manchee must run for their lives.

But how do you escape when your pursuers can hear your every thought? (from Goodreads)

My Review

I'm cheating a little today. I'm going to review the trilogy as a whole. I know, I know, that's three books at once, so each book gets only a third of the attention, but it had to be done this way. I read through the trilogy so fast, there was no stopping between books to do something so down-to-earth as a review. These books transported me to another world - one that was at times beautiful, at times heart-wrenching, and at times infuriating - but always fascinating.

I won't say much about the plot, because I'd much rather let you discover it for yourself, but it's fantastic. Like all good sci-fi, the futuristic setting is disguises contemporary themes, so that what you get is a thought-provoking reflection of our world...but with spaceships. It's a fast and fun read, and when the characters drove me crazy, they did it in a good way, because I had to keep turning pages to find out what would happen.

The first book is told from a single POV, the second from two, and the third from three. All first person. Oh eff, was my thought, as soon as I hit that second POV in the second book. (Except, as the main character would say, I didn't think, "eff".) Not now, not when I'm so into it. My least favorite POV is multiple first-person. I find it confusing. I don't like the way I have to twist my brain to accommodate several different voices, all calling themselves "I". But I was in for a surprise. Ness did such an excellent job of creating unique voices for his three POV characters that I had no problems slipping into the different mind-sets. It probably helped that each voice was in a different font. My un-twisted brain thanks whoever had that brilliant idea.

I loved these books. Think Hunger Games, or Harry Potter. I read them with that level of page-turning obsession. I can see why it won loads of awards. When my cousins are old enough, I'm buying them these books. They're that good.

Rating: 5 stars

Rated by: Blair

Review: Fire by Kristin Cashore

Story Synopsis: 

It is not a peaceful time in the Dells. The young King Nash clings to his throne while rebel lords in the north and south build armies to unseat him. The mountains and forests are filled with spies and thieves and lawless men.

This is where Fire lives. With a wild, irresistible appearance and hair the color of flame, Fire is the last remaining human monster. Equally hated and adored, she had the unique ability to control minds, but she guards her power, unwilling to steal the secrets of innocent people. Especially when she has so many of her own.

Then Prince Brigan comes to bring her to King City, The royal family needs her help to uncover the plot against the king. Far away from home, Fire begins to realize there's more to her power than she ever dreamed. Her power could save the kingdom.

If only she weren't afraid of becoming the monster her father was.

Lisa's Review:

Kristin Cashore's ability to weave a world, filled with unique and interesting characters always makes her stories worth reading. I enjoyed Graceling, the previous story written in this world, and I truly enjoyed Fire, but not in the way I expected. Cashore has a way of pulling you into her world so that the story and its characters stay with you. However, while I enjoyed this story and found it compelling, I am not convinced it should really be categorized as Young Adult. This book is fantasy, pure and simple. Truly enjoyable fantasy. Not really YA.

Before you get mad at me for saying this, please hear me out. It's not that the these books were overly complex or that anything addressed in these books wasn't suitable for young adult (or even some middle grade) readers. It's about the Young Adult fiction category itself. I still believe the story to be very good.
Young Adult fiction is usually characterized as follows:

• First person narrative: Generally, young adult fiction is written in first person and Fire is written in third. There are always exceptions: the later Harry Potter books (though the series started as middle grade) as well as The Mortal Instruments and Infernal Devices series come to mind.
• Protagonist is high-school aged: The idea behind YA versus regular fiction or even the upcoming "New Adult" category is that the main character in YA fiction is experiencing things that relate to being that age in some way. I've even heard that stories set the summer after graduation no longer qualify the story for Young Adult. While Fire is seventeen at the start of the book, she is treated like an adult woman in all aspects.
• Story takes place over a short time frame: The idea is that the stories are faster paced and events take place closer to real time than adult books. However, Fire takes place over the period of a year or more, with many major events happening.
• Written in scenes, more than summaries: This gives a sense of immediacy to the story. Most YA fiction is written in scenes where characters interact. Fire is not written in as many scenes, so there's less immediacy to some of the events, giving the story more of an 'adult' pace or feel.

In fact, the only thing making this story young adult is the fact that Fire is seventeen when the book begins (18 when it ends) and that any sex scenes are written in a completely fade-to-black kind of way. Otherwise, her publishers and promoters have stretched the genre to bring a good story to young readers.

This book is a strong work of fantasy and could just as easily thrive on the adult shelves. Marketing it as YA, however, made this book, and Graceling, truly stand out, and made it available to readers of all ages. It's an argument in favor of adults reading fiction that's classified as "Young Adult".

While I truly enjoyed the book, I can't help but feel a little manipulated when good stories are cut to fit a YA genre simply because it's a "hot" genre. While it's true that there are always exceptions to any rule, sometimes the exceptions outnumber the rules.

If we based a book's YA status on the age of the characters alone, Game of Thrones could be added to the YA shelves because there's a few young characters in there. Just sayin'.

Blair's Review:

I think Lisa covered this pretty well so I won't add much, except to say that I agree. I enjoyed reading this book, but it didn't feel YA. As for the reasons why, I didn't have as many as Lisa - she knows a lot more about the rules and trends of YA than I do. For me, it was Fire's age that made the difference. She could have been 20-something and it would have been the exact same book.

That said, I really liked the book. What I love about Kristin Cashore's writing is that her made-up world is so detailed that it feels real. At no point does the world feel like it exists solely as a setting for the story; it bursts with a life of its own. I can imagine all sorts of stories taking place behind the scenes. Cashore opens the door to the world and invites us in, and I'm more than happy to enter. (And it's got a map. I love books with maps. Maps are like invitations. Dear Reader, please enter this fantasy realm. A map is provided for your enjoyment and convenience.)

Similar to Graceling, the pacing is a bit uneven. There's a reveal about 2/3 through the book which feels artificial - Fire knew this detail which is critical to her character, and we're in her head, so why didn't we know it too? The "A ha!" moment felt tacked on for effect. And there's the whole it-doesn't-feel-like-YA-thing. It feels like its been jammed into the YA mold.

Well-developed characters and a rich world make this book worth reading. But it should be marketed to adults as well. I'm sure there are adults out there who would enjoy this book, but won't come across it because its only on the YA shelves. That's kind of a shame.

Our Ratings:

Lisa's Rating: 3.5 or 4 stars
Blair's Rating: 4 stars