Review, Guest Post, and Giveaway: Dust by Kara Swanson

 

About the Book

Title: Dust
Authors: Kara Swanson
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Release Date: July 21, 2020

The truth about Neverland is far more dangerous than a fairy tale Claire Kenton believes the world is too dark for magic to be real—since her twin brother was stolen away as a child. Now Claire’s desperate search points to London…and a boy who shouldn’t exist. Peter Pan is having a beastly time getting back to Neverland. Grounded in London and hunted by his own Lost Boys, Peter searches for the last hope of restoring his crumbling island: a lass with magic in her veins. The girl who fears her own destiny is on a collision course with the boy who never wanted to grow up. The truth behind this fairy tale is about to unravel everything Claire thought she knew about Peter Pan—and herself.

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My Thoughts:

It has been way too long since I have read a YA book that captured my attention, was an unbelievable good story, and did not have a bunch of garbage in it. It is also kind of funny that I have actually picked up two YA books this week to read. This one and another one I have been waiting a long time to read.

Dust has it's roots in the fairytale of Peter Pan. It is not a retelling of the story but a continuation of what-ifs and what might be happening now. I was mesmerized from the very beginning by a young woman's story, Claire, who has had a very hard time fitting in and not only that but she has also been searching for and dealing with the emotional, physical, and spiritual ramifications of her missing twin brother for six very long years. Now everything seems to be falling into place for her to find Connor.

Peter is of course one of the main characters as well. What I really liked was that the author captured the essence of his character. He was still the over confident, aggressive, selfish little boy he always was, except he is also wrapped in a different package. Peter has grown some. I will not say anymore, except that Peter Pan was never a favorite of mine but this Peter has grown on me.

The author brings in other important characters: Tiger Lilly, Hook, a Darling, the Lost Boys. I enjoyed all the references back to the original story along with the new mythos. This was a highly entertaining read that I would recommend to a wide range of readers. It surprised me how fascinated I became with the story and I wait in anticipation for the second helping in this Heirs of Neverland series.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher. I was not required to post a positive review and all views and opinions are my own.

About the Author

As the daughter of missionaries, Kara Swanson spent her childhood running barefoot through the lush jungles of Papua New Guinea. Able to relate with characters dropped into a unique new world, she quickly fell in love with the fantasy genre. The award-winning author of The Girl Who Could See, Kara is passionate about crafting stories of light shattering darkness, connecting with readers, and becoming best friends with a mermaid—though not necessarily in that order. Kara chats about coffee, fairy tales and bookish things online (@karaswansonauthor) and at karaswanson.com

More from Kara

I wrote Dust not just for those who grew up loving the original Peter Pan story — but especially for the children who were left behind. Those of us who never escaped through a window to a magical world, whose childhoods oftentimes felt a little shadowed.

Dust follows Peter Pan when he is cast out of Neverland, grounded in London. For the first time, this Peter has to start thinking about someone other than himself—and become a beacon to remind any Lost ones that there is still magic to be found.

Dust also follows a young woman named Claire who can create pixie dust, but is desperately afraid of herself because when her fears and insecurities leak out, her dust starts to burn. Claire has seen too many shadows to believe in fairytales anymore and is doing everything she can just to lock away the strange dust dripping from her fingertips. But when she meets Peter, he challenges everything she thought she knew.

I wrote Claire for those of us who may feel too weighted to even remember what it feels like to have hope lift your soul. Who can look at ourselves and all we see are our own shadows and shortcomings.

Throughout the course of the novel, Peter has to teach Claire how to see the spark of light inside herself that is far brighter than the darkness. As he helps this girl learn how to fly, Peter rediscovers what it is that truly makes him Peter Pan: the unquenchable childlike belief that there are weightless thoughts in all of us that can lift us out of the shadows.

This story is a love letter to anyone who has ever needed that reminder. We have value simply because we exist. We do not have to be weighed down by our shadows. There is still light that can lift our hearts if we have faith, trust…and a dash of the impossible.

Blog Stops

Andrea Christenson, July 31

Rebecca Tews, July 31

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, August 1

Texas Book-aholic, August 1

For the Love of Literature, August 2

deb’s Book Review, August 2

Emily Yager, August 2

Library Lady’s Kid Lit, August 3

Blessed & Bookish, August 3

Through the Fire Blogs, August 4

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, August 4

Worthy2Read, August 5

Losing the Busyness, August 5

Adventures of A Travelers Wife, August 5

Remembrancy, August 6

Wishful Endings, August 6

Inklings and notions, August 7

April Hayman, Author, August 7

For Him and My Family, August 8

Musings of A Sassy Bookish Mama, August 8

Inside the Wong Mind, August 9

Locks, Hooks and Books, August 9

Nancy E Wood, August 9

Tell Tale Book Reviews, August 10

Mia Reads, August 10

Simple Harvest Reads, August 11 (Guest Review from Donna Cline)

Faery Tales Are Real, August 11

Artistic Nobody, August 12

Ashley’s Bookshelf, August 12

Pause for Tales, August 12

Just the Write Escape, August 13

Blossoms and Blessings, August 13

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Kara is giving away the grand prize package of a Dust-themed bundle that includes a signed hardcover, bookmarks, character cards, Peter + Claire art print, and an exclusive Dust pin!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/fe3a/dust-celebration-tour

Review: Dating the It Guy by Krysten Lindsay Hager

About the Book:

Genre:  Contemporary, Young Adult
Publisher: Clean Reads
Publication date: March 21, 2017

Emme is a sophomore in high school who starts dating, Brendon Agretti, the popular senior who happens to be a senator’s son and well-known for his good looks. Emme feels out of her comfort zone in Brendon’s world and it doesn’t help that his picture perfect ex, Lauren, seems determined to get back into his life, along with every other girl who wants to be the future Mrs. Agretti. Emme is already conflicted due to the fact her last boyfriend cheated on her and her whole world is off kilter with her family issues. Life suddenly seems easier keeping Brendon away and relying on her crystals and horoscopes to guide her. Emme soon starts to realize she needs to focus less on the stars and more on her senses. Can Emme get over her insecurities and make her relationship work? Life sure is complicated when you’re dating the it guy.

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My Thoughts:

Dating the It Guy was my first book by Krysten Lindsay Hager. I have mixed feelings about it.

Emme was a weird character. She was really superstitious and the way she followed her horoscope was almost religious. I liked how the story showed her growing into herself, and realizing that she didn’t need these things to get through life, though there was one scene where she got her Tarot Cards read that made me uncomfortable.

I liked Emme’s relationship with her grandparents. It was sweet and also kind of sad. I thought it was touching how she took care of her grandpa.

Emme was a teen writer, and I could definitely relate to that. My favorite characters were her writer friends Darren and Rory, unfortunately Darren’s personality took a one eighty near the end of the book until I had no idea who he was anymore. I also liked Kylie and Margaux too.

Now onto Brendon, the “It Guy”. In case you didn’t notice, I didn’t like him very much. He was the male version of a Mary-Sue in the beginning of the book, in the middle of the book he was a total jerk, and by the end he was either a jerk, immature, or an idiot. I was actually rooting for Emme to dump Brendon completely and to end up with Darren by the middle of the book. Here’s a quote from the book about Darren, “There was something hot about a literary guy who worked out.” (pg 118). I just wanted to grab Emme and shake her and say, “Girl, that is the It Guy.”

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author. I was not required to post a positive review and all views and opinions are my own.

Reviewed by Nicki

About the Author:

Besides mining her teen years and humiliating moments for her novels, Krysten is also a book addict who has never met a bookstore she didn’t like. Krysten writes about friendship, self-esteem, fitting in, frenemies, crushes, fame, first loves, and values. She is the author of True Colors, Best Friends…Forever?, Next Door to a Star, Landry in Like, and Competing with the Star (The Star Series: Book 2). Her debut novel, True Colors, won the Readers Favorite award for best preteen book. Krysten’s work has been featured in USA Today, The Flint Journal, the Grand Haven Tribune, the Beavercreek Current, the Bellbrook Times and on Living Dayton.

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Review: Elissa Blue by T.K. Perry

About:

Genre:  Fiction, Romance, Sci-Fi, New Adult
Publisher: Scarlet Note Publishing, LLC
Publication date: January 19, 2017

Though she worried it might never happen, Elissa Blue has finally gotten her wings. Now she has a short window of time to migrate to the Mating Mountain, find a husband, and get back down the impassable cliffs before she loses her ability to fly forever. If she doesn’t succeed, she’ll be stranded as a servant in the Old Castle for the rest of her life. And if she doesn’t choose her man wisely, she might be just as miserable.

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My Thoughts:

Elissa Blue by T.K. Perry was a very diverse and unique story. T.K. Perry built an extensive and engaging world, inhabited by creatures different from any other I’ve ever read: Butterfly-human hybrids. I believe that she did an excellent job describing her world and these butterfly hybrids, though there were some strange details that I found borderline disturbing. For instance I thought the pheromone was weird.

The story has elements of fantasy and dystopian, but mostly it’s is a romance. Elissa is simply trying to find the right guy. She doesn’t want to make her decision too quickly and thus end up unhappy for the rest of her life, but she also doesn’t have much time to choose because hanging over her is the constant threat of her season ending.  Perry keeps you guessing until the end who Elissa will end up with, throwing in new twists every time you think you have it figured out.

I think my favorite characters were Elissa’s extended family. I liked Psyche and her brothers, and even though I started off thinking their dad was a total jerk I ended up liking him too. Elissa herself was somewhat selfish and shallow, and some of the things she did just had me shaking my head and thinking, “Girl…” but she won me over by the end.

Elissa’s long cast of potential love interests were also interesting characters. Well, most of them were.  One of her love interests I utterly couldn’t stand. He was a troglodyte, and every time she gushed how perfect he was I would roll my eyes.

On a whole this was a clean, YA/NA romance with a very unique twist. I’m interested in what the next books in this series will be.

I received a copy of this novel for free. I was not required to post a positive review and all views and opinions are my own.

Reviewed by Nicki

About the Author:

T.K. Perry lives with her husband and daughter in a lovely Oregon forest filled with wildlife (there is probably a house, too, but that’s less picturesque). When she isn’t writing or watching said wildlife, she enjoys making jewelry, pretending to be a photographer, and trying to save the world (a frustrating task since she lacks both superpowers and a costume).

T.K. has a B.A. in International Relations from Brigham Young University, an M.A. in International Politics from the University of Denver Graduate School of International Studies, and a J.D. from the University of Denver College of Law. Law is her profession, but writing is a favorite hobby. This is her first published book.

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Review: The Firethorn Crown by Lea Doue

The Firethorn Crown

First I’m going to state what I didn’t like with this book and get that over with:  I had a hard time following the story in some scenes, I don’t know if the fault was mine or the author’s but I was a little confused at some parts, and at others simply scratching my head.  Secondly, I had a hard time relating with some of the characters, I like Twelve Dancing Princesses stories because I like how all the sister’s play a part, most of the princesses were splendidly done but a few just didn’t work; namely Ivy.  I just didn’t understand what made that little girl tick.

Now that that is over with I want to say that despite its minor fallbacks I really did enjoy this book.  It’s not my favorite twelve dancing princesses retelling but it is certainly a good one.  The bad guy was masterfully done and I didn’t figure out what motivated him until the very end of the book.  Lily, the main character was great.  I loved her loyalty to her sisters and kingdom.  The hero was great and he and Lily certainly had great chemistry even if they tried to hide it!  I liked Orin, the goose prince… hmm, do I smell a Goose Girl retelling in the future?  However if I had to pick a favorite I would definitely say that it was Holic.  He was just so gallant and nice, and always stepped in to help even if he wasn’t asked.  The plot was quick moving and interesting, and I liked how twelve dancing princesses elements were interweaved everywhere.  I look forward to the next books in this series.

I received this book as a birthday gift and these are my honest opinions.

Reviewed by Nicki

Review: Dawn of Ash by Rebecca Ethington

Dawn of Ash

First I just want to say that I was not a fan of Burnt Devotion. I didn’t like how Ethington brought the book back in time yet again.  This meant that we had to reread the same events that we had read in the last book, the only difference was that this time we were reading from a different point of view.  I didn’t like Wyn’s point of view, it was dark and depressing; I didn’t like Ryland’s point of view, it was too crazy; and frankly there was not enough of Joclyn’s point of view.

Dawn of Ash was a definite improvement.  There was no reliving past events, and I believe that Ethington did a good job with all the different points of views.  I liked it that we toned down Wyn’s point of view some, but didn’t lose her completely; since, underneath all that doom and gloom and that personal little rain cloud that follows her around everywhere  she goes, she really is an amusing character.  I liked it that when you read from Ryland’s point of view you were finally reading from the point of view of a sane person, because Ryland is actually a cool guy when every other word in his vocabulary isn’t “kill”.  We also got some of Dramen’s point of view in this book, so that was a plus; it was nice to finally know what was going on inside of his head.  Personally I think that we still needed more Joclyn, but we certainly had more from her in this book than what we had in Burnt Devotion- much, much more.  I felt that Illyan played a smaller part in this book.  I wish he would have just done more, but it was nice to get his point of view.  I think that Ethington did a good job portraying the baddies and developing their story, but I also think she went a little over the top having so much from their points of view.  About halfway through the book I was sick of reading from Ovailia’s and Sain’s point of view, cause let’s face it, they’re just crackers. I read this book in a matter of days, the plot was fast moving with a few surprise twists and turns here and there.

On a whole I liked this book and I eagerly await the next book because I am a huge fan of this series and I can’t wait to know what happens next, but I’m also a little scared of where this story is headed…

I purchased this book off of Amazon and these are my honest opinions. 

Reviewed by Nicki