Original Sin Contest

Guess what everyone, if you're a PERSONAL DEMONS fan then you'll be excited to hear the Lisa Desrochers - author - is holding a contest to win an ARC of ORIGINAL SIN. It is the sequel to PERSONAL DEMONS and will be released July 2011.

The Story:

Luc Cain was born and raised in Hell, but he isn't feeling as demonic as usual lately—thanks to Frannie Cavanaugh and the unique power she never realized she had. But you can't desert Hell without consequences, and suddenly Frannie and Luc find themselves targeted by the same demons who used to be Luc's allies.

Left with few options, Frannie and Luc accept the protection of Heaven and one of its most powerful angels, Gabe. Unfortunately, Luc isn't the only one affected by Frannie, and it isn't long before Gabe realizes that being around her is too...tempting. Rather than risk losing his wings, he leaves Frannie and Luc under the protection of her recently-acquired guardian angel.

Which would be fine, but Gabe is barely out the door before an assortment of demons appears—and they're not leaving without dragging Luc back to Hell with them. Hell won't give up and Heaven won't give in. Frannie's guardian exercises all the power he has to keep them away, but the demons are willing to hurt anyone close to Frannie in order to get what they want. It will take everything she has and then some to stay out of Hell's grasp.

And not everyone will get out of it alive.

via -- Lisa Desrochers

The contest ends on December 31, 2010. To find out more click: HERE

Always,
Haysel

Review : Wither by Lauren Destefano

*Warning: This review may contain spoilers. Read at your own risk.


Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
Release Date: March 22, 2011 
Pages: 368
Source: Own

The Story:

What if you knew exactly when you would die?

Thanks to modern science, every human being has become a ticking genetic time bomb—males only live to age twenty-five, and females only live to age twenty. In this bleak landscape, young girls are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages to keep the population from dying out.

When sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery is taken by the Gatherers to become a bride, she enters a world of wealth and privilege. Despite her husband Linden's genuine love for her, and a tenuous trust among her sister wives, Rhine has one purpose: to escape—to find her twin brother and go home.

But Rhine has more to contend with than losing her freedom. Linden's eccentric father is bent on finding an antidote to the genetic virus that is getting closer to taking his son, even if it means collecting corpses in order to test his experiments. With the help of Gabriel, a servant she trusts, Rhine attempts to break free, in the limited time she has left.

--via Lauren Destefano

Rating: FIVE Gold Stars!!!

My Review: One word: STUNNING

Rhine Ellery is new generation baby which means that she -- like all new generation girls -- will die at the age of twenty. Rhine lives in a world that entails the kidnapping of young girls to sell them into polygamous marriages in order to keep the human species from dying out altogether. As fate would have it, one day sixteen-year-old Rhine is kidnapped by the Gatherers who take her to her new husband Linden Ashby. Linden is a twenty-one year-old House Governor she has to share with two other girls; the sultry Jenna, who is eighteen, and naive Cecily, who is the tender age of thirteen.

Determined to reunite with her twin brother Rowan and regain her freedom, Rhine disregards her husband’s genuine love for her, the threat on her life posed by his evil doctor father, Vaughn and the friendships formed with her sisterwives. Fortunately for Rhine, she manages to gain the trust and help of Gabriel, a servant she is harboring a forbidden attraction for.

Will Rhine escape and make it back to her brother? Or will she fall in love with Linden and decide to stay at the Ashby Mansion? How many more people will become one of the corpses collecting in Housemaster Vaughn's basement in order to test his experiments? Is that what Rhine’s very short future have in store? Will Linden's eccentric father finally find a cure to the genetic virus the take girls at twenty and guys at twenty-five? Is the meaning of Rhine and Rowan's eye condition - heterochromia - more than meets the eyes?

Wither is a disturbing addictive work of art. It has been a long while since I've read a Young Adult book with substance. A YA book that has delightfully shaken my moral compass. As a loyal fan, I await Book 2 in The Chemical Garden Trilogy with baited breath. Bravo Lauren Destefano.

Here is one of my favorite passages from Wither:

Jenna, Rhine & Linden:"When I knock on Jenna's door, I hear her soft giggle from somewhere in the room. There's a rustling sound, and then she says, 'Who is it?
'It's me,' I say.
Another giggle. 'Come in,' she says.
I open the door to a bedroom that's warm with candlelight. Jenna is sitting up in the bed, running her fingers through her tousled hair, and Linden is tying the drawstring of his pajama pants. His bare chest is pale; his cheeks are flushed. He pulls his shirt on in a hurry, and it's still unbuttoned when he stands and heads for the door. 'Good morning, sweetheart,' he tells me, not quite meeting my eyes.
There's nothing wrong with this. It's perfectly normal. Jenna is his wife. He is our husband. I should be used to the idea."-- Page 241

***Check out Lauren Dstefano's website for more information about her and the Wither: HERE

Happy Reading!

Wither-Afterlife

I'm completely ecstatic! I finally got my hands on some gold ... Well, not literally. But I'm no less happy. Can't wait to tear into WITHER by Lauren Destefano! And I already read the first 30 pages of AFTERLIFE by Claudia Gray and it's good. With that said, I will try to get the reviews up before the end of January - since I am currently on 6 ARC tours and have other obligations.



P.S. Shout out to Wandering Wraith -- I checked ebay before for the books but you found WITHER when they were for auction. And if you would like to read it try at We Love YA!; I just pulled out of the tour: HERE

Always,
Haysel