{Nerd Blast} The Cold is in Her Bones by Peternelle van Arsdale

Age Range: 12 and up [Middle Grade]
Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books

Publication Date: January 22, 2019
ISBN-10: 1481488449
ISBN-13: 978-1481488440

 

Where to buy: Amazon | Barnes and Noble  | BOOK DEPOSITORY

 

Praise for THE COLD IS IN HER BONES

“A dark and enchanting tale about friendship, pain, revenge, and the power of love, The Cold Is in Her Bones is the perfect read for Greek mythology fans and YA readers alike.” ―Bustle

“Fiercely written and beautifully feminist, The Cold is in Her Bones reminds us of the power of loyalty and love in the face of ignorance and fear. I loved this tale of dangerous girls with wild hair and tangled hearts.” ―Lisa Maxwell, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Magician

“A fresh, eerily compelling tale of betrayal, revenge, and the ties that bind. When van Arsdale paints a world, you can feel the fog against your skin.” ―Elly Blake, New York Times bestselling author of The Frostblood Saga  

SYNOPSIS

 

One girl must uncover secrets of the past to save her friend from a terrible curse in this dark and mesmerizing story of love, revenge, and redemption inspired by the myth of Medusa.

Milla knows two things to be true: Demons are real, and fear will keep her safe.

Milla’s whole world is her family’s farm. She is never allowed to travel to the village and her only friend is her beloved older brother, Niklas. When a bright-eyed girl named Iris comes to stay, Milla hopes her loneliness might finally be coming to an end. But Iris has a secret she’s forbidden to share: The village is cursed by a demon who possesses girls at random, and the townspeople live in terror of who it will come for next.

Now, it seems, the demon has come for Iris. When Iris is captured and imprisoned with other possessed girls, Milla leaves home to rescue her and break the curse forever. Her only company on the journey is a terrible new secret of her own: Milla is changing, too, and may soon be a demon herself.

Suspenseful and vividly imagined, The Cold Is in Her Bones is a novel about the dark, reverberating power of pain, the yearning to be seen and understood, and the fragile optimism of love.

PHOTO CREDIT: ELENA SEIBERT 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 

Peternelle van Arsdale grew up in Newark, New Jersey, where she attended public school through the eighth grade. After that she attended three high schools in three different towns in four years, was deeply unpopular, and counted the seconds until graduation. She majored in English literature at Bryn Mawr College, and then landed in book publishing, thinking it was a good way to be paid to do what she liked to do anyway (she was only partly wrong). She worked her way up from editorial assistant to executive editor of adult fiction and nonfiction, and eventually struck out on her own as an independent editor.

Her first young adult novel, The Beast Is an Animal, is being developed by Amazon Studios for a feature film produced by Ridley Scott’s Scott Free and directed by Bert & Bertie. Her essays have been published by LitHub, Hypable.com, and Culturefly, and her short fiction has been published by The Whitefish Review.

Her second novel, The Cold is in Her Bones , will be published in January 2019. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, where she continues to edit and is at work on her third novel.

Giveaway!!

—Giveaway is open to International. | Must be 13+ to Enter

– I Winner will receive a very Exclusive Watercolor (THE COLD IS IN HER BONES) from Peternelle van Arsdale.

LINK: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/e849f7751567/

My Dad, The Earth Warrior

Author [s]: Gary Haq
Pages: 276 pages
Genre: Middle Grade Fiction
Publisher: Gazzimodo
Release Date: June 5th, 2018
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Photo Credit: Goodreads.com
Where to buy: Amazon| Barnes & Noble
*Thank you Bookstasters for a review copy in exchange for my honest review*
Synopsis:
One boy.
A geeky dad.
A freak accident!

Dad wakes up from a bump to head claiming to be a Warrior sent to protect Mother Earth – and is soon up against a ruthless energy tycoon.

Hero is forced to go along with Dad’s new persona. And when Gran mysteriously disappears, Hero and Dad embark on a dangerous rescue mission.

Can Hero save Gran and his old dad back before it’s too late?

My Dad, the Earth Warrior is an extraordinary heart-warming and funny tale of a Dad and son on a thrilling mission to save Mother Earth! It is a story of personal growth, environment and discovering the warrior spirit that lies in all of us.

A funny, heartfelt, quirky middle-grade adventure that will appeal to fans of Frank Contrell-Boyce, Phil Earle and David Walliams.

Review:
In My Dad, The Earth Warrior we are introduced to Hero, one of the main characters of the story. Hero is a fan of soccer and wants so desperately to go to the World Cup. Hoping his dad has bought tickets, Hero anticipates himself preparing for the day. However, there are some things about his dad he doesn’t like, one of the main things being how engrossed his dad becomes in the encyclopedia collection that was handed down to him. Hero feels alone because his mother is no longer in the picture [she passed] and his dad checks out into his book world. We then meet this rambunctious, takes no stuff grandmother who has returned from another adventurous journey. All things are going as good as they can until a earthquake rocks Leaford and they end up in a whole new adventure.

My biggest highlight of the book was the relationship building between Hero and his dad. Hero saw his dad as a boring nerd who didn’t notice him. He then sees him as this weird being who somehow doesn’t realize he is not being himself. After the earthquake, that caused the events leading to his dad’s behavior, Hero slowly realized that maybe he was wrong about his father. He started to figure out that his dad is more than his books and that the loss of his mom, his father’s wife, possibly gave his father. I was happy that the relationship was more than took a an experience, a rescue and a truth serum to bring together. Their relationship isn’t perfect but it does allow the reader “to not judge a book by its cover”.

Overall the characters were well developed. There was a clear distinction between the the protagonists and antagonists. The villains weren’t written as too unbelievable. They were monopolizing and manipulative and had the one goal of fracking in their next location. Hero’s friends were the perfect companions to Hero’s chaotic adventure and appreciated their friendship throughout the story. Their friendship felt real and imperfect, which is how every friendship is.

This book also gave a strong message about caring for the environment. I really enjoyed how the author was able to make it so that a younger audience can definitely learn while they leisurely read. The message was also a real message about the consequences of fracking and is something that was well written into the story line. I was able to receive the message all while still investing in the other components of the story.

This was a good middle grade book and I’ve read quite a couple in the last few months. It was well written, and imaginative. It had pretty good background building – although at times I wasn’t always sure of the location of Leaford. The pictures and word art added a lighter feel to some of the more dramatic parts to the story and gave way to a good storytelling experience.

If you want to give a middle grade child a book they would enjoy and get a good environmental lesson in, this is the book! It is the kind of human story you need sometimes.

Blog Tour – The Ruin of Kings by Jenn Lyons

Author [s]: Jenn Lyons
Pages: 560 pages
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Tor Books
Release Date: February 5^th, 2019
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

PHOTO CONTENT FROM Tor Books

Where to buy: AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | BOOK DEPOSITORY

Synopsis:
There are the old stories. And then there’s what actually happens.

Kihrin is a bastard orphan who grew up on storybook tales of long-lost princes and grand quests. When he is claimed against his will as the long-lost son of a treasonous prince, Kihrin finds that being a long-lost prince isn’t what the storybooks promised.

Far from living the dream, Kihrin finds himself practically a prisoner, at the mercy of his new family’s power plays and ambitions. He also discovers that the storybooks have lied about a lot of other things things, too: dragons, demons, gods, prophecies, true love, and how the hero always wins.

Then again, maybe he’s not the hero, for Kihrin isn’t destined to save the empire.

He’s destined to destroy it . . .

Uniting the worldbuilding of a Brandon Sanderson with the storytelling verve of a Patrick Rothfuss, debut author Jenn Lyons delivers an entirely new and captivating fantasy epic. Prepare to meet the genre’s next star.  

Review:

The Ruin of Kings was a complex fantasy that had such great world building and character development.  

I enjoyed have the ever growing backstories of the Characters. You were able to see through their lends and invest in them a lot more. This book began with the Main character Kihrin retelling his life prior to his capture. This was crucial in understanding how he was able to fit into the grand scheme of things. Kihrin was an conflicted character and becoming invested n him meant trying to figure out what was the next step for him, which was the biggest mystery. I enjoyed the idea of a lost prince trope. It was told differently in this story and I think it’s mainly due to the main character having a different perception on what a long-lost prince should feel, be and do. Let’s not forget that there is a dragon [yes dragon!], demons and other otherworldly creatures that add both suspense and comedy to part of the story.

The world building was amazing. It had a twist of Westeros feel to it, which sold me into the story because I am a huge Game of Thrones Fan. Yes, there was a monarchy element, but it was tainted and complex which gave it that extra fantastical spark to it. It is well detailed and written and gives enough to leave room for the reader’s imagination.

I will say the plot was a bit hard to get to. The story was not in a chronological order which gave some confusion. There were parts that I devoured and enjoyed every single word of it. I was intrigued with how this story was going and wondered during the first half if it was a good idea. I have to say it was pretty redeemable the second half and I felt okay to be invested in it. I think the plot works for the story and Jenn did a good job making this complex story still sound good.

I gave this a 4 star rating because I really loved the character development and world building – those were my biggest selling points and allowed me to continue reading to the end. Overall I am excited to see where this story leads readers.

Praise for The Ruin of Kings

“[A] jaw-dropping, action-packed story of betrayal, greed, and grand-scale conspiracy . . . Lyons ties it all together seamlessly to create literary magic. Epic fantasy fans looking for a virtually un-put-down-able read should look no further.” ―Kirkus, starred review

“Rich, cruel, gorgeous, brilliant, enthralling and deeply, deeply satisfying. I loved it.” ―Lev Grossman, author of The Magicians

“It was one hell of a ride. I gobbled it up and was hungry for more.” ―Glen Cook, author of The Black Company

“The Ruin of Kings is a fascinating story about a compellingly conflicted young hero in an intriguingly complex world.” ―L. E. Modesitt, Jr., author of the Recluse series

“A thriller plot of revenge and loyalty with a get-under-your-skin and keep-you-reading-all-night mysetery at its heart. I loved it.”―John Gwynne, author of Malice

“The Ruin of Kings revs up with the glitz of a high-speed, multi-level video game, with extreme magic and a teen hero with angst.” ―Janny Wurts, author of The Curse of the Mistwraith  

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  PHOTO CONTENT FROM JENN LYONS

Jenn Lyons lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband, three cats, and a lot of opinions on anything from the Sumerian creation myths to the correct way to make a martini. At various points in her life, she has wanted to be an archaeologist, anthropologist, architect, diamond cutter, fashion illustrator, graphic designer, or Batman. Turning from such obvious trades, she is now a video game producer by day, and spends her evenings writing science fiction and fantasy. When not writing, she can be founding debating the Oxford comma and Joss Whedon’s oeuvre at various local coffee shops.

Giveaway!!

– 2 Winners will receive an Exclusive THE RUIN OF KINGS by Jenn Lyons Gift Box (ARC, A Dragon Pint Glass and a Dragon Bookmark).

– 2 Winners will receive a Copy of  THE RUIN OF KINGS by Jenn Lyons .

-Giveaway ends February 19th

 

Click Here: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/e849f7751554/

 

Follow the tour!

Tour Schedule: http://www.jeanbooknerd.com/2018/11/the-ruin-of-kings-by-jenn-lyons.html

Thank you Jean Book Nerd and Tor Books- for allowing us to be a part of this amazing tour. Please check out Jean Book Nerd’s site for more information about this tour and upcoming ones.