Blog Tour + Interview + Giveaway - Ink in the Blood (Ink in the Blood, #1) by Kim Smejkal

Find the tour schedule here.

 Ink in the Blood (Ink in the Blood, #1) by Kim Smejkal

Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers

Release Date: February 11th 2020

Genre: Young Adult, LGBT, Fantasy

Synopsis:

A lush, dark YA fantasy debut that weaves together tattoo magic, faith, and eccentric theater in a world where lies are currency and ink is a weapon, perfect for fans ofLeigh Bardugo and Kendare Blake.

Celia Sand and her best friend, Anya Burtoni, are inklings for the esteemed religion of Profeta. Using magic, they tattoo followers with beautiful images that represent the Divine’s will and guide the actions of the recipients. It’s considered a noble calling, but ten years into their servitude Celia and Anya know the truth: Profeta is built on lies, the tattooed orders strip away freedom, and the revered temple is actually a brutal, torturous prison.

Their opportunity toescape arrives with the Rabble Mob, a traveling theater troupe. Using their inkling abilities for performance instead of propaganda, Celia and Anya are content for the first time . . . until they realize who followed them. The Divine they never believed in is very real, very angry, and determined to use Celia, Anya, and the Rabble Mob’s now-infamous stage to spread her deceitful influence even further.

To protect their new family from the wrath of a malicious deity and the zealots who work in her name, Celia and Anya must unmask the biggest lie of all—Profeta itself.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | iTunes

The Book Depository | Kobo | Google Books

How did you come up with the idea for Ink in the Blood?

The first seed of an idea came from a conversation I had with my father about his time living under communism in Czechoslovakia. He said the worst part about it wasn’t the lack of personal freedom, but the constant flow of lies from those in charge. It got me thinking about the nature of lies, and whether one could get so big it could take over an entire nation. The antagonist in INK was born from this, and everything else—the tattoo magic, the theatre aspect—just fell into place! I wrote this book for teen me, so I made sure to put everything I loved as a young adult into it.

Did you do any research for Ink in the Blood?

I think writing a book always comes with some research! The Rabble Mob is loosely based on the Commedia dell’arte, an early form of professional theatre that started in Italy, so I did a lot of research on the stock characters, masks, and trademarks of that particular kind of improv theatre. I also researched tattoo art across cultures, tarot, and carnival life. In terms of theme, I did some reading on body autonomy, faith, and indoctrination. From the moment I began drafting INK, I was researching so many random things!

Do you have a favourite character in Ink in the Blood?

At its heart, this is Celia’s and Anya’s story, and if I had to choose my absolute favorite part of Ink, it would have to be their friendship. Their love powers the entire story, and exploring their deep bond was an amazing experience.

The side characters, particularly the members of the Rabble Mob, were super fun to write. Seer Ostra is a minor character but one of my favorites. Honestly, I want her in my life. And then there’s the weirdness of characters like the plague doctor, Kitty Kay, Georgio, Ravino, Lilac, Caspian and Sky… all of them bring something unique to the story, and I love them all! It's impossible to choose a favorite when they're all so real to me.

Do you have any advice for new writers?

I think immersing yourself in story is the best way of learning how to tell one, and you can do this in so many ways! Playing video games, watching great movies, and reading books that inspire you not only fuel your creative side, but if you take time to analyze what works and what doesn’t, you can learn so much about storytelling.

And then to hone your own storytelling voice, the best thing to do is practice. Write a lot. Experiment. Have other people read your work and listen to what they say about it. Apply what you can and ask for more feedback. Craft books like John Truby’s The Anatomy of Story or Donald Maass’s The Emotional Craft of Fiction work for some people too!

The biggest thing, I believe, is to keep moving forward. Absorb all you can, practice, and find people who support you. The writers who have their first books published are as rare as unicorns—the vast majority have been working on their craft for years! And honestly? I think that journey to discovering your unique voice is one of the best parts of writing. It's magic. :)

What's your favourite book?

My all time favorite book is Wild Seed by Octavia Butler. It’s a fantastical exploration of good and evil, male and female, and life and death, with two of the most compelling main characters I've ever read. One aspect of Ink In The Blood was heavily influenced by this book, and if you read both, you’ll immediately know which one. *mysterious cackle* I heard Wild Seed is being adapted for television and I’m so excited about that!

Thanks for having me on your blog, Jess!

About the Author

 

 Kim Smejkal lives with her family on muse-satiating Vancouver Island, which means she’s often lost in the woods or wandering a beach. She writes dark fantasy for young adults and not-so-young adults, always with a touch of magic. Her debut novel, INK IN THE BLOOD, will release from HMH in early 2020, with a sequel to follow in 2021. She is represented by Daniel Lazar of Writers House.



Author Links:

Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest



 

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Review - The Sky is Mine by Amy Beashel

Title: The Sky is Mine

Author: Amy Beashel

Pages: 304

Publisher: Rock the Boat

Release Date: 6th February 2020

Blurb from Goodreads:

 No one has ever asked Izzy what she wants. She's about to change all that...

In a house adept at sweeping problems under the carpet, seventeen-year-old Izzy feels silenced. As her safety grows uncertain, Izzy know three things for sure. She knows not to tell her mother that Jacob Mansfield has been threatening to spread those kinds of photos around college. She knows to quiet the grief that she's been abandoned by her best friend Grace. And, seeing her mother conceal the truth of her stepdad's control, Izzy also knows not to mention how her heart splinters and her stomach churns whenever he enters a room.

When the flimsy fabric of their life starts to unravel, Izzy and her mum must find their way out of the silence and use the power in their voices to rediscover their worth.

For fans of Sara Barnard, Louise O’Neill and E. Lockhart, The Sky is Mine is a powerful exploration of rape culture and domestic abuse, and a moving story of women learning to love themselves enough to demand to be heard.

Goodreads | Amazon UK | Amazon US

My Review:

*I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Rock the Boat*

- Content warnings can be found here -

Seventeen-year-old Izzy lives with her controlling stepfather and her mum. Izzy and her mum don't talk about how Izzy's stepfather tells them what they can and cannot do, and punishes them when they don't follow his rules.

Izzy knows that she can't tell anyone - not even her best friend Grace, who doesn't have time for Izzy now that she has a girlfriend - about the photos that Jacob took of her when she was drunk, or that he's threatening to show them to people at college.

Can Izzy and her mum take back control of their lives?

There are some quite dark and intense themes in The Sky is Mine, and I wasn't expecting to be thrown straight into them, which we are. However, while I did find certain scenes hard to read because of the subject matter, I thought that they were written and handled well.

I liked Izzy as a protagonist. It was so sad when she felt like she couldn't talk to anyone about what was happening. 

Izzy's mum was an interesting character and I felt so sorry for her.

Part of the book is set in Shropshire, which I loved as I am a Shropshire lass myself.

The plot was interesting and held my attention, but I wasn't gripped and nothing that happened was particularly surprising. However, I liked the theme of taking back control of your life and found this to be a heart-warming and emotional read.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read.

Interview + Excerpt - The Winter Spirits (The Foxfires Trilogy, #1) by E.C. Hibbs

 Today I am hosting an interview with E.C. Hibbs about her latest book, The Winter Spirits.

Read on for information about the book and author, the interview, and an excerpt.

Title: The Winter Spirits (The Foxfires Trilogy, #1)

Author: E.C. Hibbs

Pages: 256 (ebook), 337 (paperback)

Blurb: 

 If you sing to the Spirits, be prepared for their answer...

The Long Dark has come and the Northlands will not see daylight for two months. Silence falls with the snow, and Spirits roam the three Worlds. It is a time of beauty, magic, and danger.

When the Spirit of the Northern Lights steals his best friend’s soul, apprentice mage Tuomas is determined to find help. However, his own fledgling power gets the better of him, and he accidentally rips the Spirit out of the sky, trapping her in human form. Alongside his feared icy companion and the mysterious wandering mage Lilja, Tuomas begins a quest across frozen tundra and into ethereal Spirit realms. 

But a terrible shadow lingers just out of sight, its gaze fixed on him. And behind her composed façade, the Spirit holds secrets of her own...

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon US

How did you come up with the idea for The Winter Spirits?

I wanted to create a love letter to winter, to the Arctic, to shamanism; to everything about the frozen north which has ever fascinated me. I've always adored the cold and dark. My favourite fairy tale has always been The Snow Queen, and after I crossed the Arctic Circle for the first time I knew I had to write my own kind of icy fairy tale. While I was in Finland, I learned about the legend of a fox which creates the Northern Lights by sweeping up the snow with its tail. That image stuck with me and I was determined to do something with it. It left such an impact on me, The Winter Spirits (and its upcoming sequels) isn't even the first time I adapted it. This time last year, I wrote a short story dealing with the same legend, and it won the Fairytalez.com Award for Best New Winter Fairy Tale.

Did you do any research for The Winter Spirits?

I always do a lot of research, not just so I can get my facts straight, but so I can become comfortable with the subject and have that confidence trickle into my writing. In the case of The Winter Spirits, I read a lot about Arctic indigenous groups and shamanism, but a large portion of my research came from real-life experiences. I'm very lucky to have spent several winters living in Finland, so I used that time to really take note of the environment; how it looks and feels and sounds. I tasted reindeer meat, had my eyelashes freeze in -30C, and watched the Northern Lights time after time. And I also have several Sami friends from both Finland and Norway, who kindly shared information with me about reindeer, mythology and the herding way of life.

Do you have a favourite character in The Winter Spirits?

All the characters are very layered, but whenever I had to deal with Lilja or Lumi, my heart always sped up a little. They're strong and weak in different ways. Lilja is very wise and powerful, but also misunderstood. Her past is been fraught with darkness and she lives a solitary existence. Despite that, she's very protective of the few people she allows to get close. Lumi, on the other hand, is the Spirit of the Northern Lights. She's usually without a body: formless energy that exists only in the sky. She's one of the most feared and revered Spirits of all; her pride gets the better of her if she is disrespected. When she's trapped in human form, she has to deal not just with being forced into a physical body, but suddenly being weaker than ever; dealing with other emotions such as care and love; and, like Lilja, keeping secrets which she feels are better contained than shared.

What are you most proud of in The Winter Spirits? 

It's actually something which isn't story-related. The main character, Tuomas is named after my late little brother who was never born. I wrote The Winter Spirits to coincide with the year he should have turned 18. And now, in 2020, it's being released into the world the same year he should have been 21. So even though it's a story which has been coming for a while, on a personal level it means a lot to me, because it's a birthday present to a brother from his sister, twice over.

Do you have any advice for new writers? 

Keep going. Everything about writing has peaks and valleys: motivation, the writing process itself, finding your readership... But it's important to dig your heels in and let nothing stop you. Finish whatever you start. Even if you don't feel it's good enough to be published, the worst thing you create is better than the best thing you didn't create. Learn from your mistakes. Listen to your gut and let it shape your voice. Be open to constructive criticism and allow it to help you improve. There is never a day when someone wakes up and is magically a master author who can do no wrong. Like all art, like life itself, nothing is perfect and we are constantly learning. Be open to that, and you'll find you're progressing even when it feels like you aren't.

Do you have any works in progress?

I'm currently in the planning and research stages of a new dark fairy tale, loosely inspired by The Wild Swans by Hans Christian Andersen. It's early days, so I don't want to give away anything yet. So much can change at this point!

 What's your favourite book?

I can't put my finger on just one, but my top three are The Chronicles of Ancient Darkness by Michelle Paver; His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman; and Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. I'm a fantasy-lover through and through, but I do enjoy classic literature too. I adore stories in general which not only tell a great tale in a different way, but also highlight things which make me think and ponder - stories that stay with me long after I've read the last page.

Excerpt:

Tuomas sat up, and fright froze him to the spot. 

The sky was as clear and dark as it had been before. All traces of green were gone. But lying by the entrance of his tent was a figure: slender as a sapling, completely white, clad in fabric which seemed to be made from starlight itself.  

It rolled over and revealed a thin feminine face. Two large pointed ears, like a fox’s, protruded from long hair as colourless as the snow. 

She looked straight at him. Her irises were the raging hues of the aurora. 

Tuomas’s heart thundered. He couldn’t move. He glanced between the drum and the girl, unable to believe his eyes. 

She leapt to her feet and flew at him. He recoiled in panic, throwing up his arms to protect himself. 
She paused inches from his face, blocked by the circle he had cast. But that invisible barrier, thinner than birch bark, didn’t fill him with any confidence and he trembled like a terrified child. 

What had he done? 

“How dare you!” the girl shouted. “Put me back!” 

Tuomas stared at her, too scared to move. She bared her teeth and her eyes shone red: the same colour as when the Lights had struck Mihka. 

“Return me to the sky!” she demanded. “Now!” 

Her ferocity shocked him into action. He hit the drum desperately, striking out a tuneless beat. But his hands trembled so much, he dropped the hammer. 

The girl snarled. “A fine mage you are trying to be! Put me back!” 

“I… I can’t!” Tuomas stammered. “I’m not a mage yet…” 

“You brought me down here! You put me back!” 

“Please, I can’t!” 

She locked eyes with him. The redness blazed across her face, throwing strange shadows onto cheekbones which might have been chiselled from ice. Everything about her spoke of coldness, control, authority. The longer she glared, the more Tuomas’s fear grew. 

“You summon a Spirit – confine a Spirit – and do not even know what you did?” she said incredulously. “You should have the power!” 

Tuomas frowned.  “What? But I told you… I’m still training!” 

“But you should know!”  

There was a swooping motion behind her, and Tuomas noticed for the first time that a bushy white tail had appeared from beneath her skirt. He regarded her ears again, and realisation gripped him.  

Fox fires. 

Somehow, he had trapped that very Spirit in human form.

About the Author

E. C. Hibbs is an award-winning author and artist, often found lost in the woods or in her own imagination. She adores nature, fantasy, and anything to do with winter. She also hosts a YouTube channel, discussing writing tips and the real-world origins of fairy tales. She lives with her family in Cheshire, England. 

Author Links: 

Website | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

Review - What She Found in the Woods by Josephine Angelini

Title: What She Found in the Woods

Author: Josephine Angelini

Pages: 384

Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books

Release Date: 25th July 2019

Blurb from Goodreads:

Running from a scandal at her New York private school, Magdalena heads to her family home to recover under the radar.

Over-medicated and under-confident, she's fearful she'll never escape her past.

Until she meets Bo out hiking. Wild, gorgeous and free, he makes her believe she might finally be able to move on.

But when a mutilated body is discovered in the woods, Magdalena realises she can't trust anyone.

Not even herself. 

Goodreads | Amazon UK | Amazon US

My Review:

*I received an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Pan Macmillan and NetGalley*

After a scandal, Magdalena is ousted from New York by her parents to live with her grandparents.
Doped up on powerful drugs that prevent Magdalena from feeling anything and from seeing the ghosts of her past, she drifts through her days by hiking in the nearby woods.
Then Magdalena meets Bo. He lives in the woods with his family and Magdalena finds that she actually feels things when she's with him.
But when a body is found in the woods, Magdalena discovers that they might not be as safe as she thought.
Who can Magdalena trust when there is a murderer in town?
Can she even trust herself?

Josephine Angelini's books seem to be either hit or miss for me and, unfortunately, What She Found in the Woods was more of a miss.
Magdalena was a mixed character for me - there were times when I liked and felt sorry for her, and others when she annoyed me. She had a complicated history and had done a lot of messed up things which lent to her potentially being an unreliable narrator which I always find intriguing.
None of the characters really stood out for me, except maybe Gina.
Most of the book was set either in the woods or at Magdalena's grandparents' house. I would have liked to have seen more or been told more about the town, but this did give an isolated feeling to the book which may have been intended.
Not much really happened plot-wise and the mystery element wasn't as interesting as I expected it to be. I found myself skim-reading once or twice and did consider not finishing the book. I guessed part of the plot twist.
I didn't like the romance - it happened way too quickly for me and I couldn't feel the connection between the characters.
I feel like What She Found in the Woods didn't reach it's potential for me, and I'm disappointed that I didn't enjoy it more.

Overall, this was an okay read.

February TBR

Here are the books I'm planning to read this month . . .

The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller

Havenfall (Havenfall, #1) by Sara Holland 

 Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson

We Hunt the Flame (Sands of Arawiya, #1) by Hafsah Faizal 

 What are you planning to read in February?

 

Review - The Kingdom by Jess Rothenberg

Title: The Kingdom

Author: Jess Rothenberg

Pages: 352

Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books

Release Date: 11th July 2019



Blurb from Goodreads:

Welcome to the Kingdom... where 'Happily Ever After' isn't just a promise, but a rule. 

 
Glimmering like a jewel behind its gateway, The Kingdom(TM) is an immersive fantasy theme park where guests soar on virtual dragons, castles loom like giants, and bioengineered species--formerly extinct--roam free.

Ana is one of seven Fantasists, beautiful "princesses" engineered to make dreams come true. When she meets park employee Owen, Ana begins to experience emotions beyond her programming including, for the first time... love.

But the fairytale becomes a nightmare when Ana is accused of murdering Owen, igniting the trial of the century. Through courtroom testimony, interviews, and Ana's memories of Owen, emerges a tale of love, lies, and cruelty--and what it truly means to be human.

Goodreads | Amazon UK | Amazon US










My Review:
 

*I received an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Pan Macmillan and NetGalley*

The Kingdom is a theme park where nearly anything is possible and where 'Happily Ever After' is a rule.

The star attractions of the Kingdom are the seven Fantasists - beautiful young women engineered to act like princesses and to make everyone's time at the theme park as magical as possible.

Ana is one of the Fantasists and she is content with her life.

Then Ana starts spending time with Owen, a park employee, and she begins to feel things that she isn't programmed to, like love, and to question everything she has been told.

Things go from magical to a nightmare when Ana is accused of murdering Owen.

Did Ana turn on Owen?

Is there a dark side to the Kingdom?

The premise of The Kingdom really intrigued me - an immersive, magic-like theme park where one of the biomechanical princesses potentially goes crazy and murders someone? Yes, please!

I couldn't help but imagine the theme park as a Disneyland but with a major tech upgrade. I can definitely see there being theme parks like that in the future.

I found the idea of the engineered Fantasists and the extinct species brought back to life as hybrids a bit scary and worrying, but also interesting because of the science aspect.

Ana was a good protagonist - she was likeable and I enjoyed reading her interactions with people, especially the other Fantasists.

I liked that each Fantasist represented a different culture and that one of them was Maori (Pania).

The plot was interesting and held my attention. I liked that the mystery element was woven throughout the story, which was told by interviews, courtroom testimonies, and Ana's memories.

I wasn't a big fan of the romance, partly because I feel like it could have been fleshed out a bit more, but I didn't dislike it.

The writing style was engaging and easy to follow. I would definitely read another book by the author.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read that I would recommend.