Young Adult Archives

The Gold-Son by Carrie Ann Noble (and a GIVEAWAY!)

June 21, 2017 by bubblebathbooks 6 Comments

Bubby:

Just like her first book, The Mermaid’s Sister, Carrie Ann Noble has managed to draw me in with the The Gold-Son’s cover alone. It’s so beautifully detailed and has all the elements of the story in the pictures surrounding the title. We’ve got Tommin and Eve, surrounded by gold coins, shoes, Leprechaun Elixir, and so much more. I want to frame it and hang it on my wall!

Sissy:

I have never before encountered a book about leprechauns.

Bubby:

What, never? Didn’t you read the Artemis Fowl books?

Sissy:

Oh yeah, just kidding. O.K. I’ve never before read a book about “classic” leprechauns. At any rate, The Gold-Son presents a remarkable history and setting for what we think of as those little cute guys in green. Carrie Ann Noble went deep and brought us an imaginative new back story to explain Leprechauns and it ain’t pretty like a rainbow.

Bubby:

Yeah, they are pretty nasty creatures. As it turns out, these fairy folk can only continue the species by stealing human adolescents and brain-washing them into wanting eternal life via three separate drinks of Leprechaun Elixir. Unfortunately, being a Leprechaun involves constant theft of gold and silver and a complete loss of humanity, compassion, love and kindness.

Sissy:

Kind of like what happens to you when deprived of chocolate.

Bubby:

Yes, exactly!

Sissy:

The Gold-Son was a more difficult read than The Mermaid’s Sister just because Tommin and Eve had such a difficult and painful road to travel. I felt like I was constantly pleading, “No, don’t do that!” ” Don’t go there!” or “Don’t drink that!” mostly to Tommin, the whole time I was reading the book. It was exhausting, but worth it, because the harrowing and centuries-spanning journey leads to a wonderful and unexpected payoff at the end.

Bubby:

I particularly enjoyed the MASSIVE plot twist in the middle of the book. It took me completely by surprise and brought the plot to a whole new level. The characters in The Gold-Son are so well drawn. I hated Lorcan Reilly with a passion, loved Eve for her strength and determination, and quickly got very attached to Tommin, despite his many, many, MANY flaws (most of which he works through by the end). Carrie Ann Noble can craft a fantasy like no other. I’ve so enjoyed her spins on Leprechauns, carnies, mermaids and the like that I can’t imagine what fantastical creature she’s going to tackle next! Maybe Yetis? Please?

Sissy:

Yetis are so unromantic. But I agree with everything else Bubby just said, and she said it so well you should read it again to know what I think (this rarely happens–don’t get excited). Readers, definitely take a look at the original, artful work that is Carrie Ann Noble’s The Gold Son! Aaaaaand…if you want a chance to win a copy of this book, make a comment on this post telling us something you know about leprechauns!

Click HERE to buy The Gold-Son by Carrie Ann Noble

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Clanless by Jennifer Jenkins

October 12, 2016 by bubblebathbooks Leave a Comment

Striker Gryphon has lost his position of honor among the Ram, and is now a hunted man. A traitor. Zo, the object of his affection, was murdered by members of his former clan. To honor her memory, he journeys to the highly secretive Raven “Nest” to warn strangers of their impending demise—though it could cost him more than just his pride. He doesn’t know that Zo is very much alive and in another part of the region assisting Nameless refugees over a mountain swarming with wild men known as “Clanless.” As each struggle to make sense of what their lives have become, they fight and claw to reach the Allied Camp, their last hope in bringing peace to the region. But the road back to one another is treacherous and uncertain. And freedom will come with a price.

Bubby: Let’s just start with the obvious here, shall we? Do you see the man on this cover? Do you? He looks like he’s worth wandering through the wilderness for, don’t you think, Sissy?

Sissy: Yep. That right there is a man I’d go to great lengths to find. Even all frost covered and yellow-eyed. His chiseled jaw could cut open a coconut.

Bubby: And he’s just as strong and rugged on the inside. Our hero Gryphon is all about the honor and the sacrifice – except that now instead of doing everything for the glory of the Ram clan, he’s doing it for the love of Zo and for the welfare of all the other clans. He had some great heroic moments in the first book, Nameless, but in Clanless, he’s really become a true hero.

Sissy: Clanless follows Zo and Gryphon through a myriad of wild and hairy adventures, one right after another. They remain strong and undaunted. If I had to trade places with either one of them I would have been tempted to crawl under a rock and die. Many times.

Bubby: What, you don’t think you are action/adventure/peril heroine material?

Sissy: I must say that I don’t even like to WATCH or READ anything that is too intense usually, and Jen Jenkin’s writing takes me to the very edge of my adventure tolerance! It’s a good thing that she writes so dang well, otherwise I would have to throw my signed copy out the window and watch a Hallmark movie instead.

Bubby: You’re welcome for that signed copy, by the way. I know that you read both Clanless and Nameless with your metaphoric hands covering your eyes. It’s like Mr. Bubby’s grandma, who used to go to her son’s wrestling matches and hide behind Grandpa’s back because she couldn’t stand to watch, all the while smacking his shoulder and yelling, “What’s happening, George? What are they doing now, George? Is he still ok, George?”

Sissy: You should be proud of me that I didn’t skip to the end of the book! Sometimes I get so anxious that I have to read the end first just so I know going in that everything turns out okay. Not that EVERYTHING turns out okay in Clanless…but you’ll get nothing more about it out of me. I loved the new characters we met in Clanless, especially those from the Raven clan. I want to say so much more about them but just know that Jenkin’s characters have a depth that make you form an immediate attachment to them.

Bubby: Even the villains! You may not like them, but you get their motivation and you feel for them. It’s actually quite annoying to have such conflicted opinions about most of the villains. Of course, there are still one or two that you can outright hate, so it works out just fine. I can hardly wait for book three in this series to be published. We’re lucky enough to know Jennifer Jenkins personally, and it’s all I can do not sit on her doorstep waiting for the moment she’s done writing. Hurry up, Jen! I need to know what happens!

Sissy: You may, if you are like me, read Clanless in a fully clenched position, but nevertheless read it you must. It’s just too good to miss. I can’t wait to have a signed copy of book three in my grubby hands and resist the temptation to read the end of that one first as well.

Click HERE to buy Clanless by Jennifer Jenkins

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Followed by Frost by Charlie N. Holmberg

June 24, 2016 by bubblebathbooks Leave a Comment

Seventeen-year-old Smitha’s wealth, status, and beauty make her the envy of her town—until she rejects a strange man’s marriage proposal and disastrous consequences follow. Smitha becomes cursed, and frost begins to encompass everything she touches. Banished to the hills, hunted by villagers, and chilled to the very core of her soul, she finds companionship with Death, who longs to coax her into his isolated world. But Smitha’s desire for life proves stronger than despair, and a newfound purpose gives her hope. Will regrets over the past and an unexpected desire for a man she cannot touch be enough to warm Smitha’s heart, or will Death forever still it?

Sissy: Followed by Frost is such a different and unexpected story! I was immediately intrigued by how quickly spoiled Smitha’s deeds and attitude turn on her with a vengeance and how she is thrown into one of the worst situations imaginable. Certainly a horrible frosty curse is a great cure for brattiness! I don’t know how well received universal curses for impudent punk teenagers would be, but maybe it would make our world a less entitled place.

Bubby: It’s a very classic fairy-tale type of curse, too. Right up my alley. Can you imagine if you could just tap your sassy teenager and make it so that every unkind or whiny word out of their mouths for 24 hours turned into a slug or a snail? And they were the only ones who could clean up the mess? I think it would be good for everyone! Honestly, we could all use a bit of a cursing every once in a while to remind us of how to behave.

Sissy: Smitha’s journey is very difficult and long, unlike the more speedy uncursings and resolutions of other fantasy or fairy tale characters. That is more true to character for me as it does take a long time and hard circumstances to truly change most of the time. The first part of her cursing is almost too uncomfortable to bear, and her suffering really got to me. Also Sadriel, who is death, really drives me quite batty. I wanted to kill him, but how do you kill death?

Bubby: Yes, Death/Sadriel was a disturbing character. I wanted more interaction with him at the same time that I dreaded each of his scenes. If ever Charlie N. Holmberg writes another book in this same world, I hope that Death shows up and we get to see more of what has to be a very complex character. Everything else about Followed by Frost is so well done and so perfectly crafted that I felt as if I was reading a classic fairytale that had been lost somehow and only revealed now.

Sissy: A lost classic, perhaps, but with a complexity and depth not found in the usual fare. I was so gratified with the appearance of Imad and his king. They brought change and a sense of hope to Followed By Frost that Smitha (and I) desperately needed. The last third and subsequent ending of the tale are fantastic, well imagined, and fantastically written. I loved Charlie N. Holmberg’s Magician series, and although Followed By Frost is an entire departure from that, I completely enjoyed its refreshing uniqueness. I wholeheartedly recommend it!

Bubby: I just can’t get enough of Holmberg’s writing. I need to meet her in person and shower her in chocolate just so she knows how much I love her stories. (Wait, is that creepy? Oh, well.) As with everything Holmberg has written, I love love love Followed by Frost and I was sad when I’d read the last word. So good!

Click HERE to buy Followed by Frost by Charlie N. Holmberg

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Lantern by Chess Desalls– Free Novella!

May 30, 2016 by bubblebathbooks 1 Comment

Five days before Halloween, all sixteen-year-old Tori has on her mind is vacationing with her family and scoring lots of candy. Her grandmother’s estate, with its Gothic spires and trails that lead out to the woods, holds an unexpected secret: a lantern that lights up for Tori and nobody else. Certain that it’s a ghost or a prank, she investigates further and discovers a mysterious life that shines in the darkness.

Bubby: Do you remember back almost a hundred years ago when they had those faked photos of fairies in England and a lot of people believed in them? I still harbor hopes that those were real and that someday I might find fairies of my own in the back garden. Lantern really spoke to me because Tori found something even better in her grandmother’s garden. Her boy in the lantern isn’t a fairy, though.

Sissy: No, he is not. He seems quite cute and human, although this novella doesn’t tell us nearly enough about his background and world. This is another case wherein we wanted this to be a full length book. We needed more!

Bubby: I loved Tori’s grandma. You have to be a pretty awesome grandma to help your granddaughter sneak out in the night to meet a magical, mystical boy.

Sissy: Or completely irresponsible.

Bubby: He’s stuck in a lantern. He’s incorporeal. What could possibly happen?

Sissy: I’d rather not speculate. All I know is that the parentals weren’t too happy with granny. I will admit that Tori’s parents seemed overly crusty, and that there seemed to be underlying issues that might be explained if this were a regular sized novel. Which it should be. Did I mention that?

Bubby: Length and crusty parentals aside, I loved Lantern. I am hoping Chess Desalls is using Lantern as an introduction to a whole series of much larger proportions.

Sissy: Other worldly apparitions, magical garden lanterns, and sweet romance are what await you in Lantern. Great for an afternoon getaway! And don’t forget–it is free right now on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and itunes, and there’s a Rafflecopter giveaway for you to enter below:

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Click HERE to buy Lantern by Chess Desalls

Girl of Myth and Legend

April 22, 2016 by bubblebathbooks Leave a Comment

Leonie Woodville wants to live an unremarkable life. She wants routine, she wants repetition, she wants predictability. So when she explodes in a blaze of light one morning on the way to her college, it’s enough to put a real crimp in her day. And things only get weirder…
Leonie learns from her father that she is last of the Pulsar, a phenomenally powerful member of a magical species called the Chosen. It will be her sole duty to protect the Imperium, a governing hierarchy, from all enemies, and to exceed the reputation of the Pulsar before her. So – no pressure there, then.
Leonie is swept away from her rigorous normality and taken to a world of magic. There, she is forced into a ceremony to join her soul to a guardian, Korren, who is both incredibly handsome and intensely troubled, a relationship for which ‘it’s complicated’ just really doesn’t cut it.
But Leonie is soon to learn that this ancient world is no paradise. With violent dissidents intent to overthrow the Imperium, and dark entities with their own agenda, she and Korren find themselves caught in a war where they will have to overcome their differences if they are to survive.
Dare to dream. Dare to hope. Dare to be a legend.

Sissy: This is a little bit more dark and intense than our light fairy tale fare we’ve been feeding our readers lately. Girl of Myth and Legend explores some deep social themes such as the value of life, suicide, and slavery, so we are treading close to the edge of our required happy ending clause here. Some people die along the road to other people’s happy ending. That is how real life is, but I don’t have to like it. What I did like in this story is the complexity of the world building and the flawed characters that make you think.

Bubby: I will warn you right off the bat that there is a smattering of language (no “F” bombs) and quite a bit of violence in this tale. However, I find myself anxiously looking forward to May first when book two in the Chosen Saga, Order of Dust, is released. At the moment I feel as if I have been riding one of those roller coasters that starts off going 70 mph in the dark, flips you upside down and drops you down a hundred foot cliff. But I’m still half way down the cliff. I have no idea what’s going to happen with Leonie, our normal girl turned mythic legend and her shape shifting side-kick Korren. Do they live? Do they die? Are they going to fall in love? I don’t know.

Sissy: I’m wondering if there are more relatives of Leonie out there waiting to appear (you’ll know what I’m talking about when you read the book). Seriously there has to be a whole revolution in order for things to be resolved, so I imagine things will get completely sticky in the world of Duwyn as well as in the personal lives of Leonie and Korren. Actually, I would love to know Korren’s complete backstory. We get hints and flashbacks and have some idea of what has happened to him, but I need more!

Bubby: I want more of Leonie’s dad’s back story too. Why did he leave Duwyn? What’s up with Leonie’s mother? Honestly, the dad irritates me almost the whole entire time until the point when…spoilers!

Sissy: If you want captivating fantasy and intense adventure, Girl of Myth and Legend has it in spades. For an interesting look at the author’s vision, take a look at the trailer here. Girl of Myth and Legend even has a soundtrack! Take a listen here.

Bubby: If you like The Hunger Games or Insurgent you’ll love Girl of Myth and Legend. Now I’m going to go get a cookie while I wait for it to be May 1st so I can read the sequel.

Click HERE to buy Girl of Myth and Legend by Giselle Simlett