Giveaway: Ann Aguirre's Dred Chronicles

I've decided to come back from blog hibernation with a BANG!

I am a big fan of Ann Aguirre's books, and was very lucky to have a chance to Skype with her some months ago and ask her a whole bunch of random stuff. She is so patient, clever and funny, also a great storyteller,  her writing is full of crafty worlds and unforgettable characters. You can find more about her work here

To celebrate the upcoming publication of 'Breakout' (August 25th) the last installment of the Dred Chronicles (brilliant spin up from the Jax world, a romantic adult sci-fi trilogy), I will be giving away the first two books of the series, Perdition and Havoc:

So, this is your chance to read this great sci-fi adventure!


Here is the blurb of Perdition:

WELCOME TO HELL

The prison ship Perdition, a floating city where the Conglomerate’s most dangerous criminals are confined for life, orbits endlessly around a barren asteroid.

Life inside is even more bleak. Hailed as the Dread Queen, inmate Dresdemona “Dred” Devos controls one of Perdition’s six territories, bordered on both sides by would-be kings eager to challenge her claim. Keeping them at bay requires constant vigilance, as well as a steady influx of new recruits to replace the fallen. Survival is a constant battle, and death is the only escape.

Of the newest convicts, only one is worth Dred’s attention. The mercenary Jael, with his deadly gaze and attitude, may be the most dangerous criminal onboard. His combat skill could give her the edge she needs, if he doesn’t betray her first. Unfortunately, that’s what he does best. Winning Jael’s allegiance will be a challenge, but failure could be worse than death…

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Why? Because I want to share the love for Ms. Aguirre's books and I ended up getting two copies of Havoc a few months ago by error.

How? Just enter the Rafflecopter form below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Please spread the word!

"There's a pivotal moment just before death, when bargains can be made."

Mortal Danger by Ann Aguirre
My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I chose to ignore this book’s synopsis, as I wanted that “jump blindly to the plot” experience. I’m so very glad I did. I am a long time fan of Ann Aguirre's books. Thus this was an immediate MUST read for me.

The book takes upon its shoulders a lot of complicated social issues and very craftily masters them. Allow me to pinpoint the precise moment this book hooked me: It begins with a suicide attempt. The main character Edie, a teenage girl, is in the brink of taking her own life. The reason behind her decision is simple: bullying in extremis. She is smart and methodical, as such, she plans the exact way/day/time for her death. However, things abruptly change once she is offered a crazy scary bargain by Kian, this random mysterious hot guy: become beautiful and extract revenge to those who pushed her to the limit. Simple, right? Not.

It touches themes of beauty, looks and the shallowness of school. Particularly how does it affect self esteem. Edie's bullying is painful and terrible. It was perfectly clear for me why she takes such extreme measures of death and revenge. I rooted for her!



Fate and choice become an important theme in this book. Edie's actions have a lot of consequences, potentially fatal! So she must thread carefully around her newly found agency.

Aguirre shows us through Edie's experiences possible explanations for bullying, or glimpses of why humans might behave in such a horrible way, without excusing their actions. It was amazing to read. Fear, shame and acceptance are all closely connected. Personally, it really touched me in a lot of ways, as I've been re-visiting some experiences that needed nice closure. Just for this, this book deserves 1.000 stars.

Beyond these themes, this book has scary horror stuff that can easily come from a terrible nightmare. All the monsters ever imagined are REAL and Edie realizes she bargained more than she expected... starting with her sanity. I was creeped out with this atmosphere of horrors and vividly described gory scenes. Particularly, it reminded me of one of the final scenes of the 1995 movie Seven (starring Brad Pitt & Kevin Spacey): a box which we never see its contents but we ALL know what it has *shudders*.



On a side note, I have to mention Kian, the main male interest, he is definitely not my cup of tea, however, in my experience with Aguirre's books, characters I dislike, get better as the plot thickens.

Another thing I noticed and liked, where the excellent gender roles to follow with Edie's parents. Edie's dad cooks their meals, her mom is oblivious to looks and fashion, rather focusing on her academic life. Yay! for breaking some stereotypes. And on this line of thought about debunking stereotypes: *APPLAUSE* as it questions the assumptions regarding rich Colombians and its immediate connection to cartels (1.000 stars more just for this titbit on the 27% mark).

In sum, I have a feeling that this series will stay in my mind for a while, as it deliciously enthralled me with its horrors and human responses to extreme behaviours. More please :)

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Fictional Meals




There is a recurrent theme I see in Aguirre's books: the great food her characters eat!

We have stuffed artichokes, brussels sprouts, poached halibut and oatmeal, deliciously described like this: steel cut, hearty, topped with brown sugar, crushed walnuts, butter, and raisins. I'm hungry!

There was a very famous Chilen poet. Pablo Neruda, who was a skilful writer and cook. He mixed his two passions in some of his poems. Here is an excerpt of his Ode To The Artichoke, it reminded me of Edie's struggles:

"The artichoke
With a tender heart
Dressed up like a warrior,
Standing at attention, it built
A small helmet
Under its scales
It remained
Unshakeable"

- Find the whole version at: http://allpoetry.com/Ode-To-The-Artic...

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I received an ARC for this book from Feiwel & Friends/Macmillan through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for my new nightmares with closed boxes >_<

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Mortal Danger & the Infinity Symbol Scavenger Hunt

Ann Aguirre is one of my favourite writers. She writes fantasy for young adults, adults and has a new series in the new adult genre. Also, with her husband, they have written an amazing steampunk series I am madly in love with, The Apparatus Infernum series.  

She has the best sense of humour, superb writing skills and is never a dull moment to follow her on Twitter

For her upcoming YA book, Mortal Danger (available August 5, 2014), she has made the most awesome Scavenger Hunt.  The task: spread the word & find infinity symbols all around you! Fun, right?

You can read the first 5 chapters of this book HERE

Synopsis:

Revenge is a dish best served cold. 

Edie Kramer has a score to settle with the beautiful people at Blackbriar Academy. Their cruelty drove her to the brink of despair, and four months ago, she couldn’t imagine being strong enough to face her senior year. But thanks to a Faustian compact with the enigmatic Kian, she has the power to make the bullies pay. She’s not supposed to think about Kian once the deal is done, but devastating pain burns behind his unearthly beauty, and he’s impossible to forget.

In one short summer, her entire life changes, and she sweeps through Blackbriar, prepped to take the beautiful people down from the inside. A whisper here, a look there, and suddenly… bad things are happening. It’s a heady rush, seeing her tormentors get what they deserve, but things that seem too good to be true usually are, and soon, the pranks and payback turns from delicious to deadly. Edie is alone in a world teeming with secrets and fiends lurking in the shadows. In this murky morass of devil’s bargains, she isn’t sure who—or what–she can trust. Not even her own mind…

Well, so far I've found one Infinity Symbol and I am crossing my fingers that my "growing" attempt works out ;)

Here is the first one, from one of my tarot decks:

And here is a sneak peek of my growing attempt:

Now is your turn!! Spread the word and find those INFINITY SYMBOLS that surround you!

I am ready for you, lovely book!

Ann Aguirre is one of my "to-go" fantasy reading authors who isn't shy of trying lots of genres (adult and YA) and is by far the most prolific writer I know. She has made my reading take new directions. I first encountered Sirantha Jax and her totally slow-building, mindblowing Grimspace romantic sci-fi series. Then, I got the pleasure to read her YA dystopian adventures from the Razorland trilogy. She has a lot of witty, crafty stories going on, and her twitter account will give you hours of entertainment. 

A month ago she announced on her website an exciting giveaway, to encourage bloggers to familiarize with her books, in an effort to encourage readers and reviews. She is always keeping up with her author-reader bond.

I am excited that I got picked up, as being in an international location is not always that easy to receive such bounties. 

So, last week (almost for my birthday - yay!), I received a signed copy of "Bronze Gods", the first instalment from the Apparatus Infernum series, she co-authored with her husband, Andrés. 

Isn't this pretty?

I am so excited to start this book!

Review: 'Til The World Ends

'Til The World Ends by Julie Kagawa, Ann Aguirre and Karen Duvall.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Uh-oh.... The apocalypse is here!!!!Doomsday arrived and people will die. Some might live through it and will deal with surviving the aftermath. Scary stuff occurs. Rest assured, we've got some good main characters to help us navigate through these troubled times. 3 stories carefully written by Julie Kagawa, Ann Aguirre and Karen Duvall. Yup, this is big. Are you prepared to read what happens when the WORLD ENDS?

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First story: Julie Kagawa's Dawn of Eden was glorious.

It's written from the point of view of Kylie, a 23 year old doctor who is running one of the few clinics still open after the deadly spread of the Red Lung virus. It is located in the outskirts if DC, and suddenly everything changes when a new patient and his friend arrive.This story will make you cringe, bite some nails and cheer out loud.

Funny thing, I just watched Django Unchained. Quentin Tarantino has a soft heart for for blood and Julie Kagawa was actually giving some very gory descriptions, as such, today I had a very bloody day ;) Nasty thing this 'end of the world' business.

This story is a prequel of the events that occurred in Immortal Rules,  the vampire dystopia, from the 'Blood of Eden' trilogy. Which, by the way, is amazing :-)

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Second story: Ann Aguirre's Thistle & Throne

Ann Aguirre is very skilled in delivering broken worlds and badass heroines. I loved this story and the short glimpse Aguirre gave us about the world Mari inhabits.
Chemical spills have seriously affected the world. As such, basically people who are rich live inside a compound, have access to food, goods and plants... Etc. However, not all are 'lucky', and they live or survive outside these sheltered places. This is where we meet Mari Thistle, she is from the Red Zone and will do anything to protect her siblings; even partnering up with Throne Goodman, a very dangerous and mysterious man. Yup, this was awesome!

I hurt for Mari and sort of sympathised with Throne. It is a dark short story that will leave you craving for more.
I wish there was a whole book devoted to this place and characters.

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Last story: Karen Duvall's Sun Storm

This story was hot, in the literary definition, as in the stuff that thermometer measures, making me twitch uncomfortably. I am one of those individuals that abhor the heat. Summer is a bit painful for me as I am not a tolerant person when talking about warm and high temperatures. I cringed with this story because of this, but was very intrigued by it.

The Earth has suffered from a series of Sun storms that left the planet dry and affected all living beings with dangerous radioactive sun sparks. Whoever is exposed to these sparks, dies slowly of a Sun Fever. The rare outcome of this exposure: a few persons may end up with superpowers of sorts called Kinetic.
Sun Storm tells the story of Sarah, a kinetic who can predict sun storms and her encounter with Ian, another mysterious kinetic who just moved to her broken town. It focuses on their encounters, their powers and how they can alter the world they live in.

My thoughts on this story: it feels too rushed. The main characters are too bland. What drives Sarah? Why is she so goody goody and naïve? Many things on the actual cause of the Sun being evil don't add up, specially the end. To tell you the truth, it was my least favourite of the three. It felt a bit unpolished and unbelievable (yes, I'm aware that I'm reading a post apocalyptic story).

Regardless, it was entertaining :-)

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As a whole, this book rocked my socks. Anthologies are tricky, but this one nailed it. There is despair, deception, love, strength, loss, endurance, madness and above all, survival. I feel I'm getting better prepared for that dreadful Apocalypse everyone is talking about. At least I'm studying the skills necessary for survival while enjoying my favourite reads! Deadly virus that can turn you into an infected vampire-zombie, chemical spills and dangerous bossmans who you want to avoid, and a sun over-baked planet, thirsty and sick. Surviving is the key 'Til the World Ends.
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This book was kindly provided to me by the publisher, Harlequin, through Netgalley. Thank you!




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Review: Killbox

Killbox by Ann Aguirre

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Space is beautiful!!! Well... Only if there are no Moguls and an imminent threat of annihilation from their increasing attacks to Conglomerate posts... So yeah, the universe is at the brink of war and Jax is trying to make the best out of it. Training and learning new war tactics and facing the challenges imposed in her new role as the Lieutenant Captain of the newly established Armada - which holds March as its Commander. This books delivers as much adventure, explosions, fights and intrigue as its previous. Battles occur and new losses hit close to home for our lovely Sirantha Jax.

I grinned with the cliffhanger at the end *rubs sweaty palms* and thought: way to go Jax!!!

I Love this series! I can't say this enough. Ann Aguirre has made my interest in sci-fi and adventure take a whole new level. I love the world she created and I find myself intrigued in how slowly but steadily the author delivers such smart and heartbreaking plots. These characters are alive in my imagination and I am grateful to have found them.



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