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Elizabeth Fais

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YA Series with intrigue, action, and suspense… Oh my!

11 Sunday Nov 2018

Posted by Elizabeth Fais in Books, Mystery, Reading, Thriller, Young Adult

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Alyson Noel, Beautiful Idols, Blacklist, Blood for Blood, Cecily Von Zeigesar, Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Infamous, Kirkus Reviews, Mystery, Publishers Weekly, Reading, Riders, Ryan Graudin, Seeker, supernatural, Thriller, Unvrivaled, Veronica Rossi, Wolf by Wolf, YA, Young Adult, young adult fiction

As the days get shorter and the nights colder, there’s nothing better than curling up next to a warm fire with a good book. Preferably a story that sweeps you away with intrigue and catches your breath with excitement. “I’m in,” you say, “got any suggestions?”

As a matter of fact…there are three fantastic young adult (YA) series that may have surreptitiously slipped under your radar…

Beautiful Idols series

By Alyson Noel

The BEAUTIFUL IDOLS series is a sizzling contemporary Hollywood noir mystery, with an authentic cast of culturally diverse teenagers. UNRIVALED, the first in the series, hooked me from the start and it was tough waiting for BLACKLIST and INFAMOUS. You don’t have to wait, though. You can read all three back to back!

The mystery unfolds as a group of celebrity-seeking teens are handpicked by the owner of Los Angeles’ trendiest night clubs to promote his newest venues.

The glitz and glamour soon fades, exposing the ruthlessness of a cut-throat industry. Aster, Layla, Tommy, and Ryan find themselves caught in a web of deception, greed, and murder linked to the disappearance of Madison Brooks, A-List actress and the nation’s favorite It girl.

Secrets and lies build as the series flows with unexpected twists at each turn. As the characters’ interrelationships deepen, the consequences escalate to a supremely satisfying conclusion.

  • Publishers Weekly called this series “Addictive.”
  • New York Times bestselling author, Cecily Von Zeigesar, described it as, “Mysterious and compelling.”
  • Kirkus Reviews called it, “Chick-lit gold.”

I wholeheartedly to agree.

Riders and Seeker

By Veronica Rossi

What would you do if you woke up to find you were one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse? That’s what Gideon discovers in RIDERS, recovering from an accident that actually killed him. He has new powers, a bizarre cuff he can’t remove, and a new destiny—he’s War, one of the legendary horsemen of the apocalypse, with a horse made of fire no less.

A mysterious girl arrives to help Gideon unite with the other horsemen, Conquest, Famine, and Death and their horses of light, shadow, and ash. They must save the world from an ancient evil. And they fail. Big time.

It was Daryn’s responsibility as a SEEKER to ensure the success of the Riders’ mission. Daryn’s visions started in high school, but one believed she could see the future. She became a Seeker to save lives. It was all good…until Sebastian. He was a mistake that haunted her with the threat of mankind’s destruction. Will she be able to do what the Riders could not?

Rossi’s gift for realistic world building and creating engaging—yet flawed and vulnerable—characters brings this high velocity supernatural thriller into realistic focus. For a fierce and explosive, nail-biting ride, this duology is a must read.

USA Today agrees, “Readers will surely be clamoring for more.”

Wolf by Wolf and Blood for Blood

By Ryan Graudin

What if Hitler had won WWII? In WOLF BY WOLF, that’s the reality Ya-el faces, one she’ll risk her life to change after escaping the horrors of a Nazi concentration camp. A product of inhumane Nazi experimentation, Ya-el became a shapeshifter. A talent she uses for the resistance’s mission that requires Ya-el to assume the identity of last year’s motorcycle racing champion, Adele Wolf, in the Axis Tour. It’s critical that Ya-el win the race and assassinate Hitler at the victory dance.

BLOOD FOR BLOOD resumes the heart pounding race in a higher stakes arena. Seventeen year-old Ya-el is on the run, in a world that believes she killed Hitler. The truth is unbelievably complicated and the consequences are a matter of life and death. Ya-el and her band of unlikely comrades must infiltrate enemy territory and complete their mission. They must stop the Nazis or lose everything.

Publishers Weekly (starred review) of BLOOD FOR BLOOD states, “Graudin…crafts another fast-paced, enthralling tale of sacrifice and dogged determination as she fuses alternate history and spy thriller suspense. A provocative rumination on self-preservation, the greater good, and the boundaries that keep heroes from becoming as cruel as those they fight.”

Now…for that breathtaking escape…

What goes around, comes around ~ Stories that come back again & again…

24 Sunday Aug 2014

Posted by Elizabeth Fais in Reading, Story, Writing

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

1984, Anne Rice, Blade Runner, Bram Stoker, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Catching Fire, Divergent, Dracula, Dystopian, Elizabeth Fais, George Orwell, Hero, Horror, Hunger Games, Interview with a Vampire, Joss Whedon, Paranormal, Road Warrior, Stephenie Meyer, supernatural, Suzanne Collins, Tim Kane, Twilight, Under the Never Sky, Vampire, Veronica Rossi, Veronica Roth

Girl sitting on the grass reading a bookSome things are destined to return: the seasons, fashion trends, and certain types of stories.

As a race, we have an inherent need for stories. They come from a deep place in our psyche, and shape our lives.

Science is now able to prove that stories affect our psychological make up. The New York Times article, Your Brain on Fiction, by Annie Murphy Paul, shows how reading fiction affects the way we react in social encounters in real life. The ability to internalize the emotions and actions of fictional characters, actually helps us cope with our own world in a more positive way. [image: morguefile.com]

Reading … enlarges and improves us as human beings. Brain science shows this claim is truer than we imagined.

Joseph Campbell’s interviews with Bill Moyers on The Power of the Myth discussed the universality of stories (myths), and the similarities in the types of stories told from cultures around the world.

Why We Need Certain Stories

You could write an exhaustive doctorate’s thesis on this topic. You’ll be glad to know I’m not. I was thinking about the recent vampire craze, and wondered  “why” certain story types keep coming back, each time with a huge social impact.

The following is some of my reasoning, totally unsupported by any research whatsoever. Your comments on the topic are welcome and appreciated!

Paranormal: Vampires

Vampires existed in folklore for centuries, and became world-renowned in the 19th Vampirecentury. Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” (1897) was one of the first novels in the vampire craze. In recent decades, “Interview with a Vampire” by Anne Rice, “Twilight” by Stephenie Meyer, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer created by Joss Whedon, boosted the vampire pop culture phenomena.

Why the mass market fascination with blood sucking immortals? I think immortal is the operative word, with the monster factor playing a close second. [image: morguefile.com]

We are afraid of the unknown, and what happens after death is one of life’s biggest mysteries—one that makes us face our worst fear, extinction. We idolize vampires, because of their beatific immortality. They have been glamorized to such an extent that we overlook the fact that they are blood sucking monsters. In recent fiction, some vampires sparkle in sunlight and are portrayed as humanitarian—the Twilight series, for example.

In truth, vampires are at best monsters who enjoy the glamour of killing. Why do we crave stories about monsters? It’s kind of sick, if you think about it.

Or, maybe not…

I wrote an earlier blog post on this topic, titled Monsters We Love to Hate. To put it simply, we need something horrible onto which we can project our fear of the unknown—a monster that can be destroyed. The ability to vanquish monsters in a story, gives us a sense of control over our fears and conquering the unknown.

For an in-depth study of vampires in pop culture, check out “The Changing Vampire in Film and Television: A Critical Study of the Growth of a Genre” by Tim Kane.

Dystopian

Hunger GamesThe dystopian story—post apocalyptic, degenerated society—provides a venue for managing another type of fear. The primal fear of survival.

Survival is the crux of a dystopian story. Surviving under the worst possible conditions.

Dystopian stories are usually characterized by dehumanization (“1984” by George Orwell, and the 1980’s films Road Warrior and Blade Runner), totalitarian governments “(The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins, “Divergent” by Veronica Roth), environmental disaster (“Under the Never Sky” by Veronica Rossi), and other characteristics associated with a severe decline in society.

The hero in a dystopian tale give us courage by showing us how to survive at all costs. How they cope with and overcome the hardships in their brutal world, helps us to face and overcome our own battles for survival, both real and imagined. In essence, dystopian stories teach us how to be our own hero. Everyone needs that type of encouragement at one time or another. There’s nothing more empowering than knowing you can save yourself. [image: The Hunger Games (movie)]


What are the stories you can’t get enough of?


15th YAppiest Giveaway! “Struck” by Jennifer Bosworth

30 Saturday Nov 2013

Posted by Elizabeth Fais in Book Reviews, Dystopian, Supernatural, Thriller, YA, YAppiest, Young Adult

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Apocalyptic, Dystopian, earthquakes, Elizabeth Fais, Jennifer Bosworth, lightning, Los Angeles, Mystical, natural disaster, Power, religious cults, Struck, supernatural, YAppiest Day on Earth, YAppiest Giveaway

17 YA AUTHORS + DISNEYLAND = THE YAPPIEST DAY ON EARTH!

YAppiest Day on Earth icon

If you couldn’t make The YAppiest Day on Earth, never fear! The YAppiness keeps rolling with epic read giveaways by each of the 17 authors.

This is the 15th YAppiest Giveaway! for Struck, by Jennifer Bosworth.

For a chance to win a FREE copy of this book, see the “Here’s How” section below. For a complete list of upcoming giveaways, go here.

A High Voltage Dystopian

STRUCK coverMia Price is a lightning addict. She’s survived countless strikes, but her craving to connect to the energy in storms endangers her life and the lives of those around her.

Los Angeles, where lightning rarely strikes, is one of the few places Mia feels safe from her addiction. But when an earthquake devastates the city, her haven is transformed into a minefield of chaos and danger. The beaches become massive tent cities. Downtown is a crumbling wasteland, where a traveling party moves to a different empty building each night, the revelers drawn to the destruction by a force they cannot deny. Two warring cults rise to power, and both see Mia as the key to their opposing doomsday prophecies. They believe she has a connection to the freak electrical storm that caused the quake, and to the far more devastating storm that is yet to come.

Mia wants to trust the enigmatic and alluring Jeremy when he promises to protect her, but she fears he isn’t who he claims to be. In the end, the passion and power that brought them together could be their downfall. When the final disaster strikes, Mia must risk unleashing the full horror of her strength to save the people she loves, or lose everything. [Synopsis]

To save everyone, she must risk everything…

Mia is haunted by her ability to attract lightning, and frightened by the power each strike has left building inside her. She sees her power as a curse, but the warring religious cults in Los Angeles see it as something to be claimed and manipulated to their own ends. Mia wants nothing to do with either faction, but her brother is drawn to one side and her mother the other. To make matters more confusing, she meets an enigmatic, totally hot guy named Jeremy who possesses a strange power that draws her to him. Mia doesn’t know who she can trust. Not her brother or her mother. And least of all Jeremy, who shows up when she least expects it and then disappearing just as mysteriously.

STRUCK is an engaging, super fresh take on the dystopian theme with a unique paranormal twist. Mia may be a lightning addict with mystical powers, but she is also a teenager with insecurities and family drama we can all relate to. Her mother is left mentally broken as a result of what she endured in the massive quake, and Mia is doing whatever it takes to hold their small family together. The mystical elements of the story are woven through the realistic setting of post-apocalyptic Los Angeles, substantiating a plausible explanation for the cataclysmic events Mia faces.

STRUCK is equal parts high-voltage action and thoughtful character study. For nothing shows a person for who they are more than how they act in a crisis. In the first sentence of the book, we learn that Mia’s life has been a royal flush in that department…

When you’re struck by lightning as many times as I have, you start to expect the worst pretty much all of the time.

Check out the following book trailer… 



Here’s how to win…

NOTE: The FREE giveaway of a copy of this book is open to residents of the United States only, due to shipping costs. My sincere apologies.

  1. Leave a comment on this blog–explaining WHY you want to read this book— by midnight, December 6th (1 entry).
  2. Tweet about this giveaway, including #yappiest in your tweet (1 entry).

I’ll tally the entries and choose a winner, then announce it on this blog on Sunday, December 8th. Good luck!

Stay tuned for the next YAppiests Giveaway!

Book Covers for Giveaways

34.052234 -118.243685

Dangerous Reflections & Twisted Reflections ~ GIVEAWAY Winners!

20 Friday Apr 2012

Posted by Elizabeth Fais in Fantasy, Mystery, Science Fiction, Young Adult

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

Mystery, Shay Fabbro, supernatural, Time Travel, Young Adult

It’s time folks! What we’ve all been waiting for … The Adventures of Alexis Davenport giveway winners! A BIG Thank You to everyone who participated!!!

The Deets: The winners were randomly selected from everyone who left a comment on Monday’s Guest Blog by Shay Fabbro. One winner receives a signed copy of Dangerous Reflections and another a signed copy of Twisted Reflections, both by the fabulous Shay Fabbro.

Dangerous Reflections (Book 1) Giveaway Winner!

Alexis Davenport wants to go home. She hates her new school, her mother for moving her away from her friends, living in her aunt’s guesthouse, and her father for walking out.

To make matters worse, Alex is haunted by the images of strange girls reflected in her mirror. It is bad enough juggling homework, a relentless bully, boys, and a deadbeat dad. Now, she must save the world from an evil presence hell-bent on changing the past–and our futures. Who knew her A+ in history was going to be this important?

And the winner is…

Tami Clayton
*** Tosses confetti ***

Twisted Reflections (Book 2) Giveaway Winner!

Alexis Davenport wants to be rid of her gift of time travel, and the duty that has been thrust upon her to protect the time line from an evil lunatic trying to change the past.

When she travels back to ancient Egypt, Alex gets a most unexpected surprise; she meets a fellow Traveler like herself, someone who can possibly help her figure out how to use her powers to stop Drifter from altering the past.

But can she learn how to control her gift before Drifter finds a way to stop her from meddling in his plans?

And the winner is…

Lisa Gail Green
*** Tosses even more confetti ***

Stay connected with Shay:

  • Check out her Website
  • Visit The Adventures of Alexis Davenport fan page on Facebook
  • Follow @DrShayFabbro on Twitter

A New Breed of Badass

25 Sunday Mar 2012

Posted by Elizabeth Fais in Badass, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Elizabeth Fais, Emmie Mears, Femme Phenom, Paranormal, Supernatural, The Matrix, Vampire, Young Adult

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

Al Pacino, Bruce Lee, Bruce Willis, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Carrie Anne Moss, Clint Eastwood, Denzel Washington, Die Hard, Dirty Harry, Emmie Mears, Femme Phenom, Hunger Games, Joss Whedon, Paranormal, Rambo, Sarah Michelle Gellar, supernatural, Sylvester Stalone, The Matrix, Trinity, Young Adult

Badass looked like this…

That is, until Buffy the Vampire Slayer!

Buffy was a new breed of badass … the Femme Phenom. (As in, phenomenal. Come on people, keep up.) Joss Whedon created Buffy, because he was tired of the  pathetic female characters in horror films who maybe screamed before letting themselves get killed.

So not Buffy. She saved the world. A lot. And always did it with a witty quip, while rocking the hottest fashion. She wasn’t just tough, she was feminine and had depth of character. Buffy continues to save the world, as Emmie Mears so aptly points out.

I mean, would there have been a Trinity (of The Matrix series) if Buffy hadn’t blazed the Femme Phenom trail? Not to mention the other terrific Femme Phenoms, in fiction and film?

Take Katniss Everdeen of the Hunger Games (the heroine of the uber-popular book series, now a movie), an awesome Femme Phenom. She’s strong physically, mentally, and emotionally. She has to be to survive the horrific Hunger Games. Check out May the Odds Be Ever in Your Favor, if you haven’t read the books or seen the movie.

So… in honor of Buffy, Trinity, Katniss, and all the other hot badass chicks, I declare this National Femme Phenom Week! And to celebrate, I’ll be hosting a phenomenal giveaway! A book with a truly badass Femme. You won’t be disappointed. Promise!

Sign up to follow this blog so you don’t miss out!

Badass is the New Awesome…

At least … during National Femme Phenom Week!

So, tell us … who’s your favorite badass … in film or fiction?

And for the record, badass guys are a total hot commodity in my book.

Another Jekyll, Another Hyde

16 Friday Mar 2012

Posted by Elizabeth Fais in Mystery, Paranormal, Supernatural, YA, Young Adult

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Hyde, Jekyll, Mystery, Nayeri, Paranormal, supernatural, YA, YA Litwit, Young Adult

Review Redux ~ YA Litwit

Of all the reviews I’ve read this week, this is the book I’d move to the top of my to-be-read pile … if it were out. A real edge-of-your-seat paranormal mystery that hits the stores March 27th. Can’t wait!

What book are you excited about reading next?

Another Jekyll, Another Hyde, by Daniel and Dina Nayeri

Publisher: Candlewick Press
Publication Date: March 27th, 2012

An elusive stalker is targeting Marlowe kids – and something unearthly has gotten into its wealthiest student – as the Another series builds up to a fiendish finale. When his billionaire father marries French governess Nicola Vileroy, high society is all abuzz – but Thomas, the most popular student at Marlowe, is just plain high. Ever since his girlfriend Belle dumped him, he’s been spending less time with old friends and more time getting wasted at clubs. But after someone slips him a designer drug one night – and his stepmother seems to know way too much about his private life – things really start to get scary. As Thomas’s blackouts give way to a sinister voice inside his head, and as news of a vicious hate crime has students on edge, Thomas comes to the sickening realization that Madame Vileroy has involved him in a horrifying supernatural plan. How can he muster the strength and will to stop it? The pulse-quickening climax revisits Jekyll and Hyde as a current-day cautionary tale laced with a heady dose of paranormal intrigue.
(Courtesy of Goodreads)

Read Karis Jacobstein’s review at YA Litwit.

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