Chaos Blog Tour: Review

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Chaos by Lanie Bross! Today I have my review of the book to share with you!

Chaos (Fates #2)

Author: Lanie Bross

Genre: YA Paranormal/Fantasy

Release Date: January 27, 2015

Publisher: Delacorte

Description:

Can they change their destiny?

They kissed only once—and it was electric, like the air before a storm. But Corinthe and Luc broke the rules of the universe, and learned too late that their love would have consequences. In the dizzying aftermath, Luc refuses to accept his destiny—not if it means a life without Corinthe. As a fire rages through the Crossroads that connect worlds, Luc must find a way to turn back time and save Corinthe once and for all.

Meanwhile, Luc's 15-year-old sister Jasmine starts to realize things are not as they seem when time begins stuttering, sending her everyday life in San Francisco spinning into chaos. She’s thrown into the path of Ford, a troubled soul with a secret past, who helps her unravel the mysterious threads that connect them all.

Two breathtaking romances interweave across time in this story of what lies on the other side of Fate, as both Jas and Luc discover the incredible lengths they will go for love. 

Chaos is the second book in a young adult fantasy series that continues to explore the concepts of love, fate, destiny, and free will. The second book picks up where the first left off - after Corinthe and Lucas have kissed and broken the rules of the universe. Things are thrown into chaos because of their love, but Lucas refuses to give up and doesn't want any kind of future that doesn't include Corinthe. He must find a way to go back in time to save her - once and for all. The chaos that has been unleashed by Lucas and Corinthe is being felt all over the world, including San Francisco, where Lucas' younger sister - Jasmine - begins noticing strange occurrences that shouldn't be possible. In the middle of her confusion and the chaos that has taken over her life, she meets the handsome and mysterious Ford. He's the only one who can explain to Jasmine what's happening and why - and to understand the various threads that connect everyone despite time, location, or any other obstacle. Will Lucas be able to find a way to save Corinthe once and for all, so they can finally be together without terrible consequences? Will Jasmine - with Ford's help - be able to help her brother and his cause? Or are all of their efforts for nothing?

I found this to be an intriguing book that continues to mix mythology with deep life questions about fate, destiny, and true love. The main characters are both well written - Corinthe is an interesting female lead for the book. She's unique in so many aspects, yet easy to identify with at the same time. I enjoyed watching her relationship with Lucas continue to develop and grow throughout the story. I also really loved the introduction of the two new characters - Lucas' sister Jasmine and the mysterious Ford. Both pairs must learn to overcome obstacles and situations they never thought possible - all in the name of love. They each must answer the question of how far they will go for love. The author uses vivid descriptions and details throughout the story, so it was easy to envision myself beside the characters in their world. I loved learning all about Corinthe's world, along with all the other worlds that are discussed. Their intricate details and histories made the book all the more exciting and fun to explore. Aside from dealing with the mythology concerning the Fates, the book talks a lot about true love, fate, destiny, and free will. These are really deep topics and made me take a long and honest look at the various opinions about these beliefs as well as where I stand with them. It kind of blows our mind when you think about it, so I'm glad that the author wove the deeper topics into a lighter story about love and alternate worlds - it created a more even balance within the book to even it all out. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I think it's a fantastic second installment in a romantic and thought provoking series. I definitely recommend this book - and series - to fans of mythology and YA fantasy with romance.

Lanie Bross was born in a small town in Maine, where she spent the next 18 years dreaming of bigger places. After exploring city life, she and her husband and two young sons ended up coming right back to the wilds of Maine where they now live just one house down from where she grew up. Fate, perhaps? She loves chasing around her rambunctious kids, playing tug-o-war with her 95 pound Lab, and writing for Young Adults. Chaos is the sequel to Fates. 

Author Links:

http://www.leebross.com/

https://twitter.com/LanieBross

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5361693.Lanie_Bross

Buy Links:

Amazon

B&N

Indie Bound

 

Ember Blog Tour: CHAOS Review + Giveaway

 

Ember Blog Tour 

"Our fires burn brightly for our readers and as a way to say thanks to our readers we've launched our latest division of Entangled Teen and it's name is Ember. We have two exciting launch titles: Darker Days by Jus Accardo and Chaos by Christine O'Neil. Read away!" 

Entangled Teen Ember is a division of Entangled Teen that specializes in digital-first YAs.



CHAOS (Kardia Chronicles #1)

Author: Christine O'Neil
Genre: YA Fantasy
Release Date: August 19, 2013
Publisher: Entangled Teen - Ember

Description:

My name is Maggie Raynard. After sixteen years being just plain me, suddenly, when I lose my temper, my fingers become weapons of mass destruction. Turns out I'm a semi-god, descended from Aphrodite. Sounds cool in theory, but when I accidentally put my ex-boyfriend in a coma, things go downhill pretty fast.

Now some new guy named Mac Finnegan has made it his mission in life to continually piss me off. I'm stuck learning how to use my new powers while also dealing with regular high school problems, and with this annoying—and super-hot—guy all up in my business, I'm about to flip out.

But it gets worse. I just learned there's this watchdog council of semis who keeps an eye out for any bad apples. They think I'm the baddest of the bunch and want to take me out before I do any more damage. My nemesis Mac might turn out to be my salvation, only he's got secrets of his own...and they may just kill us both. 

CHAOS is the first book in a young adult fantasy series that follows main character Maggie Raynard who suddenly learns that she's a semi-god descended from Aphrodite. When she loses her temper, things go horribly wrong - especially when she accidentally puts her ex into a coma. Enter the mysterious and handsome new guy named Mac Finnegan. He's continually on Maggie's nerves and definitely knows how to push her buttons. So on top of leading a normal teenager's life with school, friends, and boys, Maggie has to learn how to control her powers while not using them on Mac. To make a bad situation worse, Maggie learns that there's a council of semi-gods watching her every move and they're prepared to take her down if she makes a wrong move. Now Mac seems to be the only one on her side, but he's definitely hiding something - something that might get them both killed.

This was a really fun and exciting first novel in a new YA fantasy series that deals with mythology. The plot wasn't completely original since mythology is a big trend in the genre lately, but the author use of semi-gods and their powers along with the council and other story elements made it stand out from the others. The characters were realistic, all with their own personalities, strengths, and weaknesses. I really liked Maggie as a main character. She was believable, witty, smart, and definitely has attitude. I liked watching her character change and grow throughout the book as she learns about her powers and who she really is and then stepping up when she has to. The relationship between Maggie and Mac was rocky at the beginning and kind of cliched, but I liked their bantering and the way they eventually warmed up to each other. I loved all the detail and description the author put into the book about the mythology, especially the gods, semi-gods, their powers, and the council and its history. I found all of that really fascinating and I think it added a great dimension to the book. I hope that the next installment will allow us to go even further into that world and learn more about it. The writing was incredibly well done with a great pace that kept me reading eagerly to see what was going to happen next. I really liked this book and I'm glad that it's just the beginning of what promises to be an awesome series, but now I have to wait for the next book to be released. Highly recommended for fans of YA fantasy and paranormal fiction.

Christine O'Neil was born and raised in Connecticut, where she spent most of her childhood outdoors catching salamanders, frogs and colds. When she wasn't terrorizing Mother Nature, she was curled up under the covers with her nose in a book. As an adult, she's stopped stalking amphibians, but still loves books. When she isn't reading, she likes to spend her time people-watching. In fact, she's probably watching you RIGHT NOW O_O She's also pretty obsessed with writing YA books, but if she had to pick another profession she would be a ninja...or a Professor of the Dark Arts. Christine also writes adult romance under the pen name Christine Bell. 

Twitter | Website | Goodreads

About Ember's other title:


Darker Days (The Darker Agency #1)
Author: Jus Accardo
Genre: YA Fantasy/Paranormal
Release Date: August 19, 2013
Publisher: Entangled Teen - Ember

Description:

Jessie Darker goes to high school during the day, but at night she helps with the family investigation business. Cheating husbands and stolen inheritances? They’re your girls—but their specialty is a bit darker. Zombie in your garage? Pesky Poltergeist living in your pool? They’ll have the problem solved in a magical minute. For a nominal fee, of course...

When gorgeous new client, Lukas Scott, saunters into the office requesting their help to find a stolen box, it sounds like a simple case—until the truth comes out. The box is full of Sin.

Seven deadly ones, in fact.

They’ve got five days to recapture the Sins before they're recalled by the box, taking seven hijacked human bodies with them. Easy peasy—except for one thing...

There’s a spell that will allow the Sins to remain free, causing chaos forever. When the key ingredient threatens the life of someone she knows, Jessie must make the ultimate choice between love and family—or lose everything. 

JUS ACCARDO spent her childhood reading and learning to cook. Determined to follow in her grandfather’s footsteps as a chef, she applied and was accepted to the Culinary Institute of America. At the last minute, she realized her path lay with fiction, not food, and passed on the spot to pursue writing. Jus is the bestselling author the popular Denazen series from Entangled publishing. A native New Yorker, she lives in the middle of nowhere with her husband, three dogs, and sometimes guard bear, Oswald. 

Twitter | Website | Facebook | Blog | Goodreads

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Cover Reveal & Giveaway: CHAOS by Christine O'Neil

Today Christine O’Neil and Entangled Teen Ember are revealing the cover for book 1 in The Kardia Chronicles Series, CHAOS!


Coming out this August!

On to the reveal!

 

Blurb:

My name is Maggie Raynard. After sixteen years being just plain me, suddenly I can kill people when I lose my temper. Turns out I'm a semi-god, descended from Aphrodite. Sounds cool in theory, but when I accidentally put my ex-boyfriend in a coma, things go downhill pretty fast.
Now some new guy named Mac Finnegan has made it his mission in life to continually piss me off. I'm stuck learning how to use my new powers while also dealing with regular high school problems, and with this---annoying and super-hot---guy all up in my business, I'm about to flip out.
But it gets worse. I just learned there's this council for semis that wants me dead. They think I'm bad to the bone and when my ex suddenly dies, it's like everyone is determined to take me out. Mac might turn out to be my only salvation, but he's got secrets of his own---that may just kill us both.

Goodreads/Amazon/Barnes & Noble/Kobo/iBooks

Exclusive Excerpt

I was done with guys.

Not in that fake, I-say-that-but-deep-down-I-really-want-a-boyfriend kind of way, but in, like, the seriously-I'd-rather-eat-maggoty-cheese kind of way. No relationships. Not for me. Not now and maybe not ever. Who I am…what I am, and what I’m capable of? Everyone’s better off this way.

"I have to stop at my locker real quick," I said, veering to the right and cutting through the crush of kids heading straight like wildebeests to a watering hole. Libby followed and then stood by me as I fiddled with the lock.

"What's that?" She pointed to a white piece of paper sticking out half an inch from one of the slots in the olive metal door.

I tugged the padlock open and flicked the catch with my thumb. "Dunno." Maybe Bink had left me another note. Bink was my neighbor, bud, and—most days—my ride home. Last time I’d found a note in my locker, it was when his cell phone died and he needed to bail early. I seriously hoped this wasn’t a repeat performance.

I mentally ran down the list of people I could bug for a ride and came up empty. Libby always had to stay after for some activity or another, and I only really had two other people I could call "friends" and neither lived near me. I wrinkled my nose in anticipation of the dirty-sneakers-meets-day-old-bologna smell of a bus filled with kids who'd had last-period gym and opted not to change clothes. 

With a sigh, I pulled open the door and the white rectangle floated to the floor.

Libby bent to grab it and read it out loud. "'Dear Sad and Lonely…'" She trailed off and went quiet 

for a few seconds until her peachy complexion went hot pink, and then she gasped. "Oh my God. 

Holy… Oh, Mags, you are so not going to like this."

I snatched the paper from her, trying to ward off the growing pit in my gut.

Dear Sad and Lonely,

Since I can almost guarantee She is about to give you some seriously shite advice like she does every week, let me be the voice of reason. Your boyfriend is just like most high school guys. Cut him some slack and, even better, why not offer to learn how to play some of the games he likes? He'd probably appreciate the effort and might even take you somewhere nice after. If that doesn't work, sit him down and let him know how you're feeling so he can tell you what's going on with him. Could be that constantly calling the things he likes stupid isn't the best way to get what you want in this situation, yeah? In any case, don't let the ramblings of some bitter emo chick who's probably never had a boyfriend ruin your relationship.

Hope it helps,

He

The shock was too thick to let the anger in right away, but as stunned as I was, I knew exactly who was behind this. There was only one person in the whole school who would use the word “shite.”

Mac Finnegan.

Opinionated, annoying, hot—did I mention annoying?—Mac Finnegan, who had barely given me the time of day since he'd come to Crestwood High a couple months ago. Mac Finnegan, who thought he was soooo cool with his Irish accent and his mocking smile. Mac Finnegan, who inexplicably made me want to lick him like an ice cream cone and then immediately rinse my mouth out with acid.

How had he discovered my secret? Only Bink and Libby knew I was the girl behind “That's What She Said,” and I would have bet everything I owned that neither of them would have ratted me out.

Didn’t matter, though. One way or another, he knew. Even worse, he'd chosen to taunt me with it. Bitter emo chick who’s probably never had a boyfriend, indeed. I had a boyfriend once and it hadn’t ended well for either of us. I was in no rush to repeat the experience. Besides, what did this Irish asshat care?

Anger tightened my chest. I could feel the power rising in me, clawing to get out, roaring to be heard. The hair on my arms stood on end as I tried to breathe through it, to let the fury dissipate and flow out of my pores in harmless pings of energy, but it was no use. I pressed a hand to my locker and opened up the tiniest of escape valves, the spout of the teakettle, whistling off a stream of steam. The cheap metal instantly heated against my skin, the door buckling and warping on the spot just beneath my fingertips.

"Uh, Mags—" Libby whispered urgently, but a male voice cut her off.

"How's it going there, Libby? Maggie."

I turned around, still trying to catch my breath, and there he was, strolling by, a grin splitting his sinfully beautiful face.

Mac Finnegan, who had decided that being the new kid wasn't bad enough, so he had to actively go out of his way to make enemies. Mac Finnegan, who wanted to turn my world upside down rather than minding his own business. Mac Finnegan, who didn't know the meaning of live and let live.

Mac Finnegan, who clearly had no idea who he was fucking with.

Christine O'Neil was born and raised in Connecticut, where she spent most of her childhood outdoors catching salamanders, frogs and colds. When she wasn't terrorizing Mother Nature, she was curled up under the covers with her nose in a book. As an adult, she's stopped stalking amphibians, but still loves books. When she isn't reading, she likes to spend her time people-watching. In fact, she's probably watching you RIGHT NOW O_O She's also pretty obsessed with writing YA books, but if she had to pick another profession she would be a ninja...or a Professor of the Dark Arts.
 

Website/Twitter/ Goodreads

 

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