Winners: March British Books Challenge, The Trouble with Fate & The Witch's Initiation

I'm excited to announce the winners of 2 different giveaways today!

Firstly, since I never heard back from the winner of the March British Books Challenge prize pack I'm happy to announce that the new winner is:

Amy from Amy Bookworm
(for her review of Hacker by Malorie Blackman)

Congratulations Amy! You have won the fabulous prize pack from Simon & Schuster including copies of The Disappeared by C.J. Harper, Infinite Sky by C.J. Flood and The Hanged Man Rises by Sarah Naughton. You have 48 hours to email me with your address or a new winner will be chosen. By sending me your address you are agreeing that I can pass your details to my contact at Simon & Schuster so that they can send out the prize pack. I have to say a huge thank you to Simon & Schuster for offering this prize pack.

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Next we have the 2 winners of my UK giveaway for The Trouble with Fate by Leigh Evans:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congratulations Anne & Sammee! I have sent you an email asking for your addresses and you have 48 hours to get back to me or a new winner will be chosen. By sending me your address you are agreeing that I can pass your details to my contact at Think Jam so that they can send out your prize. Thank you to Think Jam and Tor Books for letting me host this giveaway for them.

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Finally I'm happy to announce the winner of a signed copy of The Witch's Initiation by Elle James is:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congratulations Casey! I have sent you an email requesting your address so that Elle James can get the book in the post to you. You have 48 hours to contact me with your address or a new winner will be chosen. Thank you to Elle James for allowing me to host this giveaway for you.

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Congratulations again to all the winners. Please make sure you contact me ASAP so that I can get your prizes on their way to you!

Dark Triumph Blog Tour: Q&A with Robin LaFevers & UK Giveaway

I absolutely loved Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers when I read it last year so I'm thrilled to be taking part in the blog tour to celebrate the ebook release of the second book in the series. Dark Triumph was released as an exclusive ebook on the 2nd of April and the paperback will be available from the 6th of June. I'm thrilled to have Robin LaFevers here today to answer some of my questions but first let's have a look at the book:

Sybella arrives at the convent’s doorstep half mad with grief and despair. Those that serve Death are only too happy to offer her refuge—but at a price. Naturally skilled in both the arts of death and seduction, the convent views Sybella as one of their most dangerous weapons.

But those assassin’s skills are little comfort when the convent returns her to a life that nearly drove her mad. Her father’s rage and brutality are terrifying, and her brother’s love is equally monstrous. And while Sybella is a weapon of justice wrought by the god of Death himself, He must give her a reason to live. When she discovers an unexpected ally imprisoned in the dungeons, will a daughter of Death find something other than vengeance to live for?

This heart-pounding sequel to Grave Mercy serves betrayal, treachery, and danger in equal measure, bringing readers back to fifteenth century Brittany and will keep them on the edge of their seats.

His Fair Assassin Series:
Grave Mercy
Dark Triumph
Dark Hope (2013)

Visit Robin LaFevers' website for more information

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Robin LaFevers

Q&A with Robin LaFevers:

1. Can you give a brief description of the His Fair Assassin series for readers who haven't come across the books before?

Robin: Girls who are sired by the god of death are trained at a convent to serve as his handmaidens and carry out his will on earth, but they must also come to terms with the very human issues we all face; who to trust, how to balance blind obedience with self actualization, and whether or not love is at odds with their service to their god.

2. I loved the concept of a series about assassin nuns because it's such a unique idea. How did you come up with the idea in the first place?

Robin: I knew I wanted to write an epic story full of lives and kingdoms hanging in the balance and impossible choices for those involved. And because of that, I knew I wanted to set it in the middle ages, which seemed a perfect backdrop for that sort of story. I also knew I wanted to write about girls who went from being totally powerless and take them on a journey to where they found both personal power and agency in a society where they traditionally had none. There were only a very few choices available to women then, and when I read during a bit of research that some noblewomen preferred entering a convent to the more traditional roles of wife or mother because it offered them greater freedom and autonomy, the idea of assassin nuns began to take shape.

When I combined that with the medieval fascination with patron saints and the early Christian church’s decision to incorporate earlier pagan deities into it’s fold in order to make their religion more palatable to the general population, the idea coalesced into assassin nuns who served the old god of death.

3. Although the series contains fantasy elements in a lot of ways it reads more like historical fiction. Did you have to spend a lot of time researching the time period to make it accurate?

Robin: Oh yes! Lots and lots of time researching! Luckily, the book was my ‘side’ project for a number of years, the project I used as a creative playground when I had time between contracted projects. So that really allowed me the luxury of taking my time with research and building the story world. Also, the middle ages have always been a time period I’m fascinated with, so I had a big of general knowledge to build upon.

The great thing was that I always found the answers or details I needed in the historical research. Bits and pieces that not only brought the time period to life, but that provided essential plot twists or solutions.

Even so, the books are historical fantasy so I didn’t get as hung up on complete accuracy as I would have if it were straight historical fiction. The needs of the story always took precedent over issues of accuracy, but luckily there weren’t many instances where I had to choose.

4. Grave Mercy was narrated by Ismae, Dark Triumph is narrated by Sybella and Mortal Heart is going to be from Annith's point of view. Did you always plan to tell the story that way and how easy was it to give each of the girls their own distinct voices?

Robin: Yes, I always knew I wanted to tell three distinct stories within an overarching framework. For one, I feel that any story should be about the most important or transformational moment in a character’s life, and I didn’t want to stretch a single story too thin by spreading it across three books.

But more importantly, I was fascinated by the idea of exploring how three different girls would respond if given a similar opportunity to serve the god of death. How would their histories and personalities affect the decisions and choices they made?

5. Did you have the whole series planned out before you started writing or do you prefer to see where the story takes you?

Robin: I had a number of the broad strokes planned out, and of course, history itself provides the overarching template of what will happen, but I try to leave as much room for the characters to be spontaneous and let the journey be organic to them as they develop on the page. Because that’s definitely part of the fun, creating these characters who become so real, who take on such a life of their own, that they end up surprising me.

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions Robin, I loved Grave Mercy and can't wait to get started on Dark Triumph!

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To celebrate the release of Dark Triumph my contact at Andersen Press is offering one of my UK readers the chance to win a paperback copy of the first book in the series, Grave Mercy. So if you're new to the series this is ideal, you can read the first book now and come back in June when I'll be holding a giveaway for a paperback copy of Dark Triumph!

Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?

Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.

Ismae’s most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?

Giveaway Details:

• Courtesy of Andersen Press I have 1 paperback copy of Grave Mercy to giveaway to a lucky UK winner.
• The winner's prize will be sent out directly by my contact at Andersen Press so the winner must give me permission to pass their address on.
• The winner will be chosen at random from all entries received.
• To enter please use the rafflecopter below to confirm that you are a UK resident, there are optional extra entries for following or tweeting about the giveaway but these are not required to enter.
• The giveaway will close at 12:01am GMT on the 19th of April 2013 and the winner will be contacted soon afterwards. You will have 48 hours to reply to me with your address or A new winner will be chosen.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Make sure you check out the rest of the stops on the blog tour for some great content and more chances to win prizes:

Review: Shadowed - Sarah Alderson

Fate has won. The realms have been severed...but the fight’s still far from over.

It’s been three months since the devastating battle that closed the way through between this world and the demon realms but Evie’s still reeling from all she's lost.

When news reaches her that a group of Originals is on the prowl in LA and growing in numbers, Evie must decide whether to join the rogue Hunters in a final battle or fight her fate one last time.

The way through might be closed. But that doesn’t mean Evie’s got closure.

Fated Series:
Fated
Severed
Shadowed

Visit Sarah Alderson's website for more information

Review:
After the killer ending to Severed I have been waiting months to get my hands on the final instalment to Sarah Alderson's Fated series. I couldn't wait to read Shadowed and find out for sure what really happened to all of my favourite characters, I honestly didn't have a clue what to expect from this book and I was kind of scared to read it in case I didn't like the way things turned out. It's actually going to be really difficult to write this review because I can't say too much about what happened in it without giving major spoilers for anyone who hasn't read the book. I think I'm going to have to keep things quite general because I want you to go into it completely blind just like I did.

One thing I can say about Shadowed is that it kept me on the edge of my seat, I went from shocked to elated, back to shocked, slipped into horrified followed by a taste of relieved before being shocked all over again. Really Sarah Alderson turned my world upside down more times than I can count and she left me reeling with the way things unfolded. No matter what you think is going to happen she will find a way to keep you guessing and that is one of the things I've enjoyed about this whole series.

The Evie we see in this instalment is very different to the Evie we've come to know and love in the previous books, she has been through a lot and her grief has changed her. She is now focused on revenge, she believes that if she can just make Victor pay then it will make her feel better. She is first and foremost a hunter though and when a group of Originals go on a killing spree she knows that she has to join the battle to stop them. It is going to take every resource the rebel hunters have to stop the Originals and that includes their Unhuman allies and even Victor. As much as she hates the idea of working alongside the man who destroyed her family she is grown up enough to put her revenge to one side for the sake of humanity no matter how painful she finds it to do so.

I refuse to mention any other characters in this review - you're just going to have to read the book for yourself to find out who makes an appearance. Shadowed is a satisfying ending to the Fated series, it answers enough of my questions to not leave me hanging but does leave things open enough that further books could be added in the future and I for one hope that we will see more of Evie and her friends somewhere down the line. If you have enjoyed the previous books then you really won't want to miss the conclusion to Evie's journey!

Source: Received from the author in exchange for an honest review

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Kindle:

Review: Hopeless - Colleen Hoover

UK Cover

Sky Davis is starting sixth form having always been home-schooled, and wants to keep a low profile. But then she runs into Dean Holder - messy brown hair, smouldering blue eyes, and a temper straight out of Fight Club, someone who Sky is determined to avoid.

There is something about Holder that sparks memories of Sky's troubled past, those which she would rather stay buried. Little does she know that the mysterious Dean Holder is harbouring secrets of his own . . .

When the truth unravels, Sky must piece her life back together and learn to trust again. Only by facing the revelations together can the two begin to heal their emotional scars and find a way to live and love without boundaries.

Hopeless Series:
Hopeless
Losing Hope

Visit Colleen Hoover's website for more information.

Review:
After reading Slammed I knew that Colleen Hoover was an author to watch out for but Hopeless has just cemented her place as my favourite new adult author. Yet again she has created an emotional story, one that shredded my heart into teeny tiny pieces and then slowly proceeded to stitch it back together so it was somehow bigger than it was before she started. I don't know how she manages to consistently create such realistic characters, ones that you feel like you could be best friends with and that you are so connected to that you feel everything that they do, but she does it every single time. I have a feeling that this is going to be less a review and more a case of me gushing about how much I loved everything about it so I'm afraid you're going to have to bear with me!

It is so, so hard to go into much detail about the plot of this story without giving spoilers, the story is so intricately woven together that I'm terrified of spoiling it for anyone. I think I'm going to focus more on the characters on this occasion so I'll just tell you that whatever you think is going to happen in Hopeless you couldn't be further from the truth, for every part of the plot you guess there are going to be at least 10 things that shock you senseless and just when you think you have it figured out Colleen Hoover is going to spin you around in circles until you're dizzy and feeling slightly sick. As much as this story is an emotional roller coaster one thing it isn't is full of the usual teenage angst, this is much more complex than I was expecting it to be and it made for an incredibly rewarding reading experience.

Sky is a fantastic character, she hasn't had it easy but she's the kind of girl who makes the best of things. She doesn't trust people easily but once you break through her barriers she is fiercely loyal to those she cares about. Sky has a tough outer shell and when I first met her I wasn't sure if I was going to like her but it didn't take me long to see how vulnerable she actually is inside, she has suppressed a lot of her past but even though she doesn't consciously remember what happened to her it still effects her reactions every single day. If you loved Will in Slammed you are going to be blown away by Dean Holder. Trust me, Holder is the most wonderful hero I've read about in a long, long time, I don't think it could get much more perfect than him! He has a bad boy image at school but again not everything is what you first think it is and he is actually one of the sweetest boys you could ever meet. I have to warn you that he comes across as a little suspicious to start with, he is obviously keeping secrets from Sky and that can make him act like an ass at times but as you start to uncover more everything will be come so much clearer. He knows that Sky needs extra care and he is determined to be the one to give it to her. The connection that grows between Sky and Holder is beautiful to watch, they open up to each other so gradually and again Colleen Hoover has captured first love perfectly. This author writes bone meltingly good romances and the first kiss was one of the most swoon worthy scenes I've ever read. If only all first kisses could be like that!

I  know this review is probably more of a rambling mess but I am still so incredibly invested in Sky and Holder's story that I just want to shout about it from the rooftops. If you're only going to take one recommendation from me over what book to read then I beg you to pick Hopeless. The story is captivating and beautiful romance with a deeper dark undertone that will knock the breath out of you and it's one I'll be thinking about for a long time to come. Hopeless managed to rip my heart to shreds and make me cry my eyes out but it also made me smile, swoon and laugh out loud. It's my favourite book of the year and I can't imagine anything knocking this off the top slot for a long time to come!

Source: Received from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

US Cover

Paperback / Kindle:

March 2013 Recap

Books read in February but reviewed in March:

(Links will take you to my reviews)

1. Nobody's Angel - Stacy Gail (Novella) (read in February, reviewed in March)
2. Wolf Line - Vivian Arend (Novella) (read in February, reviewed in March)
3. A Conspiracy of Alchemists - Liesel Schwarz (read in February, reviewed in March)
4. Making him Sweat - Meg Maguire (read in February, reviewed in March)
5. Bonds of Trust - Lydia Aicher (read in February, reviewed in March)

Books read in March:

(Links will take you to my reviews)

1. Beyond Shame - Kit Rocha
2. The Bunker Diary - Kevin Brooks
3. Kiss of Steel - Bec McMaster
4. Buring Up - Anne Marsh
5. Immortally Embraced - Angie Fox
6. Finding Cherokee Brown - Siobhan Curham
7. All These Things I've Done - Gabrielle Zevin
8. Darcy Burdock - Laura Dockrill
9. Seven Sexy Sins - Serenity Woods (Review coming soon)
10. Hidden - Marianne Curley
11. Faking It - Diane Alberts
12. Savage Angel - Stacy Gail
13. Waiting for Gonzo - Dave Cousins
14. Breathless - Brigid Kemmerer (Novella) (Review coming soon)
15. Unremembered - Jessica Brody
16. The Memory Coder - Jessica Brody (Short Story)
17. Along Came Trouble - Ruthie Knox
18. Voodoo on the Bayou - Elle James
19. Wolf Nip - Vivian Arend (Novella)
20. Requiem - Lauren Oliver
21. Hopeless - Colleen Hoover (Review coming soon)
22. Archangel's Kiss - Nalini Singh (Re-read, the link takes you to my original review)
23. Scarlet - Marissa Meyer
24. Protecting What's His - Tessa Bailey
25. The Queen's Army - Marissa Meyer (Short Story)
26. Once Burned - Jeaniene Frost (Review coming soon)
27. Mortality - Kellie Sheridan
28. Beyond Control - Kit Rocha (Review coming soon)
29. Walking Disaster - Jamie McGuire (Review coming soon)
30. Shadowed - Sarah Alderson (Review coming soon)
31. Against the Wall - Rebecca Zanetti (Review coming soon)
32. Big Boy - Ruthie Knox (Short Story) (Review coming soon)

Other March Posts:

1. British Books Challenge - Link your March Reviews
2. Blog Tour: Extract from The Bunker Diary by Kevin Brooks
3. Finding Cherokee Brown Blog Tour: Agatha Dashwood's Writing Tips by Siobhan Curham
4. Hidden Blog Tour: Marianne Curley talks about the setting for Hidden
5. Waiting for Gonzo 'Tache Tour: Dave Cousin's Top 10 Moustaches
6. Unremembered Blog Tour: Exclusive Deleted Scene by Jessica Brody
7. News: Book Deals, UK Cover Reveals, Contests & the CILIP Carnegie Medal Shortlist
8. UK Giveaway: The Trouble with Fate - Leigh Evans (Ends on the 1st of April)
9. Voodoo on the Bayou Blog Tour: Guest Post from Elle James & International Giveaway (Ends on the 2nd of April)
10. International Giveaway of Protecting What's His by Tessa Bailey (Ends on the 9th of April)
11. Simon & Schuster's Exciting 2013 New Adult Releases: Covers Revealed!
12. Sneak peek of Down London Road by Samantha Young
13. Setting up Bloglovin
14. Shadowed Blog Tour: Sarah Alderson's Top YA Reads
15. British Books Challenge - Link your April Reviews
16. International Birthday Giveaway: Win a signed copy of Cinder by Marissa Meyer (Ends on the 15th of April)

March Books of the Month:

(Choices are made from books reviewed this month and the links will take you to my reviews)

My top YA read in March:

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer (read my review here)

My top adult read in March:

Beyond Shame by Kit Rocha (read my review here)

2013 British Books Challenge:

I'm very excited to be hosting the 2013 British Books Challenge here at Feeling Fictional. Please join us and show your support for our fabulous British authors to be in with the chance of winning some fantastic prize packs throughout the year.

• To sign up for the challenge CLICK HERE
• For Frequently Asked Questions about the challenge CLICK HERE

Don't forget to link your reviews each month to be in with a chance of winning the monthly prize packs:

• Link your January Reviews
• Link your February Reviews
• Link your March Reviews
• Link your April Reviews

My Challenge Updates:

So it's time to sign up for the new challenges for 2013, I did plan on taking part in less challenges this year but that never seems to work! So lets have a look at what I signed up for:

2013 Read 100 Books in a Year Challenge - Read 62/200
2012 British Books Challenge - Read 12/5
2013 Debut Author Challenge - Read 8/50
2013 New Author Challenge - Read 33/100
2013 Urban Fantasy & Paranormal Romance Challenge - Read 21/100
2013 Contemporary Romance Challenge - Read 22/100

Which challenges are you taking part in this year? I hope you've at least signed up for the British Books Challenge! If you haven't already it's not too late!

International Birthday Giveaway: Win a Signed Copy of Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Today is my birthday but I'm in a generous kind of mood so I thought I'd give one of my readers a present! I have a signed copy of Cinder by Marissa Meyer that is looking for a new home and I'm one of you will be willing to give it a good one :o)

The copy I'm giving away is a UK ARC so the picture above shows the actual book you'll receive. Cinder is a fantastic start to Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles (read my review here) so if you haven't already read it you'll be in for a treat! You're still welcome to enter even if you have already read it though - who doesn't want a signed copy of such a fantastic book?

Giveaway Details:

• I will be giving away 1 signed ARC of Cinder by Marissa Meyer.
• The giveaway is open internationally
• The winner will be chosen at random from all entries received.
• To enter please use the rafflecopter below to confirm that you are a UK resident, there are optional extra entries for following or tweeting about the giveaway but these are not required to enter.
• The giveaway will close at 12:01am GMT on the 15th of April 2013 and the winner will be contacted soon afterwards. You will have 48 hours to reply to me with your address or A new winner will be chosen.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

2013 British Books Challenge: Link your April Reviews

We had another fantastic month in March with over 60 reviews posted! I actually managed to read 5 books by British Authors so it was my best month yet and I want to try and match that each month for the rest of the challenge if I can. I've been really enjoying reading your reviews & getting suggestions for more books to add to my to read pile. I'm sorry I've not had time to comment on all of them but you're posting so many that I'm finding it impossible to keep up!

Anyway, I hope you all had a lovely Easter weekend with lots of delicious treats to eat and time spent with friends and family. Let's hope that April is another brilliant month - although I'd really appreciate it if we could have a little less snow and below zero temperatures in the UK. I don't know about the rest of you but I'm sick of the cold weather now LOL.

March Winner:

The fantastic March prize pack was generously sponsored by my lovely contact at Simon & Schuster and the lucky winner will receive copies of The Disappeared by C.J. Harper, Infinite Sky by C.J. Flood and The Hanged Man Rises by Sarah Naughton.

I'm very happy to announce that the March winner is:

Faye from A Daydreamer's Thoughts
(for her review of Outside by Shalini Boland)

Congratulations Faye! You have 48 hours to email me with your address or a new winner will be chosen. By sending me your address you are agreeing that I can pass your details to my contact at Simon & Schuster so that they can send out the prize pack.

April Prize Pack:

Our sponsor for the April prize pack is Random House and they have a wonderful selection of books from British authors to give away to the April winner. Trust me you're going to want to be in with a chance of winning this pack!

• The Last Minute by Eleanor Updale
• The Lost Girl by Sangu Mandanna
• How to Fall by Jane Casey
• Silent Saturday by Helen Grant
• The Stone Demon by Karen Mahoney
• Dying to Know You by Aidan Chambers
• ACID by Emma Pass
• Turf by John Lucas

One winner will be picked at random from the list of valid reviews submitted each month and will be announced in the following month's review link up post. The winner will then have 48 hours to contact me to claim their prize or a new winner will be chosen. Obviously the more reviews you enter the greater your chance of winning but it doesn't matter if you only review one book (or even skip a month or two in the challenge!) you'll still be entered for each review you do write. I'm afraid that due to postage costs this month's prize pack will be open for UK participants only, the winner will need to give me permission to pass their address to my contact at Random House for them to send out the prize pack.

Important Information:

1. Please make sure you sign up for the challenge before you start linking your reviews, I will delete links from people who aren't registered. You can sign up HERE if you haven't already.
2. When you add your link to the Mr. Linky below please make sure you link directly to your review, not just to your blog (invalid links will be deleted)
3. Books must have been read in 2013 to count towards the challenge so those books you read in December but reviewed in January don't count!
4. Also, please make sure that the reviews you link are for books written by British Authors - they can be born in Britain (living here or abroad) or they can be adopted British Authors (who were born elsewhere and now live here) but if they don't fit into one of those categories then they don't count. (as above invalid links will be deleted and won't get you an entry into the prize pack). Please note that Britain includes England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, I'm afraid authors from Southern Ireland don't count.
5. If you need ideas for books by British Authors check out the FAQ page for lots of suggestions. You don't have to choose books from these lists though - they are just to give you ideas if you need help!

Link Your Reviews:

Now for the important part, make sure you link all of your reviews using the Mr. Linky form below. In the Your Name field please include your blog name, the title of the book and the author. Make sure the link takes me directly to your review or your entry won't count and will be deleted from the list.