RWA BOUND

It's that time of year again, kids! RWA National Conference!

*throws glittery heart confetti*

I'll be rooming with the ritzy rockstar Ricki Schultz and the marvelous Maryland girl Cambria Dillon. (And two other cool people whom I don't know and haven't met yet so I cant include their names, but I'm sure they will be AWESOME.)

Will I be seeing any of you there this year?

Ricki said we should make a Men of RWA 2 vlog as a sequel to last year's kooky vlog. But I just don't know. Last year I was at Disney. I felt like acting like a kid and embarrassing myself was okay. But this is NYC. Aren't we supposed to act all sophisticated and professional? I mean, I'm sure we won't most of the time, but isn't that what's expected of us?

What do you think? Yes to Men of RWA 2? Or skip it and just post pics and great advice? Link to the debauchery here.

Oh, and be still my beating heart. Diana Gabaldon will be speaking this year. She is one of my greatest influences of my teenage years. Sure, she doesn't exactly write YA, but at seventeen years old I was SO in love with Jamie Fraser. Diana is one of my literary heroes.

RWA time! SQUEE!

FIRST WINNER for THE GIRL OF FIRE AND THORNS

Okay, last night, just around 11:56pm I drew a random name from The Hat program.
The lucky winner of a copy of THE GIRL OF FIRE AND THORNS is...

JESS TUDOR!

*throws fire from fingertips and sprinkles magic thorns in the air*

If you missed this drawing, or if you've already entered, don't worry, I'm drawing another winner July 20th and August 20th! If you haven't entered, all you have to do is click here and leave a comment in the original review and post.

Congrats, Jess! I know you're going to LOVE it.

Win THE GIRL OF FIRE AND THORNS

I’m not a book reviewer, but every once in a while I read a story that I must gush about before I drown in my love for it. For example: Rae Carson’s, debut novel, The Girl of Fire and Thorns.

*sigh*

What’s a word that means spectacular times infinity? Spectacfinitacular? If so, this book is Spectacfinitacular!

Funny thing is, I was mildly afraid to read this novel. And here’s why…

I met Rae at WFC last October. She was sweet, friendly, and comfortable to be around. She already had a book deal for TGOFAT, but she didn’t act superior to me or any of the other not-agented-and-have-no-book-deal-yet writers at our table. Then she invited me and two of my writer friends to her house for a party full of authors. (But that’s a whole different story.) To sum it up, I adored Rae as a person.

But what if I didn’t like her book?

I’d never publicly say anything bad about a book, but part of me worried that if I read her ARC and didn’t like it, I’d have to figure out a way to give an impartial opinion while still being nice. And then conveniently “forget” to post about it on my blog.

I should have known better.

I should have known Rae’s story would be as charming and beautiful as she is.

I should have prepared myself to be swept away by Rae’s amazing story telling—from the first page to the last.

The Girl of Fire and Thorns is masterful. Seriously. Part of me questioned if I was biased because I liked Rae so much in person, but I’ve given it a lot of thought and no, even if I’d never met Rae I would still rave about this novel.

The main character, Elisa, is beyond likable. She’s the perfect balance of lovable and flawed. In fact, she starts out fat and sweats a lot, but that doesn’t stop her from savoring a couple honey-glazed pistachio buns. :) Elisa has realistic worries and fears, yet she’s by no means weak or helpless. She’s so well fleshed out and charismatic that by page 5 I wanted to be her best friend. I loved her so much that I wanted to jump into the book to assess her groom-to-be and make sure he was worthy of her. My feelings of love, protectiveness, and cheering Elisa on through her intense adventures and challenging relationships never wavered throughout the entire story.

I love Fantasy, so I ate up the world building and the mystery and history of the Godstone. I usually need a lot of romance in my stories to make me love them, but not this one. Romance wasn’t the main focus, yet I couldn’t stop turning the pages. I didn’t even realize how little hot-and-heavy romance there was until I had finished the book. The story itself, and the characters, are so strong that I didn’t require my usual overdose of in-your-face romance to stay engrossed. And that says a lot coming from a die-hard romantic like me.

Rae’s beautiful descriptions and exquisitely crafted writing inspired me to want to be a better writer. So many times I had to set the book down and just sigh, praying that one day I’ll be half the writer she is. I can’t say enough good things about The Girl of Fire and Thorns.

If you love YA, fantasy, or adventure, then pre-order your copy, or mark the release date on your calendar and read this story. Then sit and wait anxiously with me for book 2 & 3 to come out.

To show my support I’m going to pre-order one lucky winner a copy of The Girl of Fire and Thorns EVERY MONTH until its released! Harper Collins/Greenwillow has set its release date as September 20^th. That means I'll choose one winner for June, one for July, and one for August! I will order now and have it shipped directly to the winners so they have it the day it comes out. To win, all you have to do is leave a comment (and be a follower of my blog) and I will select a winner at random on the 20^th of every month.

^{WAIT! There's more...}

Also, at some point I will give away my ARC of TGOFAT, but as of right now, my mom is borrowing it. (She read a few pages when I was at her house and was hooked right away.) But then if I can bear to part with it, I will also do an ARC giveaway.

UPDATE! August 20th (Sat) I am drawing a winner of an ARC. Leave a comment convincing me to choose YOU as the winner. Also, must be a follower of my blog.