Blog Tour: The Shadow Prince by Bree Despain Q&A + Giveaway

THE SHADOW PRINCE was released March 11th 2014 and here's your chance to win a signed copy if you haven't read it yet. Of course you can always make it a gift for a good friend if you have read it. Also you don't want to miss my Q&A with Bree Despain. Hope you enjoy it!

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Tour Schedule

Monday, March 31, 2014

Icey Books — Guest Post + Giveaway
A Dream within a Dream — Review + Giveaway

Tuesday, April 01, 2014

Karin's Book Nook — Giveaway
Curling Up with a Good Book — Q&A + Giveaway

Wednesday, April 02, 2014

GreenBeanTeenQueen — Guest Post + Giveaway
Bookaholics Anonymous — Review + Giveaway

Thursday, April 03, 2014

Book Briefs — Review + Giveaway

Friday, April 04, 2014

Two Chicks on Books — Guest Post + Giveaway
Cornucopia of Reviews — Review + Giveaway

Saturday, April 05, 2014

Jenna Does Books — Guest Post + Giveaway
Jean Book Nerd — Q&A + Giveaway

Sunday, April 06, 2014

Fire and Ice Blog — Guest Post + Giveaway
Live to Read — Review + Giveaway

Monday, April 07, 2014

Buried in Books — Review + Giveaway
Book Chic Club — Q&A + Giveaway

Tuesday, April 08, 2014

The Book Swarm — Review + Giveaway
The Adventures of Cecelia Bedelia — Guest Post + Giveaway

Wednesday, April 09, 2014
Miss Page-Turner's City of Books — Q&A + Giveaway
Jump Into Books —  Review + Giveaway

Thursday, April 10, 2014

The Cozy Reader — Review + Giveaway
Mod Podge Books — Guest Post + Giveaway

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Haden Lord, the disgraced prince of the Underrealm, has been sent to the mortal world to entice a girl into returning with him to the land of the dead. Posing as a student at Olympus Hills High—a haven for children of the rich and famous—Haden must single out the one girl rumored to be able to restore immortality to his race.

Daphne Raines has dreams much bigger than her tiny southern Utah town, so when her rock star dad suddenly reappears, offering her full tuition to Olympus Hills High’s prestigious music program, she sees an opportunity to catch the break she needs to make it as a singer. But upon moving into her estranged father’s mansion in California, and attending her glamorous new school, Daphne soon realizes she isn’t the only student in Olympus who doesn’t quite belong.

Haden and Daphne—destined for each other—know nothing of the true stakes their fated courtship entails. As war between the gods brews, the teenagers’ lives collide. But Daphne won’t be wooed easily and when it seems their prophesied link could happen, Haden realizes something he never intended—he’s fallen in love. Now to save themselves, Haden and Daphne must rewrite their destinies. But as their destinies change, so do the fates of both their worlds.

Bree rediscovered her childhood love for creating stories when she took a semester off college to write and direct plays for at-risk, inner-city teens from Philadelphia and New York. She currently lives in Salt Lake City, Utah with her husband, two young sons, and her beloved TiVo. The Dark Divine is Bree's debut novel.

Find Bree on Twitter, Facebook and Goodreads. 

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 Q&A with Bree Despain 

1) Daphne Raines grew up in a small town in the middle of nowhere... uh, Utah. Her mother sternly kept her from leaving town and then suddenly her rock star father shows up and takes her with him to California. A move is a change of location but often signifies an impulse for personal transformation as well. So what's going on inside Daphne's head and heart in the first few chapters of THE SHADOW PRINCE?

Leaving home is both exciting and unsettling for Daphne. She has dreamed of getting out of her tiny town all of her life, but once the opportunity presents itself, it almost terrifies her. I think that’s a natural impulse. Sometimes we dream about something for so long that when we finally get it, we don’t know how to react or even if we want it anymore. Then there is the issue of reality never quite being the same as the dream. It’s quite a jarring realization and takes some adjustment. Daphne has always longed for freedom and adventure, but she also comes to appreciate the love and safety that home has to offer.

2) Where Daphne struggles with her new situation in Olympus Hills, Haden Lord, the disgraced prince of the Underrealm, has to adapt to life on the surface in general. To fulfill his mission and get Daphne to follow him back to the Underworld, Haden only needs the girl to fall in love with him. His attempts at flirtation are hilarious and clumsy to say the least. Haden could've easily used a lesson in 21st century flirting and dating. Which character from any of your favourite YA reads could you see as his teacher?

Hmmm . . . Perhaps Carswell Thorne from The Lunar Chronicles? He’s roguish and dashing, though Haden might misconstrue any advice he got from him. He’d probably mistake being roguish for being rude.

3) Music is very important for our heroine Daphne, she has incredible talent and dreams of being a singer one day. Which song is currently playing on her iPod and how does it make her feel?

I’m currently obsessed with the song “A King and a Queen” by Okkervil River. I’ve been listening to it on a loop this morning. My favorite part of the song goes: “But the best thing for you would be queen, so be queen. You're all that I need. Though I know that it never can be, I'd be pleased to post your decrees, to fall at your knees, to name all your streets and to sit down and weep when you're carried back through them and set down to sleep, and to lie by your side for sublime centuries, until we crumble to dust when we're crushed by a single sunbeam.” If Daphne were listening to this song, she would be wondering if it were possible to love someone this much…and trying to convince herself not to think about Haden when she contemplates love. Here’s a link so you can listen to the song. (But be warned, you might become obsessed as well.)

4) Haden has a hellishly cute sidekick. His pocket-sized cat Brimstone. How would you describe their bond?

Brimstone is based on one of my cats, Ava. She’s small (but not pocket-sized), shy, kind of ornery, and doesn’t like to be touched. She disdains everyone in the family—except for my 11-year-old son (who has sensory issues and is kind of stand-off-ish at first). Ava loves my son. She waits for him to get home from school, follows him everywhere, and cries outside his door when he goes to bed at night. She won’t let anyone else touch her, but she’d snuggle all day long with my son if she were able to. My son, who doesn’t always have the easiest time socially, feels special because Ava fawns over him and nobody else. They’re like two peas in a pod, and perfect companions for each other. This is how Haden and Brimstone are. They have a lot in common, both having been rejected by the only family they have, and share a special bond because of it. I think of Brim as the older sister Haden always needed. She’s fiercely loyal, she scolds him, encourages him, and even tries to help him out with the ladies. But whatever you do, don’t get her angry!

5) THE SHADOW PRINCE is your fourth book, after the THE DARK DIVINE trilogy. In how far has your writing or the writing process changed from your debut novel to THE SHADOW PRINCE now? Or has it changed at all?

My writing process has been completely different for every book I have written. I almost feel like I’m reinventing how I write every sing time I write a book. What worked for one, never seems to work for the next. I wrote my first book over the space of 4 years, meandering around without any outline—just working toward a vague idea I had for an ending. With deadlines, I’ve had to learn to adjust my process to be timelier. THE SHADOW PRINCE was by far my most organized book. I outlined the book scene by scene, writing a detailed description of what happens in each scene on a notecard. Because I was writing the book using alternating POVs, this allowed me to write several scenes from one character’s POV at a time, and then go back and fill in the missing scenes from the other POV.

6) What can we expect from the sequel to THE SHADOW PRINCE? Will Haden be shirtless...at least once?

I can’t say a whole lot about the sequel, but can hint that it has a couple of big twists that will hopefully surprise the readers. I will be sure to make Haden shirtless for at least one scene (just for you).

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 Giveaway

  

Thanks to Egmont USA I'm giving away a signed copy of THE SHADOW PRINCE. The giveaway is open to US and Can residents only and ends April 30th 2014.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hope enjoyed my Q&A with Bree and good luck for the giveaway! Now make sure to visit Jump Into Books for a review and another chance to win THE SHADOW PRINCE.

Book Review: The Shadow Prince by Bree Despain

Title: The Shadow Prince (Into the Dark #1)
Author: Bree Despain
Publisher: Egmont USA
Publishing Date: March 11th 2014
Length: 512 pages
Keywords: YA, fiction, fantasy, Greek mythology, romance, friendship
Source: Edelweiss

Haden Lord, the disgraced prince of the Underrealm, has been sent to the mortal world to entice a girl into returning with him to the land of the dead. Posing as a student at Olympus Hills High—a haven for children of the rich and famous—Haden must single out the one girl rumored to be able to restore immortality to his race.

Daphne Raines has dreams much bigger than her tiny southern Utah town, so when her rock star dad suddenly reappears, offering her full tuition to Olympus Hills High’s prestigious music program, she sees an opportunity to catch the break she needs to make it as a singer. But upon moving into her estranged father’s mansion in California, and attending her glamorous new school, Daphne soon realizes she isn’t the only student in Olympus who doesn’t quite belong.

Haden and Daphne—destined for each other—know nothing of the true stakes their fated courtship entails. As war between the gods brews, the teenagers’ lives collide. But Daphne won’t be wooed easily and when it seems their prophesied link could happen, Haden realizes something he never intended—he’s fallen in love. Now to save themselves, Haden and Daphne must rewrite their destinies. But as their destinies change, so do the fates of both their worlds.

Summary by Goodreads

 

THE SHADOW PRINCE was yet another first book in a trilogy influenced by Greek mythology that spiked my interest as soon as I'd noticed it had a set release date. This is Bree Despain's fourth book and you see that she knows exactly how to write engaging fiction with characters you can laugh with and relate to. So I think you should meet Daphne and Haden now.

Daphne is taken from her well-regulated life in a small town in Utah, where she's been living with her mother, to leave for California with her rock star Dad who she hasn't seen in ages. Before, she's been forbidden to leave town and therefore has never seen all the things she wanted to see and never got to realize her biggest dream of becoming a singer. When our very talented and humble protagonist is faced with such severe restrictions you just can't but feel for her, right?

Now that Daphne is attending Olympus Hills High in California she learns a lot, meets new people for the first time in her life and even investigates the strange happenings in her new home. Beside her testing the new bonds with her father, she's spending more and more time with the other new kid in town, Haden Lord. As you already know he is a prince from the underrealm and set out to take Daphne with him. So you can expect a few delusions and confusions along the way to them becoming an item. I promise you, it's a treat to see Haden adapt to all the human conventions and things a normal teenager noawdays would do. His inexperience and his bedazzlement, his confusion over receiving laughter at his genuine formal requests or clumsy attempts  to convince Daphne to go out with him are just so cute in their ridiculousness. Theirs is a romance forged by the powers of fate, the recognition of a related soul, and music.  

Haden's past is shaped by tragic and cruel fates which play a major role in his relationships to his mother, antagonistic father and brother. If you attempted a THE SHADOW PRINCE character study you would definitely need to put high importance on the complicated family bonds of both main characters. Besides that, music is relevant for the story and both characters, too, and plays an important role in their early courtship, as Haden would call it. 

4/5 **** THE SHADOW PRINCE - Haden and Daphne are the new hot couple in the YA mythology category!

Some parts of the story could've been more progressive and could've used some tightening up. Otherwise I've got no complaints.

Where Bree Despain's THE DARK DIVINE series is one that captivated me with its engaging characters and the desperate love story that is Grace and Daniel's, I see the strong suits of THE SHADOW PRINCE more in its generel story line, the mysterious city of Olympus Hills and the Greek mythology references that are so rich with possibilities that the sequel could head in any direction.

"I did the unforgivable the day my mother died, and for that I've been punished every moment of my life. 

He's too weak-minded. 

Impulsive.

He's too much like her.

He's too human. 

It has been ten years, and regardless of everything I've done to try to change their minds, the Court still speaks of me as if I am unworthy of my birthright. I try to lock away my doubtful thoughts as I watch the Oracle make her way up and down the ranks of Underlords." ―  p.1

THE SHADOW PRINCE you might enjoy Rick Riordan's THE LIGHTNING THIEF and all the other Percy Jackson adventures. If you haven't read these two so far, you could find out if THE GODDESS TEST by Aimée Carter and EVERNEATH by Brodi Ashton are up your alley.

* Have yet to read Bree's THE DARK DIVINE trilogy? Get all three books now!

* Read an excerpt of THE SHADOW PRINCE. 

* Want to see Bree in person? Check out her event schedule!

* Visit www.breedespain.com for more information about Bree and her books.

* Thanks to Egmont USA and Edelweiss for prodiving me with an e-galley of THE SHADOW PRINCE!

Book Review: Hourglass, Timepiece & Infinityglass by Myra McEntire

Title: Hourglass, Timepiece, Infinityglass (Hourglass #1, #2, #3)
Author: Myra McEntire
Publisher: Egmont USA
Publishing Date: June 14th 2011, June 12th 2012, August 6th 2013
Length: 390 pages, 325 pages, 336 pages
Keywords: YA, fiction, time travel, romance, action
Source: Bought, Netgalley

One hour to rewrite the past . . .

For seventeen-year-old Emerson Cole, life is about seeing what isn't there: swooning Southern Belles; soldiers long forgotten; a haunting jazz trio that vanishes in an instant. Plagued by phantoms since her parents' death, she just wants the apparitions to stop so she can be normal. She's tried everything, but the visions keep coming back.

So when her well-meaning brother brings in a consultant from a secretive organization called the Hourglass, Emerson's willing to try one last cure. But meeting Michael Weaver may not only change her future, it may also change her past.

Who is this dark, mysterious, sympathetic guy, barely older than Emerson herself, who seems to believe every crazy word she says? Why does an electric charge seem to run through the room whenever he's around? And why is he so insistent that he needs her help to prevent a death that never should've happened?

Summary by Goodreads

Since her parents's death Emerson has been seeing things others can't. Apparitions from old days are crossing her way and she can't make them go away. Her brother Thomas is set on finding a cure, but nothing has helped so far. Until he calls the Hourglass organisation on the plan, and with it super smart and hot agent Michael. Thank you, Thomas! His task is to help Emerson find a way to get rid of her ghosts from the past. And of course all scruples aside he's there to provide us with a swoon-worthy romance. What a lucky providence that he's staying in the same housing complex as Emerson and her brother. Offers room for a lot of flustering encounters and much time for their feelings of attraction to grow into something stronger and more sustainable. 

Only the love story would have been enough to name HOURGLASS an awesome read. A conspiracy, mysterious organisations, insane antagonists, explosions, very short windows of time to act and turn the ending into a happy one and time travelling - loved the time travelling components in HOURGLASS just as much as in recent favourites such as TEMPEST by Julie Cross- complete HOURGLASS to a well-balanced and absolutely gripping read. 

In TIMEPIECE the hunt for antagonist Landers continues. Now from the perspective of Michael's best friend Kaleb. It took some getting used to Kaleb's narration. He's a character with so much sorrow and anger sitting on his heart that the emotional level of this sequel was stepped up a few notches.

The story's main focus was on Kaleb and Lily's love story (yes, he gets a shot with Emerson's best friend) than the part where they actually work on saving the world. Completely fine with me. Lily and him are like fire and ice, so absoring in their elements. Theirs is a stormy and fierce love, with space for gentleness and understanding. Reaching PERFECT CHEMISTRY intensity of romance goodness, their attraction is smoldering.

All three books are connected by their narrators being friends, continuing the ongoing plot and involvement of the Hourglass. Having this huge group of friends who are working towards the same goal, posed as an ideal tactic for Myra McEntire to give each of them a chance to tell their story in one of the three HOURGLASS books. So even though the focus lies on Kaleb and Lily in the second book, we still get updates on Emerson and Michael's relationship and hear what everyone else is up to. Same applies to the third book. I really loved that each book got its own and independent love story and still kept us in contact with the characters we'd got to know from the previous books.

INFINITYGLASS too is told from a different perspective than HOURGLASS and TIMEPIECE. Even from two alternating points of view this time. Dune (he's also a part of our group of Hourglass friends) and Hallie are our couple who bring the mission and with it the HOURGLASS saga to an end. This last leg of the story is mainly set in New Orleans, a city with history and flair, taking us back to the glamorous days of ball gowns and and fainting ladies. 

The disturbances in the space time continuum that have been plaguing our friends for so many pages are getting even more dangerous in this last book in the HOURGLASS series. The rips are taking over entire scenes and are assaulting Hallie. Hallie who has a very special gift even among the time-gifted kids. 

Hired to guard her and find out more about this girl Dune steps into the life of whirlwind Hallie. You know what's coming next. Yep, the love story. Him being her bodyguard had something incredibly sexy und forbidden. He is employed by Hallie's father who would do anything to prevent any physical contact between the two. You bet they can't stay away from each other for long.

Hallie's family life and the relationsthip with her mother are also a big part of the thrid book, one that made it a bit more dragging than the two before it. 

The hunt is on, a quest to find the infinityglass and with it the only thing that can save our friends and the entire world now. 

4,5/5 ****/* HOURGLASS series - An action-packed time travel extraverganza with flair and three infectious love stories.

One minute you are totally relaxed and laid-back, that jazzy feeling of old days bewitching you, the next you are on the run from your past and your future. Trust me, you want to have all three books in your reach when you turn the first page of HOURGLASS.

"Aren't you just a knight in shining armor? [...] Wherever do you keep your horse? And who scoops up the crap it leaves behind?" ― Hourglass by Myra McEntire p. 173


"So I should go clear all of this up and tell her how I really feel." Her answering smile was genuine. "Absolutely. But maybe clean up first. You have cookie crumbs on your chin."― Timepiece by Myra McEntire p. 243

"What are the terms of this particular game? Are we talking personal or professional questions?"
"Both." She gave me the once-over. "I'd like to know who I'm getting in bed with. So to speak."God, the girl was wicked. I was probably in trouble. ― Infinityglass by Myra McEntire p. 120

the HOURGLASS series you should also enjoy HUNTING LILA by Sarah Alderson about a girl being followed by a mysterious organisation. TEMPEST by Julie Cross has more than one jump in time to offer and UNRAVELING by Elizabeth Norris even brings the FBI to the scene.

*  Read an excerpt of HOURGLASS here.

* Click here to watch the HOURGLASS book trailer.

* Find out how the idea for the INFINITYGLASS cover was born. 

* For further information about Myra and her books visit  www.myramcentire.com

* Thanks to Egmont USA, Media Masters Publicity and Netgalley for the chance to review INFINITYGLASS! 

Giveaway: Infinityglass by Myra McEntire

Fans of Myra McEntire's HOURGLASS series should get excited now! In a bit over a month INFINITYGLASS, the third book in Myra's trilogy will be released by Egmont USA and I am very happy about the chance to offer you a copy of INFINITYGLASS + an INFINITYGLASS poster. Thanks to Egmont USA and Karen at Media Masters Publicity!

About INFINITYGLASS (Egmont USA, August 6, 2013)

The stakes have risen even higher in this third book in the Hourglass series.

The Hourglass is a secret organization focused on the study of manipulating time, and its members — many of them teenagers -­have uncanny abilities to make time work for them in mysterious ways. Inherent in these powers is a responsibility to take great care, because altering one small moment can have devastating consequences for the past, present, and future. But some time trav­elers are not exactly honorable, and sometimes unsavory deals must be struck to maintain order.

With the Infinityglass (central to understanding and harnessing the time gene) at large, the hunt is on to find it before someone else does.

But the Hourglass has an advantage. Lily, who has the ability to locate anything lost, has determined that the Infinityglass isn't an object. It's a person. And the Hourglass must find him or her first. But where do you start searching for the very key to time when every second could be the last?

About Myra McEntire

Myra McEntire has had her nose in a book since she could hold one. She was once caught reading in the shower (true story) and only stopped when her father disconnected the hot water heater. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with her husband and two boys. 

You can visit her online at www.myramcentire.com or follow her on twitter at @MyraMcEntire

a Rafflecopter giveaway

* You enter for a chance to win one copy of INFINITYGLASS and an INFINITYGLASS poster
* US only
* The giveaway starts on July 1st and will end on July 31st
* Enter the rafflecopter form!
* Good luck :)