Precy Larkins--YA Author: Anita Howard

Showing posts with label Anita Howard. Show all posts

BOOK SPOTLIGHT: UNHINGED (Book 2 of the SPLINTERED series) by A.G. Howard

My review of SPLINTERED can be found here.

Book: YA Fantasy

This cover is AWESOME!! I LOVE this book!!

Blurb from Goodreads:

Alyssa Gardner has been down the rabbit hole and faced the bandersnatch. She saved the life of Jeb, the guy she loves, and escaped the machinations of the disturbingly seductive Morpheus and the vindictive Queen Red. Now all she has to do is graduate high school and make it through prom so she can attend the prestigious art school in London she's always dreamed of.

That would be easier without her mother, freshly released from an asylum, acting overly protective and suspicious. And it would be much simpler if the mysterious Morpheus didn’t show up for school one day to tempt her with another dangerous quest in the dark, challenging Wonderland—where she (partly) belongs.

As prom and graduation creep closer, Alyssa juggles Morpheus’s unsettling presence in her real world with trying to tell Jeb the truth about a past he’s forgotten. Glimpses of Wonderland start to bleed through her art and into her world in very disturbing ways, and Morpheus warns that Queen Red won’t be far behind.

If Alyssa stays in the human realm, she could endanger Jeb, her parents, and everyone she loves. But if she steps through the rabbit hole again, she'll face a deadly battle that could cost more than just her head.

My Thoughts:

UNHINGED by A.G. Howard is a worthy sequel to the Tim Burton-esque Alice in Wonderland spinoff that was SPLINTERED. I enjoyed SPLINTERED immensely, but I think I will have to say that UNHINGED is even better. More Morpheus, see? And I'm a fan of the mothboy. J

In UNHINGED, the netherlings of Wonderland takes their battle to the human realm, which meant that despite Alyssa's wish to separate her two worlds she still can't escape her responsibility as Wonderland's Crowned Queen. Morpheus's manipulations, while irritating to Alyssa, reveal how much he cares for his home and for Alyssa. Jeb, though he's lost his memories of Wonderland, still plays a big role in Alyssa's life and Wonderland's fate. I honestly can't decide who to root for: Morpheus or Jeb? They both have noble hearts and good intentions.

I especially loved the backstory of Alyssa's mom and dad. There's something so sweet and sad about their love story. I can't wait to see how much it'll factor into the third book, ENSNARED. I'm basically dying waiting for next year.

Ms. Howard's writing is just as lovely as ever. Descriptive, sensorial, and lovely. It's a feast of words. This series is a definite must read!

Book Spotlight: SPLINTERED by A. G. Howard

I am so excited for this book, you guys! A. G. Howard has been one of my dearest writer friends ever since I met her in the blogosphere the first time I started blogging, which was in April 2011. Almost 2 years ago! Imagine that! Before Splintered came out, heck, before Amulet bought it, I was already sure that Ms. Howard was going to blow our minds away with her literary prowess. And I’m glad to have been proven right!

Blurb and image from Goodreads:

This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence. Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.

When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.

About the Author:

A.G. Howard is most at home when weaving the melancholy and macabre into settings and scenes, twisting the expected into the unexpected. She was inspired to write SPLINTERED while working at a school library. She always wondered what would’ve happened had the subtle creepiness of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland taken center stage, and she hopes her darker and funkier tribute to Carroll will inspire readers to seek out the stories that won her heart as a child.

A.G.’s pastimes are reading, rollerblading, gardening, and family vacations which often include impromptu side trips to 18th century graveyards or condemned schoolhouses to appease her overactive muse.

You can find her online at her website, blog, and on Twitter (@aghowardwrites).

The Book: YA Fantasy

Splintered is a wonderfully macabre reimagining of Lewis Carroll’s version of Wonderland. While the world of Wonderland is taken on a new spin with darker settings and Tim Burton-esque creatures, I feel like the original sense of charm and adventure that is inherent in Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland is still very much present in this book.

Alyssa Gardner’s biggest fear is to end up like her mother: a resident of Soul’s Asylum with talking bugs and flowers for company. But all too soon, Alyssa finds herself hearing the bugs and flowers talk. The curse of madness that has plagued the women in her family for generations is inescapable—unless she goes down the rabbit hole to right the wrongs her great-great-grandmother Alice Lidell, the original Alice, had caused in Wonderland. While Alyssa’s personal motivation is to keep herself from going insane, she’s also determined to save her mother from a life of straitjackets and electroshock treatments. There is also history between mother and daughter that has shaped their present-day relationship into something unnatural and guarded. For one thing, Alyssa refers to her mother by her name, instead of calling her “mom”. But despite their fractured relationship, Alyssa’s love for her mother drives her to find a way to get to Wonderland and sort out the curse once and for all. I feel like this is the core and heart of the story—that just as much as Alyssa needed to correct Alice’s mistakes, she also needed to fix her connection to her mother.

We also have two swoon-worthy love interests: Jeb, the longtime best friend; and Morpheus, a denizen of Wonderland who was a part of Alyssa’s childhood. While Jeb insists on being Alyssa’s protective knight, Morpheus endeavors to bring Alyssa to her full potential, even to the point of madness. I thought both characters were good foils for each other, and their reactions to Alyssa were, for the most part, entertaining. J

Wonderland is not what we’ve thought it to be. Ms. Howard’s vivid imagination and sensorial prose has brought to life a truly cinematic vision of a world that’s filled with strangeness, madness, and beauty, offering us a peek into the darker side of ourselves.

Splintered has a little something for everyone: romance, adventure, mystery, and plot twists to keep you up on your toes.

Huge SPLINTERED Giveaway!

I'm crawling out of my rock to direct your attention to this HUGE and FANTABULOUS giveaway by my lovely friend and idol, A. G. Howard, author of the much-anticipated, sure-to-knock-your-socks-off Alice in Wonderland-inspired debut novel, SPLINTERED! It's slated to come out this January 2013, but if you're a smart cookie, you'd want to enter the giveaway to score Splintered ARCs!

(And let me just tell you, speaking from someone who's had the privilege to read Ms. Howard's writing, you will LOVE this book. She's a rockstar writer. I absolutely adore her.)

Click on image to enter!

Gorgeous, isn't it?

Whatcha waiting for? Go!! And yeah, you're welcome. ;)

K is for Killer Book Covers!

So you know how we're always told to NEVER JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER?

In this post, we'll let that adage fly out the window. Because it's all about the cover, baby! Ok, not really, but for the purpose of this post, it is.

What draws you to a book on the library shelf, or the one lying on top of the Barnes and Noble's table? I'm a visual person--I'm attracted to pretty things (Look, it's so shiny!). I often read books based on recommendations from trusty friends, but there's also the not-so-rare instance when I would be seen picking up a book merely because of its cover. A caveat: I don't wholly recommend this process, not if you're thinking of buying on impulse. However, if you're at the library, go ahead and pick up the pretty book and cross your fingers the pages within will be able to deliver to your satisfaction. I've had the unfortunate experience of loving book covers, only to be horribly let down by the contents inside. There's also the curious incident of book covers having nothing to do with the actual story--but today, we'll just whet our artistic appetites for all things lovely!

(By the way, I'm a YA writer so naturally, I'm going to feature YA books.)

Bonus points for the lovely artwork INSIDE this book. <3

I have my own copy at home. At the moment, I have all 3 books in the series.
The gold teardrop is really cool in real life.

Love the contrast, and the cover immediately tells you that it's a fun, quirky book about magic.
And yes, it's set in a school of magic. :)

Haunting. And beautiful.

Haven't read this (not out yet), but I'm already in love with the gorgeous colors.

I'm sure there are lots more out there with gorgeous covers. And speaking of covers, the prettiest one yet I've ever laid eyes on is Anita Howard's cover for her book Splintered! Absolutely gorgeous! You can see her cover reveal here. And while you're there, make sure you follow the link to win an Alice in Wonderland swag from Anita!

Since K can also stand for Karma, earn good karma points from the universe by voting for Anita Howard and her debut Splintered (slated to come out January 2013!) on TLC's Virtual Book Tour contest. Anita's a wonderfully caring, totally selfless, and all-around lovely friend. Plus she has madz writing skillz (trust me, I know.) So click here and VOTE! It'll only take you a couple of seconds.

Thank you so much! Have a great day, everyone!!

And The Winner Is...

I'm so glad to be home again. Vacations are fun, but there is no place like home (right, Dorothy of Kansas?) There's a lot of catching up to do and I'm sorry I haven't been able to read blogs. I'm excited to visit you guys and see what you've all been up to.

BUT before I wander around the blogosphere, the winner of the BOOK GIVEAWAY and soon-to-be proud owner of an autographed copy of THE FIFTH SPECTER by T.S. Welti is... (drumroll, please)

JEMI FRASER

Congrats, Jemi! Please email Ms. Welti so she'd know where to send you your prize at:

tswelti dot writer at gmail dot com. Thanks to all who participated and showed support to our lovely friend and writer, T.S.

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If you've been following the Skeleton Key blogvel (blog novel) my writer friends are doing, Chapter 11 is up at Ms. Cate Woods' blog Words from the Woods. To find the other chapters, see the Table of Contents for the list of chapter links.

And last but not the least... head over to A Still and Quiet Madness to read Anita Howard's EXCITING NEWS! I love this lady and I'm so happy for her. <3

See ya soon!