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Cover Reveal Party for The Angel Killer

November 15, 2014 Leave a Comment

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Coming January 5, 2015

TheAngelKillerCOVERDESCRIPTION

Now that she’s found him again, all Mia Crawford wants is some downtime with her fallen angel boyfriend, Michael. But the call of duty keeps him away—from school and from her—with more demons to smite than ever.

When Michael is mortally wounded by a cursed sword, Mia must perform an ancient blood ritual to save him. But the spell exacts a price. Haunted by visions of war, torture, and despair, Mia discovers the world is in more danger than she ever imagined. Behind the scenes, an evil adversary pulls all the strings.

After redemption, there’s Hell to pay.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23420120-the-angel-killer

About Lisa Voisin

LISA Voisin_Author PhotoA Canadian-born author, Lisa Voisin spent her childhood daydreaming and making up stories, but it was her love of reading and writing in her teens that drew her to Young Adult fiction.

Lisa is also a technical writer, a meditation teacher, and the leader of the Young Writer’s Club, a local writing group for teens in her home town. A self-proclaimed coffee lover, she can usually be found writing in a local café. When she’s not writing, you’ll find her meditating or hiking in the mountains to counteract the side effects of drinking too much caffeine!

Though she’s lived in several cities across Canada, she currently lives in Vancouver, B.C. with her fiancé and their two cats.

WEBSITE | BLOG | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | GOODREADS | MAILING LIST

 

Website: http://www.lisavoisin.com

Blog: http://lisavoisin.wordpress.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lvoisin @lvoisin

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisavoisinauthor

 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5837868.Lisa_Voisin

 

Mailing list: http://lisavoisin.us6.list-manage1.com/subscribe?u=3845a001b6170d0681adfa77a&id=bd90f09ba9

 

THE EXCERPT

 

Michael leaned against the building’s stucco wall and rested his hands on my hips. Light from the store cast a warm gleam in his crystal blue eyes. He leaned in, and the draw to be close to him was a gravitational force. “Hello,” he said.

“Hello.” I had to get a grip. It’d been so long since we’d talked, I tried to focus on all the things I wanted to tell him. “We went to see Fatima.” His fingers caressed the sides of my waist, sending happy tingles through me. “You know, in her store…” To my own ears, my voice sounded raspy. I trembled.

“Cold?” He drew me closer, his mouth crooking into a grin.

Lost in him, I forgot all about Fatima. “You know damn well that’s not it.” I twined my arms around his back and touched the spot between his shoulder blades where his wings connected. Its warmth thawed my fingers.

He leaned in and brushed his lips along my jaw line. “Thought that was just me,” he whispered, and his breath tickled my neck. “I’ve wanted to do this for three days.”

Our lips met, and I melted into him, not caring that we were on the sidewalk, outside a deli with families shopping inside. Nor did I care that, being an angel, he had to follow very strict rules about contact with humans—especially contact of the relationship variety. Angels had the ability to enthrall humans with their touch, something Michael had to constantly keep in check. But I didn’t have to be enthralled to want to kiss him. That was my own doing. All that mattered right now was that he was here. With me.

He pulled me closer and the buzz of his energy filled me heart and soul, blocking out the rest of the world. My hands sought warmth under his leather jacket and found bare skin. I could feel the shiver from my touch surge through him. His mouth pressing more firmly against mine, he brushed a hand along my cheek and tangled it in my hair.

A dreamlike blur of light and color filled my thoughts. But then the image shifted to blood. His.

THE GIVEAWAY

One print copy of The Watcher (US/CA/UK) OR One pre-order copy of The Angel Killer (when available) AND One $10 Amazon Gift Card

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About THE WATCHER (Book One in The Watcher Saga)

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DESCRIPTION

Millennia ago, he fell from heaven for her.

Can he face her without falling again?

Fascinated with ancient civilizations, seventeen-year-old Mia Crawford dreams of becoming an archaeologist. She also dreams of wings—soft and silent like snow—and somebody trying to steal them.

When a horrible creature appears out of thin air and attacks her, she knows Michael Fontaine is involved, though he claims to know nothing about it. Secretive and aloof, Michael evokes feelings in Mia that she doesn’t understand. Images of another time and place haunt her. She recognizes them—but not from any textbook.

In search of the truth, Mia discovers a past life of forbidden love, jealousy and revenge that tore an angel from Heaven and sent her to an early grave. Now that her soul has returned, does she have a chance at loving that angel again? Or will an age-old nemesis destroy them both?

Ancient history is only the beginning.

Series: The Watcher Saga #1

Release date: March 4, 2013

Publisher: Inkspell Publishing

Pages: 556

Formats: Paperback, eBook

Find it: Goodreads | Amazon |Amazon.CA | IndieBound | Kobo | Chapters / Indigo

Trailer: http://youtu.be/ukoCDlW05-Y

Filed Under: Book Tours, Cover Reveals Tagged With: , ,

Mini-Review: A Beautiful dark, Dark Eden, Girl of Fire and Thorns

October 26, 2014 1 Comment

minireview

Time for some mini-reviews! What are mini-reviews, you ask? As the title suggests, these are short reviews, consisting of one paragraph tops, about a book. It’s a way to catch up on the books I’ve read a while ago, but never got around to reviewing.

A Beautiful Dark

Title: A Beautiful Dark

Author: Jocelyn Davies

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal, Fantasy, Angels

Rating: 4 stars

Purchase: Amazon

On the night of Skye’s seventeenth birthday, she meets two enigmatic strangers. Complete opposites—like fire and ice—Asher is dark and wild, while Devin is fair and aloof. Their sudden appearance sends Skye’s life into a tailspin. She has no idea what they want, or why they seem to follow her every move—only that their presence coincides with a flurry of strange events. Soon she begins to doubt not just the identity of the two boys, but also the truth about her own past.

In the dead of a bitingly cold Colorado winter, Skye finds herself coming to terms with the impossible secret that threatens to shatter her world. Torn between Asher, who she can’t help falling for, and Devin, who she can’t stay away from, the consequences of Skye’s choice will reach further than the three of them could ever imagine.

A Beautiful Dark is the first book in a captivating trilogy by debut author Jocelyn Davies.

Review: One of the few love triangles I actually enjoyed  – Asher and Devin both have their moments, and it’s not obvious from the start who Skye will choose (like in many YA novels). The world-building and setting are solid too, and Skye’s relationship with her best friend, Cassie, is adorable. A solid YA paranormal.

Dark Eden

Title: Dark Eden

Author: Patrick Carman

Genre: Young Adult, Horror, Mystery, Science-Fiction

Rating: 3 stars

Purchase: Amazon

Fifteen-year-old Will Besting is sent by his doctor to Fort Eden, an institution meant to help patients suffering from crippling phobias. Once there, Will and six other teenagers take turns in mysterious fear chambers and confront their worst nightmares—with the help of the group facilitator, Rainsford, an enigmatic guide. When the patients emerge from the chamber, they feel emboldened by the previous night’s experiences. But each person soon discovers strange, unexplained aches and pains. . . . What is really happening to the seven teens trapped in this dark Eden?

Patrick Carman’s Dark Eden is a provocative exploration of fear, betrayal, memory, and— ultimately—immortality.

Review: Very slow build up, and not enough details are given, which gives the book a confusing vibe. The story of the teenagers was interesting though, and their personalities entertaining and three-dimensional. However, the pacing destroyed most of the suspense, making it a mediocre read.

The Girl of Fire and Thorns

Title: The Girl of Fire and Thorns (Fire and Thorns #1)

Author: Rae Carson

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Rating: 4 stars

Purchase: Amazon

Once a century, one person is chosen for greatness.
Elisa is the chosen one.

But she is also the younger of two princesses, the one who has never done anything remarkable. She can’t see how she ever will.

Now, on her sixteenth birthday, she has become the secret wife of a handsome and worldly king—a king whose country is in turmoil. A king who needs the chosen one, not a failure of a princess.

And he’s not the only one who seeks her. Savage enemies seething with dark magic are hunting her. A daring, determined revolutionary thinks she could be his people’s savior. And he looks at her in a way that no man has ever looked at her before. Soon it is not just her life, but her very heart that is at stake.

Elisa could be everything to those who need her most. If the prophecy is fulfilled. If she finds the power deep within herself. If she doesn’t die young.

Most of the chosen do.

Review: I loved this book. It screamed originality, the main character has some real issues but she manages to overcome them by the end of the book, there’s genuine character development, and the world building is amazing. Loved it.

Filed Under: Mini-Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

Book Review: Hallowed (Unearthly #2) by Cynthia Hand

August 21, 2012 2 Comments

11563110Title: Hallowed (Unearthly #2)
Author: Cynthia Hand
Genre: YA, Paranormal Romance, Angels
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: January 17th 2012
Goodreads | Amazon | B&N
Review copy provided by the publisher through Netgalley.

For months part-angel Clara Gardner trained to face the raging forest fire from her visions and rescue the alluring and mysterious Christian Prescott from the blaze. But nothing could prepare her for the fateful decisions she would be forced to make that day, or the startling revelation that her purpose—the task she was put on earth to accomplish—is not as straightforward as she thought.
Now, torn between her increasingly complicated feelings for Christian and her love for her boyfriend, Tucker, Clara struggles to make sense of what she was supposed to do the day of the fire. And, as she is drawn further into the world of part angels and the growing conflict between White Wings and Black Wings, Clara learns of the terrifying new reality that she must face: Someone close to her will die in a matter of months. With her future uncertain, the only thing Clara knows for sure is that the fire was just the beginning.

Hallowed is a tough book to review, because it deals with a lot of difficult topics. It’s certainly a lot more emotional than its prequel, Unearthly, which is great, but also places the characters in difficult situations they may or may not be able to handle. Clara is a part-angel, and that gives her visions of a purpose she must fulfill in life. She’s already fulfilled hers, or at least one of them, but she keeps having recurring dreams that place her at the cemetery, grieving. When it becomes apparent the vision is telling the future, Clara has to find out what’s about to happen and who’s going to die so she can stop it.

While it takes a while for Clara to find out what’s going on, I knew almost immediately. It was very obvious. I didn’t know if this was on purpose or not, but it slightly annoyed me; I wanted to be kept in the dark, just like Clara was. The conflict, of which we’ve seen the roots in Unearthly, now expands rapidly and quickly takes over the entire plot. Black Wings arrive at Clara’s school and watch her every move. With a war slowly growing all around them, Clara and her friends decide it’s time to learn themselves a few new skills.

But in the midst of dealing with it all, Clara must also find a way to keep her growing feelings for Christian in check, considering she’s still Tucker’s girlfriend, and she still loves him. But like all things in Clara’s life, love isn’t easy. It’s complicated, mysterious and more than she could ever hope for.

Hallowed starts out strongly, falls a little flat in the middle, and ends strongly again. I had trouble with how some of the characters behaved. Half of the time I felt like slapping Clara around the head, but then I felt sorry for her and grew to like her somewhat again. This constant like-dislike relationship I had with the main character kept me annoyed for a large part of the book. Also, in Unearthly, I was a big fan of Tucker, but I found myself not liking him all that much in this sequel. In fact, my feelings slowly changed to liking Christian instead. There were definitely some scenes here that gave him major bonus points.

I was also disappointed by how Tucker, the brief times he actually makes an appearance, is portrayed in this book. It’s like he made an one-eighty after Unearthly, turning into a completely different person. He’s childish, immature and shallow at times. Huge dissapointment there.

Plot-wise, this book was all right. I wasn’t blown away, nor was I bored. I enjoyed the plot, but it didn’t strike me as particularly original or intriguing. The side characters were well-developed, but same old, same old. I wanted a bit more originality, a bit more character depth, and a bit more conflict to keep myself intrigued.

Hallowed is a decent sequel to Unearthly. It starts where Unearthly left off, and follows the lives of Clara and her family and friends. If you like YA paranormal romance, feel free to give the Unearthly series a try. The lore behind the Angels is intriguing, at times even refreshing, and the book is well worth reading.

Filed Under: Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, Reviews, Young Adult Tagged With: , , , ,

Book Review: On A Dark Wing by Jordan Dane

January 9, 2012 1 Comment

10508775Title: On A Dark Wing
Author: Jordan Dane
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Young Adult, Angels
Publisher: HarlequinTEEN
Publication Date: December 27th 2011
Rating: 3,5 stars
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

The choices I had made led to the moment when fate took over. I would learn a lesson I wasn’t prepared for. And Death would be my willing teacher.
Five years ago, Abbey Chandler cheated Death. She survived a horrific car accident, but her “lucky” break came at the expense of her mother’s life and changed everything. After she crossed paths with Death—by taking the hand of an ethereal boy made of clouds and sky—she would never be normal again.
Now she’s the target of Death’s ravens and an innocent boy’s life is on the line. When Nate Holden—Abbey’s secret crush—starts to climb Alaska’s Denali, the Angel of Death stalks him because of her.
And Abbey finds out the hard way that Death never forgets.

Abbey Chandler cheated Death, and all she remembers of that fateful day is hearing her mother’s voice for the very last time. From that point on, everything is a blank. But that doesn’t mean that Abbey didn’t spend the last five years feeling guilty over her mother’s death. The accident was her fault. She was the one who purposely missed the bus so her Mom would pick her up. And now all that’s left are the pieces of her life, the broken shell of the man who was once her father, and an overwhelming sense of guilt. Whereas this adds a peculiar and intriguing dimension to the character – we’re all too often greeted by characters who seem to show little emotions towards their parent’s death – and made me feel instantly sympathetic to her, Abbey isn’t a likeable character. While I was reading about her mood swings, which are as common as changing clothes for her, or about how detastable she asks towards her father, I recognized a lot of myself in Abbey. At least, back when I was in the midst of puberty, and struggling to come to terms with the death of my father. Even though my dad died of a brain hemorrhage, and I had no reason whatsoever to feel guilty about it, I did go through the entire guilt phase as well. It may seem irrational, but I think it’s like that for a lot of people who lose one of their parents while they’re still a child, and then when they have to deal with it again through puberty. It was nice reading about a character I could relate to for once.

That said, there are a lot of times when Abbey goes to far, even for my tolerance level. She is obsessed over this boy named Nate. That would be nice and all, if it were for the fact that she actually talked to Nate, was a friend of him, or even had any connection to him. Unfortunately that’s not the case. He doesn’t know her, yet she swoons over him to the point of becoming a stalker, as she and her friend Tanner try to find a way to keep track of Nate’s journey as he goes to climb a mountain. I had my fair share of teenage crushes – although I had most of my silly obsessions when I was thirteen, not when I was sixteen – but this goes a bit far. Very far, in fact.

Let’s talk about Tanner first. Tanner is Abbey’s best friend, and he’s the one supporting this entire story. He’s the only character who actually make sense and contributes something interesting to the book. I liked Abbey up until the point that she proved to be just another brainless teenager in a long line of brainless Bella lookalikes. Tanner is in a wheelchair due to a freak accident when he was younger. An accident that cost him not only his life, but his friends as well, since they soon moved on and forgot all about him. He isn’t a character you’d expect in a young adult book. Not because he’s in a wheelchair, but because he’s actually very mature and grown-up. He’s the voice of reason throughout this entire book. It’s obvious from page one that he has a thing for Abbey, as he tries to protect her from nasty photoshopped pictures posted on a website by one of their class members. He’s a true friend: caring, protective, and always ready to listen and help. Imagine how angry I was when I heard Abbey go on and on about Nate, who she doesn’t even really know, when she had Mr. Right standing next to her, being the best friend possible. I don’t want to spoil anything, but…Let me just say that Abbey might have more brain than I gave her credit for.

Nate is a bit of an odd character. He’s the golden boy, good-looking, friendly, caring and intelligent. But he has the most boring hobby ever, namely climbing mountains. Now I don’t think the hobby is boring in real life (I for one would love to climb an actual mountain one day) but when you read page after page about mountain climbing equipment, preparing the journey and how they struggle through a snow storm, it gets boring soon. There’s a lot of yargon I only half understood. This part is dull, and boring, and I rushed through the pages to go on with the story.

The story itself is enjoyable and the writing is fluent, but it isn’t very original. Girl cheats Death. Death falls in love with her. Death takes over the body of a mortal boy she happens to have a crush on so he can be with her. It sounds surprisingly familiar, but it’s well executed, and that’s what matters. Death actually has feelings, an opinion and genuine emotions. He’s not stereotypically evil. In fact, he’s more of a victim himself than anything else. He wants to be human, but because he’s well, Death itself, he can’t. He wants to experience feelings and emotions, but can only do so when he’s inside Nate’s body.

All in all, I did enjoy On A Dark Wing. I wouldn’t call it my favorite book ever, but it has its strong points and its weaknesses. The characters, safe for Death and Tanner, aren’t that interesting. There’s the cliché love triangle, and the supposed golden boy falls in love with outcast girl cliché. But the bonding moments between Abbey and her father are sweet, the way she’s coping with her guilt is genuine and very well described, and the writing itself is descriptive and powerful. I would recommend this book to all fans of young adult paranormal romance novels.

This book counts towards the Speculative Romance Challenge, the TBR Reading Challenge and the Fantasy Challenge.

Filed Under: Paranormal Romance, Reviews, Young Adult Tagged With: , , , ,

Book Review: Fallen by Lauren Kate

February 1, 2011 5 Comments

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Title: Fallen
Author: Lauren Kate
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Young Adult
Rating: 4 stars

There’s something achingly familiar about Daniel Grigori.

Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price’s attention from the moment she sees him on her first day at the Sword & Cross boarding school in sultry Savannah, Georgia. He’s the one bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are all screw-ups, and security cameras watch every move.

Even though Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce–and goes out of his way to make that very clear–she can’t let it go. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, she has to find out what Daniel is so desperate to keep secret…even if it kills her.

Whether or not Fallen is an excellent YA novel, or the worst piece of fiction ever written, is a debate that is going on all over the bookish world. You have people who praise this novel into the seventh heaven, and you have others who would think even the fifth circle of hell isn’t low enough to rate this one. Some say it is unoriginal and boring and totally like Twilight (which does raise quite some question marks with me) while others say it’s the next best thing after the invention of the universe. My opinion is somewhat in the middle

Opening curtains. We see a glimpse of Lucinda “Luce” Price, heroine of our story. Luce is pretty much like any normal girl – except she isn’t normal. Far from it. Her previous sort-of boyfriend Trevor died under mysterious circumstances, and up until now the authorities still aren’t convinced that she doesn’t have anything to do with it. Keep in mind the fact that Luce has been seeing shadowy-like creatures crawling over the walls her entire life, that’s enough to make anyone wonder about their own sanity. Luce is sent off to Sword & Cross, a reform school; where she – surprise, surprise – meets Daniel Grigori. Daniel is as gorgeous as they get in fantasy novels, and immediately captures Luce’s heart. The only problem is that he’s continuously mean towards her, and doesn’t want to have anything to do with her. Like the teenage girl she really is, Luce isn’t willing to give up on her new crush, and even pries into his private life. But did I mention that there isn’t just Daniel who’s giving Luce the hot and cold treatment? There is another boy interested in our little heroine as well, and he goes by the name of Cam. Twenty thousand times as civil as Daniel, and – gathering from the descriptions in the novel – equally as good looking and charming, he might give ol’ Daniel a run for his money. However, this wouldn’t be a fantasy novel if there wouldn’t be something strange going on, and no one turns out to be who they pretend to be.

You know what? I will admit it. I couldn’t stop reading this book, and I had to finish it in a one day reading session. To be honest, it’s not like I even tried to put it away. It just swept me off my feet, a bit in the same way like The Hunger Games captured me. So many secrets, and the slow pace at which they unfold – which is a good thing, because it adds a continous sense of mystery to the novel – was enough to keep me reading at the wee hours of dawn. Considering how this novel totally captivated me in any possible way; who am I to give it a low rating then? Of course I must admit there were some upsides and downsides to the story and the characters, but in the end I thoroughly enjoyed reading Fallen. And that’s what is important.

Trying to compare this novel to Twilight is like trying to compare apples and bananas. Twilight is about vampires – this one is about…well, take one lucky guess and remember the title ‘Fallen’. The storyline in Twilight is unoriginal, uneventful, flat and predictable. I mean, can anyone honestly say that they didn’t figure out practically everything that was going to happen in Twilight from page one? If you think Fallen is anything like that; think again. The storyline, although also involving a pretty normal highschool girl falling in love with a supernatural creature, is unpredictable, fast-paced, moving and interesting. There is tension and suspense everywhere; mysteries get unravelled, secrets get exposed, and all the way through I kept on waiting for the big break-down. The big moment when I realise I finally know everything there is to know, and I can safely put the novel away and never worry about it again. Wrong. Lauren Kate holds up the tension in such a marvellous, delightful way that you never get to sit back, relax and enjoy the ride. Instead, you’re on the edge of your seat throughout the entire novel, encountering surprise after surprise after surprise.

Not only is the storyline developed in a way Twilight could only dream of, the characters have actual depths and personality. Alright, so our heroine is a little air-headed when it comes to Daniel Grigori. But at least she isn’t being courted by half the male population of Sword & Cross, and at least Daniel has the sense not to watch a girl as she sleeps. Because dear ol’ Edward certainly never read the “how to let a girl know you love her without stalking her” manual. The storyline of Fallen makes a lot more sense too, because in Twilight I was constantly wondering why the hell anyone – let alone a hundred year old, drop-dead-gorgeous vampire – would fall for a blunt, clumsy, pathetic excuse for a human being like Bella. Luce on the other hand actually has a personality of her own. Alright, and maybe she could have been a bit more witty, intelligent and determined; but we’re not all hero-material. I actually like the fact Luce doesn’t have the typical hero-personality-traits. The stereotype feisty, witty and highly intelligent but ravenously beautiful heroine gets boring after a while as well.

Without giving any spoilers away, I must add that Daniel actually does have a good reason to stay away from Luce – not the old school Edward “I am dangerous and you should stay away from me…although in reality I am a vegatarian vampire who doesn’t drink blood and SPARKLES in the sunlight” crap. Plus, the supporting characters had an actual personality as well. None of the generic “everyone loves Bella” attitude we see all too well in Twilight. Some people like Luce, others detest her. C’est la vie, and that’s what actually makes characters interesting. Their behavior around each other, the way they interact. Lauren Kate really got that part spot on in this novel. Somewhere along the way, you don’t even have to read their name to know who’s talking anymore: you get that just from what they’re saying. And that, my dear people, is some decent character building.

I must also add that Lauren Kate’s writing is a couple of levels more advanced than Stephenie Meyer’s. She combines gorgeous and realistic descriptions with a fast-paced and brilliant writing style. What’s not to love?

The only thing that bothered me immensly is the fact that I now have even more questions than I had at the start of the novel. Cliffhanger, much? Yep. But that’s all the more reason for me to buy the next novel in the series, Torment. Can’t wait.

Filed Under: Paranormal / Supernatural, Paranormal Romance, Reviews, Young Adult Tagged With: , , , , ,

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