Elise is a normal seventeen-year-old girl until the day she wakes up in a desert park with no idea who she is.
After that episode, her life takes a bizarre turn. She's experiencing unexpected flashes of insight into people's lives—people she's never met before. Strangers frighten her with warnings about the approaching Shadows. And although Elise has never had a boyfriend, she suddenly finds herself torn between two handsome but very different young men: Abe, the charming bad boy whose effect on her both seduces and frightens her, and the mysterious Harlin, who's new to town but with whom Elise feels an urgent, elemental connection—almost as if they are soul mates. Now Elise begins to question everything about her life. Why do these guys both want her so desperately? What are the Shadows? Why does the name Charlotte inspire a terrifying familiarity? And who is Elise, really?
The title is absolutely perfect for this book. And like the first book, this one has such a bittersweet ending. Beautiful!
The first book is from Charlotte's point of view while this one is from Elise's point of view. But we're still going to see the same kind of storyline that we saw in the first book. It's a light versus darkness kind of thing without seeming standoffish. And there's some heavy romance. My only drawback is that the book is too short, and I wish I could see more of the storyline from the various characters in the story.
Who do I recommend this book to? Anyone who loved the first one, A Need So Beautiful. And I'd tell anyone who loves romance and bittersweet things and has five hours to spare to pick the first one up and read it.
In this post, you will find an interview with Dusty Crabtree, a quote from her debut novel Shadow Eyes, and a trailer for her book.
Interview with Dusty Crabtree
Q: In your book, Iris tends to have recurring nightmares that haunt her. Can you describe one
of those dreams?
A: It was dusk and the air was stagnant and bitterly cold as I shuffled hesitantly on Main
Street at an old strip mall. I was alone, kicking at the misty fog covering my feet and
listening to the sound of my shoes hitting the pavement. I paused to wrap a black
cloak tightly around me but didn’t receive any warmth from it, so I kept walking,
hoping to reach my destination soon before frostbite set in.
Suddenly, my eyes caught a glimpse of a brilliant light and I halted mid-stride, shivering
and lifting my head to stare at a glowing man across the street. He gazed back at me.
He had a quiet intensity about him, and although he didn’t say anything, I could tell
he was hoping I would invite him over. It was as if he knew I needed him for some
reason and wanted to help but had to wait for my invitation.
Q: If you could only use five words to describe the characters in Shadow Eyes, how would
you describe each character?
A: Patrick: suave, mysterious, sexy, flirtatious, confusing (that’s all I’m going to
say about that)
Josh: sweet, cute, protective…um, I don’t think I can say anything else
without spoilers
Iris’ mother: lonely, cautious, caring, troubled, funny (but not because she
tries to be)
Mr. Delaney [Iris' teacher]: handsome, mysterious, mentor, kind, powerful
Q: If you had to pick an actor or well-known star to model Patrick, who would you pick?
A: Since he has to be young-looking with messy-blonde hair and gorgeous, I’d have to say Alex Pettyfer [pictured above] for sure! And for Josh, even though you didn’t ask, I would pick Logan Lerman from Percy Jackson
[pictured below].
(manda-rae:Obviously, we can tell which guy I'm rooting for in this book...)
Q: Iris experiences a lot of dark shadows following her friends around. In some scenes, it seems like the shadows are attached to people like parasites. Can you describe one of these shadows?
A: The shadows vary quite a bit depending on what they represent or what their motives are. Some are foggy masses that hang over or around people, and some are more distinct, dark human-like silhouettes that hover beside or on people. Some of them drift slowly, whirl around chaotically or have vapors flutter away from them like steam.
Q: Kyra and Iris tend to frequent a local coffee shop, Coffee at the Ritz, that
features cupcakes in addition to coffee. What is your favorite coffee shop
beverage and favorite cupcake?
A: I LOVE coffee! My favorite is probably some sort of mocha with chai or toffee
flavoring. I like chocolate cupcakes over vanilla with lots of cream cheese or
chocolate icing.
Q: Nicole, Iris' friend, had problems passing her driving test due to parallel
parking. Did you pass your first driving test?
A: I did pass the first one, but barely! I had learned to drive from my mother
instead of through drivers ed, so I learned the bad habits of normal drivers
like not coming to a complete stop. He said I “rolled” through most of the stop
signs, but I actually did great with the parallel parking.
Q: Who has been your biggest inspiration?
A: Probably Becca Fitzpatrick. I loved the suspense and intrigue of Hush Hush
and the way her writing flowed. I did my best to make my writing like that.
Q: What is one book that everyone should read?
A: Good question! For mind-blowing enjoyment and to get people to want to
read more – Hunger Games.
Q: Favorite Quote?
A: “If you want to write, if you want to create, you must be the most sublime fool
that God ever turned out and sent rambling. You must write every single day of
your life. You must read dreadful dumb books and glorious books, and let them
wrestle in beautiful fights inside your head, vulgar one moment, brilliant the
next. You must lurk in libraries and climb the stacks like ladders to sniff books
like perfumes and wear books like hats upon your crazy heads. I wish you a
wrestling match with your Creative Muse that will last a lifetime. I wish craziness
and foolishness and madness upon you. May you live with hysteria, and out of
it make fine stories — science fiction or otherwise. Which finally means, may
you be in love every day for the next 20,000 days. And out of that love, remake a
world.”
– Ray Bradbury
It was as if his green eyes were my kryptonite, making all my defensive
powers of wit and sarcasm useless. I was exposed and vulnerable. But for some
reason, with Patrick…I liked it.
Stacking the Shelves consists of books we received in the last week, hosted by Tynga's reviews.
Wow, this week has flown by. By the time this is published, I will be camping. I'm super excited. I'll have to let you know how it goes next week. But this also means that I won't get to reply to your comments until Sunday. But never fear, I still love you all (well, it's a friendly blogger love)...
I've been highly anticipating this book for a while now. I absolutely adored Starcrossed. And I believe the covers are gorgeous. Anyways, my next couple of reads look like they'll all be awesome seconds in series.
This contemporary read seems like it has the potential to be funny. When you put a price to love and explore it in a non-emotional way, what could possibly happen other than a tangled emotional catastrophe? Thanks goes to Robert Shields for providing me a review copy.
I have to start off with I have never read any of Jacquelyn Frank's novels. But this is the start of a new series. And it sounds scrum-diddly-umptous. I'm looking forward to it. Thanks goes to Random House Publishing Group and Netgalley.
I've actually been watching this book since it was published last year. I've heard good things about it. And it's always made me so curious and wanting to read it. And then a blogger mentioned it was a free e-read (last I checked, it's still free). So, I snagged it while I could.
Note: Math City is currently free on Smashwords. So check it out if it catches your interest.
Description (taken from Goodreads):
Monster Number was grossly overweight and had a shaggy body like a mammoth. In the beginning, Monster number could not walk very well and swayed a little, tottering, and falling. But he was trained for detecting and killing by my father. After a few days, we attacked Math City. Math City was bombarded, the doors and the walls shaking while the dark shade of the Monster Number came down, covering the city. Monster Number threw big stones at Math City, one after another, and a like repulsive ghoul crashed through any barrier. And then some horrible explosions happened.
Math City is a short story using numbers and mathematical symbols to tell a story of power, war, and poverty. I think everyone can somehow relate this story to their own corner of the world's issues. However, I had a hard time following the broken english.
There are two main characters searching for power: the Lying Line and the Upward Lying Line. We see a lot of side characters, and the story details how these main characters try to help them and their city. But in the end, they are motivated by greed, corruption and power. And as the lowly can rise to power, so can the powerful fall down.
The thought and the story behind the story have a lot of potential to be very powerful. However, I think the grammatical mistakes held me back, and I kind of wished the story had put more depth to the characters. This book has comparisons to Animal Farm, but I think another good comparison would be The Good Earth.
This is something I could see people picking up and reading while waiting to see their dentist or doctor in some type of office. It's a short read and thought-provoking. I recommend you pick it up when you have an hour to spare (and only if you aren't going to get hung up on the grammar).
Thanks goes to Ahmad Amani for providing me a review copy.
Sixteen-year-old Evening Spiker lives an affluent life in San Francisco with her mother, EmmaRose, a successful geneticist and owner of Spiker Biotech. Sure, Evening misses her father who died mysteriously, but she’s never really questioned it. Much like how she’s never stopped to think how off it is that she’s never been sick. That is, until she’s struck by a car and is exposed to extensive injuries. Injuries that seem to be healing faster than physically possible. While recuperating in Spiker Biotech’s lush facilities, she meets Solo Plissken, a very attractive, if off-putting boy her age who spent his life at Spiker Biotech. Like Evening, he’s never questioned anything... until now. Solo drops hints to Evening that something isn’t right, and Emma-Rose may be behind it. Evening puts this out of her mind and begins her summer internship project: To simulate the creation of the perfect boy. With the help of Solo, Evening uncovers secrets so big they could change the world completely.
Ooh, computer technology getting the better of humanity. Or at least, that's what it sounds like. And do you recognize the authors? Think long and hard. If you are as old as me, then you probably picked up one or two Animorph books while growing up. Yes, these authors also wrote the Animorph series.
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