Blog Tour Review: Low Red Moon by Ivy Devlin

Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 256 pages
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's Books (September 14, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1599905108
ISBN-13: 978-1599905105

Avery Hood is reeling from the loss of her parents--and the fact that she can't remember what happened to them even though she was there.

She's struggling to adjust to life without them, and to living with her grandmother, when she meets Ben, who isn't like any guy she's ever met before.

It turns out there's a reason why, and Ben's secret may hold the key to Avery finding out what happened to her parents...

But what if that secret changes everything she knows about--and feels for--Ben?

Review:

After witnessing her parents brutal death, Avery Hood feels numb with the missing pieces from her memory still out of reach. Living with a grandmother she never really understood--and still calls "Renee"--Avery feels more lost and desolate than ever. When a new boy comes to Woodlake and ends up being her would-be neighbor, she feels like nothing has changed; and little did she know that he would turn world upside down.

Closing in on the mysterious murders in Woodlake gave the setting of Low Red Moon a suspenseful tone. The author created a town with its independent characters that share the knowledge of their town's inhabitants with a feeling of liberation. Avery's parents always thought it better to keep to the woods where they felt more at home than they ever could be badgered by the local real estate agent and their town's small strip mall. That is, until last year when Avery's parents insisted she start at the local high school. Further ahead in the book, I wondered if this was written as a convenience to have Avery already known at the high school during the events in the book were taking place. In relation to that, I wondered if a lot of the book's plot was written up for convenience to get to the next event.

Low Red Moon had a lot of repetitive sentences and rhetoric questions that soon got me thinking, "What exactly were the editors and other readers thinking when they passed over the same idea in different wording three times?"

This book does have its moments of brilliance. They mostly consist of the moments of imagery of the woods and its creatures. Devlin really made the traumatic, rural angle work for Avery's story of her parents tragic death.

Overall, I wouldn't call this a memorable book because it has too many common qualities with other YA Paranormal Fantasy novels (Raised by Wolves, particularly). It does end with a cliffhanger, so I expect their to be a sequel of some kind. I would like to know what happens with the town of Woodlake but I won't be "waiting by the phone."

Grade: C-

This Advanced Readers/Reviewers Copy was sent by the publishers at Bloomsbury Children's Books for my uninfluenced review.

LiLi

Blog Tour Giveaway: Low Red Moon by Ivy Devlin

From Goodreads: 
Avery Hood is reeling from the loss of her parents--and the fact that she can't remember what happened to them even though she was there.

She's struggling to adjust to life without them, and to living with her grandmother, when she meets Ben, who isn't like any guy she's ever met before.

It turns out there's a reason why, and Ben's secret may hold the key to Avery finding out what happened to her parents...

But what if that secret changes everything she knows about--and feels for--Ben?

Enter to win your own finished copy of Low Red Moon by Ivy Devlin.
Giveaway ends Sept. 30th at midnight EST. Open to US residents only. The winner's address will be sent to the publisher, who will send the book to you. Thank you, Kate! I will be posting my review of Low Red Moon later today.

This giveaway has ended.

Giveaway: Wings by Aprilynne Pike

Wings by Aprilynne Pike

From Goodreads:

Laurel was mesmerized, staring at the pale things with wide eyes. They were terrifyingly beautiful—too beautiful for words.
Laurel turned to the mirror again, her eyes on the hovering petals that floated beside her head. They looked almost like wings.
In this extraordinary tale of magic and intrigue, romance and danger, everything you thought you knew about faeries will be changed forever.

Details:

• Fill out the form below to win a paperback copy of Wings.
• Contest ends October 1st at midnight (EST)
• US participants only

(Mini)Author Interview: Rachel Vincent

I just finished reading My Soul to Take and yes, I cried a little at the end. ;) However, since I knew Rachel was awesome, I thought I'd conduct a short interview to answer some questions I had relating her two famed series:

Shifter

Stray

Rogue

Pride

Prey

Shift

Alpha (Oct. 1)

Soul Screamers

My Soul to Take

My Soul to Save

My Soul to Keep

Even though I haven't read them all, I suggest you start both series and you can thank me later. Now on to the grilling...

CR: If you switched places with Kaylee Cavanaugh for just one day, what would be the main thing you'd focus on first: Nash or her bean sidhe ability? Why?

Bean sidhe heritage. Because boys come and go, but your species is forever. ;)


CR: You've probably heard this one most often but what was the transition like between Faythe's world and Kaylee's? What would you say was the biggest difference between the two?

The biggest difference is the freedom that comes from Kaylee's world. The world building is on a much broader scale, so there are many more possibilities for plotlines, conflicts, and characters. But then, there's also the extra challenge involved in making sure the narrator's voice is authentically adolescent, allowing for the fact that Kaylee is no ordinary teenager. ;)

The transition between the two series can be tough, but I've done it several times now. The Shifters series is six books long, and I'm writing book five in the Soul Screamers series, so jumping back and forth is getting easier. But writing the books is not. ;)


CR: What's something you most liked exploring in Kaylee's bean sidhe story that you aren't able to in Faythe's Pride?

The Netherworld. Faythe's world doesn't have an alternate dimension.


CR: Where did Kaylee's character come from initially and what was the inspiration of using bean sidhe mythology?

I never know how to answer questions like this one. Kaylee didn't come from any one place. She developed over the course of the first book, and in fact, she's still developing and maturing, and losing a little bit of that shiny optimism in exchange for a really bitter dose of reality. But she's strong, and only getting stronger. And I don't think you could ever really stomp all the grit out of Kaylee. ;)


CR: Closer to the ending of My Soul to Take (and this is something I noticed deeply considering my personal relationship) what made you write Kaylee's father more of a non-existent character where as in the Shifter series Faythe's father is a fundamental character?

That wasn't a conscious decision, and for the record, he's much more of a real father figure in the subsequent books. But here's how it worked: When I sat down to write My Soul To Take, I thought about who I wanted Kaylee to be, including her strengths, her weaknesses, and her fears. Then I took her life and worked backward, deciding what would have to have happened to her in the past to create the girl I wanted to write about. Part of that backstory included a dead mother and an absentee father. Part included time spent in a mental institution, which gave her control issues and a fear of being confined. Make sense?




Totally makes sense, specially if you read My Soul to Lose, the prequel that started Kaylee's madness. It is a free short ebook that have no excuse for not reading.

Thanks again, Rachel!

LiLi