Embers by Laura Bickle Discussion Questions

I apologize for the lateness.  It has been a very hectic week...and was just able to finish Embers today.

1. So if you had the chance would you have a pet elemental, even with the inconvenience of broken microwaves?
2. What did you think about the relationship between, Brian, Anya and Drake?
3. Did the book make you want to visit Detroit or steer clear?
4. A big part of Embers surrounds paranormal activity and the whole Scooby style system....What do you think of shows like Ghost Hunter, Paranormal State and the such? 
5. Do you believe in the paranormal world around us or chalk it up to complete fantasy and make believe?
    

The Iron King Top Reviewer

Our Top Review and winner of the $10 Amazon Gift Card is... Mel @ Mel's Books and Info

Support Mel's blog by becoming a follower!

Here is her review:

Title: The Iron King

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Publication Date: 2/2010

Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal Romance

Purchased copy for review.

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Not since Alice went down the rabbit hole, or Dorothy flew over the rainbow, has there been a book so exciting. Iron King is a wonderful fantasy adventure that takes us into Nevernever, the heart of myths and fantasies, where danger lurks behind every turn. This book was too good to put down, as our heroine escapes one perilous situation only to stumble into more trouble at the next turn. Iron King has something for everyone; action, adventure, danger, friendship, and forbidden romance.

Tired of her life on a pig farm, Mehgan Chase looks forward to her sixteenth birthday, when she hopes getting her drivers permit might add some excitement to her dreary life. When she comes home and discovers her brother, Ethan, has been kidnapped by faeries and replaced with a dangerous changeling, Meghan gets more excitement than she had bargained for, as she resolves to save Ethan from the faeries who have captured him. After her only true friend, Robbie, reveals to her that he is actually the mythical Puck or Robin Goodfellow of Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream, Meghan enlists his help to venture into Nevernever to save her brother. As Meghan embarks on the adventure of a lifetime, she has no idea what dangers and revelations she will soon face.

There have been a lot of faery books published lately, and most focus on faeries interacting and living in our world. It was refreshing to see a book that dares to venture into fairyland, and the resulting story is top notch. Kagawa created a world where creatures of myth and legend roam, and what you say and the deals you make can have serious consequences.

My one criticism would be that the story’s climax came too swiftly. The entire story had been building towards this confrontation, but it was over in a matter of a few pages. The ending was a bit of a letdown after all the dangers and obstacles they face trying to get to the climax, but the journey to get there could not have been better. This quick ending may be partially due to the fact that this is the first book in a series, but still I feel with the time I invested in this novel I should have gotten more from the climax than the few pages it was given.

Still this was a fun and entertaining read and I find myself lamenting the fact that I have to wait another five whole months for the next installment in the series. I am anxious to see where Kagawa will go with the next book. Overall I found this book to be a very pleasant surprise. If you are looking for something to tide you over while you wait for the next installment, you might try Carrie Jone’s books Need and Captivate or the Wicked Lovely series by Melissa Marr. The next book, The Iron Daughter is due out in August 2010.

View all my reviews >>

Discussion Questions:

1. What did you think of the feud between Puck and Ash? How do you think that might play out in the next two books?

I felt that the feud between Puck and Ash was somewhat manufactured. I understand why Ash feels the way he does, but I think the author put it in simply to build the romantic conflict. There had to be some reason for the two to hate each other so that the competition over the girl is stepped up a notch. It creates more resistance to the relationship between Meghan and Ash. Kind of an Jacob/Edward type relationship and I feel it is being slightly overused in the genre lately.

I hope in the next two books that they find a way to get around Ash’s vow to kill Puck. I am hoping that Meghan can barter with Ash and get him to relinquish his vow for vengeance. Even Ash believes that it might have been hasty, but faery promises can’t be broken.

2. Favorite scene or line from the book? Could you relate to any of the characters?

The scene that made me chuckle was the one in New Orleans where Puck hales a carriage pulled by a mule and Grim hops up next to the driver and tells him “Historic Voodoo Museum and step on it.” For some reason that cracked me up.

Many of the characters were difficult to relate to because they were so unusual. You have dark and brooding Ash, and playful Puck, and Meghan who thinks she is ordinary but is actually extraordinary.

3. With whom did you identify with the most? And Why?

I could really identify with Meghan at the beginning of the book the most. I remember what it was like in high school being somewhat of a loner. Yeah I had friends, but admittedly I was a geek and was always afraid of being made fun of. It didn’t help that I wore my heart on my sleeve and you could make me cry at the drop of a hat.

4. Did you find the concept behind the Iron King- being a technology fueled modern day faerie- original or unbelievable?

The book has a very environmental theme. Our technology could be our undoing, and I can see this as becoming a more common theme in literature. Kagawa’s treatment of the topic is however most original in that the technology has spilled over into the fairylands. I think though, that they made the enemy almost too invincible since the ordinary fey can be killed by iron. It makes the tasks of Meghan and her friends in the future books nearly insurmountable.

5. Kagawa used a lot of mythical faeries in The Iron King, such as King Oberon, Queen Mab and Puck. Which fae from myth would you have liked to have seen added into the pages of The Iron King besides the ones she used?

I was happy with her choices.

Evolve Winner!

Announcing the winners of 

Evolve: Vampire Stories of the New Undead

The winner is 

Elaine G

New Vampires have evolved, and they are coming for you! Kelly Armstrong, Tanya Huff and twenty-two other dark fantasy and horror writers come together to re-imagine the future of vampires in this new collection of all-original short fiction – one of the most unusual and original vampire anthologies ever assembled.

Blog with Bite's The Iron King Reviews

Average Review: 3.83 Rating
Our highest combined rating & review turnout. Congrats Ms. Kagawa on an excellent novel!

Get comfy HBIC & Julie... we've got a few reviews to read. One of the following reviews will be chosen as the Blog with Bite Top Reviewer and awarded a $10 Gift Card to Amazon.com courtesy of our featured Reviewer... Julie!

Shut Up! I'm Reading.

All Things Urban Fantasy

Poisoned Rationality

LANA GRIFFIN:  ROMANCE AUTHOR

The Eager Readers

The Book Junkie's Bookshelf

Mel's Books and Info

Reading Teen

She Reads

StoryWings
The Bibliophilic Book Blog
The Unread Reader
I Just Wanna Sit Here and Read!

Featured Reviewer

My 5 Monkeys

HBIC Reviews
What book is that?
Parajunkee's View
TinasBookReviews

Iron King - Featured Reviewer Julie @ My 5 Monkeys

Meghan Chase has a secret destiny--One she could have never imagained. Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school or at home. When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar , and her prankster best friend becomes strangley protective of her. Meghan senses that everything she known is about to change. ( Back of the book)

This book has 3 parts and its Meghans story . This is another Fey book , and I read a couple so far that have been really good and this another great example of good imagery and details.

Meghan is 16 and lives in the swamp and is best friends with Robbie who happens to be Robin Goodfellow or Puck. I loved the friendship between them both, and hoping for more. I loved the Chapter titles.

Meghan has been enjoying her life with family of Luke, Ethan and her mom. But her life changes with Ethan get taken by the Iron King. Along the way she meets some wonderful friends like Grimalkin( cat sith) , Ash, and still friends with Puck.

Meghan meets her real dad and does that she can to save her brother Ethan. She also is attracted to Ash, but I do think she has some feelings for Puck. Meghan makes many deals and contracts to save  her brother. She gave up many things to save her brother. I did like how they were able to travel and be in different places like New Orleans and Minnasota . I loved Grimalkin -- He was so cute and honest and made the book funny. He had some of the best lines, and his thoughts were so true of what I was thinking of the characters. He reminded me of the chesire cat from Alice in wonderland.

Adversity makes someone stronger and she saw the change in her friend Angie( with the pig nose) when she came back from Nevernever, and she experienced it when she traveled to get her brother and able to face all of those problems.

Meghan wasn't too whiny but I found her to be more normal in books. I found that it was ironic that once she delievered Ethan home, Ash came to collect her and return her to fairy world. I do want to see what happens with Meghan and Puck and Ash.

I also found the villian in this to very realistic with this day and age..and so true with technology and computers. Its an interesting world we live in with all these paranormal happenings. I loved how she dealt with Iron in this book and it all made sense. I loved that Meghan was a smart girl.

I would let my daughter read this book and I would share this series with my friends.

This is going to be a series and I believe through netGalley--the 2nd book is available to read right now.

Book Review =5

BWB=4

I bought this book and this is my Honest Review

Questions: How do you think the feud between puck and Ash is going to play out ? I'm not counting Puck out yet, and do think that Meghan is going to have to choose between her best friend and Ash and thats is going to be one of the driving forces of the story.

Favorite scene or line ? Loved the scene with Puck and Ash fighting over Meghan and her making a contract with Ash to save her brother. Line: No No we can kill each other later.

With whom did you identify with the most and why ?? I think I could relate to Meghan and trying to help her brother , and doing all that she could do to save him. I also could relate to her because she seemed very smart, and studious with school.

Did you find the concept behind the Iron King being technology based believable or unbelievable ?? I found that to a refreshing aspect to the book and very believable and it made more sense in this fey version that anything else I have read and made this book , something I want to pass along to my friends in the coming months.

Which fey myth did you want to see more of ? I think I would love to see more of the Summer King, and Winter Queen, and Sirens but I do think that we will be seeing more of them in the coming books.

April Blog with Bite Books!

Embers by Laura Bickle
Review Deadline - April 12th

Truth burns. Unemployment, despair, anger—visible and invisible unrest feed the undercurrent of Detroit’s unease. Homes and businesses are increasingly invaded by phantoms and now, with the annual destruction of Devil’s Night approaching, a supernatural arsonist is setting blazes to summon a fiery ancient power that will leave the city in ashes. A sizzling debut from a red-hot new author.

By day, Anya Kalinczyk is an arson investigator in the Detroit Fire Department. At night—accompanied by her elemental familiar, a salamander named Sparky, and an eccentric group of ghost hunters—Anya pursues malicious spirits. The rarest form of psychic medium, a “Lantern,” Anya doesn’t allow spirits to communicate through her with the physical world like most mediums, she devours restless harmful souls and incinerates them. She’d like to get closer to Brian, a ghost-hunting techno-wiz, but a lifetime of those she loves getting hurt makes her hold back. Her two roles mesh when, on the trail of a serial firebug, she discovers an arsonist is attempting to use the fires to rouse Sirrush, a supremely powerful elemental, from the salt mine beneath the city of Detroit. Anya must capture the arsonist before Devil’s Night, when the spell will be complete and Sirrush will rise to raze the city.
 

Hex Hall by Rachel  Hawkins
Review Deadline - April 28th


Three years ago, Sophie Mercer discovered that she was a witch. It's gotten her into a few scrapes. Her non-gifted mother has been as supportive as possible, consulting Sophie's estranged father--an elusive European warlock--only when necessary. But when Sophie attracts too much human attention for a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, it's her dad who decides her punishment: exile to Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries, and shapeshifters. 

By the end of her first day among fellow freak-teens, Sophie has quite a scorecard: three powerful enemies who look like supermodels, a futile crush on a gorgeous warlock, a creepy tagalong ghost, and a new roommate who happens to be the most hated person and only vampire on campus. Worse, Sophie soon learns that a mysterious predator has been attacking students, and her only friend is the number-one suspect. 

As a series of blood-curdling mysteries starts to converge, Sophie prepares for the biggest threat of all: an ancient secret society determined to destroy all Prodigium, especially her. 

HBIC Review The Iron King

The Iron King by Julia Kagawa

Posted by Tina @ Tinasbookreviews

February-2010 by Harlequin Teen
Paperback, 363 pages

Memorable Quote

I touched the place where his fingers had brushed my skin, giddy and terrified at the same time.“Careful human…………Do not lose your heart to a faery prince. It never ends well.
Pg.178 (stated by Grimalkin)

Review

So let’s talk about one of the best YA faerie novels out there.

Superb writing, amazing plot, defined characters and easy to fall-in-love-with princes and that’s just the beginning of this original highly enjoyable read.

Meghan’s story begins with the backdrop of the usual average gal making her way through high school amongst the rich and snobby-she has no friends besides the company of Robbie another loner who lives nearby. With the ache of loneliness surrounding her The Iron King actually starts off a bit gloomy.

Gloom quickly turns into scary, as Kagawa’s descriptions slowly pull the reader into a dark side of the fae and its counterparts. Meghan defiantly knows things in the world aren’t right when Ethan her cute little brother rips his stuffed bunny’s head off and mistakes her leg for a drumstick.

Enter Robbie- who rescues Meghan from the leg-eating monster that is actually a changeling standing in for the real Ethan who has been kidnapped and taken into faery world. Robbie informs her that he is actually a faery named Puck (the Puck!) who was sent by her Faery Father Oberon of the Summer Court, to be her protector and take her back to Nevernever when the time came. And the time certainly has come for Meghan Chase.

On a mission to rescue Ethan, Robbie and Meghan head into Nevernever and embark on an adventure sure to pull you in and under its spell. On a race to save her brother, Meghan is thrown some bones to chew on- one she’s trapped in Oberon’s Court – the Summer Queen (Oberon’s wife) has a huge grudge against her and of course falling in love with a winter prince out to kill you could dampen anyone spirits.

I loved every minute of The Iron King and thought Kawaga’s brilliant mind brought all of us “Faerie fans” a unique and entertaining story. The world created in this story felt like Alice in Wonderland to me, and perhaps it’s because I just saw the movie so it wasent hard to picture the similar worlds, only Nevernever had a much more sinister feel than the whimsical aspects of Wonderland. Highly recommended to all of those who love the Fae and the magical world of fantasy.
4/4 YA Faeries

BWB Discussion Questions:

1. What did you think of the feud between Puck and Ash? How do you think that might play out in the next two books? I loved the feud- it gave the book the "boy fighting over girl aspect". For sure a love triangle but Im hoping Meghan ends up with Ash.

2. Favorite scene or line from the book? Could you relate to any of the characters? I think my favorite scene was when Ash and Meghan dance and talk face-to-face for the first time. I related to Meghan on a girl level- but I think my favorite character had to be Grimalkin- he cracked me up!!

3. With whom did you identify with the most? And Why? For sure Meghan, and only because she was going through normal reactions. I liked her because she was a strong character but so graceful.

4. Did you find the concept behind the Iron King- being a technology fueled modern day faerie- original or unbelievable? Very Original!! I thought the concept was new and fun.

5. Kagawa used a lot of mythical faeries in The Iron King, such as King Oberon, Queen Mab and Puck. Which fae from myth would you have liked to have seen added into the pages of The Iron King besides the ones she used? None- I think the use of mythical fae is a toss up- I don't have any one's I favor.

Parajunkee's Review - The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa
Downloaded to my kindle for the blogwithbite.com group review.

PJV's QUICKIE POV: I was at a breaking point when it came to YA faerie novels. Had enough. But I was pretty resigned to the fact that The Iron King was going to be the BWB YA pick...this book has been pretty popular among the bloggers of late. There is a reason for it's popularity. This is the best YA faerie novel that I have read, hands down. Gripping - check. Tough - check. Scary - check. Emotional - check. Creative - check. The list goes on...Ms. Kagawa you've written yourself quite a fairy tale.

REVIEW: Meghan Chase is the step-daughter of a pig farmer and the wearer of thrift store rags. Her only friend is a goofy neighbor who likes to play pranks.  She doesn't fit in, in fact, people barely even remember she is there.  The one time she does get noticed, she screws up majorly and turns the popular kids against her because of a bizarre computer error.  Meghan Chase is destined for anonymity and a life of lameness...that is until she starts seeing odd creatures out of the corner of her eye and her little brother suddenly sprouts needle-sharp teeth and begins chomping on her leg...oh and her best friend declares himself to be the legendary Puck.

Boring, forgetful Meghan Chase now finds herself on an adventure to rescue her little brother and maybe changed the land of fairy in her wake.

An adventure fairy tale like no other, the faeries of The Iron King are scary, beautiful and a little bit charming. The Iron King mixes fairy myth with steampunk in a compelling young adult voice that had me hooked from page one. I loved all the main characters, Puck had me laughing, Ash had me shivering and Meghan had me cheering for her. The end had me desperate to read more. A must read for fans of the fae.

RECOMMENDATIONS: Nothing for parents to be concerned with in this one, the fae might be a bit on the scary side, but nothing gory or in-your-face violent.  Teens 12 and up should enjoy. Adults should also like this one. Also, adults, if you have already read this novel and enjoyed it, might I recommend another of my fae loves, the adult series by Richelle Mead called the Dark Swan series.

BWB Rating 3/4





1. What did you think of the feud between Puck and Ash? How do you think that might play out in the next two books?
I really believe there will be a love triangle with the 2 boys.  Puck of course taking the less likely candidate. Ash being the forbidden fruit. The oath Ash swore is supposed to be unbreakable, so I don't see them rectifying that, unless the author takes a Stephanie Meyers out (divine intervention or something easy/cheating like that)

2.  Favorite scene or line from the book? Could you relate to any of the characters?
My favorite scene from the book was when Meghan and Ash were holed up hiding from the poison rain. It was very touching. Relate to the characters? I actually really liked Ash, he was trying to be cold, but you could see underneath his facade.

3. With whom did you identify with the most? And Why?
Poor Meghan, I really felt empathetic for her being in this crazy world and not understanding.  What kind of drove me crazy though was that they kept on making hints around her about who she was and her power and she never clued in to it.  But other than that, she held her own.

4. Did you find the concept behind the Iron King-  being  a technology fueled modern day faerie-  original or unbelievable?
I really liked that idea and thought it made sense.

5. Kagawa used a lot of mythical faeries in The Iron King, such as King Oberon, Queen Mab and Puck. Which fae from myth would you have liked to have seen added into the pages of The Iron King besides the ones she used?
 I've always wanted to see a story with the Far Darrig, a faerie that wears a red coat and hat and likes to play evil little practical jokes.

HBIC Review Evolve- Vampire Stories of the Undead

Evolve-Vampire Stories of the New Undead

Edited by Nancy Kilpatrick and Written by Various Authors
Paperback 256 pages
Publisher: Edge Releasing September-2010

Review Posted by Tina at Tinasbookreviews

Book synopsis:
New Vampires have evolved, and they are coming for you! Kelly Armstrong, Tanya Huff and twenty-two other dark fantasy and horror writers come together to re-imagine the future of vampires in this new collection of all-original short fiction – one of the most unusual and original vampire anthologies ever assembled.

Memorable Quote:

The moon, he says let us fly there, build our own dark cities on its unseen face, rest in its comforting shadow.

Taken from Let In The Night by Sandra Kasturi --- pg.14

Review

In the opening pages Nancy Kilpatrick introduces us to the book, Im not one for back- flips on intros and forwards, but I actually found myself loving Nancy’s. There was so much great info on the history of entertainment Vampires, after reading the intro I felt I had received a crash course on books and movies 101.

I loved that the beginning opened with poetry and the end closed with yearning for more.

Evolve contains 24 bloody snippets of tantalizing stories to water your mouth. The authors who share with us little tastes of their work defiantly brought different flavor to the modern day vampire. You can find a bit of everything in these stories including musical, sadistic, depressed and hard core vamps. You can stumble upon the sexy, ugly, tough and weird- and not only do the stories contain creepy elements but also new ideas that give the vampire genre a fresh face.

My favorite story by far was Sandra Wickham’s Mamma’s Boy ( a freaky little tidbit of a human woman giving birth to her vampire child) coming in at a pithy four pages I wanted so much more – I’m hoping Ms. Wickham takes this story and makes it fabulous!! Not to say I loved every story some were very confusing and weird- for instance- The Drinker by Victoria Fisher which left me with more questions than interest or Colleen Anderson’s An Ember Amongst the Fallen which left me more disturbed than intrigued by Buer’s character, he was a confusing nasty.

Overall I enjoyed the entire collection, it was just enough to pique my interest but not fully form in depth thoughts on the stories or authors. For sure I’m interested to read more about Zoe in Kelly Armstrong’s Otherworld Series and interested to check out more of the other authors work including Tanya Huff and Jerome Stueart.

Rating

Evolve contains various stories of blood, murder, mayhem, sex and language-suitable for adult readers.
BWB Score- 3/4
Thanks to Edge and Hades Publishing for Review Copy

Parajunkee's Review - Evolve: Vampire Stories of the New Undead edited by Nancy Kilpatrick

Evolve: Vampire Stories of the New Undead edited by Nancy Kilpatrick

Book Web Site

EVOLVE includes works by:
Kelley Armstrong, Tanya Huff, Claude Lalumière. Mary E. Choo, Sandra Kasturi, Bradley Somer, Kevin Cockle, Rebecca Bradley, Heather Clitheroe, Colleen Anderson, Sandra Wickham, Rhea Rose, Ronald Hore, Bev Vincent, Jennifer Greylyn, Steve Vernon, Michael Skeet, Kevin Nunn, Victoria Fisher, Rio Youers, Gemma Files, Natasha Beaulieu, Claude Bolduc, and Jerome Stueart.

PJV's QUICKIE POV: Vampires fans, this is a must read. Not quite what I would call an anthology, this is more like tid bits, but enough to tempt your pallet. Evolve is stuffed full of shorts that all have one thing in common, good writing about the fabulously fanged. This is great book to keep on your nightstand to grab, read a story...and then tuck in.  Quick and to the point. Sometimes I would wish they were longer...so I'll probably go out and grab more books by that particular author. I was also introduced to a lot of authors I haven't been exposed to before and that was tremendous, because expanding my literary repertoire is always fun, especially since I have been so genre narrowed lately. Who me?