#Join #ReadOn Feb 7th 4pm ET #Chat with #Authors @MaraValderran @AuthorSherry & @JaneYolen #Giveaway

Welcome for the first #ReadOn of 2015!  This year my shows are slowing down just a little.  Well for our first show were coming in with a bang.  Not only are we celebrating the release of Altar of Reality by Mara Valerian were also going to be chatting it up with wonderful author Sherry Ficklin!  This time for her book Queen of Someday!  Last but not least we will also be talking with the fabulous Jane Yolen who is the author of over 300 books!    Copies of all these books will be up for grabs!  So don't miss this show!  Make sure to ask questions and share! 

Sixteen year-old Madeline has struggled with epilepsy for most of her adolescent life, leaving her something of a social pariah. Things go from bad to worse when she wakes up from her first grand mal seizure in an extremely unfamiliar world but surrounded but familiar faces. Her hometown is in ruins, the aftermath of a Cold War turned hot.
Thomas, the boy that stomped on her heart a year ago, and his brother Brandon have been hiding her away since the explosion that killed her parents. The Lord Commander, now running the southern territories, believes Madeline died with them and the brothers need to keep it that way. The biggest problem? The explosion happened when she was twelve.
Madeline isn’t sure what to believe. The brothers insist her memories must be of a dream life she created while in her coma. But when she returns to the reality she knows, they insist this war-torn world must be the dream. She doesn’t know if she’s truly caught in the middle of a brewing rebellion or teetering on the brink of insanity. As she finds herself flipping between the two lives, her heart becomes torn between two versions of the same boy and the lines between her realities begin to blur.

 About the Author

› Visit Amazon's Mara Valderran Page

Biography

Mara Valderran is an author of young adult and new adult books, but she's more than just a madwoman with a writing box. She is an avid reader and fan of all things sci-fi and fantasy. She loves roller skating and movies, though typically not together. She hopes to one day meet Daniel Jackson from SG1, or at least the actor who played him. When she's not writing, you can find her reading, playing video games, or counting down the days until DragonCon.

Review to come! 

 Go Into This One Knowing 

"All opinions are 100% honest and my own." 

 

Young James, an earl s son, is a bit bothersome and always asking the oddest questions. In despair the last of James tutors having quit his mother sends him off to be educated at Cranford Abbey. She feels the strict regimen will do him a world of good. But Cranford Abbey has its own problems. It has been falling into disrepair. The newly appointed Abbot Aelian takes it upon himself to save the abbey with the use of his secret weapon: a recipe for golden apple cider passed down in his family for many generations. He believes that by making and selling the cider, the monks will raise necessary funds to restore the abbey to its former glory. Abbot Aelian has everything he needs almost. One obstacle stands in his way, unicorns that happen to feast specifically on the golden apples. Abbot Aelian and his men must fight off the unicorns to make the cider. He and the monks try to form a battalion to fight off the beasts; next they import heroes to fight for them. But the heroes run off, monks are injured, and a herd of ravenous unicorns continue munching. After no success, the abbot finally calls upon the most unlikely of heroes, one suggested by no other than young James. That hero is small and unprepossessing but possesses the skill to tame the beasts. Though wildly skeptical, Abbot Aelian must risk everything and believe in this recommended stranger or risk the fall of Cranford Abbey."

 About the Author

Jane has been called the Hans Christian Andersen of America and the Aesop of the twentieth century. She sets the highest standard for the industry, not only in the meaningful body of work she has created, but also in her support of fellow authors and artists. Her books range from the bestselling How Do Dinosaurs series to the Caldecott winning Owl Moon to popular novels such as The Devil’s Arithmetic, Snow in Summer, and The Young Merlin Trilogy, to award-winning books of poetry such as Grumbles from the Forest, and A Mirror to Nature. In all, she has written over 335 books (she’s lost count), won numerous awards (one even set her good coat on fire), and has been given six honorary doctorates in literature. For more information, please visit www.janeyolen.com.

I really hope that this book becomes a series.  This book although has a great start and would be good for both boys and girls.  It is way to short for real development.  So I really really hope that this gets picked up as a series.  

 Go Into This One Knowing 

Girls and Boys will love reading it, Very short not enough development 

"All opinions are 100% honest and my own." 

 

ONE GIRL WILL BRING AN EMPIRE TO ITS KNEES...

Before she can become the greatest empress in history, fifteen-year-old Sophie will have to survive her social-climbing mother’s quest to put her on the throne of Russia—at any cost.

Imperial Court holds dangers like nothing Sophie has ever faced before. In the heart of St. Petersburg, surviving means navigating the political, romantic, and religious demands of the bitter Empress Elizabeth and her handsome, but sadistic nephew, Peter. Determined to save her impoverished family—and herself—Sophie vows to do whatever is necessary to thrive in her new surroundings. But an attempt on her life and an unexpected attraction threatens to derail her plans.

Alone in a new and dangerous world, learning who to trust and who to charm may mean the difference between becoming queen and being sent home in shame to marry her lecherous uncle. With traitors and murderers lurking around every corner, her very life hangs in the balance. Betrothed to one man but falling in love with another, Sophie will need to decide how much she’s willing to sacrifice in order to become the empress she is destined to be.

In a battle for the soul of a nation, will love or destiny reign supreme?

 About the Author

› Visit Amazon's Sherry D. Ficklin Page

Biography

Sherry D. Ficklin is a full time writer from Colorado where she lives with her husband, four kids, two dogs, and a fluctuating number of chickens and house guests. A former military brat, she loves to travel and meet new people. She can often be found browsing her local bookstore with a large white hot chocolate in one hand and a towering stack of books in the other. That is, unless she's on deadline at which time she, like the Loch Ness monster, is only seen in blurry photographs. She is the author of several YA novels ranging from contemporary romance to science fiction. In her spare time she co-hosts the Curvy Writer Radio Show and is constantly trying to take over the world.


You can see more about Sherry and her books at her official website, sherryficklin.com

This is the first book I've read by Sherry Ficklin but it will not be the last.  I must say that this lady knows how to write!!  If you are thinking of becoming one you should definitely check out her books!!  

This book blew me away!  I feel so sorry for Sophia to love and loose and to have to marry someone she does not love. She has been through so much but comes out of it a stronger woman.  At only 15/16 through the book she goes through so much.  I don't think I could have done anything she did with as much grace even at my current age (32 hehe) let alone at the age she was.  

The story is filled with romance, action, a little adventure, and a lot of betrayal.  Although through it all I was addicted!! From the first page I didnt want to put it down.  Even as my eyes started to drift shut and I couldn't read anymore. lol.  I still finished it in two days. 

Although this Teen book is for older teens I thought the blend of history and fiction were amazing!! It made the story so much more and really reminds me of Reign (ya I know you will love that one Sherry if you read this hehehe).  This story is just as amazing!!  

Fans of Regin will enjoy this story!! 

The only other thing I loved about it is this cover!! Its so pretty!! 

 Go Into This One Knowing 

slight love triangle, no cliff hanger (however you will want to have book two on hand...its not out until OCTOBER!!! I know I'm gonna die to!!) 

"All opinions are 100% honest and my own." 

 

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Posted in: 4 Stars, 5 Stars, Clean Teen Publishing, Giveaway, Middle Grade, Review, Sherry D. Ficklin, Young Adult, Zondervan