The Cat's Meow: Shine Series

 

This is my second series read of 2014! Sadly I'm getting so drawn into the new releasing books and I've gotten a couple ARCs.

Jeri's Shade series have been sitting in my TBR pile since early 2012, I can't recall how I came across hearing about her books or if someone recommended the books to me. I know I wasn't on twitter(at least I think) But I had gotten a chance to meet her . . . Way back in May 2013, I can't believe a whole year has gone by!

Jeri became my second official Author that I have met, I've met Andrea Cremer multiple times but it was nice to finally get to meet someone new.

SO onto about her Shade series, Shade was focused around where people that were born after the "SHIFT" could see and talk to ghost, and then there were others that was born before the "SHIFT" and were called Pre-Shift, not always able to communicate with the ghosts or see them.

Aura was one of those that could see and talk to ghosts, most time she chose to ignore it until they start screaming at her in the face and while she is trying to live as much of a normal life as she can, but Aura wanted so badly to not speak or see ghosts until . . . her boyfriend dies. Then it seems that she didn't lose him entirely but it was getting harder to face what was real and what wasn't real.

Aura's boyfriend Logan was the most cliche boyfriend I have ever read, the musician boyfriend . .. The pressure of becoming famous. Then it became hard for Aura to let go of Logan and facing the reality of real life and Zachary.

Did I mention that this is taken in Baltimore? No . . . Maybe? Well here are some photos I have from my trip to Baltimore.

Some of my Favorite scenes and passages,

SHADE

I love the day Zach and Aura spent together at the pier, it took me right back to my trip I had in Summer 2013 and I even did a tour of historical ships, the only one I miss was the lighthouse but we started getting some bad weather. I even love the part where they run and hide from the DWP and they share their first kiss only to get caught by Zach's dad.

SHIFT

Running from the DWP in the woods all by themselves, those scenes were sweet but also adventurous the very first time they ever spent alone for one night.

I love and hate the prom passage, first it was the most sweetest thing and then it became the most worst thing. First Aura couldn't decide if she could go to prom with Zachary when she still had envision going with Logan until he die. Of course Zach is heart broken, feeling that he's competing against a dead guy. Then aura wants to go to prom with Zach but is rejected and Zachary prom date was the girl Aura always had been bullied by and Zach's date had other plans and thought it would be nice to try and rubbed it in her face via phone dialing.

SHINE

Everything of their alone time in a castle bed & breakfast, and touring Ireland was my highlight of the book. I love when characters are sent to other places in the world and that makes it more intriguing to make me travel to those places like Ireland.

I love when Aura finally learns about her father since he was a missing piece of her and a missing piece to her mother. It gave Aura a peace of mind knowing who he is and what he was, realizing that he was the key to what made the SHIFT happens.

Overall thought on the series?

I like it because it was different, it didn't fall under the norm of what YA been bringing and I hope that more author might be interested in writing more YA ghost/paranormal/Spirits aspect. I think there could be more expansion of where ghosts and spirits can become YA or even NA. Can you imagine reading Aura and Zach in an NA genre? Would the theme and pace be different or would it ruin the whole innocence of the characters? 

Valentine Mini Challenge Day Three

 

Are you still following/participating? Great! This has to be one of my hardest challenges ever but I'm loving every part of it :-)
If you didn't see Day One Post click here, Valentine Day One
If you didn't see Day Two Post click here, Valentine Day Two

Day Three 

"The Cheesiest Romance scenes or Topic you have read in a book"  

To what level of degree do you decide if a scene is cheesy or an certain topic is cheesy? I mean I can be sometimes blind by what is cheesy. So this is extremely hard for me, as I browse my books that I have read for Cheesy scenes or topics.

I pick a passages from Before I Wake, where adults does the  "S-E-X"  talk . . .

 

Kaylee's dad been through a lot in his life but the next worst thing to ever had happen was for Kaylee to be killed (You must Read IF I DIE in order to understand where I'm coming from). But now having Kaylee back, he is scared for her. He cannot bare to lose her again or watch her growing up too fast, since the relationship between Kaylee and Tod got more heated up after IF I DIE ended. 

He worries that she and Tod are moving to fast . . . 

"I know things are inevitably going to change, but I'm not going to pretend to be happy that the two of you were here, alone, behind closed doors." 

"I don't really want to have this conversation with you, Dad"

"I don't want to have it, either, but yore kind of forcing my hand." 

~ Kaylee and Her Dad (Pg 68-69) 

 Two adults discusses about their teenagers, Tod's Mom & Kaylee's Dad . . .

"Tod and Kaylee are getting . . . physical," 

"They've always been 'physical,' Aiden. That's how this whole thing started, remember? With a kiss?" 

"No, I mean they're getting intimate."

~ Aiden and Harmony (Pg 112-113)

Well that awkward isn't it? having your parents do the "S-E-X" talk, but also it's cheesy in a way because it's comes up at the most inappropriate times. Plus having two adults discuss about theirs children's growing hormones/physical

Into the Fire Blog Tour + Guest Post

Who doesn't like a little romance with a lot of yummy foods to drool over? If your're one of those people then you came to the right book.  Amanda delivers a mixture of both food and romance and today I have her here on my blog SassyCat for some of her favorite scenes/passages.

So take it away Amanda!

Howdy, y’all! Hi, Kat! You want to know which scenes are my favorite, huh? The first one that comes to mind happens after Jack has proposed a one-night truce during their ongoing feud. He shows up to pick Lila up for their date, pulls his white t-shirt off over his head and waves it around like a white flag. Then he drops it on the floor. These two have tons of sexy tension, and I had so much fun writing a scene in which Lila could say:

“Are you kidding? Sex first, then dinner—and I don’t have to wear

uncomfortable shoes? Sold.”

Another favorite part happens right after that – Jack takes her to three of his favorite restaurants in NYC. I would love to go on a date like that! Wouldn’t it be great to get all dressed up, make mad, passionate love…then put on comfy clothes and stuff yourself silly at dinner? Yes! Pick me! Jack even says, “If you aren’t in a complete food coma after dessert tonight then you didn’t try hard enough.” Of course, I’m a pastry chef married to a chef, so that may have something to do with my food and sex fantasies – ha!

I also love the beginning of Chapter Three, which was the original Chapter One. (My editor thought it would be a good idea to go back and write Jack and Lila’s one-night-stand, so I added a couple chapters to the beginning. I mean, who would argue with great advice like that?) Lila is a catering chef, but she is pinch hitting for a server. It just so happens the catering company uses sex as a sales hook, so Lila’s uniform is a very revealing French maid getup. You can guess what’s going to happen, right? She hasn’t seen Jack since the morning after their one-night-stand when he did something so dastardly, she hopped the first train out of town. Jack’s at the party! Of course he’s at the party! And her boobs are on display, and she has to serve him hors d’oeuvres! While they sling zingers at each other! Jack gets the last word until he follows her into the kitchen. Trust me, Lila gets the last word there.

It’s not all sexy-sex and sexy-food, though. It’s a love story. Jack and Lila have good reasons to fight, but they are also falling in love with each other. I adore these thoughts from Lila:

Her feelings about Jack reminded her of the time she had waded into the ocean to the edge of the sand and stood firm. Every wave that hit her shins had washed a little sand from beneath her feet until she lost her balance. She felt as if every minute spent with Jack washed away a little more of her resolve. She needed to make a decision. Step forward or race back to firm ground?

And yes, I was standing in a lake, feeling sand wash out from beneath my toes, when I came up with that. Since I’m usually a little less lyrical and a little more direct, they almost got cut, but I fought for them.

Honestly, my favorite line in the book is near the black moment. Jack says something that makes my heart drop into hell every time I think about it. In case you decide INTO THE FIRE is up your alley, I won’t spoil that moment for you. Love is a risk, and it isn’t always easy, especially if, like Jack, you have ISSUES. So I will leave you with a line from Lila instead:

“A deal with the devil demanded a price, and it was always nearly impossible to pay.”

NEARLY impossible. Thank goodness Jack isn’t really the devil – he just plays him for the first part of INTO THE FIRE. Good thing Lila is such a clever, resourceful woman! It’s fun to watch her handle him. ;-)

Thank you for stopping by SassyCat today! I really enjoyed revisiting my favorite moments. Kat, thanks for having me and giving me a chance to talk about my characters. I love them so much, and I hope readers do, too!

Tour-Wide Giveaway

 

Amanda Usen is offering winners a chance to at some wonderful prizes during the Into the Fire Blog Tour.

Grand prize: $25 gift card (Amazon, B&N, or The Book Despository) and gets to name Betsy’s hero in Book 3 of the Hot Nights series & give him 1 author-approved trait".

Runner Up: $15 gift card (Amazon, B&N, or The Book Despository) and the chance to pick a dish to go into book three of the Hot Night series (Amanda will also share the recipe on her website).

Consolation Prizes: 5 random winners will get Amanda’s favorite kitchen tool: a mini offset spatula

 Simply fill out the rafflecopter form provided below for your chance to be entered. J

a Rafflecopter giveaway About Amanda Usen

Amanda Usen knows two things for certain: chocolate cheesecake is good for breakfast, and a hot chef can steal your heart. Her husband stole hers the first day of class at the Culinary Institute of America. She married him after graduation in a lovely French

Quarter restaurant in New Orleans, and they spent a few years enjoying the food and the fun in the Big Easy. Now they live in Western New York with their three children, one hamster, two guinea pigs, a tortoise, and a new-to-them beagle. Amanda spends her days teaching pastry arts classes and her nights writing romance. If she isn’t baking or writing, she can usually be found chasing the kids around the yard with her very own hot chef husband.

Want chimichurri, chocolate cake or Chicken Alighieri? Visit Amanda at http://www.amandausen.com, where you can find recipes for many of the yummy dishes in her books. She can also be found on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/amandausen) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/#!/AmandaUsen) if you want to chat about romance, writing, or recipes.

 

Where to find Amanda

Author Website: http://amandausen.wordpress.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/AmandaUsen

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4732223.Amanda_Usen
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amandausen
Sign-up for Amanda’s Newsletter: http://amandausen.us4.list-manage2.com/subscribe?u=dabfde75a2e90474123400fe9&id=d995e0a667