Publication Date: May 16th 2014
Part of a Series? Book 1 in the Threats of Sky and Sea Trilogy
Review Copy: Via the author
Blurb Description: Sixteen year-old Breena Perdit has spent her life as a barmaid, innocent to her father’s past and happily free from the Elemental gifts that would condemn her to a life in the Egrian King’s army. Until the day that three Elemental soldiers recognize her father as a traitor to the throne and Bree’s father is thrown in jail—along with the secrets from his last mission as the King’s assassin. Secrets that could help the King win a war. Secrets he refuses to share.
Desperate to escape before the King’s capricious whims prove her and her father’s downfall, Bree bargains with him: information for their lives. It’s a good trade. And she has faith she’ll get them both out of the King’s grasp with time.
But that was before the discovery that she’s the weapon the King’s been waiting for in his war.
Now, time is running out. To save her father’s life and understand her own, Bree must unravel the knot of her father’s past before the King takes his life– and uses her to bring a nation to its knees.
**GIVEAWAY**
a Rafflecopter giveaway
**INTERVIEW**
1. Three of the funniest things you've done/ experienced:
1) When a new roommate was moving in, we came upon a large spider in the garage. A large, FAT spider. As her foot descended to crush it, I yelled, “No, wait! It might be—“
BAM.
“Pregnant,” I finished weakly, as hundreds of tiny baby spiders flew to cover the floor of the garage.
This was followed by us essentially tap-dancing in my garage to try to get as many of them as we could and frantically grabbing a broom to sweep the rest of them outside.
2) Once in college, a friend driving home (home was Orlando, Florida) was struck ill on his drive from South Carolina. He checked into a hotel for the night. I don’t remember our rationale, but for some reason, we decided that we needed to go get him.
At 7 P.M. at night.
Oh, and one of my friends had to be at work at 5 the next day.
It was a ridiculous situation, but it’s one of my favorite stories. We took pictures next to the “Welcome to Georgia/South Carolina” signs. When mapquest took us off route (for this was BEFORE everyone had smartphones) onto a dark, misty, and rainy road, I braked so suddenly that a friend napping in the backseat fell onto the floor as I yelled “Oh, hell no. I’ve seen this movie. I am not waiting around for the man in the yellow raincoat and hook hand to show up.”
Our friend was successfully retrieved and on the way back, we napped in a Georgia rest stop. And my other friend made it to work on time. Win.
3) This isn’t so much of a “funny ha-ha” story, but a funny coincidence story:
A couple of years back, I took a YA writing course online on LitReactor and made a friend. We agreed to exchange manuscripts and became CPs (Critique Partners).
One day on Twitter, I happened to notice that she follows Kappa Kappa Gamma on Twitter—As do I. A quick “Hold up. Are you a Kappa?” tweet was sent and to our amazement, we turned out to be sorority sisters! It was a cool twist of fate.South Carolina.
2. The one place you would give anything to visit:
Italy. No, no, wait, Spain. No, wait… France.
I’m going to cheat: Europe.
3. This or That:
-- gowns or jeans-
Oh no, you’ve picked two of my favorite things. Can I wear jeans UNDER my gown? Is that a thing? Maybe it should be—or maybe not; I’d probably be dripping sweat if I added an extra layer.
All right, I’m gonna go with the gown. I can wear jeans any old time.
-- the present era or the past-
Every now and then, I complain that I’ve been born in the wrong era—but then I realize that hey, I actually like being able to vote and things like that. Plus, I don’t know that I would have become a writer without the support of online friends and communities. I’ll stick with the present. ^_~
-- Chinese or Italian:
Italian. I LOVE me some pasta and pizza! And garlic rolls. Basically, I’m big fan of carbs.
And now onto your masterpiece:
4. Talk to us briefly about your inspiration for Threats of Sky and Sea:
Threats of Sky and Sea developed when I was daydreaming on top of a parking garage one day. (I wasn’t trying to be whimsical or anything—I just happened to work for my university’s parking services at the time.)
As I motioned cars forward into parking spaces that they probably could have picked out themselves, a scene jumped into my head. In it, two girls were arguing in the woods. One pushed the other into the camp fire. And she didn’t burn. That scene actually didn’t make it to the final draft, but the seeds of the story started there. I could hardly wait for my shift break so that I could start writing.
5. If your book were turned into a movie, what would be your-
--dream cast-
Ah, see here is a tricky thing! First off, my dream cast is not quite age-appropriate for my novel. Secondly, I still haven’t found someone that really looks like Bree to me, but as for some of the other members of the cast…
Katie McGrath as Princess Aleta.
Jesse Williams as Tregle.
Richard Madden as Prince Caden.
Emma Rigby as Lady Kat.
The Burger King as The King of Egria; TELL ME HE DOESN’T SCARE THE BEJEESUS OUT OF YOU.
-- theme song-
Breathing Underwater (Acoustic) by Metric. The lyrics are perfect and I really dig the vocals.
6. Your opinion on negative reviews:
Not everyone is going to like every book! That’s cool with me. It’s to be expected. I don’t read or interact with negative reviews of my own work because I don’t need to put that self-doubt in my head, so of course I prefer them not to be @-ed to me on Twitter, e-mailed to me, or anything. But if your negative review is an honest review, it doesn’t bother me that it’ll exist for your blog readers. I’d rather honest opinions be posted about my books than false praise.
**MY REVIEW**
First, I HAVE to start by saying that the cover of Threats of Sky and Sea is Gorgeous! And, as I've previously admitted, I'm sort of a sucker for pretty covers. Also, and I don't usually say this but the title only added a mystical element to the cover.
I've taken a while to get to this book- reasons not too clear to me even, but I began and simply HAD to finish in just one day.
Brenda Perdit is a barmaid. Probably scandalous in high society in this era, but to her da, things like formalities, courtesies, and the place of the 'fairer sex' (you get what I'm trying to say, right?) are not things truly viable. Which is when she happens to meet a group of Elementals (think earth benders-shakers-, water benders- throwers-, fire benders- torchers-, and air benders - riders) and her life takes a change. You know what kind of change...
On her way to the one place she never thought she'd be, with everything she knew about her life a little white lie, and the only place she called home no more than ashes on the ground, Bree forces herself to get a reality check- nothing will EVER be the same.
Court, however, is worse than she imagined. Everything she hears is a lie, or a very carefully practiced deceptive tactic and worst of all, she's being manipulated and blackmailed into something she doesn't want to be.
“I’m beginning to feel like nothing but a marionette doll, lurching about on invisible strings.”
This book was really good- but it lacked that element- that one that turns an adventure in a heart stopping thriller. However, I will be looking to the second installment with the hope that I find what I'm looking for.
My Verdict:
Definitely worth a read.
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