Shield the Heart Blog Tour Stop

I'm thrilled to be a stop on T.K. Richardson's blog tour.  T.K. is always a pleasure to interact with and she's one great writer.  I loved Return the Heart and can't wait to read and post my review of Shield the Heart.  Stay tuned for the review.  Take it away T.K.!

Hi Lisa, thanks for hosting this stop on the blog tour for Shield the Heart!

The theme for this blog tour is a little different and I hope all of you will enjoy it. It’s titled ‘A Russian Tour’ because each day during the blog tour we’ll explore the Russian cities and historical sites that are the backdrop for my new YA novel Shield the Heart.

Sometimes the setting of a novel is so interesting and unique that it deserves a closer look, and that’s why I thought this blog tour would be so much fun. ‘A Russian Tour’ will give my readers a chance to get a better view of where everything in Shield the Heart takes place.

After all, these are the places that have inspired me, and I hope they inspire all of you, too.

Today on our itinerary we’re visiting Kozelsk, Russia!

To follow along each day and visit some of the places found in Shield the Heart, be sure to follow the blog tour.

Okay, onto our destination!

Козе́льск

The past 2 days on the blog tour we’ve visited 2 well known cities: St. Petersburg and Moscow. But today we’re stopping in a city you may not know much about - Kozelsk.

Hmm… what can I say without giving away too much about how this city ties into the story? Well, what I can tell you is that when Lilly winds up here everything changes, or becomes more focused for her. She knows the importance of this place and she is awestruck.

Although Lilly doesn’t spend much time here, she loves it – from the quaint scenery to the people – Kozelsk is someplace she’s naturally drawn to. Located far from St. Petersburg and Moscow, Kozelsk is situated on the Zhizdra River and is much smaller in population.

Kozelsk is also the place where Optina Monastery is located which has been visited by great writers and people of renown for centuries. (We’ll visit Optina Monastery on the blog tour!) With its ancient ties to the past Kozelsk plays a significant role in Shield the Heart. Although I did take artistic liberty with some scenery and distances, I loved my research of this city.

Character quote~

“For some reason, Lilly, we have to go. There’s a reason everyone is trying to keep us away from here and I think we need to find out just what that reason is.”

~Claire, Shield the Heart

I hope you’ve enjoyed this mini tour of Kozelsk. Be sure to follow us to our next destination. Tomorrow on the blog tour we’ll visit Kostroma, Russia!  http://eveningfades.blogspot.com/p/shield-heart-blog-tour.html

Lisa, thanks again for hosting me on the blog tour. I hope you and your blog followers enjoy my new release!

One Gift, One Prophecy, One Choice

Shield the Heart

 (Note: This book is part of a series. Book #1 Return the Heart. Book #2 Shield the Heart.)

What if the battle was in your heart?

Lilly’s gift of reading the heart seemed like a curse, but when she discovered her gift was linked to an old, Russian prophecy it changed everything. What she never questioned, though, was her own heart.

When the prophecy pulls Lilly back to Russia and demands to be fulfilled she is torn between love and loyalty. She must make the most difficult decision of her life and choose between the two. But Lilly’s decision is farther reaching than even she is willing to acknowledge. It stretches from East to West - from the past to the future.

Lilly discovers there’s more to the old prophecy than she realized and enemy forces are bent on stopping it from unfolding.

One thing is certain - there will be casualties. And sparing those closest to her may be impossible. While Seth attempts to shield Lilly from the truth, Nikolai reveals secrets that could change everything.

As Lilly falls into the arms of Russia she must decide: will love or loyalty reign? And can she live with the consequences? Two sides compete for Lilly’s heart and she must find the answers she needs before her enemies find her.

Shield the Heart, by T.K. Richardson, is the riveting second book in the series and takes Lilly deeper into Russia’s mysterious past… and her future.

Available in paperback and ebook

*For a chance to win a Kindle Fire and a signed copy of Shield the Heart, check out my contest! http://eveningfades.blogspot.com/p/kindle-fire-contest.html

About the author~

T.K. Richardson is the author of YA books Return the Heart, Shield the Heart, Simmer: Recipes for the Teen Palate, and Love, Me: Anthology of Short Stories. She is the founder of Partners In Print.org, a program that donates books to children in the foster care system. She also runs The Writers Resource Directory, a great site for writers filled with publishing and writing links, tips and advice. Her next books: Courtship and the Kremlin, Swan Song, and Dovetail are due out later this year.  Find out more at http://tkrichardson.com

Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick

Here's a little blurb from the author's page: The noise between Patch and Nora is gone. They've overcome the secrets riddled in Patch's dark past...bridged two irreconcilable worlds...faced heart-wrenching tests of betrayal, loyalty and trust...and all for a love that will transcend the boundary between heaven and earth. Armed with nothing but their absolute faith in one another, Patch and Nora enter a desperate fight to stop a villain who holds the power to shatter everything they've worked for—and their love—forever.

My Take

I've been on this kick lately to catch-up on reading in the trilogies or other sagas that I started. This is the third in the Hush, Hush saga. I remember not being overly thrilled with Crescendo, so I will admit I started this book with a kind of attitude. Before I knew it the pages were turning fast. I couldn't seem to put it down. Ms. Fitzpatrick is great at ending each chapter with a cliff hanger that kept me reading at a fevered pace.

There was only a minor detail that I felt was a little unrealistic. Other than that, I loved this book. I'm looking forward to reading the 4th installment in the saga, which is slated for release sometime this year. Yay!! With all that said, I'm giving this one 4 1/2 angelic kisses!!

Crossed by Ally Condie

Here's a quick little blurb from the product page: The hotly awaited second book in the dystopian Matched trilogy in search of a future that may not exist and faced with the decision of who to share it with, Cassia journeys to the Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky - taken by the Society to his certain death - only to find that he has escaped, leaving a series of clues in his wake.Cassia's quest leads her to question much of what she holds dear, even as she finds glimmers of a different life across the border. But as Cassia nears resolve and certainty about her future with Ky, an invitation for rebellion, an unexpected betrayal, and a surprise visit from Xander - who may hold the key to the uprising and, still, to Cassia's heart - change the game once again. Nothing is as expected on the edge of Society, where crosses and double crosses make the path more twisted than ever.

My Take

 I liked Matched a lot and was anxious to see what Crossed would bring.  It wasn't disappointing.  I liked the fact that Cassia was stronger and more independent in this book.  There are some surprises that I never saw coming.  I like the new characters added to the mix as well.  I really enjoyed the time they all spent in the canyon, and getting to know the farmers that came from that area.  Whenever I read these books it always brings me around to thinking about This Perfect Day by Ira Levin (re-released and I desperately need to re-read).  I think it's very dystopian nature reminds me of it.  However, I would swear there are little whisperings around the edges that smack of similarity (only in minor details).  It's left off in a place making me want more.  I can't wait to read the third installment.  So definitely pick this one up and do yourself a favor and pick up This Perfect Day as well.  I'm giving this one 4 1/2 kisses!!

Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

Here's a quick bit from the author's website: The conclusion to #1 bestselling Shiver trilogy. In Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other. In Linger, they fought to be together. Now, in Forever, the stakes are even higher than before. Wolves are being hunted. Lives are being threatened. And love is harder and harder to hold on to as death comes closing in.

My Take

I had been waiting for the conclusion to this trilogy.  It was worth waiting for.  I liked the fact that we got to know more about Isabel and Cole.  There were times when I screamed out "NO!" and was saddened that I couldn't stop what happened.  (Even though most have probably read this, I don't want to let out any spoilers.)  And then so joyful at some things and hopeful for others.

Ms. Stiefvater has created a great trilogy here.  It's romance and really all types of love and relationships at their best...and worst.  Lovely stories that keep me quite enthralled.  The characters are endearing.  The writing is wonderful and keeps you turning the pages.  I'm giving this one 4 kisses!

Stay With Me by Paul Griffin

Here’s a quick bite from the author’s webpage: Fifteen-year-olds Céce and Mack didn’t expect to fall in love. She’s a sensitive A student; he’s a high school dropout. But soon they’re spending every moment together, bonding over a rescued dog, telling their secrets, making plans for the future. Everything is perfect. Until. Until. Mack makes a horrible mistake, and in just a few minutes, the future they’d planned becomes impossible. In this stark new reality, both of them must find meaning and hope in the memories of what they had, to survive when the person they love can’t stay.

My Take

If you like happy endings with hearts and flowers…this is not a story like that.  It had its fair share of hearts and Cece and Mack fall deeply in love, which was beautiful.  They were both deeply scared individuals who had a rough life up to finding one another.  To see so much hope, possibility and optimism about a future that seemed at best unsure before they met each other was joyful.  But it’s amazing how fast things can change.  A person’s whole life can hinge on a moment.  This book illustrates the frailty of life and the pain of paying for wrong choices.  In reality none of us gets any “do-overs”.

Mr. Griffin creates characters that you genuinely care about and want to see succeed.  He also includes gritty reality and truth.  You see the characters short-comings, their broken places and you celebrate their growth and mending too.  Stay With Me gets 5 sloppy puppy dog kisses from me!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Librarything as part of their early book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

I don’t generally write reviews of movies, but hey it was adapted from a book and I feel compelled to do so with this one.  Here’s a bit about the film from its website: Adapted from the acclaimed bestseller by Jonathan Safran Foer, “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” is a story that unfolds from inside the young mind of Oskar Schell, an inventive eleven year-old New Yorker whose discovery of a key in his deceased father’s belongings sets him off on an urgent search across the city for the lock it will open. A year after his father died in the World Trade Center on what Oskar calls “The Worst Day,” he is determined to keep his vital connection to the man who playfully cajoled him into confronting his wildest fears. Now, as Oskar crosses the five New York boroughs in quest of the missing lock – encountering an eclectic assortment of people who are each survivors in their own way – he begins to uncover unseen links to the father he misses, to the mother who seems so far away from him and to the whole noisy, dangerous, discombobulating world around him.

 

My Take

In the mind of a child everything has a reason for happening.  There is the ever present “why” tied to everything until the sea of whys have been quelled in their landscape.  Some things have no answers, no reasons, nothing solid and concrete to hang on to.  Oskar is a young boy longing to discover an answer or at least some legacy left behind by his father that will help him make sense of what has happened; to show him how to go on from the very painful existence he’s experiencing since his father’s death.  His father used to send him on expeditions.  Expeditions that were the most masterfully crafted experiences to challenge Oskar in facing his fears, pushing his boundaries, and yet all of that cloaked in the adventure of it all.  Oskar most assuredly faces challenges with sensory processing issues and more than likely Asperger’s Syndrome (a condition on the autism spectrum).  Clinging to the memory of his father he sets out in search of the lock to fit the key he found in his father’s belongings.  Along the way, he meets a myriad of people who may not know what the key fits but they each bring their own gifts to Oskar.  He may help some of them to find answers of their own on his journey.

This movie was a symphony of emotion where not a sour note was struck.  The emotions were far ranging and ran the gamut of the human experience.  The characters are rich, deep and honest.  Thomas Horn, who plays Oskar gives an amazing performance.  This is his first movie and we’re bound to see more of him for many years to come.  Tom Hanks plays his wildly creative, extremely loving father that we get to know through flashbacks.  Sandra Bullock plays his loving, albeit grief stricken mother.  The rest of the cast is wonderful as well.  This movie is phenomenal and should be experienced.   I wish I could give more than 5 kisses but these 5 will have to be the answer.   Now get yourself to the movies. J

Shine by Lauren Myracle

Here's a tiny bit from the Ms. Myracle's website:  When her best guy friend falls victim to a vicious hate crime, sixteen-year-old Cat sets out to discover who in her small town did it. Richly atmospheric, this daring mystery mines the secrets of a tightly knit Southern community and examines the strength of will it takes to go against everyone you know in the name of justice.
Against a backdrop of poverty, clannishness, drugs, and intolerance, Myracle has crafted a harrowing coming-of-age tale couched in a deeply intelligent mystery. Smart, fearless, and compassionate, this is an unforgettable work from a beloved author.

My Take

This book was amazing!  I had heard good things but even that left me unprepared for how moving this book was.  Both the story and the writing were fabulous.

Cat is courageous, smart and so loving.  Going against everyone she knows, she's determined to discover who committed the hate crime against her best friend Patrick.  She starts out naive but comes to discover there is no good versus evil.  Nothing in life is so black and white.  She went from clinging to the memories of her childhood to hopeful about her future. 

I read this book in just over one days time.  It pulled me in and kept me there.  I'm giving it 5 shiny kisses!!