Book Blitz: The Prince's Prisoner by Klarissa King (Excerpt & Giveaway!)

Hi all! Today we have a super exciting Book Blitz to be sharing with you all. We have't done a lot of these this year, so I thought it would be a cool change in the normal flow of things. The Prince's Prisoner sounds amazing and we can't wait until we can read it. Check out below to see about the book, an excerpt and a giveaway! 




ABOUT THE PRINCE'S PRISONER!

Title: The Prince’s Prisoner 
Klarissa King (Feared Fables #2)
Author: Klarissa King
Publication date: February 15th 2019
Genres: Fantasy, New Adult, Retelling


Summary:
A dark fae prince. A stolen human girl. And an unwanted marriage. Not all beasts can be redeemed… Callie doesn’t believe in fairy tales. Too bad they believe in her. The fae whisk Callie and her friend off to be prisoners of an eternal dance. But Callie is stolen again. Maybe the eternal dance wasn’t so bad after all… A lethal fae has taken her as his unwilling bride, and she has to balance between life and death in his castle, while finding a way out of the dangerous fae realm. Only, she’s playing games with the Prince of War. The Prince learns just how far Callie will go to save her friend from a lifetime of torture—and just what she will do to save herself from his clutches. Callie must escape the wicked prince before she turns from prisoner to prey. But as the prince himself tells her, ‘Sacrifice is no noble thing in the fae realm. Everything in the fae realm comes at a price… The Prince’s Prisoner is a Dark Fae Retelling of the original Beauty and the Beast, and is the second book in the anthology series, Feared Fables. Can be read as a stand-alone. Please be aware of themes.


EXCERPT TIME:

His eyes touched to hers in the reflection of the mirror.
As he slipped off his shoulder pads, he said, “You should not have touched them.”
Callie shoved forward, away from the arch. Her feet slapped against the floor. “What do you want from me? We made a deal, but I’m still trapped.”
Rain removed metal chains from his torso. He kept his back to her, but his eyes followed her in the mirror.
“I want to go home,” she said. “Tell me how to do that—”
The chains crashed to the dressing table.
Callie flinched, and suspected that he’d meant to throw them down hard.
The danger clutching to his words when he spoke confirmed it. “This is your home now.” He turned to face her and leaned back against the table. “We had a deal. It is final.”
“But—” Callie blinked at him, her brows knitting together. “I promised you something in return for helping me. You haven’t set me free yet.”
“I released you from the dance,” he said. “And while you rested, I took your part in the bargain.”
Thoughts of the shared bed sprung to Callie’s mind. A twist of bile coiled in her belly. “What do you mean you took my part?” she whispered, horror wiping her face clean.
Rain’s eyes flashed with outrage. His chin raised, and he looked down his nose at her.
“It is not what you accuse,” he said darkly. “I made you my wife.”
Callie choked on a gasp. “You—you did what?”
Rain’s face remained impassive. “I married you. That was the price of your freedom from the eternal dance.”
You married me?” shrieked Callie.
Rain folded his arms over his chest. His biceps pressed against the thin black leather of his armour.
Callie’s hands furled into fists.
“You don’t know me! You don’t love me!” Her fingernails cut into her palms. “Are you insane?”
Rain pushed himself from the dressing table and moved toward her.
Callie recoiled and stumbled back.
He might have strolled, but there was a lazy danger in the way he moved, like a tired beast, ready to attack at any moment.
She only stopped backing away from him when she connected with the wall.
He followed, caging her between the wall and his body, his eyes fueled by a silent fury.



*Me after reading that excerpt* 




ABOUT KLARISSA!
When not writing, Klarissa can be found in bed poring over a great new release, or reluctantly walking her demanding dogs who pretty much run the house. She is the writer, Isla Jones. Isla uses the pen-name Klarissa for fantasy, while using Isla Jones for her darker, grittier horror works to help separate the styles and genres for her readers.
Keep Up With Klarissa: Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram




GIVEAWAY TIME!


Thank you for stopping by and checking out today's book blitz! We hope we find a new interesting title to add to your TBR! 💖


Blitz hosted and organized by:
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Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Book Covers

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl in which we create bookish lists about everything from our favorite characters to love triangles and everything in between!

This week's theme: Favorite Book Covers 

Okay, If we're being totally honest, I absolutely judge a book by its cover. I want the cover to draw me in as much as the story and for me that's pretty much anything with bright colors. So for this weeks freebie, here are my favorite book covers!



     
 






Teaser Review: Lifestyles of Gods and Monster by Emily Roberson

Title: Lifestyles of Gods and Monsters
Author: Emily Roberson
Genre: Fantasy, Mythology, Retellings
Source: ARC provided by Publisher
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication Date: October 20th 2019

Summary: 
Sixteen-year-old Ariadne’s whole life is curated and shared with the world. Her royal family’s entertainment empire is beloved by the tabloids, all over social media, and the hottest thing on television. The biggest moneymaker? The Labyrinth Contest, a TV extravaganza in which Ariadne leads fourteen teens into a maze to kill a monster. To win means endless glory; to lose means death. In ten seasons, no one has ever won. When the gorgeous, mysterious Theseus arrives at the competition and asks Ariadne to help him to victory, she doesn’t expect to fall for him. He might be acting interested in her just to boost ratings. Their chemistry is undeniable, though, and she can help him survive. If he wins, the contest would end for good. But if she helps him, she doesn’t just endanger her family’s empire―the monster would have to die. And for Ariadne, his life might be the only one worth saving. Ariadne’s every move is watched by the public and predestined by the gods, so how can she find a way to forge her own destiny and save the people she loves?


*Thank you so much to Farrar, Straus and Giroux and Fierce Reads for the opportunity to read LIFE STYLES OF GODS AND MONSTERS!*

I love Greek Mythology retellings so a modern day retelling of the Minotaur myth? Sign me up! Now lets add in reality TV and fight to the deaths and its basically a kick ass book. Lifestyle of Gods and Monsters was a refreshing take on a timeless myth and a breathe of fresh air in the fantasy genre. If you are looking for a fun but dark quick fantasy read this is the perfect book for you. 


  • Keeping Up With The Kardashians meets The Hunger Games meets Greek Mythology retellings! SIGN ME UP!

  • Really cool world building, dark twists and plot twists that you aren't expecting! Even if you aren't familiar with the Minotaur myth Lifestyles of Gods and Monsters puts a unique modern day twist on the story. 

  • A fun quick read that is both refreshing and dark and that leaves you wanting to know more 

  • UMMMMMMM CAN WE TALK ABOUT THESEUS PLEASE!? *Heart Eyes*


Overall I really enjoyed Lifestyles of Gods and Monsters and can't wait to read more from Emily. Her debut novel is a taste of something different in YA fantasy. A modern day retelling with a reality TV and dark twist that will keep you turning the pages until you reach the last one. 

Make sure to check back on September 20th for my full review of Lifestyles of Gods and Monsters



ARC Review: Heartwood Box by Ann Aguirre

Title: Heartwood Box 
Author: Ann Aguirre
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Science Fiction
Source: NetGalley
Publisher: Tor Teen
Publication Date: July 9th 2019

Summary: 
A dark, romantic YA suspense novel with an SF edge and plenty of drama, layering the secrets we keep and how appearances can deceive, from the New York Times bestselling author. In this tiny, terrifying town, the lost are never found. When Araceli Flores Harper is sent to live with her great-aunt Ottilie in her ramshackle Victorian home, the plan is simple. She'll buckle down and get ready for college. Life won't be exciting, but she'll cope, right? Wrong. From the start, things are very, very wrong. Her great-aunt still leaves food for the husband who went missing twenty years ago, and local businesses are plastered with MISSING posters. There are unexplained lights in the woods and a mysterious lab just beyond the city limits that the locals don't talk about. Ever. When she starts receiving mysterious letters that seem to be coming from the past, she suspects someone of pranking her or trying to drive her out of her mind. To solve these riddles and bring the lost home again, Araceli must delve into a truly diabolical conspiracy, but some secrets fight to stay buried...

I really wasn't sure what I was expecting when I began to read Heartwood Box, but I think compared to the summary I was expecting something a lot different. I also am not the biggest contemporary fan. I love fantasy and science fiction and things with heavy world building. So it was a little different reading something that takes place in the real world. Heartwood Box also takes place in New York, so I was really intrigued with that aspect. The only thing that got me through reading Heartwood Box was the need to know what the mystery behind the town was. Other then that there wasn't much. I wasn't really invested in the story or the characters. 

The biggest thing about Heartwood Box that sticks out to me that on the first page Araceli mentions how she took the LIRR (Long Island Rail Road) to the small sleepy town in which her great aunt Ottilie lives. But later on in the book it is mentioned that this unnamed sleepy town is about a half hour away from Silver Lake, New York which is ALL the way upstate in New York. Which is nowhere near Long Island. 336 miles away to be exact and 6 hours away. So, you're probably like: "Amber what is the point of this?" Well, Araceli technically should be taking Amtrak to get to her aunt's town. The LIRR is strictly Long Island, it runs from Manhattan and all the way to Long Island's Eastern tip (Montauk.) Basically, there is no way that the LIRR got Araceli from JFK airport to her new home 6 hours upstate. This little bit just annoyed me because it is something that is easily looked up and over looked. But this is part of New York and how you get from point A to point B. I feel like in this aspect at least there wasn't research done. Now, you're like: "Amber, this really isn't a big deal." But it bothered me. 

I couldn't connect with Araceli. I found her to be whiny and a bit selfish. I don't know if this has to do with that I don't read contemporary often so I am not use to characters who actually act their age and are still in high school. But I found her immature and only out for herself. I also feel as if as a character I didn't really know her, I knew she moved around about once a year and her parents sent her to live with her aunt while the investigated civil unrest in Venezuela. But that is about it. 

The only part of the novel I really enjoyed was the mystery aspect. Why can't she go into the woods? What are the lights? Why are people dissapearing? Why are there people wearing bio-hazard suits in the woods of the town? I wanted the answers to these questions and that is why I kept reading on rather then straight up DNFing it. I hate writing negative book reviews, but I also know that I am not going to love every single book I read. I am not saying that I though Heartwood Box was horrible, but there are a lot of things that could have changed or worked differently. This book and I just didn't mesh well and that's all there is to it really. 



Book Tag: The Epic Fictional Bucket List!


This tag was actually thought up at 3 a.m. when I was thinking about the books I have previously read and how I would love to visit some of the places and meet some of the characters from this books. Then I thought "This would be a really cool tag!" So here we are!


What is the Epic Fictional Bucket List Tag? 

This is a list of hings that you would love to do if the fictional worlds and characters you read about were suddenly real. (Ex. Taking a selfie with the characters from Six of Crows!) This can include anything such as: Getting dinner, having a conversation, touring a fictional world and so much more! 


What are the rules? 

  • Have fun! That is the point of this tag, have fun and be creative with your answers! 
  • Make sure you link/credit The Book Bratz in your post! 
  • IF you tweet about your post make sure to use the hashtag #EpicFictionalBucketList so we can check out all your posts! 
  • Tag a few of your blogging friends!  🤩🤩🤩🤩 


That is it! We are really excited to see everyone's answers and we hope that you have as much fun with this tag as we did creating it! 





1. Visit the Hunger Games Memorials & Game Center

It was mentioned how the old arenas were turned into memorials and if they were real Amber would love visit to ruins of these arenas. 

2. Go on a Date with Aron Warner
Sorry Juliette! 😅 We all LOVE Warner here, so it isn't all the surprising that we want to go on a date with the sector leader. 

3. Hang out with Mateo and Rufus 
*sniffles* 😭😭😭 The title spoils it but Jessica would have loved to hang out with this duo from They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera.

4. Take self defense lessons with Dimitri 
Sixteen year old Amber would be swooning at the opportunity to get self defense lessons from Dimitri Belikov, a dhampir, from Vampire Academy. (Fun fact: Dimitri was Amber's phone background when the cast was announced for The Vampire Academy movie.) 

5. Have a conversation with A.I.D.A.N.
Who wouldn't want to have a conversation with the murderous A.I. who ended up becoming so lovable by the end of Obsidio? Amber feels that he is just a poor misunderstood creature. 🤖

6. Meeting Josh and Lucy
Jessica would love to meet Josh and Lucy because their enemies to lovers romance in The Hating Game is one of her all time favorites! 😍

7. Bake cookies with Daemon and Katy 🍪
Emily and Amber love Daemon (Lux series) AND cookies, so this would be the perfect pair. Amber isn't much of a baker so she'll just chat with Daemon and Katy and eat cookies, while Emily casually throws cookie dough at her head. 

8. Eat waffles with Kaz, Nina and Inej
Doe's Amber even need to say more? *😍 @ waffles and Six of Crows*

9. *See* The Darkling 
Amber doesn't even have to meet him. Seeing him would be enough. She finds something so interesting about him and wishes there was a novel dedicated to him. *Sigh* 😓

10. Design a YA novel cover 
Here is a slightly non-character related one from Amber. She hopes one day to be able to design a book cover for one of her favorite authors. For now they she will save the designs she has made to her computer in a folder titled "DONOTENTERRRRRR." 



That's it for our bucket list! Check out who we are tagging below: 





Thank you so much for stopping by and checking out The Epic Fictional Bucket List! We hope you have as fun as putting your answers together as we did creating this tag. Make sure to leave the link to your post below and to use the tag #EpicFictionalBucketList on social media! 

Famous Books That Began As Dreams!



Ever wonder how your favorite authors come up with their ideas? Conjuring entire worlds and people from seemingly nothing, it can seem almost like magic. For many, it’s simply dedication, hard work, and tons of editing. For others, they have dreams

Since science is still a little uncertain as to why we have dreams in the first place, they have an almost mystical quality about them. It may not be magic, but it can seem like it. Our dreams can be filled with bizarre creatures, people, and scenarios. Even from mundane activities to fantastical situations, they can be quite memorable. For some authors, this makes them a great starting point for novel ideas. 

From Mary Shelley to Stephen King, it may surprise you which of your favorite author’s ideas came from dreams. And for those of you who tends towards creativity, there’s a lot to learn from the writers who used their dreams for success. Since dreams are considered to be a synthesis of what we think about, learn, and care about, they have a way of revealing to us things we were just around the corner of thinking about. 

To see which well-known authors got their ideas from dreams, and for some great tips on creativity for yourself, check out the infographic below by Sleep Advisor -- they sent it over to us and we thought that it was pretty cool and we wanted to share!




Thank you so much to the great team over at Sleep Advisor for showing us this awesome graphic and allowing us to share it on the blog! Which dream-related book facts were you most surprised by? Comment them down below!

Teaser Review: The Tenth Girl by Sara Faring

Title: The Tenth Girl
Author: Sara Faring
Genre: Historical Fiction, Horror
Source: ARC provided by Author
Publisher: Imprint
Publication Date: September 24th 2019

Summary: 
Simmering in Patagonian myth, The Tenth Girl is a gothic psychological thriller with a haunting twist. At the very southern tip of South America looms an isolated finishing school. Legend has it that the land will curse those who settle there. But for Mavi—a bold Buenos Aires native fleeing the military regime that took her mother—it offers an escape to a new life as a young teacher to Argentina’s elite girls. Mavi tries to embrace the strangeness of the imposing house—despite warnings not to roam at night, threats from an enigmatic young man, and rumors of mysterious Others. But one of Mavi’s ten students is missing, and when students and teachers alike begin to behave as if possessed, the forces haunting this unholy cliff will no longer be ignored. One of these spirits holds a secret that could unravel Mavi's existence. In order to survive she must solve a cosmic mystery—and then fight for her life.

*Thank you so much to Sara and Imprint for the opportunity to read THE TENTH GIRL!*


Hi. Hello. It's been three days and I am still trying to wrap my head around the last 150 pages of The Tenth Girl. I been working with Sara on an interview for The Tenth Girl and I was thrilled when she sent me a copy to read so I could ask more specific book related questions! Jessica and Emily had the opportunity to attend a Fierce Reads event at BookExpo where Sara was a keynote speaker and met her when she was signing ARCs of The Tenth Girl! (I was on another signing line, so Jessica got a copy signed for me and then told Sara how much I loved The Tenth Girl!) I was hoping to meet her another day of BookExpo but I had sadly cut my trip short do to an injury. 

  • I loved Mavi's character and the dedication to had to her students and fellow teachers. She continuously the put their well being a head of her own in this situation. 

  • Hi. I know Domenico is suppose to be bad but I feel really really bad for him and just want to give him a big giant hug :(

  • THAT. PLOT. TWIST. WHAT. THE. HELL. I am still not over the plot twist in this novel. Sara blew me away with something so unexpected. I am so excited to see how other readers are going to take to this twist. 

  • I loved all the history surrounding the school. The legends and the myths. I loved how though the book was set at Vaccaro school, Sara made sure her readers got a feel of what the outside world was like as well. 

  • My heart continues to break for Angel and will until the end of time

  • Can we all take a moment to admire this cover and how beautiful it is. But also can we pay attention the the little details too? Those play a huge role in the novel! 


I really loved The Tenth Girl and I can't wait to read my by Sara in the future. She has a unique writing style that is going to suck you in at the first page and spit you stuttering and in shock at the last page! 



Top Ten Tuesday: Settings I’d Like to See More Of

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl in which we create bookish lists about everything from our favorite characters to love triangles and everything in between!

This Week's Theme: Settings I'd Like To See More Of

Today on the blog, I'm talking about ten settings that I'd like to see more of in the books I read! Just to be clear, I'm not saying that there aren't plenty of books with these settings, I'm just talking about ten of them that *I* as a reader really love and want to read more of! So without further ado, let's get into it!

1. Palaces. I'm a sucker for any type of royal story! The Selection or American Royals, anybody?

2. The beach. Because who doesn't love romances that involve the hot sun and rolling waves?

3. Elite private schools. Because all of the best mysteries tend to happen there.

4. Abroad/on vacation. I've been meaning to read Again But Better, and the idea of stories set abroad during European adventures seems really exciting!

5. On tropical islands. Because I am a lover of all things tropical. 

6. Long Island! That's where our heart is, so we love seeing stories that reference places we know and recognize!

7. New York City. That's my favorite place in the whole world, so of course I can't soak up enough stories from there!

8. College campuses. Because we need more NA! Plus, as a college student myself, I love seeing fellow college students and their lives in books!

9. Actual, realistic apartments. Because whenever I read NA and the characters are in their apartments fresh out of college, I find it miraculous that they can suddenly afford a three-bedroom place with soaring ceilings and three bathrooms, LOL! Maybe I'm just jaded because I'm from NYC, but more realistic apartments is something I'd like to see more of in the books that I read.

10. A writer's mind. We!! Need!! More!! MCs!! That!! Are!! Writers!! I love reading about them. So, so much! So I'd love so much more of that!

So that's all for this week's Top Ten Tuesday! Do you have different settings that you want to talk about? Any that match up with mine? Comment down below and let me know! ♥

ARC Review: How We Became Wicked by Alexander Yates

Title: How We Became Wicked
Author: Alexander Yates
Genre: Science Fiction, Dystopia, Horror
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Publisher: Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books
Publication Date: July 23rd 2019

Summary: 
A plague, called Wicked, is pulsing through the world; and in its wake, it’s dividing the population into thirds: The WICKED: Already infected by the droves of Singers, the ultraviolet mosquito-like insects who carry the plague, the Wicked roam the world freely. They don’t want for much—only to maim and dismember you. But don’t worry: They always ask politely first...The TRUE: The True live in contained, isolated communities. They’re the lucky ones; they found safety from the Singers. And while the threat of the Wicked may not be eliminated, for the True, the threat has certainly been contained... The VEXED: The Vexed are the truly fortunate ones—they survived the sting of the Singers, leaving them immune. But they’re far from safe. The Vexed hold the key to a cure, and there are those who will do anything to get it.

To be brutally honest, I never head of How We Became Wicked until I spotted it on NetGalley. Immediately the summary sucked me in. Ultra-violet mosquitoes that spread a plague that causes people to become incredibly violent and sadistic, sign me up! This book had my name written all over it. How We Became Wicked wasn't just a book about a world that had ended, but the sacrifices you make for the ones you love and how dark secrets can have really deadly and horrid consequences. I ended up loving How We Became Wicked a lot more then I thought I was going too.

How We Became Wicked is told in two point of views: Astrid and Natalie. Astrid has recently broke up with her childhood best friend Hank, but there is one problem. They are the youngest people in their domed town leaving people disappointed in them no longer being together. When the light house on the island across from where Astrid and Hank live begins to go off, Astrid begins to ask questions that lead to dark and deadly consequences. Natalie lives on the island that Astrid is asking question about. Her mother is heavily pregnant and her grandfather is locked in the light house because he became Wicked years prior. But when Natalie's mother goes into labor and gives birth to a baby girl it is up to Natalie to take her to the mainland and have her bitten by the bugs, its the only way to get her vexed, immune, to the virus just like Natalie and her mother. Only once on the mainland Natalie learns that her and her tiny family aren't the only survivors and there are people looking for answers too. 

I really enjoyed the writing style of How We Became Wicked. The characters and setting became alive in front of my eyes. The terror of the Wicked and how sadistic and terrifying they are was palpable. I waited a majority of the book for Natalie's and Astrid's paths to cross, only to be let in on the most amazing plot twist I've read in a while. I didn't expect the twist at all, but looking back at certain things that happened, it makes perfect sense. Overall I really enjoyed How We Became Wicked and hope we will get to see more of Natalie and Astrid's story.