Sirenz Blog Tour (Review and Interview)

Sirenz by Charlotte Bennardo and Natalie Zaman

Grade: 3 stars out of 5

Authors Charlotte Bennardo and Natalie Zaman take the saying "those shoes are to die for" to a whole new level in their debut novel, Sirenz.

Meg and Shar are forced to live together meaning they must find a way to set aside their differences and be on friendly terms. It’ll be hard when they run into a melt-your-pants-off hot guy and an irresistible pair of red heels. Those claws will surely come out. Tragedy hits when said hot guy gets killed (mostly due to Meg and Shar’s fault) yet opportunity strikes when Hades offers the two girls the chance to redo what they’ve just done for the same price of their service. They’re stuck between the devil and the deep blue.

In this dual POV novel, Sirenz takes an interesting adaption on Greek gods and goddesses. It defied what my original thought on such myths and personalities with its almost reality television like humor. Don’t think of Hades as a disgusting bastard, but a hot badass. Don’t think of Persephone as a victim, but a sexy cunning mastermind. And don’t think Shar and Meg will go willy-nilly with whatever Hades wants. They’re going to fight back, however crazy they may act.

With surprising twists and sensitive humor, Sirenz will hold the readers’ attention. Focusing on actions and consequences, Bennardo and Zaman tell a delectable, sometimes over the top, story. However, choppy at times and shallow in the other, Sirenz keeps me torn from loving it. I had difficulty relating to both Meg and Shar because they become too focus at the task at hand. Of course, if I was fighting for my life I would react the same way. The progression of Meg and Shar’s friendship was realistic and well done as the pacing was not too quick. I did find both girls strong on their own but can see how if the novel focused on just one, it would be tiresome and annoying in the end. Together they compliment each other.

Sirenz, while slow at times definitely picks up the fast for one of the most unique ending.

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Source: authors for blog tour

Published: 2011, June 8

Amazon 

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Interview with the authors:

Give any past experiences, was co-writing a book harder or easier than writing solo?

Char: Both! It was harder because I work in manic bursts and I had to compromise on conflicts. It was easier because I have a built-in cheerleader, muse and nudge, and I only had to write half the book!

Nat: Writing is hard no matter how you slice it. Co-writing is different, and has its own challenges. Compromise and communication is key: you have to be able to see the other person's perspective on things, and you have to be able to work things out.

Was it planned ahead that one person would write one character and the other person would write another character? Or did the earlier drafts just have one continuous POV

Char/Nat: Sirenz started out with the two POVs, it just seemed to be a given. We tried a single POV for an agent who requested it, but it lost a lot of its humor and sparkle.

In your opinion, who is the "hottest" Greek/Roman god?

Char/Nat: Hades! Well, at least the way we portray him. As Lord of the Underworld, how could he be tempting and conniving if he wasn’t alluring? It’s a given that most of the gods in the two pantheons are physically beautiful so why should Hades be an exception, especially since he’s brother to Zeus and Poseidon (and the oldest!)?

Do you think a reality TV show starring Greek gods and goddess will be popular?

Char/Nat: Why not? If vampires, werewolves, monsters, aliens and zombies can do it, why not the gods? There’s not a single show with either Greek or Roman deities on air, and they’re a very popular theme in books right now. The last time we saw them was in the Xena and Hercules series. It's time to bring 'em back! Hollywood? We’re home, waiting by the phone…

Which punishment would you prefer: feathers all over your body or claws replacing your feet? I have to ask since you are giving up on one or the other when facing the punishments: little black dress or patent red heels as a must have item in the closet?

Char: Spare me the feathers! Not only am I too vain to give up sexy little black dresses, but I’m really allergic to feathers! I’d find some way to disguise my claw-footed feet…

Nat: I'd take the claw feet. I could do summertime boots and make them work. For me it would be little black dress(ES). I do multiples when it comes to black, much to Char's chagrin.

Are you guilty of buying an expensive piece of clothing for a special event and then returning it the following day?

Char: NEVER! If I buy something, I keep it! (Unless damaged.) I hate when people do that, like we can’t see the deodorant tracks, smell the sweat, or brush off the crumbs! Besides, it gives me an excuse to schedule another upscale outing…

Nat: I tend to be cheap with the clothes ($5 Vintage dress—yes!) and splurge on shoes and bags which I abuse the second I use them. FINAL SALE.

Since both Meg and Shar share a pair of lucky cat charms, I wanted to know if you guys own a pair as well?

Char/Nat: That particular scene from the book used to have a different lucky charm for the girls, but we had to change it because of copyright issues. Since we both have cats, Maneki Neko kitties seemed a natural fit—and they were easy to find. We both carry pink and black kitty charms—and we gave them out as swag too!

Have you ever worked as an intern and just hated it?

Char: No, never even thought about working as an intern (too stupid?) although I worked as a reporter/photographer for a small paper and made so little money I had to decide gas in the car or food for me. It was like being an unpaid intern.

Nat: Never had the pleasure. But I did have some “real” jobs that were less than stellar.

I was reading the acknowledgments page and wanted to ask Charlotte what she meant when she called Natalie a "straight man".

Char: I’m the jokester, prankster, tease. It’s a personal goal to make Nat blush, laugh, gasp, pee her pants or faint. Managed most of them.

Nat: Um, no. Maybe the blushing, I'll give her that. For the record, in a comedy team, the “straight man” delivers the more droll, serious lines, expressions, etc. This would make Char my “funny man.” I actually looked this up to make sure I got the definition right—and read that if a woman is the “funny man” she's called a “comic foil.” So many labels—go figure! 

And finally the last question: what was the last book you finished? Would you recommend it?

Char: Frankenstein’s Monster by Susan Heyboer O’Keefe. It’s an adult book, so there are some moments that aren’t appropriate (imho) for YA readers. Susan has crafted a story from the monster’s perspective, staying true to Mary Shelley’s original style. It’s literary yet not stuffy and a reader can go seamlessly from Shelley to O’Keefe. I’d recommend it.

Nat: I'm reading and rereading Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone. I was lucky to snag an ARC when we were at BEA in May. Wowzers is it good. Sorry you have to wait till end September to get it though...

My So-Called Death

My So-Called Death by Stacey Jay

Source: Personal

Grade: 3.8 stars out of 5

When Karen Vera falls from the top of the pyramid she expected to die since anyone knows that having their skull cracked open and their brains spilled out can only mean death. But Karen’s family line has a history of well, not dying…completely. Apparently Karen has a special gene that when she “dies” she doesn’t die, but rather turns into a zombie—Death Challenged. After having her parents rush her home, the principal of DEAD High visits and invites Karen to their boarding school to continue her education because frankly everyone at the football game expected Karen to die.

DEAD High isn’t perfect by a long shot for Karen. She’s forced into these long drabs of fabric as the official that only highlights how tiny Karen’s physique is: a measly 5’1. But she’ll take it as long as she can hang out with Gavin again. Though that faithful encounter may just get Karen’s brain nibbled on.

Quite frankly I found My So Called Death to be a rollicking fun, hilarious read. The entire novel doesn’t take itself too serious (though there are some paragraphs where Stacey Jay tries to incorporate some women’s right/fight against racism/prejudice), which was very relaxing despite the giant maggot fights. Jay also writes some of the most disgusting raw lunch menus ever—raw cow brains served with some raw pork stuffed in its own intestines—but then again it just made me like this novel even more.

Some downsides: don’t expect some amazing character developments or anything “wow! that just frazzled my dazzle!” I am also still confused on the Deprogrammeds—those who are reanimated by black magic. And while in most fun, rollicking reads things can get predictable, My So Called Death kept a few surprises in store.

If you’re interested in what happens when an ex-cheerleader turns into a zombie, look no further. If you’re interested in reading about an ex-cheerleader battling a giant maggot, look no further.

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(For Death) but really I just cringe about gag slightly at this cover.

Also check out a T-shirt design my awesome friend made :D

Order My So Called Death: Amazon / Indie Bound / Book Depository

Other

Other by Karen Kincy

Source: Flux

Grade: 3.5 stars out of 5

Gwen is an Other: a supernatural being. She just happens to be half-pooka (on her father's side)--a shapeshifter who can shift into almost anything, but typically seen as a black horse with yellow eyes as their main characteristic. But Others can also include, but not exclude, vampires, werewolves, kitsunes, dryads, and water sprites. Despite this wide array of people, Others are not wholly accepted in the world (not even in Canada!) with a group called The White Knights in that frontier of negativity. Now there's a suspicion that they are back on the attack when Others in Gwen's town are found in the open--dead; many of the times Gwen is the one finding them including one of her closet friend hanged with her throat cut open. Gwen wants answers yet she fears for her life as clues are being left that may point that Gwen may be next. High stakes call for high emotions especially when one just falls in love.

Karen Kincy writes in an urgent manner with quick fast action scenes and heavy romance, while still managing exact details that paint vivid images and sensations. Others portray a universal and classic motif of prejudice--a different form of race in this manner. Yet the incorporation of various ethnicities gave a pleasant shock as it is a rare treat.

Kincy embraces a modern technology: Internet. Instead of long-winded monologues, Google searches explain much of the needed background which was refreshing. She also incorporated an authentic AIM chat--something that I can imagine reading and participating in with lol's and emoticons and none of the forced internet slang. (Also mentions blogs.)

As mentioned previously, ethnicity is pretty big in Others and one character that I found most interesting was Tavian (short of Octavian). Tavian is Japanese who is shorter than Gwen: 5'4 compared to 5'7. It is just so new to me because I am used to reading male characters being tall and Caucasian that I inadvertently smile when I read the description. Kincy creates healthy relationships where couples at least try to be honest and open with each other (and practice safe sex).

However, Others have inconsistencies and contradictions scattered around. Gwen wears a dress then several pages later she apparently had worn a blouse and a long skirt; Gwen checks on her blog daily yet she apparency owns no blog when asked are just a couple of examples. Then I felt somethings were not clarified: Maris being a prime example. And finally just some awkwardness in the book: a dream sequence that failed to be much of anything (especially with foreshadowing) since it was not mentioned ever again after that page and these huge hints that Gwen somehow misses.

Others ended solidly where I saw no point of a sequel (let alone being a trilogy), but I am eager in reading Bloodborn and Foxfire. I expect a detailed, action-packed romantic escape like I found in Others with the faults smoothed out.

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GORGEOUS!

Buy Others now: Amazon / IndieBound / Book Depository

Leaving Paradise

Leaving Paradise by Simone Elkeles

Source: Personal Bookshelf

Grade: 2.8 stars out of 5

The novel begins with Caleb being released from juvenile jail, but with a weary eye from the authorities. Now Caleb has to figure out how to live in society once again by having to serve community service, but his options are limited in the small town. School isn’t the worst part though even when his friends would always his bring up his criminal status time after time, but it’s his family. It's the father who lets himself to be pushed around by his wife, the mother who likes to pretend that nothing’s wrong, and the sister who is now dressed from head to toe in black. But Caleb is willing to deal with it all…really…until he runs into Maggie that is.

Maggie was his sister’s best friend, that is before Caleb hit Maggie while drunk driving on night that sent him to jail. The accident that left Maggie with scars after countless surgeries, missing a year of school, and feeling like the freak that looks on everyone’s face seem to say. Determined to leave town of Paradise (haha irony) and travel abroad to Spain, Maggie needs a way to pay for the trip when the scholarship she earned gets taken away.

It just so happens that her mother’s boss’s grandmother needs a caretaker and it just so happens that she also needed a volunteer to help construct that gazebo. So will this become the next WWIII or the Battle of the Titans? Or will this pair become the next Cleopatra and Caeser?

In what I believe to be Simone Elkeles’s writing style, she alternates between male and female POV retelling scenes through their different perspectives. This does well at making an emotional attachment to the reader and brings forth the heated tension. However Elkeles seems to write stronger through the male POV in comparison to the female’s. The male voice is much more dynamic, though I have read it seemed force, but it was much more preferable to this love-sick whiny tone I am constantly getting from Maggie.

Leaving Paradise is an unsatisfying novel in my eyes. The ending steals the light I felt with the ending in its extreme abruptness—‘where’s the next page?’ abrupt—and I was left frustrated. It was only recently that there was news of a sequel and I could only think that it really needed one badly. If I had read this 3 years ago when it was first released I would have been much more brutal than I am now. I do love the twist at the end, but I do not love the fact that a friendship was so easily mended.

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I liked it when I first saw it. Then I read the book and realized Caleb never had a tattoo so why does that guy have a freaking tattoo? Of course if I’m wrong then I’ll just stick my foot in my mouth.

This is What I Want to Tell You

This is What I Want to Tell You by Heather Duffy Stone (March 1st 2009—Flux)

Grade: 3 stars out of 5

Summary: “Nadio and his twin sister, Noelle, always had a unique bond. And somehow, Keeley Shipley fit perfectly into their world. But when Keeley spends the summer in England, she comes home changed, haunted by a dark memory. As she and Nadio fall in love, they try to hide it from Noelle, who's jealously guarding a secret of her own. Slowly, a life-long friendship begins to crack under the crushing weight of past trauma, guarded secrets, jealousy, obsession . . . and an unexpected love that could destroy them.”

Review: This is What I Want to Tell You is a book that is okay while it lasts. There is a conflicting battle within me because I do see some potential yet I did not like how the book was laid out for the reader.

This is What I Want to Tell You is a double sided love story back to back. Noelle’s is the semi-tragic, coming of age love story whereas Nadio’s tale begins with Keeley coming back home and coincidentally falling in love with your childhood best friend. Oh and did I mention that she’s also Noelle’s best friend? Awkward…. So throw that in a pot and some family trouble you’re left with a 200+ page book that kind of needed more pages.

The relationship of Nadio and Keeley was too fast for me. Sometimes I question if they were jumping the barrel. Noelle’s relationship juxtaposes her twin brother’s relationship: While his continues to grow and strengthen, hers became frenetic and grasping the thin straws. I feel as though the reader follows this tornado of emotions. You can’t decide which way you’re facing: towards the happiness for Nadio and Keeley or the despair of Noelle.

As I mentioned before this book has potential. The writing style was not one that I particularly liked which made the book hard for me to really like as well.

Overall: N/A

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Band Geeked Out

Band Geeked Out by Josie Bloss (April 1st 2009—Flux)

Grade: 2 stars out of 5

Summary: “Senior year is here, and trumpet goddess Ellie Snow is facing her toughest decision yet. When she gets accepted to an all-girls college out east (which doesn’t have a marching band), Ellie’s lock-step life and future plans are thrown totally out of sync. Confusion abounds when she visits the beautiful campus and meets Alex, a girl who’s free and fun—and completely unlike anyone she’s ever known.

Will Ellie trade the familiar safety of home and her cute sophomore boyfriend, Connor, for the cool newness of . . . something else?”

Review: Do you guys remember my rant about the Conner and Ellie duo? It’s back with a whole new fire. Okay so the last book the relationship was not all too good but it had its moments that made me smile. In the sequel, however, all I could do was cringe and shake my head. It was a rollercoaster of bad decisions, awkward conversations, and an abrupt breakup that later defended…somewhat.

Ellie was beyond annoying here. Selfish, selfish, selfish. It she could not get her way then watch out, Hurricane Ellie is blowing in.

Alex is…I do not even know where to start with her. So pass.
I end up skimming quite a few of the pages and skip some dialogues. Especially those that were on IM—really do not like those. A lot of it seems cluttered and choking. It did however give more depth to Ellie. You got to see more of her vulnerable side. Her bond between friends, her obligations to her parents, her desire to find what her dream is.

Overall: N/A

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Band Geek Love

Band Geek Love by Josie Bloss (July 1st 2008—Flux)

Grade: 3 stars out of 5

Summary: “All band, all the time. That's how trumpet goddess Ellie Snow has made it to senior year. No drama, no dating. Just keeping lock-step within the safe precision of the Winslow Marching Band. She's a fierce section leader now, and so over the heart-crushing social disaster of her freshman year. No boy is going to ruin Ellie's shining moment—her senior solo performance at the homecoming game.

And then Connor Higgins shows up. Not even Ellie can resist the trumpet player who could be a model for Abercrombie & Fitch. It's a hook-up made in band-geek heaven! But Ellie's not ready to publicize their romance, not even to her best friends. After all, Connor's just a sophomore. What would everyone say? Breaking formation and revealing her true self would be like . . . marching on the field completely naked!

Then Ellie discovers the flipside of secrets and how it feels to be shut out by the ones she loves.”

Review: So there are the jocks, the cheerleaders, the Goths, the skaters, the punks, the outsider, and everything else. But whatever happened to the band geeks? Josie Bloss tells of the “other” social ladder from a point of view of an aspiring trumpeter.

Band Geek Love was an adorable read for me. There was nothing too deep that draws the more series readers in.

It was half-and-half for the characters; loved some and hated others. Ellie was a relatable character in some areas but in others I had trouble liking. Stubborn, headstrong, assertive (sometimes coming off as bitchy [the author does use cuss words]), but also insecure. The insecurity can and have come off as cockiness at points—where she downgrades on others trying to push herself up even to the point as to despising better players. There were parts that I can understand wholeheartedly but it could have gone a different route where it did not need to be frustratingly irritable.

Connor seems to be atypical hottie—cute yet a “band geek”. Alone Connor is a great character that I think can stand up for his own, but together will Ellie…NO, NO, NO! Naïve, childish (can be said for both), (extremely) clingy to the point where I ask myself “Are you sure Connor is a guy? ‘Cause he sure doesn’t have any balls…” I wanted so desperately to like Connor with Ellie. In theory they should have made the prefect pair! But it felt so needed, like Connor had no other train of thought besides making Ellie happy even if she did not deserve (which at points she did not at all!).

Kristen, Ellie’s best friend, was the bubblegum friend who needs to BACK-OFF. Whiny, annoying, and just ugh! Jack, Ellie’s other best friend, was great! He displayed qualities of a friend that I definitely could have befriended. Cool, calm, and composed.

Overall: Band Geek Love was basically a high school romance novel. I would recommend reading this if you are bored—nothing exceptional and aggravating at times.

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Dead Girl Walking

Dead Girl Walking by Linda Joy Singleton (September 1st 2008—Flux)

Grade: 3.5 stars out of 5

Summary: “I am so dead. Now, was I supposed to go left or right at the Light?

Seventeen-year-old Amber Borden has a lousy sense of direction - so lousy that she takes a wrong turn when returning from her near-death experience. She ends up in the body of the most popular girl in school, who has just tried to commit suicide. Can a girl who can't even navigate the halls of Halsey High discover the secrets of her new identity and find her way back to her own life?”

Review: Girl Dead Walking completely astonished me. Based off of the summary I was a little put off of how clichéd it sounded. But once Sharon read it and reviewed it, with 5 purrs no less, I just had to read this book!

What I loved was the transition scenes. The way how they switched was realistic, well as realistic as one can get with switching bodies. Everyone has off moments, and heading in the wrong direction is something that everyone has been bound to do. And the fact that Linda created a scenario before the big switch that Amber has a direction problem made it all more plausible. I’m just relieved that it wasn’t some type of lightening that struck them both at the same time that makes them switch souls—completely played out.

I guess I also have to mention Amber. She was a great character—lovable, kind, and welcoming of new strangers—sounds like some people I know of. I think this is an important element, there are some characters that are so kind to the point they annoy the readers.

There were moments that made me squeal, with a huge stupid grin on my face, and moments that had me giggling. Honestly though, rocks inside her tankini!? Not to mention that she didn’t even notice the discomfort with the surgical enhanced breast—it made me cackle in a somewhat disturbed way.

The ending! What a huge shock! And what a huge cliffhanger! All I know is that I need to get the second book as soon as possible!

Overall: Read it! This was such a magnificent beginning to a, hoping to be, fantastic series!

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