Review and Freebies: Spirit

Book Three of the Elemental series
Includes short story "Breathless"
By Brigid Kemmerer
Available now from K-Teen (Kensington)
Review copy

I am happy to be a part of the blog tour for SPIRIT, hosted by The Midnight Garden.  Be sure to check out the tour page for a chance to win the series.  I thought STORM, the first book in the Elemental series was fantastic.  It had danger, magic, and some serious swoon.  The same is true of SPIRIT.  Male protagonist aren't as rare in YA as some people like to think, but they are rare in books this intensely romantic.  But it's not all romance, and Kemmerer has a talent for taking the story unexpected places.

No one trusts Hunter Garrity.  He's one of the Fifth, and expected to hunt down other Elementals.  He's still grieving for his father and processing the secrets revealed to him by his father's dying words.  His family isn't much comfort and he hasn't made any friends.  Then new girl Kate comes to town.  She could be his chance to make a real, human connection.  Or she could be a Guide sent to kill the Merrick brothers, like Hunter's father.

I liked that Kate had her own agenda.  She's a terrific foil to Hunter.  They have similar issues, and reacted to their upbringing in similar ways, but at the same time they don't have entirely the same goals.  They do have chemistry in spades.  SPIRIT was the first thing I read on my new toy (more about that later), and I kept showing people a shiny feature I discovered only to have them go, "She's not wearing any pants?!"  Yes, you should always check that it isn't a steamy scene before thrusting your book into someone's hands.  (There is an instance of tame, tasteful sex; these scenes are just awesome makeouts.)

The Elemental series does not shy away from moral ambiguity.  Some of the worst atrocities in the series are committed by kids - thirteen or younger.  How far should our protagonists go to stop them?  How responsible are children for their actions?  Hunter knows moral ambiguity.  He thought he knew black and white, but lately all he's been seeing are shades of grey.  He doesn't know who to trust himself.

I also like that the books stand decently on their own, each providing a full character arc for the protagonist, but that they're tightly tied together.  In SPIRIT,  Hunter is still reaping what he sowed in STORM.  Becca cares about him, but keeps her distance because she got played.  It's good turnabout that Hunter is at risk of getting played himself.

SPIRIT is heart wrenching, more so than the first two.  The emotions and stakes of the series just keep rising.  I cannot wait for the fourth book, tentatively titled SECRET.  Nick is probably my favorite of the Merrick brothers - levelheaded but dangerous.  "Breathless" is a good lead in to his story.  I'm excited that the Elemental series is going to have a gay protagonist, but even more excited to see what happens next to the Merrick brothers and their allies.

I've got two goodies for ya'll.  The first is a code to download "Elemental" for free.  This short story gives the background of Michael Merrick, before he had to become a parent to his brothers and shoulder the guilt of several senseless deaths.  Just follow this link and use the code VCARD.  Be quick - the code expires May 31st!  The second goodie is the first chapter of SPIRIT!  Just follow this link to download it or read it online.

If you're a fan of the Elemental series, I highly recommend voting in the poll below.  Kemmerer is going to write a short story featuring the guy who gets the most votes!

Freebie alert and excerpt: I'm Not Her

I'M NOT HER by Janet Gurtler is the featured ebook in the iBookstore though May 27th.  That means you can get it here for free.  Don't use iBooks?  Amazon and Barnes and Noble are also giving it away in their digital bookstores.

The only book by Gurtler I've read is IF I TELL, which I liked but didn't love.  However, many people have told me that IF I TELL is the worst of her books.  And I did enjoy her style.  And I'M NOT HER being free is the perfect opportunity for me to give Gurtler a second chance.  Be sure to check out Gurtler's new novel, HOW I LOST YOU, as well.

Thanks to Sourcebooks, I have an excerpt from I'M NOT HER to share. 

A crowd gathers for the funeral. The church walls seem to strain to accommodate the bodies, but there isn’t enough space for everyone. People cram together, squished thigh to thigh in the pews, shoulder to shoulder in aisles. The back is standing room only.
 

Not surprisingly, I don’t hear anyone complain. I hardly hear any sound at all except the occasional whisper, cough, or sniffle. Everyone wears dark colors, even kids who don’t usually follow rules or social customs. I guess it’s like that when someone young is snatched from the earth. It’s wrong on so many levels that thinking about it makes my already sad heart ache even harder.

Dad says parents shouldn’t have to bury their children. He says a lost child leaves a hole in the heart of the parents, a hole hacked out with a dull knife. The heart can function with the wound, but it never entirely heals.

chapter one

No matter how much I don’t want to care, it’s not easy being stranded all alone in the middle of a crowded room, like the ugliest dog at the animal shelter. Kristina shoved me into her shiny red Toyota like she’s my fairy godmother, insisting I do the party “for my own good.” But other than a few heys and disinterested stares, no one notices that I’m there. Before long, even Kristina forgets about me. Swept up by her friends and admirers, Kristina leaves me bathing in my own flop sweat.

New Contest, Contest Winners, and Free Fiction!

I'm going to list the contest winners first.

FALLING UNDER goes to Kaity G. of Bitten Books.

ARCHVILLAIN goes to Rhonda Laney.

GOTH GIRL RISING goes to Gian Faye of The Dichotomy of One's Thoughts.

Now, some free fiction links! (As always, click on the covers to be taken to Amazon.)



WINGS by Aprilynne Pike is currently a free preorder from HarperCollins. This special Kindle edition includes excerpts of SPELLS and ILLUSIONS.



"Lila Zacharov in 13 Pieces" by Holly Black is a super cool postmodern short story in Lila's point-of-view. It's a series of vignettes, but you never read them in the same order. So. much. fun. I loved WHITE CAT, so as you can guess I'm super stoked that RED GLOVE is coming out of April 5 and super sad that I don't have an ARC.

Lots of YA authors offer free short stories set in the same universe as their novels.

These are the two newest (available as of March 15) from Macmillan:



"Fallen From Grace" promotes M. J. Putney's DARK MIRROR, released March 1. "Turned at Dark" promotes C. C. Hunter's debut novel BORN AT MIDNIGHT, which will be released on March 29. Her launch party is going to be from 6-8 P. M. April 1 at Katy Budget Books. I can't make it, but I recommend going if you can. Katy Budget Books is one of my favorite bookstores ever. Not just because I grew up in Katy and I'm nostalgic about it, mind you. It's just a great store.



THE BRANDING by Micaela Wendell is available for free from BelleBooks. I haven't read this one yet, so I don't know whether it is any good. But Wendell is sixteen, which is pretty cool.



Carrie Ryan wrote a short story in THE LIVING DEAD 2 edited by John Joseph Adams. Many of the stories are available free online (courtesy of Night Shade Books), including "Flotsam & Jetsam" which is set earlier in the same world as THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH. THE DARK AND HOLLOW PLACES, the third book in the series, will be released March 22.



Night Shade Books has two giveaways going on right now. Now, these aren't young adult books, but I have to recommend them anyway. Night Shade Books gives independent publishers a good name. In celebration of St. Patrick's Day, they are giving away OF BLOOD AND HONEY by Stina Leicht. If you want to participate in the io9 book club, they are giving away GOD'S WAR by Kameron Hurley. The hideous redesign has kept me away from Gawker, but I still enjoy dropping by some of their sites every once in awhile. The io9 book club is worth it. (I would like to mention, again, that the new interface is terrible.)

NOW FOR THE CONTEST!
(In all caps so that ya'll might notice it.)



I have three copies of SMOKIN' SIX-SHOOTER by B. J. Daniels to giveaway.  I'll be paying the shipping out-of-pocket, so I'm choosing to make this contest open to US only. This contest will end in one week, on March 23. (I'm going to be traveling in early April, so I want to give myself time to mail the prizes out.)

This time I'm not going to do a Google doc.  Just comment with your e-mail address to enter.  If you're a follower, leave a second comment letting me know.

The Ranger's Apprentice . . . free!

Many have posted about this, but it's still cool. Until February 15th, Penguin is offering the first Ranger's Apprentice book (THE RUINS OF GORLAN) for free on Scribd. You don't even have to follow the link - you can read it on the nifty widget below! (If it works. My copy-and-paste html skill seems to lack a certain something.)



What's it about, you ask? The official synopsis says:

They have always scared him in the past—the Rangers, with their dark cloaks and shadowy ways. The villagers believe the Rangers practice magic that makes them invisible to ordinary people. And now 15-year-old Will, always small for his age, has been chosen as a Ranger's apprentice. What he doesn't yet realize is that the Rangers are the protectors of the kingdom. Highly trained in the skills of battle and surveillance, they fight the battles before the battles reach the people. And as Will is about to learn, there is a large battle brewing. The exiled Morgarath, Lord of the Mountains of Rain and Night, is gathering his forces for an attack on the kingdom. This time, he will not be denied. . . .

Sounds pretty cool to me. I like this promo since I've seen the series around and didn't know whether I wanted to make the monetary commitment. Guess I'll know after I finish the eBook!

Ranger's Apprentice: The Ruins of Gorlan

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