Blog Tour: Review of "Settling" and Book Giveaway (US and International!)

Genre:
Young Adult, Paranormal

Release Date:
July 4, 2011

Publisher:
CreateSpace

Following her successful first novel, "Solid", Shelley Workinger's "Settling" picks up the story of a group of teens who recently learned they had been genetically altered before birth. The Army has set them up in a special school where they can learn more about what has happened to them and the super-powers they each have acquired. The teens are desperate for answers and have become a close-knit group during the process.

One teen, Calliope "Clio" Kalid, is particularly interested in learning the truth and finds herself involved in a romance with two men, which could turn their group inside out. When one of the school's staff members is murdered and a fellow student is beaten up, the kids can't help wondering what they are in the middle of. They begin an investigation which leads to putting themselves in danger, even the Army can't keep them safe.

The characters we fell in love with in the first book are all back for more adventure, mystery and romance. It's a fast-paced book, which will have readers cheering for Clio and her friends. These characters group up right in front of our eyes. This is a very well written series that will leave readers holding their breaths during the final explosive scenes.




FTC Disclosure: The author provided me with a copy of this book to review. This did not influence my thoughts and opinions in any way. All opinions expressed are my own.



Check out Shelley's website to learn more about her young adult series by clicking here.

BOOK GIVEAWAY!!!!

Now....would you like to win an autographed copy of Settling of your very own? Shelley is graciously offering a copy to one luck winner! (US and International!). Thank you, Shelley!

Here are the rules...


1) Comment here that you want to be entered.

2) Leave a valid email address in your comment (I need a way to contact you! No email address, no entry!)

3) For an extra entry, follow my blog. If you already follow my blog, just mention that in your comment.

4) Subscribe to my blog and mention that in the comments, too, for another entry! If you already subscribe, mention that in the comments!

5) If you blog about the giveaway on your blog, you get 2 extra entries! Please leave the direct link of your post!

All entries must be submitted by July 9th, midnight est. I will contact the winner by email. If I don't get a response within 3 days, another winner will be chosen.

The winner will be picked by Random List.org.

Good luck everyone!

Blog Tour: Guest Post by Author Shelley Workinger

Please join me in welcoming the author of "Solid" and "Settling", Shelley Workinger, to Socrates' Book Review Blog. I had the pleasure of reviewing both of her books and enjoyed them very much. And now for Shelley's guest post...




I have to start by saying that I never planned to write a series. I also never planned to leave New Orleans or fix up houses, but – as with “Solid” – life happens. And there are also plenty of things I’ve walked into eyes-wide-open that did not work out well, like my first tattoo (dumb), dating my boss (dumber), and dropping out of college for a boy (dumb-finity and beyond). So it might be a good thing that the “Solid” series is making its own plan, and that just I’m following along with my notebook and some pens :)

The initial idea for “Solid” came from a dream that eventually became the twelfth chapter of book #1. The character from that scene who really stuck with me was Jack – a completely perfect boy who for some reason felt inadequate. It made me wonder where he could be and how “more perfect” the others could be to make him feel that way. Then, of course, I had to ask about the girl who would become Clio, “Who is she, and what about her makes her the perfect counterpart for him?”

Every time I asked a question, the answers involved more people. My central 2 quickly grew to 5, then 6, then 8, and now, by the end of “Settling,” I have 11 characters in major roles, all with stories to tell. (Characters can be annoying like that.) It wasn’t long before I had to create Excel spreadsheets for each person, noting where they were from, what they looked like, even what they ate, just to keep track of everybody! I kind of feel like hendeca-mom without all the dirty diapers :)

And now – I almost feel like I should apologize for this – I’m not sure I can get to the “end” of the series in three books like I planned. (There’s that fickle p-word coming back to bite me again.) I do listen to the readers and I know that they want answers – all of them, like now – but I also can’t tell the characters to “zip it” so that I can move on to the finale.

So, I hope I’ve given you a real sense of how my Franken-series really took on a life of its own and that you’ll continue with me into book #3 (“Sound”), and perhaps #4, which may or may not need to be written and that a tiny voice in the back of my mind wants to call “Surge”….

Book Blogger Hop 7/1-7/4

The blog hop is hosted by Jennifer at Crazy-for-Books

This week's question...

“What keeps you reading beyond the first few pages of a book, and what makes you want to stop reading a book and put it back on the shelf?“

My answer...

There's no simple answer...or maybe there is. It just has to keep my interest. I need a hook to grab me which is probably why I love mysteries and suspense so much. Although, even if I'm bored after a couple of pages, I do continue on if it's part of a series I'm already reading or an author I love. I keep going in the hopes it will get better.

I'm one of those that usually reads everything I start even if I don't like it, but if I find I really don't like something, I'll put it aside and read something else. I'll probably eventually go back to the book I didn't like but it could be months later. I've found that sometimes I end up loving the book. So, it could have just been my mood at the time.


see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

The Friday 56

This is a fun meme to do hosted by Freda's Voice. If you'd like to join on the fun go to The Friday 56.

Rules:
*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56.
*Find any sentence that grabs you.
*Post it.
*Link it here.

It's that simple.

This week I'm reading...



From page 56 of the ebook...

When Connie checked her cell phone in the morning, she saw that she'd missed a phone call during the night. There was no message, just a clattering hang up. Connie checked her display, then gasped.

Cover Art Weekend Blog Hop

<center><a href="http://socratesbookreviews.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/Yvonne473/coverartweekendbloghop.jpg"/></a></center>



This is a brand new meme to display all those beautiful, funny, crazy and even those that make you think book covers you come across each week. I don't know about the rest of you, but I love looking at different book covers. You may not be able to judge a book by its cover, but they are sure fun to look at. So, if you'd like to join in the fun, all you have to do is...

1. Take the button at the top of this post and post it on your blog.

2. Chose a book cover of your choice and post it. (You can post as many covers as you'd like.)

3. Sign up with Mr. Linky below. Please use the url that links directly to your cover art post.

4. Visit other blogs on the list to see what covers they are featuring this week.

Instead of just one day, I thought I'd run this through the weekends - from Fridays to Mondays. That gives people more of a chance to blog hop.

Have fun!

These are the books I'm reading this week...