Thursday 30 September 2010

Book review: Angel by L.A Weatherly

 


Ordinary mortals yearn to catch a glimpse of one of these stunning beings and thousands flock to The Church of Angels to feel their healing touch.
But what if their potent magnetism isn't what it seems?
Willow knows she's different from other girls. And not just because she loves tinkering around with cars.


Willow has a gift. She can look into people's futures, know their dreams, their hopes and their regrets, just by touching them. But she has no idea where she gets this power from.
Until she meets Alex…


Alex is one of the few who know the truth about angels. He knows Willow's secret and is on a mission to stop her.
The dark forces within Willow make her dangerous – and irresistible.
In spite of himself, Alex finds he is falling in love with his sworn enemy.


*May contain spoilers*


Angel is a Fantastic book for people who enjoy forbidden love novels. It also has an amazing different view on Angels. When you think of Angels you think beautiful, kind, never evil, But L.A Weatherly doesn't see it that way. Angels in “Angel” are beautiful yes. but kind? Ha count yourself lucky. These Angels Hypnotise you with their beauty and suck the energy out of you. Putting this twist on Angels really has you hooked from the beginning of the book.


I loved the storyline. A girl on the run due to thousands of angels around America maybe even the world trying to hunt her down due to the fact she is a risk to them. She could destroy them all. Oh and on the way she falls in love with a AK (Angel killer). Who comes up with this stuff? Haha


This book definitely shows a damsel in distress in a very over powering way. Its very lets say “Girl Power” orientated Williows not your typical girl. She's a mechanic, Psychic and has mostly looked after herself since she was little due to her Mums lets say illness. She's very independent too. I think by L.A Weatherly doing this a lot of girls can relate more to Willow. Not the fact she's half Angel just that fact she's going through a hard time but still is thriving.


Alex. Oh the wonderful Alex the trained Angel assassin. AK (Angel Killers). He is defiantly up there with one of my favourite characters in the novels I have read. He's going through a lot and finds it hard to show Willow how he's actually feeling. He is sexy and a mans man and I am sure once you read this book you will agree with me.


Through out the book the sexual tension is too much! I keep praying (no pun intended) in the next scene they would just kiss or tell each other how they actually feel. Their relationship at the beginning is very love/slash hate. One minute they like each other then the next their not talking for hours. Some scenes between them in this book are very hot and heavy which is always great if you like that sort of thing.


Angel is a beautifully written debut novel. The fact its not all in the first person its from Willows, alex's, Raziel and jonahs points of view makes the book more interesting and I thought the idea of a half angel was really cool. The twists and turns in the plot kept me guessing on what was going to happen in the end. I didn't see the *almost* end coming, which always makes a good book even better. The fact that it wasn't exactly a happy ending and does leave you guessing for the next book is a fantastic way to end it. Buy the book its amazing!
read more "Book review: Angel by L.A Weatherly"

Wednesday 29 September 2010

Angel by L.A Weatherly blog tour: The soundtrack

 


The Music of Angel by L.A. Weatherly



I often listen to music while I write, usually pieces that won’t distract me while I try to focus – such as lyrics in a different language or purely instrumental. I think of it as ‘soundtrack’ music, and especially love pieces that help me visualise what I’m writing, as if I’m seeing it up on the big screen!


When I wrote the first draft of Angel, I listened over and over to Cantamus Aurora by Sarah Class. The album has an ‘angelic’ feel in places, but also quite a dark sense of drama and power. I could just see the angels flying in, and hear Alex shouting Willow’s name.
When I wrote the second draft of Angel, I changed to Adiemus, Songs of Sanctuary by Karl Jenkins. While the music is really different from Cantamus Aurora – it has an almost African feel at times – it’s similar in its very filmic sense of mood and drama. The last piece, ‘Hymn’, I can hardly listen to without crying; I listened to it continuously while writing the scene where Alex and Willow have to part.
However, I can’t listen to these albums now that I’m writing Angel Fire, because they belong to Angel! At the moment, I’m listening a lot to a composer called Bear McCreary, who (geek alert!) composed all the music to the new Battlestar Galactica series. This is soundtrack music to die for! Dark, weird and powerful. Plus lots of drums. Big, dramatic, echoing drums. Fab.



Lee Weatherly’s Reaction to the Angel Soundtrack


I LOVE it, and often listen to it as well now while I’m writing! From the moment I heard the Kings of Leon piece, I knew how much thought had gone into choosing each song.


I love almost every song on it (and am probably going to have to buy everything Muse has ever done now), but a few particular favourites:
‘Crawl’ perfectly encompasses Alex at the story’s beginning. I can just see him, wearing his trench coat, rifle hidden as he stalks the angel…
‘Rambling Man’ really sums up Willow’s reactions to Alex as they first start becoming friends – the lyrics are so apt:
Oh, naïve little me,


Asking what things you have seen.


You’re vulnerable in your head…


But give me to a rambling man


Let it always be known that I was who I am.


(And of course the Rambling Man is Alex!)




‘Many of Horror’ – oh my god, SO perfect as a song from Alex’s viewpoint as he’s falling in love with Willow, and finally decides that being with her is worth the potential pain:




When we collide and come together,


If we don’t we’ll always be apart.


I’ll take a bruise, I know you’re worth it


When you hit me, hit me hard.
‘Forever’ – Willow in the climactic scene, longing for Alex, knowing that she could die. And again, the lyrics are so apt: ‘Tell me you’re here…take hold of my heart, show me you love me…’ Plus I love the hard rock, almost grunge sound to this – the singer has such a great ‘rock chick’ voice.


I could go on, but I’ll stop there! I’m forever grateful to Usborne Marketing for the Angel playlist; it’s such an amazing thing to have. (And I really want to know what songs didn’t quite make their final cut, too…!)




The making of… the Angel soundtrack



When choosing the music for this soundtrack, we wanted to sum up the two main characters – Alex and Willow – the atmosphere of the book, and also some of the key scenes.


Kings of Leon – Crawl
Angel opens with Alex driving into town in his Porsche Carrera – handsome, aloof and totally cool – so we wanted to kick off the soundtrack with something quite masculine, edgy and fast-paced.






Laura Marling – Rambling Man
As the perspective in the novel switches to Willow, we wanted to show the contrast between her and Alex with a soft, feminine song. However, just like Willow, this track also has a strong, fearless quality.






Biffy Clyro – Many of Horror
This song starts of quite tentatively but builds to a dramatic crescendo. We felt this described the blossoming romance between Alex and Willow really well.






Kasabian – Fire
A great driving track – you can imagine Alex and Willow cruising through the desert in their battered old Mustang listening to this languid but rocky tune.






The Pretty Reckless – Make Me Wanna Die
We wanted some really strong female voices on the soundtrack, as Willow is such a strong character. This song is about the lengths that a girl would go to for the guy she loves, and so it seemed to be a great fit for the scenes in the book where Willow uses her strength and determination to save Alex’s life. Plus, we thought Taylor Momsen would make a pretty good Willow in a film version of the book!






Florence + The Machine – Cosmic Love
An epic, theatrical love song, chosen to show the depth of feeling between Alex and Willow as they really begin to realise how much they mean to each other.






Jade Gallagher – Iris
This is a really gentle love song, to accompany the quiet time that Alex and Willow spend together at Alex’s camp, gradually getting to know one another.






Muse – Time is Running Out
We couldn’t resist including a bit of Muse! Every good soundtrack needs a couple of really big numbers to provide a dramatic climax, and this certainly does that. As Alex races against time to reach The Church of Angels Cathedral in Denver, time is literally running out for Willow…






Jimmy Eat World – Hear You Me
Alex has found Willow but she’s badly injured and he doesn’t know if she’ll put through. In this song, the lyrics are from the point of view of a guy who is losing the love of his life, describing her as ‘so lucky, so strong, so proud; I never said thank you for that – now I’ll never have a chance’. We also thought the lyric ‘may angels lead you in’ was a nice touch!





Fireflight – Forever
This song is about a girl struggling to survive – she feels like she’s drowning, choking, and then the person she loves is reaching out to help her. We thought this song fitted perfectly with the scene where Willow is near death and Alex is trying desperately to save her.






Queens of the Stone Age – Go With The Flow
Despite everything they’ve been through, Alex and Willow can’t rest – The Church of Angels are still after them, and this is a great, fast-paced song to finish on as they race off into the sunset.


What do you guys think? We think the song choices are pretty awesome! if you guys actually want to buy the songs on the soundtrack click HERE to buy the songs on itunes!
read more "Angel by L.A Weatherly blog tour: The soundtrack"

Sunday 12 September 2010

Book Review: The Bleeders By Michaela Haze




Sophia Taylor knew that her life had gotten pretty surreal when she woke up on her sofa, bleeding from the head, with her boyfriend Henry smoking her cheap cigarettes (which he never hesitated to complain about before).




Why was this surreal?


1- Because she was only bleeding because he had effectively pushed her down the stairs.


2- He, being Henry Blaire, her boyfriend, but also the man that she had paid ten thousand pounds to murder the two killers of her sister Alison.


3- Henry was smoking all of her cigarettes because she was bleeding from the head.


4- Which would have been so bad if Henry wasn't an incubus with an addiction to human blood and killing the scum of the earth to get it.
There, Sophia's secret. And all she used to worry about was a double shift at the bar and when her cupboard at home was running low on vodka and peanuts




As I sit in my flat in London at 4AM after just finishing “The Bleeders” I just want to say before I actually start properly reviewing this book that this is one of the best books I have read in a LONG time and a book that actually has left me thinking and wanting more!
There might be a few spoilers but I will try my best!. At the start of the book it has you hooked. The pace, the tone the way the characters talk especially Sophia aka Fia. She is not your typical damsel in distress. She is not your typical girl who falls in love and it's happily ever after, just like most lead girls end up in paranormal romances novels. Her sister has died and Fia is going through all these emotions and trying to block it out by drinking accessibly and smoking till her lungs are as black as night. But that all changes when  she meets Henry a hit man she's hired to kill her sisters murders...


The story starts of in a mental institution with Fia a patient in her room talking to a doctor she calls Henry. Behind this man is her Daemon, Henry who she is in love with and her dead sister they are... lets say ghosts or Illusions she can only see. This had me defiantly hooked. I think starting the story off in this way is going to have you wondering through out the book how the hell did she end up in there? It also makes you question through out the whole book is Henry actually real or is it just Fia's imagination trying to get over her sisters death in some way.


One of my favorite parts in the book was actually the part were Fia becomes a “Bleeder” (hence the title of the book) The Bleeders are humans who kill Daemons and drink their blood you can also get addicted to it. I have never heard anything like this in any paranormal books I have read and thought this was a fantastic twist to the book.


The relationship between Henry and Fia is so Love/Hate. One minute she hates him then one minute she cant get enough. Every scene they had together I was shouting at the book “JUST KISS JUST KISS” so much sexual tension it was unreal. These two are defiantly one of my favorite couples I have come across in the books I have read. The one scene that had me jump out of my seat was when them two actually do the deed I had to put the book down after that scene and catch my breath!


It is amazingly written. Fia is a confused character who in the end figures everything out. I thought the idea of a Henry drinking blood but not being a Vampire but a Daemon was really cool, and the twists and turns in the plot kept me guessing on what was going to happen in the end. I did not see any of it coming it was SO unpredictable and had me crying every third chapter, which always makes a good book even better.


I want to say that Michaela Haze is a FANTASTIC writer and I truly hope she writes a second book following “The Bleeders” because it's truly amazing. I actually have nothing bad to say about this book and that is shocking coming from me XD. So now its 5am after writing this review I think I shall go to bed goodnight. Buy the book You will not be disappointed!
read more "Book Review: The Bleeders By Michaela Haze"

Wednesday 1 September 2010

Book Review: Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare




Fanfic-writer-turned-pro Cassandra Clare spun up an urban-fantasy trilogy all about the Shadowhunters, supernatural warriors fighting against evil demons. And she provides a solid if flawed prequel to that trilogy in "The Clockwork Angel" -- lots of steampunk automatons, flashy action and romance, but the heroine feels like a bland copy of Jane Eyre.


Tessa Gray came to London to live with her older brother Nathaniel, but instead she was taken prisoner by the malevolent Dark Sisters, who force her to "Change" every day. Then a boy named Will -- one of the Nephilim -- rescues her in an explosive battle with the sisters weird, and whisks her away to the London Institute, where the Shadowhunters coordinate their battles against demonic forces.


Her only hope to find her brother lies in helping the Institute, so Tessa reluctantly joins them in finding the man called The Magister, who apparently rules over all occult happenings in London. Her shape-changing powers are esesential to their plans, but they won't be enough to keep an automaton army from taking over London...


For the record, there IS a clockwork angel in this book, but it isn't really important here. I'm not sure why Clare didn't call this book "The Clockwork Soldiers" -- it's a better representation of what this book contains. Lots of steampunk horrors, magic angel swords, and frequent descriptions of the pretty teenage boys.


Clare's writing is detailed and fairly atmospheric. The beginning of the book is rather cheesy ("Whispers that run through Downworld like a river of black poison") and the action scenes tend to be flashy and over-the-top. But she has a knack for atmosphere, detailed descriptions and some tongue-in-cheek humor from Will ("There was a time I thought I was a ferret, but that turned out to be the opium haze").


Unfortunately, writing Victorian girls is the weakest part of Clare's story. Tessa is a prissy girl who feels like a pallid copy of Jane Eyre, and the constant drumming that she is SUPER-SPECIAL AND UNIQUE leaves her feeling vaguely Mary-Suish. She becomes more interesting in the last few chapters, but that was too late to make me like her.


The supporting characters are far more interesting -- Will is a quirky, quipping warrior-boy who uses lies to cover up his apparently dark past, and Jem is his smarter, more tragic counterpart. Clare also introduces us to an absent-minded inventor, a strong warrior-woman, and a scarred maid. The downside: Jessamine, the "conventional" Victorian girl who is demonized as a selfish brat... but is still more 3-D than Tessa.


"The Clockwork Angel" has some flaws, particularly in its flat heroine, but the last few chapters leave us with plenty of promise for the next two volumes of the Infernal Devices trilogy.
read more "Book Review: Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare"
 
Imagination Designs