Curse of the Sphinx Review, Promo Video + #Giveaway

Curse of the Sphinx
Sphinx Series
Book #1
Raye Wagner

Genre: YA Romantic Fantasy, Mythology

Release Date: August 11, 2015

ISBN: 978-1515305712

ASIN: B013PD4U5O

Pages: 344

Goodreads Rating: 3.71

My Rating: 4.5

Book Description:

How long can a monster stay hidden in plain sight?

Seventeen-year-old Hope Nicholas has spent her entire life on the run. But no one is chasing her. In fact, no one even knows she exists. With her mom, she’s traveled from town to town and school to school, barely staying long enough to meet anyone, let alone make friends. And she’ll have to keep it that way. It’s safer.
When her mother is brutally ripped away from her, Hope’s life shatters. Is this the fulfillment of Apollo’s curse, murder from the shadow monsters of the Underworld, or have the demigods finally found her? Orphaned and alone, Hope flees again, but this time there’s no one to teach her who to trust—or how to love.

Set in a universe where mythology is alive and well in the modern world, Curse of the Sphinx irresistibly blends action, suspense and romance. 

My Take on the Book:

First and foremost let me say that I loved this book! I’m a huge fan of mythology, Greek, Norse and Egyptian being my favorites so this was a book right up my alley.

With that said, there were a couple of off putting moments and personality traits of some characters and the story did drag a bit at times but it in NO WAY took away from the story’s overall greatness.

I loved the Sphinx mythology and I’m gonna get my hands on the prequel to get a more in depth look into this universe.

The characters were solid and likeable and I found myself giddy with the cuteness that the romance in this story brought to the whole picture this author was painting us.

I think the off putting moments were mainly in the tone. I found myself a bit lost in terms of who knew what. At moments I felt like our main character was interacting with 2 different male leads as opposed to the one. I also found myself questioning if he was who I thought he was or if he lost his memory or something along those lines.

BUT, I still loved Athan and Hope. I thought they were adorable! 

4.5 Quills

I think I mainly want to read the next book to see where these characters go and how they develop because this was a pretty great beginning to what has the makings of a great series. There is so much we don’t know and I’m excited to learn it all.

Amazon

About The Author

Raye Wagner grew up in Seattle, the second of eight children, and learned to escape chaos through the pages of fiction. As a youth, she read the likes of David Eddings, Leon Uris, and Jane Austen. Inspired by a fictional character, Raye pursued a career in nursing, thinking to help the world one patient at a time.

One summer afternoon, when her then young children were playing in the pool, a plot dropped into her head, and she started writing.

She enjoys baking, puzzles, Tae Kwon Do, and the sound of waves lapping at the sand. She lives with her husband and three children in Middle Tennessee.

Origin of the Sphinx, a novella detailing the story leading up to the creation of the mythological creature, is her first publication. It is the beginning of the Sphinx series.
Curse of the Sphinx, the first book in the series, is completed, and set to be released in August 2015.

Author Links:

Website│Twitter│Facebook│Goodreads

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Tipsy-Ink's Halloween Spooktacular Blast Off Review + #Giveaway (Month Long Event)

Hello My Lovelies

Welcome To the #TipsySpooktacular Month Long Giveaway

During this month I'm going to be hosting a giveaway for a paperback of 1 or 2 of the novels I read and review as well as some eBook copies. The giveaway, as always, will be hosted with rafflecopter.The paperback portion will be US only and the eBook portion is open internationally.

Growing up I was sick a lot, the books were a staple in my home. What started off as me emulating my sister turned into me falling in love with literature. By the time I was in fourth grade I'd read every book that wasn't research in the school library. So we started making trips to the public library. And books and books and books and then I'd ask my dad to buy me some.

One author that we were proud to display was R.L. Stine. It was Michael to read an hour every Goosebumps book. Honestly, I don't think I ever did. But I do know that I read a sizable portion of books by R.L. Stine. As I got older and my sister had a child, she started falling in love with books and just last year I gave her every Goosebumps book I owned but 2, Careful What You Wish For and Camp Nightmare.

Some of my favorite R.L. Stine books, come from the Fear Street line. In particular, I was and still am a big fan of The Fear Street Cheerleaders Series, The First Evil, The Second Evil and The Third Evil still sit proudly on my bookshelf.

So when I walked in to Barnes and Nobles with my best friend and I saw 2 new Fear Street novels my heart went pitter patter and I think I may have squealed. Actually... now that I think about it, I am pretty sure I did squeal because I vaguely remember my best friend telling me to keep it down. I remember him giving me that look, the one that says oh here we go again.

I decided I was going to kick off my October Spooktacular Halloween Giveaway Month by reading these two books and then easing into some other stay up late and hide under your covers books.

Now, without further ado, my review on the newest Fear Street Books.

Fear Street Super Thriller: Party Games / Don't Stay Up Late

Fear Street Relaunch Series

R.L. Stine

Genre: YA Horror
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Release Date: August 4, 2015

ISBN: 978-1250076939

Goodreads Rating: 4.26

My Rating: 4.5

Book Description:

In one volume, R.L. Stine presents two bone-chilling stories of teens in terror in his worldwide bestselling Fear Street series, which has sold 80 million copies around the world.

In Party Games, Rachel is thrilled to be invited to Brendan Fear's exclusive birthday party on Fear Island. When Rachel arrives at the island, a scavenger hunt turns up some horrifying surprises. Soon, Rachel has to fight to survive the deadliest game of all -- the game of murder.

In Don't Stay Up Late, Lisa is plagued by nightmares and hallucinations after a horrible accident that landed her in the hospital for weeks. Lisa is happy to take a babysitting job to get her mind off of the terrible events of the past. But then her friends begin dying one by one. Are Lisa's nightmares coming true?

With double the fear and double the fun, this Fear Street Super Chiller will appeal to fans of the original Fear Street series as well as the countless young adults who have grown up reading R.L. Stine.

Party Games

When I first started party games, I had so many different theories. And I honestly enjoyed the introduction, I thought it was pretty cool, it was kinda like the opening dialogue that one would expect in a movie a sort of foreshadowing of the events to come. I genuinely liked these characters I felt like they had a realistic quality to them.

It was really fun to cells back into the world of Shadyside and Fear Street and I was particularly fond of the inclusion of an actual Fear character in this book as a main character of sorts.

I found Rachel to be a likable lead with pretty realistic reactions for the most part. But I didn't find this book particularly terrifying, not even the littlest bit scary. It was more kitschy not really how I remember these books. Sure it had a surprise ending, but it wasn't gruesome or gory. I had some predictable moments but nothing that really stood out to me.

That's not to say that I did not enjoy the book. I found the book to be very enjoyable, it was funny and very much a book that takes place in a high school type environment and unique. I thought Brendan Fear was a very intriguing character, one you definitely want to learn a little more about.

4.5 Quills

I like the character interactions and I loved the setting. All in all I feel like this was a pretty interesting dive back into the Fear Street world.

Don't Stay Up Late

This book, definitely took me down memory lane. This was exactly what I remembered from the Fear Street novels. It was a little later than what I was accustomed to but the premise of the story was for sure 110% Fear Street.

There was a lot that you can predict the story, its not hidden from you if you pay any amount of attention to the details but that doesn't mean you don't second guess yourself. It's not as dark of a thriller as I was expecting, having grown up with The Cheerleaders, Dangerous Girls and 99 Fear Street but it did have it holy crap moments.

Out of the two, hands down don't stay up late is my favorite. My only big complaint is the main character. I was not, in any way shape or form a fan of Lisa. Sure, I was rooting for her not to die and to solve the mystery but her character traits and personality irked me. I found her annoying and pretty unappealing, I couldn't create a bond with her whereas I loved Rachel in Party Games. It's also funny because I really liked Nate, and I get the feeling that I wasn't supposed to.

5 Quills

This rating is based off of story content alone. I also have to point out that the ending was pretty inspired. I can't say for sure how this new line of Fear Street novels will go. I don't know if they will continue down this lighter road or slowly make a descent back into the spooky dark place most of us have come to love but I will say that the nostalgia alone is enough for most of us to pick up these books and read a couple of the next ones. I for one hope that we get a bit more of the darker side of Fear Street.

About The Author

Robert Lawrence Stine known as R. L. Stine and Jovial Bob Stine, is an American novelist and writer, well known for targeting younger audiences. Stine, who is often called the Stephen King of children's literature, is the author of dozens of popular horror fiction novellas, including the books in the Goosebumps, Rotten School, Mostly Ghostly, The Nightmare Room and Fear Street series.

R. L. Stine began his writing career when he was nine years old, and today he has achieved the position of the bestselling children's author in history. In the early 1990s, Stine was catapulted to fame when he wrote the unprecedented, bestselling Goosebumps® series, which sold more than 250 million copies and became a worldwide multimedia phenomenon. His other major series, Fear Street, has over 80 million copies sold.

Stine has received numerous awards of recognition, including several Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards and Disney Adventures Kids' Choice Awards, and he has been selected by kids as one of their favorite authors in the NEA's Read Across America program. He lives in New York, NY.

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