Blog Tour: The Goddess Inheritance by Aimée Carter

Welcome to the next stop on The Goddess Inheritance blog tour! I am thrilled to be a part of this event, hosted by the eternally amazing Kismet Book Touring team. Today I'll be sharing some of my favourite quotes from the series, but first, here's a summary of the upcoming The Goddess Inheritance (note: spoilers for the previous books in the series are present!):

Love or life.
Henry or their child.
The end of her family or the end of the world.
Kate must choose.

During nine months of captivity, Kate Winters has survived a jealous goddess, a vengeful Titan and a pregnancy she never asked for. Now the Queen of the Gods wants her unborn child, and Kate can't stop her--until Cronus offers a deal.

In exchange for her loyalty and devotion, the King of the Titans will spare humanity and let Kate keep her child. Yet even if Kate agrees, he'll destroy Henry, her mother and the rest of the council. And if she refuses, Cronus will tear the world apart until every last god and mortal is dead.

With the fate of everyone she loves resting on her shoulders, Kate must do the impossible: find a way to defeat the most powerful being in existence, even if it costs her everything.

Even if it costs her eternity.

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Chapters | The Book Depository

Amongst many other things, one of my favourite aspects of the Goddess Test series is the beautiful writing. Today I'll be sharing some of my absolute favourite quotes from the series. Hope you enjoy!

The Goddess Test

“I care," he said in a trembling voice. "I care so much that I do not know how to tell you without it seeming inconsequential compared to how I feel. Even if I am distant at times and seem as if I do not want to be with you, it is only because this scares me, too.”

“Sometimes we misjudge what is possible and what is not.”

“I don’t need to be introduced to society. Society and I have gotten by without knowing each other for years, thank you very much.”

Goddess Interrupted

“It is supposed to be the truth." He stared at me and my breath caught in my throat. "If I were a better man, I would be able to show you the love and affection you deserve. As I am not, I can only offer you what I'm capable of giving. But I assure you, just because I do not show it, doesn't mean I do not feel it.”

“Being with Henry doesn't mean you have to give up who you are. Henry doesn't define you.”

"Being brave doesn’t mean never being afraid, you know. It means going for it anyway because you know it’s the right thing to do… How do you know until you try?"

The Goddess Inheritance

“Sadness doesn't equal weakness, sweetheart. If anything, it shows the love you have inside of you, and nothing stronger in this world exists.”

“I don't need to be ancient to be worth something.”

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GIVEAWAY TIME!

Enter with the Rafflecopter form below for your chance to win any one copy of a book in the Goddess Test series! All entries will also be counted toward the grand prize of a Kindle Paperwhite skinned in the gorgeous and lush The Goddess Inheritance cover art! Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Check out the other tour stops!

Monday, January 28th - Harlequin Paranormal Blog
Wednesday, January 30th - Alison Can Read
Friday, February 1st - Mundie Moms
Monday, February 4th - Soul Unsung
Wednesday, February 6th - Starry Eyed Revue
Friday, February 8th - Two Chicks on Books
Monday, February 11th - The Story Queen
Tuesday, February 12th - Simply Infatuated
Wednesday, February 13th - Me, My Shelf and I
Friday, February 15th - IB Blogging

(You) Set Me on Fire Blog Tour: Interview with Mariko Tamaki

Welcome to the final stop on Penguin Canada's (You) Set Me on Fire tour! You can find a list of the other tour stops at the bottom of this post. Today I have an interview with none author than the hilarious and charming Mariko Tamaki, author of the novel. Enjoy!

What can readers expect from (You) Set Me on Fire? What's it about?

 

The main story is about a girl, named Allison Lee, who is transitioning from high school to university/college life. I think the book is about a lot of things though. It's about falling in love. It's about mean friends and good friends. It's about change and how change happens in life, the changes that happen to you and the changes you make.

 

The main character, Allison, has such a distinct and personal voice. Was this a conscious decision on your part?

 

I love talk. I love listening to people talk on the subway, in malls, in schools. All that stuff. It's a huge part of my research process for a book, talking at talk. Watching videos and eavesdropping on groups of kids downtown, listening to them gossip.

 

When I teach creative writing, I spend at least a day looking at dialogue and voice. How people say what they say is something I've always been interested in, the difference between "yeah" and "yes" and "sure" and "I guess." I studied Linguistics for three years, which I would highly recommend. If you have the time. It made me focus on the subtleties of communication. The pauses. The things people say and don't say. I think understanding what a character sounds like is pretty key to understanding that character. So. Yes.

 

You've just been told that you must choose a book and live in that world forever. Which one do you choose?

 

Ooooo.

 

Um.

 

I don't know. Do I want to live in a utopian world, in a fairytale world where I'll have magical powers and a pet dragon? Or do I shack up in the world that I like reading about, which is usually a pretty dark, REAL, world. I want to say I'd like to live in David Sedaris's writing, but it would mean being a punch line a lot. But it would be an interesting life. I think a fairy-tale life would bore me eventually.

 

I wouldn't mind living in one of Scott Westerfeld's book (maybe The Specials). Especially if I could have all the bio-gadgets and stuff his characters get.

 

Allison's struggle to discover her place in the world is one that I think lots of readers will be able to relate to. Was there a reason you chose to portray this in a college setting rather than the typical (for YA) high school choice?

 

I went back and forth on the decision to set this book in University/College.

 

My memory of being a reader in high school was that I wanted to read about older people. You know, I read Seventeen magazine when I was 15. When I was in high school I started reading writers like Douglas Coupland, who was writing, at the time, about twenty somethings. So that was one thing I considered when setting this book in University/College.

 

Plus, this time of life seems like a pretty fertile territory for stories about being a young person. And you ARE still a young person in freshman year. I was 17.

 

Still, while there are tons of movies about the college/university experience, I hadn't, at the time I started writing, read any YA books focusing on freshman year. I'm not saying they're not out there, I just hadn't ready any.

 

Which gave me a little pause, like, maybe there's an unwritten rule out there you're not supposed to write about college?

 

Then I thought back to my first year at McGill. It was such a big year for me and fed so much into who I became as an adult. That year is such a signficant leap in a young person's life: a change of place, a possible change of person, a time when all the rules shift and you have these incredible new freedoms and responsibilities.

 

So I thought, you know what, this would be an ideal place and time to write about for YA.

 

So I did.

 

Do you have any novels that you would recommend to fans of (You) Set Me on Fire?

 

Ah. Well, tops, I would recommend David Sedaris for people who liked the humor of the book. Me Talk Pretty One Day is a huge inspiration for me. Also, I would recommend Alice Munro's The Lives of Girls and Women, which is a series of incredible short stories about growing up. It's a book they assign in high school, which might make it sound like a less desirable read, but it's actually really amazing.

 

So you should all read it.

 

In terms of YA, I am a huge fan of King Dork by Frank Portman, was also a big inspiration for my approach to writing for young adults. Portman is very frank, super gritty.

 

Also I think if you liked the protagonist in this book you might also like The Fault in our Stars, by John Green. Green writes an incredibly strong and well-rounded female voice in this book. I loved it.

 

And finally, because I just couldn't resist, I noticed TWO Harry Potter references in this book! Would you call yourself a fan?

 

Ha! Well, yes, I'm a fan. I'm more a fan of the myth of the phoenix than I am of Harry Potter, but I am a fan.

***

 

As if I wasn't already eager to take a Linguistics class in university! Doesn't it just sound fascinating? I'll also definitely have to check out all of the books Mariko's recommended because I haven't read any of them. And aha! I knew she was a Potterhead ;) The best people are.

 

Goodreads | Amazon | Chapters

Interview with Michelle Madow

Welcome to another stop on the Remembrance blog tour! This tour is hosted by the fabulous Amanda of Stuck in YA Books. To stop by any sites that you've missed on this tour, you can click here for a full list of all participating blogs.

Remembrance is the debut novel of Michelle Madow, inspired by the music video of the song Love Story by Taylor Swift. Michelle was kind enough to answer a few This or That questions. Enjoy! :)

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Noise or Silence?

Silence. I can't get work done if there's any noise around me. Which means I work without music on (and I love music!)

Summer or Winter?

Summer--I don't like cold weather!

Series or Stand-alone?

Series. I love being able to read more about characters I enjoy and seeing plotlines develop.

Romance or Friendship?
This matters who we're talking about! I think it's best to always have a few friends, and hopefully a romance will eventually come.

Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings?
Harry Potter! I never really got into Lord of the Rings.

Circus or Carnival?
Carnival, because I like going on rides and playing the games.

Physical book or e-book?
Physical book. I love owning them and looking at them in my library. But when it comes to actually reading, I prefer reading on my Kindle.

Hardcover or paperback?
Hardcover, because they're so pretty! Paperbacks are easier to read though.

Juice or Soda?
Apple juice! I love it.

Talent or Effort?
Effort! Because even if someone is talented, it won't come to anything if they don't put in effort to succeed.

Thank you for having me on The Story Queen!

Be sure to check out my debut novel, Remembrance, available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and The Book Depository.

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ABOUT THE BOOK:

Find it on Goodreads!

New Hampshire high school junior Lizzie Davenport has been reincarnated from Regency Era, England ... but she doesn't know it yet.

Then Drew Carmichael transfers into Lizzie's school at the beginning of the year, and she feels a connection to him, almost like she knows him. She can't stop thinking about him, but whenever she tries talking with him about the mysteries behind her feelings, he makes it clear that he wants nothing to do with her. Reaching him is even more difficult because she has a boyfriend, Jeremy, who has started to become full of himself after being elected co-captain of the varsity soccer team, and her flirtatious best friend Chelsea starts dating Drew soon after his arrival. So why can't she seem to get him out of her mind?

Even though Lizzie knows she should let go of her fascination with Drew, the pair of them soon find that fighting fate isn't going to be easy.

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SO YOU LIKE GIVEAWAYS?

So, because Michelle is made of blood, bones and awesome, she is hosting a couple of giveaways at the moment. First of all, there is her cover design and book trailer contest, which has a fantastic prize pack for the winners. All of you talented people - be sure to check that out!

Aaaaand there is also another giveaway, specifically for this tour, open to all Canadian and US residents which involves a signed copy of the book and a mask I will jealously steal from you. You can head over to the original blog post to enter, since I am technologically challenged (and a procrastinator) and have not yet figured out how to put the Rafflecopter into this post. Sorry about that!

Thanks so much for stopping by and of course, thank you to Michelle as well. Happy reading!