Aug 28, 2013

{Ember Blog Tour} Book Review + Giveaway: Chaos - Christine O'Neil

Hi, everyone! I'm honored to be a part of this blog tour that features the first two titles of Ember, the newest member of the Entangled Publishing family! Here's what they have to say about it:
"Our fires burn brightly for our readers and as a way to say thanks to our readers we've launched our latest division of Entangled Teen and its name is Ember. We have two exciting launch titles: Darker Days by Jus Accardo and Chaos by Christine O'Neil. Read away!"
Entangled Teen Ember is a division of Entangled Teen that specializes in digital-first YAs.

Title: CHAOS (Kardia Chronicles #1)
Author: Christine O'Neil
Release Date: August 19th 2013
Publisher: Entangled Teen Ember
Age Group: Young Adult
Source: eARC for blog tour
My name is Maggie Raynard. After sixteen years being just plain me, suddenly, when I lose my temper, my fingers become weapons of mass destruction. Turns out I'm a semi-god, descended from Aphrodite. Sounds cool in theory, but when I accidentally put my ex-boyfriend in a coma, things go downhill pretty fast.
Now some new guy named Mac Finnegan has made it his mission in life to continually piss me off. I'm stuck learning how to use my new powers while also dealing with regular high school problems, and with this annoying—and super-hot—guy all up in my business, I'm about to flip out.
But it gets worse. I just learned there's this watchdog council of semis who keeps an eye out for any bad apples. They think I'm the baddest of the bunch and want to take me out before I do any more damage. My nemesis Mac might turn out to be my salvation, only he's got secrets of his own...and they may just kill us both.
I don't know what exactly I expected from Chaos, but it's certainly far from what I got. This take on mythology is fresh and unique, but to be honest, what kept me reading was the characters; they all had spunk for days and I could read about them even without Maggie's semi-god drama factoring in their story.

Now let me talk about the stars of this book. I liked Maggie right from page one, but as soon as she declared herself a YA reader, we clicked. Like snap. Yep, we're total besties now. (I wish.) Being inside her head was hilarious, and add to that her snappy, sarcastic lines, and I was hooked. She made some questionable decisions, yes, but not downright-stupid ones. And even with her freaky evil power, she tried so hard to do what's right, so props to her.

Mac Finnegan, the new-ish guy who knew how to push Maggie's buttons and also made her writhe with "want", was a mystery for the most part, but it never got frustrating because the truths about him trickled in satisfying amounts. The reason for his initial douche-ness was ample so he's forgiven. But what I don't get is why he dated the Queen Bee of the Mean Girls. He didn't really seem taken by her, so now I can't help but think that he just used her. Oh, well. I didn't see any redeeming quality to said Queen Bee so whatevs.

The maddening sexual tension between Maggie and Mac, fueled even more by their frequent verbal jabs, had me both pulling at my hair and grinning like a maniac. Their advice columns were so much fun to read because knowing their conflicting takes on the same topic revealed just how different their ways of thinking were. "Opposites attract", indeed.
"Any other hidden talents you haven't mentioned?"
I mulled it over. "I can pulverize the shit out of fruits and vegetables."
"Excellent. If I need a smoothie, I know who to call."

Funny, sexy, and intense all at the same time, I definitely recommend Chaos for people looking for something a little heavier than contemporary to read. There wasn't much going on in the conflict part aside from Maggie's out-of-control powers, but I never got bored, and I'll surely be on the lookout for the sequel!

MY FAVORITE PART was Snowflake Swirl night. The Wobble scene made my heart swell :3

RATING:
 
About the author:
Christine O'Neil was born and raised in Connecticut, where she spent most of her childhood outdoors catching salamanders, frogs and colds. When she wasn't terrorizing Mother Nature, she was curled up under the covers with her nose in a book. As an adult, she's stopped stalking amphibians, but still loves books. When she isn't reading, she likes to spend her time people-watching. In fact, she's probably watching you RIGHT NOW O_O She's also pretty obsessed with writing YA books, but if she had to pick another profession she would be a ninja...or a Professor of the Dark Arts. Christine also writes adult romance under the pen name Christine Bell.

Also, check out Darker Days, Entangled Teen Ember's other launch title!

Title: Darker Days (The Darker Agency #1)
Author: Jus Accardo
Release Date: August 19th 2013
Publisher: Entangled Teen Ember
Age Group: Young Adult
Jessie Darker goes to high school during the day, but at night she helps with the family investigation business. Cheating husbands and stolen inheritances? They're your girls--but their specialty is a bit darker. Zombie in your garage? Pesky Poltergeist living in your pool? They'll have the problem solved in a magical minute. For a nominal fee, of course...
When gorgeous new client, Lukas Scott, saunters into the office requesting their help to find a stolen box, it sounds like a simple case--until the truth comes out. The box is full of Sin.
Seven deadly ones, in fact.
They've got five days to recapture the Sins before they're recalled by the box, taking seven hijacked human bodies with them. Easy peasy--except for one thing...
There's a spell that will allow the Sins to remain free, causing chaos forever. When the key ingredient threatens the life of someone she knows, Jessie must make the ultimate choice between love and family--or lose everything.
Giveaway!
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1 comment:

  1. Great review! So glad you liked it(:
    Jackie

    nobentspines.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete

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