The Thorn and the Sinking Stone by C.J. Dushinski

The Thorn and the Sinking Stone

by C.J. Dushinski 

Release Date: March 2015

Entangled Teen

313 pages

Summary from Goodreads:

Warring families. Forbidden love. And danger they can’t escape...

Daggers. Roses. Cowboys. Boat Men. Survivors of Earth's Last War, four “families” vie to rule the dreary streets of Rain City through violence and blood. Valencia Hara, Princess of the wealthy Black Roses, is raised in warrior ways with sharpened steel. But she is no ordinary Rose. She is Cursed—tainted with the ability to see seconds into the future...

To avenge his father's death, Sebastian Leold, of the rival gang Two Daggers, must face off against the Black Princess, he with his dagger, she with her katana sword. Yet a secret from a shared past leaves him unable to kill beautiful Valencia; nor can she kill him. For they once knew each other beyond their blood feud...and they have more secrets in common than they know.

But in a world filled with vengeance and violence, there can be no room for love...

The Thorn and the Sinking Stone – 5 Sources of Inspiration

Along the way the story of the Thorn and the Sinking St

one changed quite a bit from one draft to

the next, inspired by one source or another. Here are

the top five sources of inspiration that

helped me craft the Thorn and the Sinking Stone to what

it is today:

1)

Romeo & Juliet:

This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who has alr

eady read the

story. The Thorn and the Sinking Stone was heavily inspi

red by Shakespeare’s Romeo

and Juliet. Two warring families, young, forbidden love... the ge

neral plot is true to the

play. I’ve always loved Romeo and Juliet, like a lot of

people, and I wondered what the

story would be like told in a similar place several hundre

ds of years later, given similar

circumstance and a whole new set of rules. And since B

az Lurhman is one of my

favourite movie directors, of course I was inspired by hi

s modern twist on the classic tale.

Something about his version with guns and fast cars with a

dark setting really inspired the

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About the Author

While attempting to navigate life as a responsible human being, CJ graduated from university with a B.Comm and worked her way along as marketer, copywriter, and graphic designer to earn a paycheck while pursing her passion for creating fantastical stories set in dark and wondrous corners of the world.  Born amongst the wheat fields and open skies of the Canadian prairies, CJ’s imagination has always run wild, taking her on adventures across the world from modeling in Seoul, South Korea to backpacking through Europe and surfing (poorly) in Hawaii.

After wandering through ancient cities and civilizations, learning from diverse cultures, and surrounding herself in new experiences, CJ was inspired and began work on her debut Young Adult novel THE THORN AND THE SINKING STONE, to be published by Entangled Publishing 2014/15. CJ currently resides in Calgary, Alberta Canada – home of the Canadian Rockies – and keeps one hand on her passport and pen at all times, ready to pick up, see the world, and weave her experiences into stories. 

CJ is represented by Marlene Stringer of the Stringer Literary Agency LLC.

Author Links:

   

GIVEAWAY:

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Book Blitz Organized by:

BRANDED by ABI KETNER & MISSY KALICICKI + GIVEAWAY

'Branded' is Abi Ketner and Missy Kalicicki's dark, dystopian novel which is, at least for me, one of the best books of the year.

The first book in the 'Sinners' series which take place around the branded with lust Lexi Hamilton.

Summary:

Fifty years ago The Commander came into power and murdered all who opposed him. In his warped mind, the seven deadly sins were the downfall of society. 

BLUE - LUST

ORANGE - GLUTTONY

YELLOW - GREED

BLACK - SLOTH

RED - WRATH

GREEN - ENVY

PURPLE - PRIDE

To punish the guilty, he created the Hole, a place where sinners are branded according to their sins. Sinners are forced to live a less than human existence in deplorable conditions, under the watchful eye of guards who are ready to kill anyone who steps out of line.

Now, LUST wraps around my neck like thick, blue fingers, threatening to choke the life out of me. I’ve been accused of a crime I didn’t commit, and the Hole is my new home. 

Review:

At first I did not know what to expect of this novel. I knew  it was some sort of a dystopian but nothing more than that.  I was genuinely surprised by how good this books is. It has all the qualities of a gripping read. 

The story grabs you from the first page and really takes you on this adventure in the Hole. It shows this dark and depressing world where people get branded according to their sin. The plot is very captivating and  well thought-out. There is a stong, emotional impact at certain point that made me feel uncomfortable reading it on the train due to some sort of rushing feelings. I did sense some revolution, propaganda and war  themes. Also what I liked is the fact the story isn't based off  the romance. It is well-done and is unobtrusive.

You can really relate to the main characters, specifically, Lexi. She is also the most developed one. She starts with being this weak personage who then becomes this strong, young woman willing to fight. I really enjoyed that change.

The writing style is unique and seamless. The two authors have blended without any problems, whatsoever. They are descriptive and have created this not so exuberant world. They have done their job.

'Branded' is an appealing and exhilarating red which will make you feel unsure of what is going and will keep you on the edge of your seat and just when things can't get more intense you fall of the chair. The writers have done a terrific job at explaining the plot and in small, but needed details.

Did you like the book? Are you excited for the next one? Makes ure to let me know in the comments down below. 

The second book in the series - 'Hunted' comes out in the summer of 2015.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Rating:

5 out of 5 stars

The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey

Have you read "The 5th Wave" by Rick Yancey? If you haven't come back once you've read it.

If you haven't read "The Infinite Sea" yet the review will be spoiler-free.

I have been waiting for this book to come out for a long time. I read the prequel back in January I think and that cliffhanger just lurked me until I read this one.

I received this book on September 26th I started and finished it on the following day. It was so interesting and gripping that I couldn't put it down. It picks up where we left off and we get to see our favourite characters and we're introduced to some new ones.

Did I love this book? Not necessarily, but it was as good as I expected and I really enjoyed it. So many things happen and at the end you just don't know what and who to trust. The characters were just so realistic and relate-able. They were so believable and I just could help but love Cassie even more.

I also liked how it was thought-provoking, considering in this book happened a lot less things as opposed to the previous, 500-page book. The stakes got higher and things tighten even more and I felt I got more questions rather than answers but, hey, as long as there are answers in the next book I am okay.

My main problem was there wasn't enough of Cassie. She was there like half the book. There is a lot of action and plot twists. But the biggest one was not connected to Cassie but to Ringer. It is about the aliens and it's really mind-blowing. It just puts everything into question.

The characters develop but not as much as they did in the previous book. As I said there was, indeed, a lot of action but I felt something was missing. Maybe it's because the character's have changed enough in the prequel.

Also, there were lots of feels in this book. Like I was constantly nervous if someone will die. Rick somehow managed to emotionally drain me. Of course, this didn't stopped me from reading the book in less than six hours.

The writing was almost flawless. I could easily put myself into the character's shoes but sometimes I found some descriptions unnecessary. There is so much one can learn from this book. There are so many quotes and powerful messages.

Overall, it was a fast-paced book, filled with action and jaw-dropping twists. If you are like me and you liked the first book I can assure you won't be let down by this one and everything you know will be put into question.

                                    RATING: 94%

If you liked this review please share it, like it and/or subscribe to this blog! I really appreciate it. Thank you. :)

About the author:

Rick is a native Floridian and a graduate of Roosevelt University in Chicago. He earned a B.A. in English which he put to use as a field officer for the Internal Revenue Service. Inspired and encouraged by his wife, he decided his degree might also be useful in writing books and in 2004 he began writing full-time.

Since then he has launched two critically acclaimed series: The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp, for young readers, and The Highly Effective Detective, for adults. Both books are set in Knoxville, Tennessee, where Rick lived for ten years before returning to Florida.

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