Review: Almost Final Curtain

Almost Final Curtain (Vampire Princess - Book 2) by Tate Hallaway

Publication Date: May 2011

Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)

Genre: Paranormal YA

Pages: Paperback, 288pp

ISBN-13: 9780451233110

ISBN: 0451233115

(Received for review from NAL)

Purchase: Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, IndieBound

Tate Hallaway on the WEB: website, blog, facebook, twitter

Excerpt from Almost Final Curtain

Synopsis (Book Blurb):

Ever since high school student Anastasija Parker discovered she was vampire royalty, her life has been sort of crazy. The half vampire/half witch just wants some normalcy, and trying out for the spring musical seems like the perfect fix. But things are a little different this year since Nikolai Kirov - vampire hunter in training and Ana's sometimes boyfriend - and his rock band are lending the musical a harder edge.

But in between worrying about tryouts and her uncertain status with a boyfriend who's learning the best way to killer her, Ana has even bigger problems: The magical ancient talisman that stands between vampire freedom and slavery to witches has been stolen from the Minnesota Historical Society. Now Ana has to track down the dangerous talisman before someone uses it to make this year's curtain call her last.

Thoughts:

Tate Hallaway once again is setting the YA world on edge, with her latest book in the Vampire Princess series, Almost Final Curtain. With a new take on the vampire myth and some stunning characters, Hallaway will have readers under her spell in no time. It's a combination of Twilight and Charmed all rolled into one! A great new series by a author who bears watching.

Ana Parker is up to her ears in preparations for the school play, an updated rendition of My Fair Lady. Since Ana found out she was half vampire and half witch, her life has gone from black and white to gray as she struggles between both sides of her nature. To make things even more difficult she is betrothed to a one vampire warrior, while her current boyfriend spends his time trying to hone his vampire killing skills as a vampire hunter. When an ancient talisman capable of enslaving vampires to witches once again surfaces, Ana is forced to take a side in order to survive.

There are so many cool things about this book. There are aspects of it that really worked for the author and some parts that were a little harder to pitch. Overall I thought it was a great book and a very good follow up to the first book in the series, Almost to Die For. Readers will enjoy picking up the story from where left, Ana, Nickolai, Bea, Elias and the others.

Hallaway's ability to create characters that would resonate with the YA audience is remarkable. The characters are three-dimensional and very complex which gives the author a lot to work with. Ana is your typical teenager with all the worries and anxieties of youth but she has a lot more going down in her world. In Almost Final Curtain, Ana really struggles with who she is. Trying to find her place in the world. She has been raised to believe that things are a certain way and then she comes to find out that maybe things are quite different than what she thought. She finds herself embracing her vampire side in spite of herself. I liked the way the author seemed to have Ana come to a certain peace toward the end of the book realizing that she is both witch and vampire and that that is what sets her apart and makes her this unique and special person.

I very much enjoyed the sort of Romeo and Juliet idea behind the relationship of Ana and Nikolai. Here you have two star-crossed lovers if you will. Two kids that care about each other a lot, but can't seem to make it work because of their differences. She's part vampire and he's a vampire hunter. She is everything he is supposed to hate, yet he is drawn to her. There was a very Shakespearean vibe going on this book that readers will pick up on and I think they will like it a lot.

The idea of doing and updated and revamped version of My Fair Lady also really floated my boat as a reader. I liked the way the author was able to show the theatre as something "cool" and something that kids would want to be a part of. Remaking Thompson into a character that readers would come to like was a great idea as well. The preppy football player who was Ana's nemesis from the first book shows a very different side as he auditions for the role of Professor Higgins. Hallaway also allowed the process of casting the play and the music to pull the book together and give it a cohesiveness.

I did have a couple of problems with the book, but clearly the good outweighs the not so good. I thought the ending seemed a little rushed. The beginning of the book sets up a very comfortable pace that allows the reader to really get to know the characters and understand why they choose to do things the way they do. But toward the end, in I would say the last four or five chapters, it became like a bit of a rush to the finish line. I would have preferred to keep that same comfortable pace all the way through.

My other little quirk about the book has nothing to do with the authors ability to write. Hallaway has clearly proven that she is a force to be reckoned with in Paranormal YA fiction. This is just a personal thing and isn't a criticism at all. The fact that Ana's father turned on her was hard for me to accept. In the first book it seemed like he was interested in a relationship with Ana, but in this one he seems to wish he didn't have to bother with her. She clearly does not fit into his plans. But the scene were he banishes her and then later completely turns on her and her mother made me feel very uncomfortable. But as I have always said, if an author can make you feel a strong emotion not matter what it is as you read their work, they have truly accomplished something great. And this book really did that for me. Even though the emotion wasn't the one I expected.

I can't wait to see what happens next in this series! I recommend this book to all of my YA readers. Though it is the second in a series it can easily be read as a stand alone. Paranormal readers whether you prefer adult or YA will want to give this series a look. The characters are just wonderfully developed and Hallaway's take on vampires in general is refreshing and different.

Almost Final Curtain is available NOW from your favorite bookseller.

I'm giving this one 4 out of 5 apples from my book bag!

Tate Hallaway lives in St. Paul, Minnesota. She is also the author of the Garnet Lacey novels.

Winner: The Provence Cure for the Broken Hearted

The giveaway for one copy of The Provence Cure for the Broken Hearted by Bridget Asher ended at Midnight May 2nd. I used random.org to choose the winner. The book will be sent out directly from the publisher. The winner will be notified later today.

Thanks to everyone for participating in the giveaway.

The winner is:

Laura H.

Winner: Wickham's Diary

The giveaway for two copies of Wickham's Diary by Amanda Grange ended not long ago. I used random.org to choose the winners. The winners will be notified later today. These books will be sent out directly from the publisher. Thanks to everyone who participated in this giveaway.

The winners are:

Diane
&
Carol Wong

Winner: Gone With a Handsomer Man

The giveaway for one copy of Gone With a Handsomer Man ended not long ago. I used random.org to choose the winner. The prize will be sent out directly from the publisher. The winner will be notified later today. Thank-You to everyone who participated in this giveaway.

The winner is:

Karen

Winner: The Map Across Time

The giveaway for one copy of The Map Across Time by C.S. Lakin ended a short time ago. I used random.org to choose the winner. The winner will be notified this afternoon. The prize will be sent out directly from the publisher.

The winner is:

Victoria Zumbrum

Interview and Giveaway: Beth Kendrick

Please join me in welcoming Beth Kendrick to Debbie's Book Bag today! Beth is here to talk to us about her latest novel, The Bake-Off, releasing today from Berkley NAL. The publisher has graciously offered two copies of The Bake-Off for giveaway, details at the end of the post.

DEB: Beth, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
BETH: I’m just another good English major gone bad. I’ve been writing stories since I was in grade school, and although I went to grad school for psychology, I always dreamed of being a novelist. I sold my first book, My Favorite Mistake, right before I defended my dissertation, decided to take a leap of faith and write fiction full-time, and never looked back. The Bake-Off is my seventh women’s fiction novel.

DEB: Tell us a little about your new book, The Bake-Off?
BETH: Here’s the thirty-second summary:
Suburban soccer mom Amy has always wanted to stand out from the crowd. Former child prodigy Linnie just wants to fit in. The two sisters have been estranged for years, but thanks to a series of personal crises and their wily grandmother, they've teamed up to enter a national bake-off in the hopes of winning some serious cash. Armed with the top-secret recipe for Grammy's apple pie, they should be unstoppable. Sure, neither one of them has ever baked anything more complicated than brownie mix, but it's just pie-how hard could it be?

When the competition heats up, what began as a straightforward pact for victory deteriorates into a sugarcoated free-for-all. Amy and Linnie struggle to rebuild their relationship as family secrets, old betrayals and new romances arise. Given the right recipe and an unexpected blend of bitter and sweet, even the oddest pairings can produce something delicious.

DEB: What was your inspiration for this book? Are you an avid cook yourself?
BETH: I got the idea for this book at two a.m. the night before my toddler’s birthday party. I was trying—and failing—to decorate a sheet cake with a tiny red lawnmower and piped green icing to look like grass. The Cake Boss I am not, and I was tired and frustrated and thinking: I can’t do this—I quit. Kid won’t remember it anyway. But then I thought, You know, if someone offered me a million dollars, I would figure out a way to make this cake beautiful. And I was off and running with the idea of two estranged sisters who can’t bake at all, but are desperate for money and recognition. So they enter a family recipe and go for the gold at a national, high-stakes dessert championship, even though they’ve been feuding for years and can barely boil water.

DEB: What type of research did you do for your book?
BETH: Well, any experienced baker can tell you that pie crust is no joke—it’s the culinary equivalent of a triple black belt. So while I was writing the first draft of The Bake-Off, I enrolled in a two-day “Intensive Baking Workshop” at a local culinary school. I was definitely the problem child in that class, but I did learn a lot.
I also interviewed a woman in my city who’s won several national cooking competitions, Turns out, competitive baking is a vibrant subculture unto itself, like beauty pageants or dog shows. Bursting with potential for scandal, rivalry and drama--like “Melrose Place” with muffin tins…or at least, that’s how it is in my book. I have a wild imagination!

DEB: What is your normal writing day like? Do you have things that have to be in place to write comfortably?
BETH: I like to be in my own office and I have to drink room-temperature water the entire time I’m working. I cannot write if I don’t have a huge, full glass of water right next to my keyboard. Apparently, my muse is in a state of perpetual dehydration.
I write whenever my child is sleeping or at preschool. As you might imagine, this means I have a spotty social life and a filthy house, but, uh, that’s good for building my kid’s immune system, right?

DEB: What was it like when you got the word that your first novel would be published?
BETH: My agent called my squalid grad school apartment on a Tuesday at around 5:30 EST and she said:
“Great news! An editor at Pocket wants to buy your book. She’s putting together some numbers right now, and I expect the final offer tomorrow.”
This is the part where a normal human being would whoop for joy and/or shed a solitary, poignant tear and/or throw up in a wastebasket. But here is what I said:
“Tomorrow!?! But what if she changes her mind overnight? What if she gets fired first thing in the morning? What if she gets hit by a bus?”
There ensued a long pause on the other end of the connection, and then my agent sighed and said, “Oh Beth, you’re such a writer.”

DEB: Do you have any advice for new writers?
BETH: Put your head down, start writing, and don’t look up until you’ve completed your first draft. It’s easy to get sidetracked with concerns about finding an agent and the current state of the publishing market, etc., etc., but none of that matters unless you have an actual manuscript to sell. Write now, worry later.
Oh, and don’t get sucked into epic, three-day online Scrabble games with other writers shirking their deadlines. Trust me.

DEB: When you’re not writing, what kinds of books do you like to read? Do you have a favorite author?
BETH: I read it all, baby—fiction, non-fiction, cereal boxes, comic books. Right now, I’m plowing through The Hunger Games trilogy. I thought it would be too dark for me, but I’m loving it!

DEB: What are you working on right now?
BETH: I’m finishing up a draft of a manuscript tentatively titled The Lucky Dog Matchmaking Service, about a woman who has a gift for finding people’s soulmates—their canine soulmates, that is. The research for this book has been a blast; I’ve gone to dog shows and chatted with lots of behaviorists, trainers, and rescue groups.

DEB: Tell us one thing that people may not know about you?
BETH: I’d love to spend a year living in Alaska. (It’s possible I watched too many episodes of “Northern Exposure” in high school.)

GIVEAWAY DETAILS:

The publisher is sponsoring a giveaway for two copies of The Bake-Off. There are a few simple rules:

~ You must be a Google Friend Connect follower to participate.
~ US Addresses only (Publisher Request)
~ The deadline to enter this giveaway is Midnight EST May 17th.

1. Please leave a comment on THIS post in appreciation to the author.
2. Please fill out the FORM.

Review: The Bake-Off

The Bake-Off by Beth Kendrick

Publication Date: May 2011
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Pages: Paperback, 336pp
ISBN-13: 9780451233103
ISBN: 0451233107

(Received for review from Berkley NAL)
Purchase: Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, IndieBound

Beth Kendrick on the WEB: website, facebook, twitter

Excerpt from The Bake-Off

Synopsis (Book Blurb):

Suburban soccer mom Amy has always wanted to stand out from the crowd. Former child prodigy Linnie just wants to fit in. The two sisters have been estranged for years, but thanks to a series of personal crises and their wily grandmother, they've teamed up to enter a national bake-off in hopes of winning some serious cash. Armed with the top secret recipe for Grammy's apple pie, they should be unstoppable. Sure, neither of them has ever baked anything more complicated than brownie mix, but it's just pie - how hard could it be?

When the competition heats up, what began as a straightforward pact for victory deteriorates into a sugarcoated free-for-all. Amy and Linnie struggle to rebuild their relationship as family secrets, old betrayals, and new romance arise. Given the right recipe and an unexpected blend of bitter and sweet, even the oddest pairings can produce something delicious.

Thoughts:

Beth Kendrick's latest offering for readers is a tale of two sisters. The Bake-Off, takes sibling rivalry to a whole new level. Readers will be enthralled by Kendrick's storytelling ability and her knack for delivering interesting and believable characters. Sister's, Amy and Linnie's experiences in the kitchen and in life will have readers laughing and crying before they turn the last page. With romance, betrayal, old family secrets and some help from Grammy, this book is a hit!

Soccer mom, Amy finds herself wondering if their is more to life than her hum-drum suburban experience, while her sister, Linnie, once a child prodigy is now a high-stakes dealer in a Las Vegas casino. After a huge falling-out over ten years ago the sisters have hardly spoken until a series of events brings them back together again. When Linnie's apartment is broken into and their grandmother's priceless brooch stolen, Linnie tries to win it back in the poker-game of her life. When she fails, Grammy suggests a new idea. Use the family recipe for Apple pie and enter a national dessert competition for a huge cash prize, one catch, she has to enter with Amy as her partner. When the sisters get back together it isn't long before the sparks start to fly. Who knew that the baking world was so cutthroat?

Beth Kendrick's new book, The Bake-Off, releasing today from Berkley NAL, certainly has what it takes to make a great read. From the unique cover design to the overall premise, Kendrick writes with originality and humor that women can appreciate. I will be the first to tell you that women's contemporary fiction isn't something that has come easy for me. I come from a background of reading historical romance and fantasy and the genre has really had to grow on me. But, there have been some authors that have really garnered my interest and given me a new experience with this type of writing and Kendrick is one of them.

Kendrick has a knack for creating characters that women can relate to and want to read about. In The Bake-Off, sisters Amy and Linnie cannot be more different. Amy wants a life that is exciting and full of surprises, while Linnie would rather be in the background, but their everyday lives are the opposite. Amy is a suburban soccer mom, and Linnie is a dealer in a Las Vegas casino. The reader will appreciate the fact that sisters wish for something different in their lives.

Amy is a very congenial character, she seems easy to get along with and just sort of goes with the flow, but underneath she longs for something more. Linnie has had too much of the spotlight because of her high IQ. It's something that has always driven her to extremes. Going against her abilities she is squandering her potential by being a dealer instead of something prestigious like a scientist or a doctor. The differences between the two sisters has always caused problems between them. It's not so much a issue of jealousy, but of sibling rivalry. Kendrick does an excellent job of giving the reader an inside look into this interesting family dynamic. She has crafted a novel that will speak to women who have sisters and those who wish they did. Having a sister of my own, that I tend to argue with a lot, I appreciated the way she dealt with the subject and showed the comical side as well as the bitter side of sibling rivalry.

One of the more fun parts of the book dealt with the competition itself. I really enjoyed how Kendrick gave the reader a behind the scenes look at what goes on behind the closed doors of the kitchen as these kinds of competitions ramp up. With so many people becoming interested in cooking these days, with the advent of The FoodNetwork and celebrity chefs like Wolfgang Puck and Curtis Stone, I thought the premise of the story was refreshing and very current. I really enjoyed all to the crazy antics the sister became involved in throughout the competition.

I loved the way Kendrick was able to show how two sisters with very little cooking experience could end up in a competition where they were not only able to make the perfect pie crust, but also resolve issues they had, had with each other since childhood. This book is a great mix of family drama and adventures in the kitchen, with a sprinkling of romance and a pinch of sibling rivalry thrown in. I recommend this one to anyone who is looking for great women's fiction or books that show off the relationships between family members. The Bake-Off is perfect for a rainy weekend or a day at the beach. It's fast paced and full of fun. I loved it and I think you will too!

The Bake-Off is available NOW from your favorite bookseller.

Check back a little later today for my Interview and Giveaway with Beth Kendrick for your chance to win a copy of this wonderful book!

I'm giving this one 5 out of 5 apples from my book bag!




Beth Kendrick is still mastering the Zen art of making piecrust, but she can whip up a decadent chocolate-cranberry cheesecake, and her chocolate-chip cookies have been described as "utopian." Her previous novels include Second Time Around, The Pre-nup, and Newlyweds. She lives in Arizona with her family and a pair of unruly rescue dogs.