DRINK DEEP Blog Tour: Interview with Chloe Neill

Chloe has taken the time to visit the blog and answer some questions on the Chicagoland Vampire series and her upcoming release, DRINK DEEP. (For the full blog host list on the DRINK DEEP TOUR, click the tour button on your right.)

Everyone please join me in welcoming Chloe to the blog today!

1) What was your biggest challenge with writing Drink Deep?

Mostly just finding the time to get it done. We were on a really tight schedule in publishing two Chicagoland Vampires
and one Dark Elite book in a single year, and I still have a full time job. There were a lot of late nights!

2) Do you have a favourite Chicagoland Vampire character? If so, who?

Merit is my favorite, mostly because I relate to her the best. We have the same sense of humor, so I get her--and I
think she gets me--pretty well.

 3) Your fans were given a HUGE shocker in Hard Bitten, without revealing any spoilers, what can Chicagoland Vampire fans expect from Drink Deep?

I think they'll find a great mystery and they'll see Merit learning to cope with the new circumstances in which she--and
the rest of Cadogan House vampires--find themselves. As for anything else, no spoilers from me! ;)

4) We know that Merit is a Cubs fan, do you have a team you're rooting for in the world series?

I'm actually not a baseball fan, so I couldn't tell you who's in the World Series right now! :)

5) I understand you have 7 Chicagoland Vampire books under contract, do you think you'd ever write a spin-off series?

I would love to, but my work and publishing schedule don't allow it right now. I think it would be great fun, though.

6) If you did write a spin-off, which character would you choose to narrate the story?

Probably Luc and Lindsey or a new couple introduced in DRINK DEEP that I think have a very interesting back story.

7) If Chicagoland Vampires ever hit the big/silver screen, who would you cast to play your characters?

I have a lot of folks in mind, although authors have no input on those kinds of decisions. They are made solely by the
movie/TV producers. But you can see who I think looks like the characters on my web site
(http://www.chloeneill.com/?page_id=771).

Thank you so much for your time Chloe and congrats on the upcoming Drink Deep release! :)

Thanks for having me!

Make sure you grab your copy of DRINK DEEP on November 1st

Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads: 

Clouds are brewing over Cadogan House, and recently turned vampire Merit can't tell if this is the darkness before the dawn or the calm before the storm. With the city itself in turmoil over paranormals and the state threatening to pass a paranormal registration act, times haven't been this precarious for vampires since they came out of the closet. If only they could lay low for a bit, and let the mortals calm down.

That's when the waters of Lake Michigan suddenly turn pitch black-and things really start getting ugly.

Chicago's mayor insists it's nothing to worry about, but Merit knows only the darkest magic could have woven a spell powerful enough to change the very fabric of nature. She'll have to turn to friends old and new to find out who's behind this, and stop them before it's too late for vampires and humans alike.

In My Mailbox #8

Sorry for the upside-down picture :)

It was quite the haul this week...

From the left on:

The Society of S by Susan Hubbard

Willow by Julia Hoban

You Against Me by Jenny Downham (2 copies Thanks Random House!)

Tiger's Voyage by Colleen Houck (So flippin excited for this!)

Cold Kiss by Amy Garvey

A Beautiful Dark by Jocelyn Davies

Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel (So excited LOVE the cover!)

Love Struck by the lovely Chantel Simmons

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater (Signed and with a personal letter, from the author, included- Thanks Scholastic!)

Wolfsbane by Andrea Cremer

Awake at Dawn by C.C. Hunter

That's all for me this week what did you guys get in your mailbox this week?

Happy Reading!!!

Review: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

After Mara Dyer’s best friend dies, she begins to go through episodes of posttraumatic stress disorder. She cannot remember the accident, or was it an accident? Mara only knows that of the four people who went that night to the abandoned asylum, she was the only survivor. Mara gets a new start in Florida, where she meets sexy Noah, who is known for being a player. Mara tries to ignore Noah at first but easily becomes entwined in his charms. Hallucinations and nightmares are a regular part of her life that she tries to keep hidden, especially from Noah. After an incident with her younger brother, Mara finds out that Noah has powerful secrets of his own.

My Thoughts:

WOW, this is an amazing read! The plot had me guessing to the very end, the mix of romance and suspense will leave you thirsty for more...

Mara is a strong heroine and narrator, however, she's going through a very trying time as she tries to piece together the events that lead to her friends deaths. Her reality and illusions/visions blend so well together that I found myself feeling just as vulnerable as Mara. If only I had my own Noah to keep me on track...

Noah *sigh* I'm in love with this man. This is one of those cases where you definitely should be judging a  the book by its cover. The way that man wraps his arms around her *swoon* and he has amazingly sexy forearms :) There are a few Noah scenes in this book that I have, and will continue, to read over and over and over. He doesn't take any crap from anyone, and refuses to open up to anyone, until he meets Mara.

Please do yourself a favour and read this book. It's freakin amazing! I can't wait for book #2, I'm getting excited just thinking about it :)

Happy Reading!!!

Waiting on Wednesday

I loved Clarity and am DYING for PERCEPTION!

Release Date: March 1st/12.

Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads:
When you can see things others can't, what do you do when someone's watching you? 

Everybody knows about Clarity "Clare" Fern. She's the psychic girl in school, the one who can place her hands on something and see hidden visions from the past. 

Only Clare would rather not be a celebrity. She prefers hanging back, observing. Her gift is not a game to her. 

But then someone starts playing with her head . . . and heart. Messages and gifts from a secret admirer crop up everywhere Clare turns. Could they be from Gabriel, the gorgeous boy who gets Clare's pulse racing? Or from Justin, Clare's hopeful ex-boyfriend who'd do anything to win her back? 

One thing is certain. Clare needs to solve this mystery, and soon. Because the messages are becoming sinister, and a girl in town has suddenly disappeared.


Happy Reading!!!

In My Mailbox #7

Hello Everyone!

I bought

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson
Thank You Notes by Jimmy Fallon and Writers of Late Night


I borrowed

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

For Review

I received ANOTHER Cinder ARC (My other ARC is currently up for grabs- see Current Giveaways page)

That's it for me this week, what did you guys get in your mailbox?

Happy Reading!!!

Liar's Moon ARC Winner

Sorry for the late post, but I just got home :). So without further adieu, the winner of the Liar's Moon ARC is:

Lieder Madchen!!!

Congrats Lieder, I will be sending you an email, and thank you to everyone else who entered. If you didn't win this giveaway don't worry, I'm hosting another ARC contest (see current giveaways page).

Happy Reading!!!

Review: Possess by Gretchen McNeil

Possess by Gretchen McNeil

Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads:
Fifteen-year-old Bridget Liu just wants to be left alone: by her mom, by the cute son of a local police sergeant, and by the eerie voices she can suddenly and inexplicably hear. Unfortunately for Bridget, it turns out the voices are demons – and Bridget has the rare ability to banish them back to whatever hell they came from. 

Terrified to tell people about her new power, Bridget confides in a local priest who enlists her help in increasingly dangerous cases of demonic possession. But just as she is starting to come to terms with her new power, Bridget receives a startling message from one of the demons. Now Bridget must unlock the secret to the demons' plan before someone close to her winds up dead – or worse, the human vessel of a demon king.


My thoughts:
I really enjoyed Possess, it was the perfect October read, although I wish I had waited to read it closer to Halloween. The plot has a great mystery to it- left me guessing til the end and there were a few scenes in this book that gave me the heebie jeebies! This book definitely reminded me of the exorcist.


Bridget is very mature for a fifteen-year-old, in fact, I was really surprised to find out she was so young. She definitely has sass. I actually thought she was on the borderline of mean, but I think it's just a defence mechanism, to keep her from getting close to anyone. Her sarcasm was refreshing and realistic amongst most teenagers.


I loved Matt! Literally could not get enough Matt time in Possess. He's the popular jock that everyone loves and the son of the local Sheriff, so many cliches in this one character, but I LOVED every single one of them. Matt is relentless, supportive, caring, charming and sexy. Basically the perfect guy :). 


I can't wait to read Gretchen's next book and see where she takes Bridget and Matt.


Happy Reading!!!

Waiting on Wednesday

I've been hearing nothing but good things about this title- So excited!

Release Date: January 3rd/12.

Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath, where immortals Feed on the emotions of despairing humans. Now she's returned- to her old life, her family, her friends- before being banished back to the underworld... this time forever.

She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can't find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists.

Nikki longs to spend these months reconnecting with her boyfriend, Jack, the one person she loves more than anything. But there's a problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who first enticed her to the Everneath, has followed Nikki to the mortal world. And he'll do whatever it takes to bring her back- this time as his queen.

As Nikki's time grows short and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she's forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole's...

In My Mailbox #6

This was a big week, I got so many exciting books!

ARCs I received from publishers:

Fever by Lauren DeStefano - Holy Crap so exciting!
Release Date: February 21/12.
Simon and Schuster Canada

Saving June by Hannah Harrington - Very Excited!
December 2011
Harlequin TEEN

Books I bought

Possess by Gretchen McNeil
Balzer and Bray

Daimon (novella) by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Spencer Hill Press
I actually already read the e-version of this, but I had to get the print version to go with Half-Blood on my shelf :)

The Faerie Ring by Kiki Hamilton
Tor Teen

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
MTV Books (Simon and Schuster)
This is my book clubs October pick!

Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick
Simon and Schuster
Seriously though, who didn't have this as part of their In My Mailbox this week, right? :)

Here are the egalleys I received from Simon and Schuster this week!

Release Date: November 15th/11.     Release Date: December 2011

This was a great week for books, I don't know which one to start first, what do you guys think? What did you get in your mailbox this week?

Happy Reading Everyone!

Waiting on Wednesday

Hosted by Breakingthespine.blogspot.com

If you're as big a fan of the Tiger's Curse Series as me, than you know this has been a LONG awaited release. I actually want to jump up and down- it comes out next month!


Tiger's Voyage by Colleen Houck
Release Date: Nov 1st/11.
Sterling Publishing
Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads:

In the third installment of the Tiger series, Kelsey Hayes pushes through the pain of lost love and strengthens her friendship with Kishan. Despite his strong feelings for her, Kishan has agreed to be her ally in helping her reunite with the man she still loves. Together, they seek to help Ren regain his memory and begin the search for the third magical gift—an object of power that will help break the curse that causes them to live part of their lives as tigers. 

They board a luxury yacht and seek Durga's aid once again, who supplies them with her golden weapons. With Nilima, Mr. Kadam, Ren, and Kishan at her side, she soon learns that the task ahead will be even more difficult than the others. Confronting a dark magician, multiple dragons, and terrifying denizens of the deep seems easy when compared to facing the daunting task of stitching up her heart. Just when she thinks she's ready to set her feet on a new path, she is yanked back with a jolt to the one she's determined to leave behind. 

The jarring tug-of-war that ensues for Kelsey's heart leaves her anxious and confused. Combined with the stress of almost being killed every other day, it would appear that saving the tigers is almost more than she can handle. Still, she presses on, knowing that a choice is looming on the horizon. One she cannot put off making for long. 

Review Half-Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Half-Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Release Date: Sept 19th/11
Spencer Hill Press

Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads:

The Hematoi descend from the unions of gods and mortals, and the children of two Hematoi-pure-bloods-have godlike powers. Children of Hematoi and mortals-well, not so much. Half-bloods only have two options: become trained Sentinels who hunt and kill daimons or become servants in the homes of the pures.Seventeen-year-old Alexandria would rather risk her life fighting than waste it scrubbing toilets, but she may end up slumming it anyway. There are several rules that students at the Covenant must follow. Alex has problems with them all, but especially rule #1:Relationships between pures and halfs are forbidden.Unfortunately, she's crushing hard on the totally hot pure-blood Aiden. But falling for Aiden isn't her biggest problem--staying alive long enough to graduate the Covenant and become a Sentinel is. If she fails in her duty, she faces a future worse than death or slavery: being turned into a daimon, and being hunted by Aiden. And that would kind of suck.


My Thoughts:


I loved this book! Well worth the wait. 


I enjoyed the witty sarcasm of Armentrout's heroine, Alex. She's a strong, brave character that many readers will be able to relate to.


Aiden is the perfect counter-part to Alex's rebellious nature. He's calm, experienced, kick-ass, o yeah, and sexy as all hell! :) I'm Team Aiden all the way!


The tragic Romeo/Juliet romance these two share gave me butterflies repeatedly throughout this book, and there is a steamy scene towards the end of the novel that had me blushing in the best possible way! :) - Loved it!


The action in this book was a bit muted, with that said, I never felt bored while reading this novel the opposite in fact. Armentrout has a talent for writing witty dialogue between her characters that will keep her readers thoroughly entertained.


I'm still a little conflicted with Seth though- I didn't really care one way or the other for this character, but I have a feeling I'm going to like him in the second Covenant novel, Pure.


This book works like a love letter to all Vampire Academy fans- order this book! Read this book! You will not be disappointed.


Dear God, how am I going to be able to wait until 2012 for the release of Pure?


Happy Reading!!!

In My Mailbox #5

I bought

Half-blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout (I've been dying to read this!)

ARCs received for review from publisher

The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa
HarlequinTEEN
October 25th/11.

Unleashed by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie (Yay for Werewolves!!!)
Delcorte Press
November 22nd/11.

What did you get in your mailbox?

Happy Reading!!!

ARC Giveaway!!! Cinder or Dark Inside

Release Date: January 3rd/12.
Feiwel and Friends
Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads:

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . . 

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

OR

Release Date: Nov 1st/11.

Simon Pulse

Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads:

Since mankind began, civilizations have always fallen: the Romans, the Greeks, the Aztecs…Now it’s our turn. Huge earthquakes rock the world. Cities are destroyed. But something even more awful is happening. An ancient evil has been unleashed, turning everday people into hunters, killers, crazies.

Mason's mother is dying after a terrible car accident. As he endures a last vigil at her hospital bed, his school is bombed and razed to the ground, and everyone he knows is killed. Aries survives an earthquake aftershock on a bus, and thinks the worst is over when a mysterious stranger pulls her out of the wreckage, but she’s about to discover a world changed forever. Clementine, the only survivor of an emergency town hall meeting that descends into murderous chaos, is on the run from savage strangers who used to be her friends and neighbors. And Michael witnesses a brutal road rage incident that is made much worse by the arrival of the police--who gun down the guilty party and then turn on the bystanding crowd.

Where do you go for justice when even the lawmakers have turned bad? These four teens are on the same road in a world gone mad. Struggling to survive, clinging on to love and meaning wherever it can be found, this is a journey into the heart of darkness – but also a journey to find each other and a place of safety.

Contest details:

That's right guys- I'm holding another ARC Giveaway!!!!!

There will be one winner, and that winner will get to pick ONE ARC they would like sent to them (see above two options)

This contest opens today (Oct 1st) and ends Halloween (Oct 31st) midnight, the winner will be announced on my blog November 1st after 12pm.


Edit to add: It has come to my attention that some people are having trouble entering this contest. I apologize for any difficulty you guys may be having, if you do have any questions or concerns please email me at hgillis15(AT)gmail(DOT)com. As an apology for the inconvenience, and because I received some GREAT news today, I have decided to open this contest up to international entries! Good luck to all!!!

To enter, you need to be a follower of this blog and leave a comment on this post, and do ONE of the following three options.

To earn extra points you can do the following

1) Tweet this contest -  Be sure to tweet @HayleyAG otherwise it won't count.

2) Facebook this contest -  please leave a link in the comments below

3) Blog this contest - please leave a link in the comments below

This contest is  INTERNATIONAL!!!  open to Canada/U.S. residents (International if you're willing to cover the costs of shipping- please feel free to enter.)

Good luck to all and Happy Reading!!!