And the Winner is...

Congratulations to Diana, the lucky winner of an Ember e-book.  Jenn has emailed you with details about how to collect your prize.

As always, Girls Just Reading Blogspot uses Random.org to select our winners.

Giveaway: Ember

Omnific Publishing has generously offered an e-book copy of Ember by Carol Oates (my review) for us to give away!

All you have to do to enter is fill out the form below by midnight EST on October 5th.  This giveaway is open internationally.

As always, Girls Just Reading Blogspot uses Random.org to select our winners.  Good luck!

Jenn's Review: Ember

Summary:  When Candra Ember wakes up in hospital after a dangerous encounter with a red-haired woman, she is shocked to discover that seeing a winged boy wasn’t her imagination. Candra is exposed to a world of rivalry and sacrifice she never knew existed, and the aftermath of a war to save humanity thousands of years ago. Soon she finds herself relentlessly stalked by Sebastian, a beautiful and arrogant Watcher Angel and romantically pursued by his darkly seductive rival, Draven. Ultimately, dubious about her own goodness, Candra’s very existence compromises a tentative peace in the city of Acheron. ~Omnific Publishing

Review: I loved Carol Oates' last novel Shades of Atlantis (my review), so I was thrilled to find out she was publishing a new book. I immediately assumed it was the promised sequel for Shades of Atlantis, and was surprised to find out that this is not. That made me no less excited; I purchased Ember on publishing day.  If you've visited our blog before you know I don't judge a book by it's cover, but that doesn't mean I won't comment on one when I think it's fabulous.  Not only do I love the cover, but I love the concept behind it, which Carol Oates explains here at A Tale of Many Reviews.

I had a hard time getting into this one because the reader is kept in the dark, along with Candra, about what's going on until several chapters in... and even then it's a little confusing. Perhaps if I knew more about Angels in general I wouldn't have been so lost, but I honestly didn't grasp the gravity of the plot.  This is the one thing I criticised with in Shades of Atlantis, and I find myself about to say the same thing once again, but I wish she'd taken more time to explore the back story.  It's not that I felt like I'd been dropped into the middle of something, just that I felt ignorant about the plot exposition.  Luckily, Candra seems to grasp the situation quickly -now all she has to do is figure out which side is telling the truth and what sacrifices she's willing to make.

Ms. Oates is masterful at writing relationships and it was the relationships in this story that kept me going.  The character's were intriguing and, though their plight is nothing new, Ms. Oates kept things exciting.  Unlike some brooding heroes, who shall remain nameless, Sebastian definitely has cause to brood.  And as a heroine, Candra is neither whiny nor petulant.  The best part was, that right up until the end, the reader really wasn't sure which characters were protagonists and which were antagonists, aside from Candra.  In all honesty, I'm still not sure that I know.

There is some resolution to the plot, but once again, lots of room left for a sequel.  Aside from a few glaring typos in the book, this was a fun read.  Although I'm not sure I would have been as accepting of the plot ambiguities had this been any other writer, it kept me interested enough to want to read the next book in the series.  Carol Oates is definitely an author to read ...but I'd start with Shades of Atlantis.

Final Take:  3.5/5

Giveaway: Shades of Atlantis

Earlier I posted my review of Shades of Atlantis by Carol Oates, now here's your chance to win it!

This is a blog-hop contest so in order win, you need to leave a comment on EACH blog stop on the Shades of Atlantis Blog Tour (links below) AND fill out the the final form on A Tale of Many Reviews' blog on April 19.

There will be FOUR winners:

TWO winners will each win the prize package shown above (Signed copy of Shades of Atlantis, a lined Shades of Atlantis spiral notebook, bookmark, keyring, Shades of Atlantis 2011 calendar, and Shades of Atlantis mug).

TWO winners will each receive an ebook copy of Shades of Atlantis 

All giveaways are open Internationally.

Participants do not need to be followers of blogs.

Blog Tour Stops:  

April 1: Mundi Moms

April 2: Once Upon A Twilight

April 3: Good Choice Reading

April 4: Frenzy of Noise

April 5: Girls Just Reading

April 6: Books,Movies, Reviews. Oh my

April 7: CSI:  Librarian

April 8: YA Bound

April 9: YA Booklover Blog

April 10: The Reading Fever

April 11: Home Between Pages

April 12: Books and Shtuff

April 13: Bookworm Lisa

April 14: Moonlight Book Reviews

April 15: One Book Shy of a Full Shelf 

April 16: Diva's Bookcase

April 17: Ticket To Anywhere

April 18: The Crazy Bookworm

April 19: A Trail of Books Left Behind  AND  A Tale of Many Reviews

Winners will be picked via Random.org and their comment posts verified by Julie at A Tale of Many Reviews.

Good Luck!

Jenn's Review: Shades of Atlantis

Summary:  Since the death of their parents, Triona Pryor and her brother, Ben, have lived with their aunt and uncle in Camden, Maine. Now in her senior year of high school, Triona loves her family and friends, but she has always felt that she didn’t quite fit in…in Camden, or anywhere else.

Enter Caleb Wallace, the devilishly handsome man who has recently moved to Triona’s small town. While their attraction to each other is instantaneous, it also proves to be dangerous…and deadly.

When tragedy strikes, Triona flees to London for solace and to start her life anew. It’s there she discovers from an unlikely source that her family has been keeping secrets from her – secrets about not only her birthright, but her ultimate destiny as well. Armed with this knowledge, Triona finds herself thrown into a whole new world and into a battle to save the lives of everyone she loves.

Review:  Shades of Atlantis has shades of brilliance.  Carol Oates has created a compelling magical world which I entered too briefly and left too soon.  It left me lost in contemplation.

The story is entrancing and although it has several parallels to a recently popular series, it's differences more than make up for it. I love the romance between Triona & Caleb, though several times I wanted to shake her for being so blind.  I especially love the way she has Amanda describe destiny to Triona -very Sliding Doors.  Her characters are complex and rich and I feel like there is so much more to discover about them that the surface has barely been scratched.

Actually, that is my overall sense of the book. My biggest complaint is that I thirsted for more. There is a pretty significant natural break in the story and I would have happily seen this broken into two novels, just to have things fleshed out further -not that the story felt rushed or incomplete, just that when Oates does take the time to go into details, they are so magnificent!  Had she done that throughout the story there would have been more than enough material for two books...

There is one slight inconsistency in the story that nags at me a little. It wasn't anything important, but as it came at the pinnacle of the climax, it made it highly memorable. Then when it resurfaces later and the pretext is different, it jarred me a little.

All in all, I truly enjoyed this story. I can't wait to read more from Carol Oates in the future.

Final Take:  4.0/5


Thanks to Omnific Publishing, Carol Oates, & Julie at A Tale of Many Reviews for bringing Girls Just Reading this blog tour & giveaway.

About the Author:

Carol Oates has never been one to remain still for long. After her parents' mad dash to the hospital through the empty city streets of Dublin, Ireland, Carol made her debut into the world in the early hours of Christmas morning. Since then her pace has not slowed down in the least.


Carol was introduced to the world of supernatural books when, as a child, her family moved to a coastal suburb on the northern border of Dublin known as Clontarf, famous as the birthplace of Bram Stoker, the prolific author responsible for breathing life into the legendary story Dracula. This stirred in Carol an early passion for reading about all things supernatural. Combine that passion with a deep interest in the history and folklore of Ireland, as well as an active and vivid imagination, and Carol Oates the author was born. Carol's love of writing about anything not entirely "human" emerged, and the premise for her debut novel, Shades of Atlantis, was born.


Carol still lives in Dublin, but spends a great deal of time traveling though the counties of Ireland and Northern Ireland with her partner and son. When not travelling through the countryside, Carol spends her days at the office and her evenings immersed in the world of Legends and Mythical Creatures.


Author Website: http://caroloates.com/
Author on Twitter: @CarolOates

Where you can buy the book: