Heir of Skies by Rachel Higginson

Heir of Skies (Smtarbright, #1) by Rachel Higginson. Self published in 2012. Received for review from the author through Publishing Push. 236 pages. YA, fantasy. 3 out of 5 stars. 

I was contacted by the author, Rachel Higginson, way back in February regarding a review of this particular book. She wrote such an enthusiastic email that I couldn't help but say yes! It's quite a short book with only 236 pages so I flew through it in practically a day - even though it's been sitting on my shelf since early May. 

I'm quite torn to be honest, because while I really enjoyed the book I have a ton of problems with it. I haven't written that much in my review notebook - which I take notes in as I read. I have about half a page and 95% of it are mistakes I noticed throughout the book. That being said, I don't know if I have one of the first paperback editions where the mistakes haven't been corrected yet or it hasn't been properly edited. 

The other notes I've taken are; 

• Tristan Shield, best friend
• Stella, 16, can detect the nature of someone's essence 
• Okay so far, not impressed

And while I flew through it, I didn't enjoy it as much as I'd thought I would. I was packed with fantasy elements, so it wasn't because of the lack of that and I laughed every once in a while so it wasn't exactly boring. 

Stella Day is our main character, she's 16 and she's going to be the Protector of Earth once she turns 25 - if everything goes according to plan, which is obviously doesn't. Stella is also a Star, a female angel, but she've grown up on Earth and never really been to Heaven. 

We also have Seth, Stellas counterpart, her Warrior, male angel, who's going to protect the Earth with her. They are destined to be together, that's how it has always been - it's always a Warrior and a Star. 

Tristan Shield is Stella's best friend. They've grown up together and as you can probably guess, they have undiscovered feelings for each other. Tristan knows that Stella is a Star though and therefore destined to be with another guy, he also knows that she's going to be the Protector of Earth someday. 

There's definitely a love triangle in there, and that is the big problem I have with this book. Sometimes I like love triangles, for the most part I dont, but they can actually be quite interesting and intriguing. Other times I find the main character indecisive about his or her choice. Just pick one instead of going back and forth! And Stella is quite indecisive, even in the end she hasn't made her choice and that bugs me. She's stringing both of them along even though she can't be with Tristan.

We were partners. Counterparts. He was the Warrior, and I was the Protector. I protected Earth, and he protected me. We would spend the rest of our lives together, side by side, our good versus their evil, fighting for the lives of the entire human race. And yet we weren't supposed to meet this young.  

Heir of Skies (Starbright, #1) by Rachel Higginson, p. 21

Heir of Skies is the first book in the Starbright series and I'm surprised at how action-packed it is! I didn't really know what to expect of this book, but in that department I was surprised and blown away. However, I won't be continuing the series, that much I know. 

I really don't know what else to say; it's enjoyable but have issues. Like many other books. I understand why so many enjoy her books, but for me it didn't cut it. 

Top 3 most anticipated releases for the second half of 2016

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely ladies at The Broke and the Bookish. Every Tuesday we create a list inspired by a particular topic! This week is about the new releases we're anticipating from June-December. 

Usually I would be at a loss coming up with new releases I'm looking forward to BUT since I started bullet journaling I've been on top of new releases! I'll only share my top 3 today though because the majority of them are already released (since I'm just waiting for the Danish translation). 

First off I want to talk a bit about my relationship with new releases, the 3 I'm looking forward to can be found down below! 
I've never really understood the hype around new releases, I mean, I get that you really want to read the book but I've never picked a book up the minute I got it. Patience is a virtue, right? I actually preordered Carry On by Rainbow Rowell and I haven't read it yet, my most anticipated release OF THE YEAR was A Court of Mist and Fury and I haven't read it yet. I believe in waiting for the right time, so that is what I do. 

The one I'm anticipating the most is probably The Scarlet Hour by Andrea L. Wells which is the sequel to The Violet Hour! It is scheduled to release on October 11th! I can't wait and I'll hopefully receive an ARC beforehand! 

Since I also have a Danish blog I have some where I'm just waiting for the Danish translation! But these two are my most anticipated ones in that category! 

• Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover which releases on the 23rd of September! 
• Illuminae (Illuminae, #1) by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman which releases on the 27th of October

Which new releases are you looking forward to the most? 

Release day blitz, Remi's Choice

    Title: Remi's Choice (The De Luca Boys, #1)

Author: Amanda Wylde #MysteryAuthor

Genre: NA | Contemporary Erotic Romance

Release Date:  June 10, 2016

Goodreads | Amazon US | Amazon UK

Author's note to the reader: Imagine two heroes with your all time favorite qualities. Hot, bad boy, tattoos, dirty mouths, hot head alpha to a fault and possessive as ALL hell. Both going for the same girl!    

I know all about the crowd he hangs out with. All of them are older. Most of them are drop-outs, and some even run with a local biker club. I feel for his mother. She has her hands full. I'm only surprised, even at his young age, that he hasn't already moved out or been thrown in jail.

He is everything I hate in guys: a disrespectful jackass, too damn full of himself. And that name he dubbed me with . . . I thought it was kind of sweet at first because for once he seemed genuinely nice about something, saying he loved the color of my hair. Then later he explained the real reason. Now every time I hear him say it and see the gleam in his eyes because I know what he's thinking, I blush clear up from the bottom of my spine to the top of my head.

Psst... Giveaway down below!

Guest post, when the characters take over

Today Mannah Pierce, the author of Cast Adrift and Foothold, is here to talk about when the characters take over. You can read my review of Cast Adrift here. Enjoy. 

For forty years I wrote only for myself. My characters were free to do what they wished. They lived. They grew. A few of them had the luxury of appearing in different tales with conflicting storylines.

When I was writing about them the stories wrote themselves.

Then I hit fifty and made a resolution. No more writing without readers. I was going to use the internet to seek some out. The issue was, would they find my characters, some of whom had lived in my mind for decades, interesting?

I decided not to risk it. I had been watching the anime Naruto. One of the characters had caught my attention. I found a fanfiction site and set off; Masashi Kishimoto’s characters in my interstellar world.

It worked. I had readers. They liked the stories.

Three years later I decided it was time to stop writing fanfiction and go back to the real thing; my characters in my interstellar world.

I started afresh. These would be proper books. They would have beginnings, middles and ends. As well as the inter-character relationships, which come naturally to me, there would be conflict and action.

There would not be angst. I have my limits.

Each book would have 27 chapters each of which would be 3,000 words long, producing a book of 81,000 words, which was considered an acceptable length. I even had a plot summary for three successive books.

It started well enough. Then I was introduced to writer’s block. Was it the characters? Did I not care enough about them? Even writing about Masashi Kishimoto’s characters had been easier.

Then I realised it was the first time I had written a story knowing the outcome. My new characters were constrained.  If I let them off the hook to go their own way they would wreak havoc with my plans.

Then it happened. I gave the characters a glimpse of freedom and they were off. The plot went off the rails. New minor characters were popping up like daisies. One of the major characters developed a characteristic that will influence the outcome of the entire series.

I had to wrestle the plot back under control and point it in the desired direction. That took half a book. I had to work with the evolved characters, who now behaved differently.

It was a lot more enjoyable than writer’s block.

So now I oscillate between my natural writing style, where characters do what they please, and the organised, hard-headed approach advocated in all those books that give would-be authors advice. Occasionally, as I travel back and forth between those two extremes, I manage to make progress.

The truth is that I love it when the characters take control. I want them to be wilful. I write my best stories when they grab me by the hand and pull me into an unknown future.

Mannah Pierce

www.mannahpierce.com

Biography
Website ⎜Mail 

Mannah Pierce has been building her imaginary interstellar world of the far future story by story for four decades. At the age of fifty she decided to try sharing it with readers online and then, five years later, spurred by the diagnosis of a life-limiting illness, she wrote and had published Cast Adrift, her first fiction book.

In the everyday world, Mannah Pierce was a scientist and teacher but now works for a charity. She has been married for over thirty years and, predictably, likes cats.

Read more about her journey as an author here.