Blog Tour & Giveaway – The Offering by Kimberly Derting

The Offering by Kimberly Derting

True love—and world war—is at stake in the conclusion to The Pledge trilogy, a dark and romantic blend of dystopia and fantasy.

Charlie, otherwise known as Queen Charlaina of Ludania, has become comfortable as a leader and a ruler. She’s done admirable work to restore Ludania’s broken communications systems with other Queendoms, and she’s mastered the art of ignoring Sabara, the evil former queen whose Essence is alive within Charlie. Or so she thinks.

When the negotiation of a peace agreement with the Queendom of Astonia goes awry, Charlie receives a brutal message that threatens Ludania, and it seems her only option is to sacrifice herself in exchange for Ludanian freedom.

But things aren’t always as they seem. Charlie is walking into a trap—one set by Sabara, who is determined to reclaim the Queendoms at any cost.

Kimberly Derting is the author of the BODY FINDER series, THE PLEDGE trilogy, and THE TAKING (coming April 2014 from HarperTeen). She lives in the Seattle area, with her husband and three children, who often find the outrageous things they say either in the pages of her books or posted on Twitter or Facebook for the entire world to see.  
Tour Giveaway 

$25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash 

Ends 1/21/14

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Desires of the Dead by Kimberly Derting [Review]

3 out of 5 Robots!

  

Desires of the Dead by Kimberly Derting

Series: Body Finder #2
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal

Release: February 15, 2011

Hardcover: 355 Pages

Publisher: HarperCollins

My Copy: Purchased

Reviewer: Shannon

Buy the Book: Amazon

Book Summary:
Violet can sense the echoes of those who've been murdered—and the matching imprint that clings to their killers. Only those closest to her know what she is capable of, but when she discovers the body of a young boy she also draws the attention of the FBI, threatening her entire way of life.

As Violet works to keep her morbid ability a secret, she unwittingly becomes the object of a dangerous obsession. Normally she'd turn to her best friend, Jay, except now that they are officially a couple, the rules of their relationship seem to have changed. And with Jay spending more and more time with his new friend Mike, Violet is left with too much time on her hands as she wonders where things went wrong. But when she fills the void by digging into Mike's tragic family history, she stumbles upon a dark truth that could put everyone in danger. (Courtesy of the Publisher)

 
Shannon's Thoughts:

Desires of the Dead takes place shortly after The Body Finder.  Violet is trying to live a normal life with Jay now that they are officially a couple.  She is trying to put the events from the previous book behind her.  But, of course, things get tricky.  Violet starts to hear echoes again and gets herself a stalker.   We get to meet some new characters and that was kind of fun.

I had hoped that some of the kinks of the first novel would be worked out in the second novel.  But, unfortunately, that didn't happen.  I still think the concept is interesting and somewhat unique.  But the writing lacked finesse and nuance.  At times it was just a little too over the top.  I also thought that while the concept was strong, the delivery wasn't.  Some of the plot was just so obvious.  I saw the plot twists way before they happened and so the Big Reveal didn't have much impact.  I really couldn't connect to the characters.  I couldn't get a good feel on their personalities. I had a hard time being invested in their storylines.  I know a lot of people really like this series, so if it sounds interesting I suggest giving it a go.  You may end up loving it!
 
Books in the series in the order they should be read:
1. The Body Finder
2. Desires of the Dead
3. The Last Echo
4. Dead Silence (expected publication April 2013)

The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting [Review]

3.5 out of 5 Robots!

 

The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting

Series: The Body Finder #1
Genre: Paranormal Young Adult

Release: March 16, 2010

Hardcover: 327 Pages

Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books

My Copy: Purchased

Reviewer: Shannon

Buy the Book: Amazon

Book Summary:
Violet Ambrose is grappling with two major issues: Jay Heaton and her morbid secret ability. While the sixteen-year-old is confused by her new feelings for her best friend since childhood, she is more disturbed by her "power" to sense dead bodies—or at least those that have been murdered. Since she was a little girl, she has felt the echoes that the dead leave behind in the world... and the imprints that attach to their killers.

Violet has never considered her strange talent to be a gift; it mostly just led her to find the dead birds her cat had tired of playing with. But now that a serial killer has begun terrorizing her small town, and the echoes of the local girls he's claimed haunt her daily, she realizes she might be the only person who can stop him.

Despite his fierce protectiveness over her, Jay reluctantly agrees to help Violet on her quest to find the murderer—and Violet is unnerved to find herself hoping that Jay's intentions are much more than friendly. But even as she's falling intensely in love, Violet is getting closer and closer to discovering a killer... and becoming his prey herself. (Courtesy of the Publisher)

 
Shannon's Thoughts:

I have been hearing such good things about this series and with the final book coming out this year, I wanted to give it a go.  All in all, it wasn't bad.  But I wasn't in love with with it either.  On the plus side,  I thought the premise was really cool.  I liked the idea of Violet's ability to see/hear death echoes and the imprints left on murderers.  It was a different take on psychic abilities. I also really liked Violet's crush on her best friend, Jay.  I thought Derting did a good job of writing about Violet's budding feelings for her long time friend and how it effects their relationship.  It was believable and I really felt for Violet as she struggled with her feelings.  In fact, the first half of the book was really good.  It was intense, both with the killer and with Jay. 

But at some point it started to go downhill a bit.  I felt like Derting wasn't quite sure where to go so she pulled out every cliche and troupe she could think of.  The mystery ended up being really predictable and there were some extremely cliched moments between Jay and Violet (staircase scene, anyone?).  It gave it an aura of "Fan Fiction" and I felt it lacked originality. Which was too bad because I think the concept was original and the story had strong start.  I would love to see where Derting takes her series and if some of the kinks get worked out. 

Books in the series in the order they should be read:
1. The Body Finder
2. Desires of the Dead
3. The Last Echo
4. Dead Silence (publication expected in April)

The Pledge by Kimberly Derting [Review]

2.5 out of 5 Robots!

  

The Pledge by Kimberly Derting
Series: Pledge, #1
Genre: YA Dystopian
Release: November 15, 2011
Hardcover: 336
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
My Copy: Publisher (Galley Grab)
Reviewer: Rex
Buy the Book: Amazon

Book Summary:

In the violent country of Ludania, the classes are strictly divided by the language they speak. The smallest transgression, like looking a member of a higher class in the eye while they are speaking their native tongue, results in immediate execution. Seventeen-year-old Charlaina has always been able to understand the languages of all classes, and she's spent her life trying to hide her secret. The only place she can really be free is the drug-fueled underground clubs where people go to shake off the oppressive rules of the world they live in. It's there that she meets a beautiful and mysterious boy named Max who speaks a language she's never heard before . . . and her secret is almost exposed.

Charlie is intensely attracted to Max, even though she can't be sure where his real loyalties lie. As the emergency drills give way to real crisis and the violence escalates, it becomes clear that Charlie is the key to something much bigger: her country's only chance for freedom from the terrible power of a deadly regime.

 

My Thoughts: 

The Pledge is Kimberly Derting's newest release- a dystopia novel with a splash of fantasy. I love dystopia and I love fantasy, so I'm sad to say that I wasn't enthralled with this novel. The writing is beautiful, and I'm having a hard time pinpointing exactly what I didn't like about it. I haven't read any of Derting's other work, but I think that her fans will love this book. It is definitely worth the read, but it took me a week to read because I just wasn't into it. 

The characters are maybe the reason I am not smitten with The Pledge. I couldn't connect to any of them. I didn't even feel like I knew Charlaina, our main character- I was rooting for her- but honestly I didn't even care who she was falling in love with. I couldn't quite grasp her relationship with Max and had a hard time totally losing myself in the story. Sigh. If only the characters had some explanation for their thoughts/emotions? That may have helped me feel more attached to them. 

 

There was a lot of hype built up around this book, maybe that is why I'm so disappointed in it. It is fairly predictable, a straight arrow- the author didn't seem to take any risks. I will say though that I loved that the class system is split up by different languages and that Charlaina's secret is that she can understand them all. That in itself is fascinating. 

 

I honestly just couldn't get into this book, I do recommend it for those that love dystopian and for fans of Kimberly Derting. It could work for you even though it didn't do anything for me. I'd still say give it a try if the premise sounds interesting to you. :)