Showing posts with label Going Down in Flames. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Going Down in Flames. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

{Blog Tour + Review + GIveaway} Bridges Burned (Going Down in Flames #2) by Chris Cannon @ccannonauthor @entangledteen



 Bridges Burned (Going Down in Flames, #2)

Bridges Burned (Going Down in Flames #2)
Release Date: 01/19/15
Entangled Teen

Summary from Goodreads:

Don't just fight the system…burn it.

Since discovering she is a shape-shifting, fire-breathing dragon on her sixteenth birthday (surprise!), Bryn McKenna’s world has been thrown into chaos. Being a “crossbreed”—part Red dragon and part Blue—means Bryn will never fit in. Not with dragon society. Not with the archaic and controlling Directorate. And definitely not when she has striped hair and a not-so-popular affection for rule-breaking…

But sneaking around with her secret boyfriend, Zavien, gets a whole lot harder when he’s betrothed to someone else. Someone who isn't a mixed breed and totally forbidden. And for an added complication, it turns out Bryn’s former archnemesis Jaxon Westgate isn’t quite the evil asshat she thought. Now she’s caught between her desire to fit in and a need to set things on fire. Literally.

Because if Bryn can’t adapt to the status quo…well, then maybe it’s time for her to change it.




{Details} Kindle Edition, 312 pages. Published January 19th 2015 by Entangled Teen. Source: ebook provided in exchange for an honest review.

{Rating} 4/5 - I really liked it!

{Review}
"On the drive back to school, Bryn reflected on how her life had recently gone to hell." (page 1, line 1)
Bridges Burned picks up right after the first book, Going Down in Flames, ended - if you haven't read it go do it now, it's awesome. Bryn is still fabulously sassy, mouthy, independent, with a huge appetite. Bryn really grows up in this book as her life changes again and again and endures heartbreak, betrayal, and threats all around her.

As to the other characters: I wasn't a fan of the turn in the Zavien storyline. Without spoiling things I was confused about what happened, it's like he had a personality transplant between book one and two. I loved Clint and Ivy, the best friends a girl could ask for, and their comments about killing Zavien were laugh out loud. Surprisingly Jaxon is growing on me. He's still snooty and bossy and strikes sparks off of Bryn because in so many ways they're very alike but he's actually a decent guy deep down. And Valmont, Bryn's knight? He didn't really stand out for me in book one but I came to adore him, he's kind and charming and the shoulder Bryn needs to lean on. I'm interested in find out what's going to happen there. Is there more to the dragon/knight connection? Is a romance in their future?

There's quite a bit of action, excitement and mysteries. Bridges Burned focuses less on romance - there's romantic drama for sure - but there is more about the drama of being a dragon, of wrestling with the constrictions of the Directorate, of growing up and all the hurts involved.

The ending came too soon, there was too much still up in the air, but it did leave me eager for the next book in the Going Down in Flames series.


Going Down in Flames

Books One:
Going Down in Flames
Release Date: 06/30/14
Entangled Teen

Summary from Goodreads:
If her love life is going down in flames, she might as well spark a revolution.

Finding out on your sixteenth birthday you’re a shape-shifting dragon is tough to swallow. Being hauled off to an elite boarding school is enough to choke on.

Since Bryn is the only crossbreed at the Institute for Excellence, all eyes are on her, but it’s a particular black dragon, Zavien, who catches her attention.

Zavien is tired of the Council’s rules. Segregated clans, being told who to love, and close-minded leaders make freedom of choice almost impossible. The new girl with the striped hair is a breath of fresh air, and with Bryn’s help, they may be able to change the rules.

At the Institute, old grudges, new crushes, and death threats are all part of a normal day for Bryn. She’ll need to learn to control her dragon powers if she wants to make it through her first year at school. But even focusing on staying alive is difficult when you’re falling for someone you can't have.


Buy Links:

About the Author
I love reading and writing snarky, kick-butt characters who take on the world and win.
My truths: You can never have too many books, shoes, or purses.
Coffee is the Elixir of Life.
There should be a National Nerf Bat Day where you are allowed to whack annoying people upside the head.

Author Links:


{Giveaway}

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Tour Organized by:

Monday, July 7, 2014

{YA Review} Going Down in Flames by Chris Cannon


Going Down in Flames
If her love life is going down in flames, she might as well spark a revolution.

Finding out on your sixteenth birthday you’re a shape-shifting dragon is tough to swallow. Being hauled off to an elite boarding school is enough to choke on.

Since Bryn is the only crossbreed at the Institute for Excellence, all eyes are on her, but it’s a particular black dragon, Zavien, who catches her attention.

Zavien is tired of the Council’s rules. Segregated clans, being told who to love, and close-minded leaders make freedom of choice almost impossible. The new girl with the striped hair is a breath of fresh air, and with Bryn’s help, they may be able to change the rules.

At the Institute, old grudges, new crushes, and death threats are all part of a normal day for Bryn. She’ll need to learn to control her dragon powers if she wants to make it through her first year at school. But even focusing on staying alive is difficult when you’re falling for someone you can't have. (Blurb via Goodreads)
{Details} ebook, 407 pages. Expected publication: June 30th 2014 by Entangled Teen Ember. Source: Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to Chris Cannon and Entangled Teen Ember.

{Rating} 4/5 -- I really liked it!

{Review}
"Bryn yanked down the school bus window." (page 1, line 1)
I really enjoyed Going Down in Flames. It's full of action, excitement, castes, romance, and dragons! There are dragons!

It lacks a bit in creativity, there are a lot of oft-used tropes: Bryn's ignorant of her nature, she's thrown into a new world, hindered by all the things she doesn't know - socially and academically, sent to a boarding school where she's surrounded by students that make her life miserable, and there's a mysterious guy who she wants to get closer to. But it's still so much fun. And there are dragons!

Bryn's a great heroine. She's strong and spunky and speaks her mind. I liked her sense of humor and perspective and how she wholeheartedly stands up for the people she loves. There are so many obstacles in Bryn's path, one of the biggest is the Directorate - who hates her very existence and controls everything, marriage, careers, relationships - and the structure of dragon society where the what type of dragon you are determines everything in your life.

Zavien the mysterious guy. The guy who infuriates Bryn, who seems to know all the answers but doesn't want to share them, whose emotions fluctuate like he has an on and off switch. But I want to know more about him, his past and how he's going to deal with the way his life just got more complicated.

There's also a whole host of secondary characters, Ferrin, Jaxon, Ivy, Clint and more whom I both loved and hated. I so hope that there is going to be at least a sequel, though a series would be preferable, the world Chris Cannon has created is one I definitely want to visit again.

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Teaser Tuesday (58) Perfect Kind of Trouble + More than Music + Going Down in Flames



Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read(s)
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) -- or less or more -- “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
"I don't know what to say. Or think. Or feel about Kayla right now. So I'm avoiding eye contact until I figure it out.."

location 2812, eARC, Perfect Kind of Trouble by Chelesea Fine
"And then it was over. With one last note, the song ended, and the crowd roared."

location 648, eARC, More than Music by Elizabeth Briggs
"Blues would rather be accused of murder than having bad manners."
Good to know that if he murdered her, he'd do it politely."

location 974, eARC, Going Down in Flames by Chris Cannon