Mundie Moms

Friday, January 29, 2016

NIGHT STUDY by Maria Snyder / Blog Tour: Book Review / Giveaway



Hello and welcome to today's stop in the NIGHT STUDY blog tour! I LOVE this book! I'm excited to not only share my spoiler free review with you today, there's also a giveaway! Be sure to enter it at the end of this post. 

ABOUT THE BOOK


By: Maria V. Snyder
Published by: Mira
Released on: January 26th, 2016
Series: Soulfinders #2
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks
Add it Goodreads
Rating: 5 Stars - I Loved It!
Source: purchased book / received e-arc to review from publisher in exchange for my honest review
Ever since being kidnapped from the Illiais Jungle as a child, Yelena Zaltana's life has been fraught with peril. But the recent loss of her Soulfinding abilities has endangered her more than ever before. As she desperately searches for a way to reclaim her magic, her enemies are closing in, and neither Ixia nor Sitia is safe for her anymore. Especially since the growing discord between the two countries and the possibility of a war threatens everything Yelena holds dear.  

Valek is determined to protect Yelena, but he's quickly running out of options. The Commander suspects that his loyalties are divided, and he's been keeping secrets from Valek…secrets that put him, Yelena and all their friends in terrible danger. As they uncover the various layers of the Commander's mysterious plans, they realize it's far more sinister than they could have ever imagined.
Yelena and Valek are back! I first fell in love with these two over eight years ago. With each book since Poison Study, I have fallen in love with them more and more. I love how each book feels like first one. Every time I jump into reading one of Maria's newest releases featuring Yelena and Valek, it's like coming home. Reading their stories, and getting to jump right back into the world of these characters is like reuniting with family and old friends. 

The story of Yelena and Valek has progressed so beautifully! There's so much to their story that I want to say, but I'll keep this spoiler free. Let me just say that long time fans of Yelena and Valek will love the newest revelations, and developments between this all time favorite literally couple. It's so hard not to swoon with the way these two are when they are around each other. I love seeing that tender side of Valek, a highly feared assign, when he's with Yelena. Getting the story from his point of view of fabulous. I love how protective of her he is, while at the same time he respects the missions she has to go on. Despite his wanting to lock Yelena in a tower to keep her safe, I love how he has always allowed her to be her own person, and has supported her in her quests. 


Yelena has always been, and will always be one of my favorite heroines. I have always admired her strength, her intelligence, and her duty. She is the perfect match for Valek. The love, respect, and desires they have for each other are perfectly written. *sigh* One of the things I've always loved about this series, and the books that center o the world of Sitia and Ixia, are the relationships. Two of my favorite characters (aside from Yelena and Valek) are Janco and Ari. Not only do they bring the humor to the right parts of the story, I have long admired their loyalty to Valek, as well as Yelena. They are the characters who long ago started out more like side kicks, and quickly morphed from being secondary characters to main characters. I love these two. 


The best thing about Night Study, aside from the magic, romance, and action packed scenes, is this book is written from four points of views! The story is told from Valek, Yelena, Janco and Lief's points of views and it is AWESOME! Maria is one of the few authors who can write a book from multiple points of views and do so effortlessly. I loved getting to know Lief more. He continues to surprise me. 


Night Study is a fantastic addition to a continued series I can't get enough of. I love the complexity of the plot line, the continued storyline of many of the characters fans have previously met, and the shocking twists and secrets that are revealed. There's a lot that happens in this book. I loved that the depth of some of the relationships really makes the betrayal and shocking discoveries that much worse. I definitely was not excepting some of the plot twists to go in the direction they did, and I love that Maria still has that element of surprise. This book is the perfect continuation of the previous book in this series, and the series before it. If you haven't picked up those books, I highly recommend that you do! 


ABOUT THE AUTHOR



Maria V. Snyder changed from being a meteorologist to a novelist in 1995, when she began writing to keep her sanity while raising two children. Since then, she has published numerous freelance articles in magazines and newspapers, and teaches fiction-writing classes at the local college and area libraries. The classes give her the wonderful opportunity to encourage fellow writers, and to keep improving her craft.

Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Maria always had a fascination with big storms. Dreaming of chasing tornados, Maria earned a bachelors of science degree in meteorology at Penn State University. But she discovered, much to her chagrin, that forecasting the weather wasn't one of her skills. In order to chase tornados you had to predict where they might form. Creating fantasy worlds where she has complete control of the weather was more agreeable to her.

Maria's research on food-tasting methods with an expert chocolate taster, her husband, turned out to be a delicious bonus while writing Poison Study.

Maria has a brown belt in Isshinryu Karate, and enjoys playing volleyball and the cello. Traveling in general and via cruise ship in particular are her biggest distractions from writing. Maria has traveled to Belize, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Europe, Mexico, the Caribbean and through the Panama Canal.

Maria lives with her husband, son, daughter and yellow lab, Hazelnut, in Pennsylvania where she is at work on more LUNA novels. She is also pursuing a master's degree in writing popular fiction from Seton Hill University.

Readers are welcome to contact Maria at the following email address:maria@mariavsnyder.com.
Where you can find Maria: Website | Blog | Facebook | Goodreads




ENTER TO WIN


6 Winners will receive a finished copy of NIGHT STUDY, US Only.
4 winners will receive a finished copy of NIGHT STUDY, International.

FOLLOW THE TOUR


Week One:
1/18/2016- Dark Faerie TalesInterview
1/19/2016- The Bibliophile ChroniclesReview
1/20/2016- Two Chicks on BooksGuest Post
1/21/2016- The Moonlight LibraryReview
1/22/2016- Read Now Sleep LaterInterview

Week Two:
1/25/2016- Seeing Double In NeverlandReview
1/26/2016- Magical Urban Fantasy ReadsExcerpt
1/27/2016- a GREAT readReview
1/28/2016- FiktshunInterview
1/29/2016Mundie MomsReview

Lady Midnight Snippet on Pinterest


Cassie treated us to another Lady Midnight snippet, and this time it's on her Pinterest board.

Boy, oh boy, is this ever a powerful image and quote:


Okay, who is already feeling Mark's pain as well as the unfairness of it all??? Don't forget to check out the rest of Cassie's Pinterest board, Dark Artifices Research. The images on there are all so dark, haunting and beautiful all at once. 

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