Feral by Holly Schindler Blog Tour

Publication: August 26, 2014

Publisher: HarperTeen

Source: The Author & FFBC

Thank you for joining me on my stop of the Feral by Holly Schindler Blog Tour! Take a look at my review below and feel free to pre-order the book if your interest is peaked. Oh and don't forget to follow the other tour stops and to enter the giveaway as well!☺

The Lovely Bones meets Black Swan in this haunting psychological thriller with twists and turns that will make you question everything you think you know. It’s too late for you. You’re dead. Those words continue to haunt Claire Cain months after she barely survived a brutal beating in Chicago. So when her father is offered a job in another state, Claire is hopeful that getting out will offer her a way to start anew. But when she arrives in Peculiar, Missouri, Claire feels an overwhelming sense of danger, and her fears are confirmed when she discovers the body of a popular high school student in the icy woods behind the school, surrounded by the town’s feral cats. While everyone is quick to say it was an accident, Claire knows there’s more to it, and vows to learn the truth about what happened. But the closer she gets to uncovering the mystery, the closer she also gets to realizing a frightening reality about herself and the damage she truly sustained in that Chicago alley…. Holly Schindler’s gripping story is filled with heart-stopping twists and turns that will keep readers guessing until the very last page.

The story focuses on Claire trying to re-adjust to life after a violent incident back in Chicago had her and her father moving to Peculiar, Missouri in hopes of a fresh start. Things don’t exactly go as planned when she stumbles upon the body of a dead teenager behind school grounds.

The author did a good job at making me question Claire’s sanity. I wasn’t sure if things that happened actually happened or if it was all in her mind.

Feral was an interesting read. There were a lot of creepy and strange things occurring. And I don’t think I will ever look at another cat the same way again. It didn’t seem to have a big air of suspense going on like I thought it would. But my curiosity regarding all of the strange occurrences that kept happening to Claire and in the town kept me reading.

If you are looking for something unique and a little creepy then you might want to check out Feral.

RATING: 3 out of 5.

PRE-ORDER:

Amazon | B&N | iTunes

Kobo | Book Depository | Google

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Holly Schindler is the author of the critically acclaimed A BLUE SO DARK (Booklist starred review, ForeWord Reviews Book of the Year silver medal recipient, IPPY Awards gold medal recipient) as well as PLAYING HURT (both YAs).  

Her debut MG, THE JUNCTION OF SUNSHINE AND LUCKY also released in ’14, and became a favorite of teachers and librarians, who used the book as a read-aloud.  Kirkus Reviews called THE JUNCTION “...a heartwarming and uplifting story...[that] shines...with vibrant themes of community, self-empowerment and artistic vision delivered with a satisfying verve.”  Bloggers also quickly fell for the book; Susan at Bloggin’ ‘bout Books said of THE JUNCTION, “Triumphant and compelling, this is one of those books that will make you cheer.  And look a little bit closer for the unique beauty in all of us.”  

FERAL is Schindler’s third YA and first mystery / thriller.  She encourages readers to get in touch, and can be found at hollyschindler.com, hollyschindler.blogspot.com, @holly_schindler, Facebook.com/HollySchindlerAuthor, and http://hollyschindler.tumblr.com/

GIVEAWAY:

Win (1) signed hardcover of FERAL (US/CAN Only)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Join the Addiction:

My Blog: | Twitter | BlogLovin’ | Facebook

Omens (Cainsville #1) by Kelley Armstrong

Publication: August 20, 2013

Publisher: Dutton Adult

#1 New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong begins her new series with Omens, featuring a compelling new heroine thrust into a decades-old murder case and the dark mysteries surrounding her strange new home.  Twenty-four-year-old Olivia Taylor Jones has the perfect life. The only daughter of a wealthy, prominent Chicago family, she has an Ivy League education, pursues volunteerism and philanthropy, and is engaged to a handsome young tech firm CEO with political ambitions. But Olivia’s world is shattered when she learns that she’s adopted. Her real parents? Todd and Pamela Larsen, notorious serial killers serving a life sentence. When the news brings a maelstrom of unwanted publicity to her adopted family and fiancé, Olivia decides to find out the truth about the Larsens. Olivia ends up in the small town of Cainsville, Illinois, an old and cloistered community that takes a particular interest in both Olivia and her efforts to uncover her birth parents’ past. Aided by her mother’s former lawyer, Gabriel Walsh, Olivia focuses on the Larsens’ last crime, the one her birth mother swears will prove their innocence. But as she and Gabriel start investigating the case, Olivia finds herself drawing on abilities that have remained hidden since her childhood, gifts that make her both a valuable addition to Cainsville and deeply vulnerable to unknown enemies. Because there are darker secrets behind her new home and powers lurking in the shadows that have their own plans for her.

“A Bad Omen is a warning. A sign to stop and reconsider. Proceed with caution.” 

Olivia is a well-bred socialite living a good life in Chicago, with her gorgeous finance James and adoptive mother Lena Taylor. James is poised to run for the Senate. And in a short time, Olivia and James are planned to be married.

Until the moment a photographer happens to spot and notices the resemblance she carries to her birth mom, Pamela Larsen. From there on out, things go from good to incredibly bad so fast Olivia doesn’t have a whole lot of time to properly process the information she is given.

Through an odd stream of occurrences, Olivia winds up in Cainsville Illinois. A town filled with an odd yet interesting sort of residents that respects its elders, values its privacy, protects their own, and seems to be hiding a dark secret yet to be uncovered.

I liked how Olivia was determined to do things on her own in her own terms. She wasn’t some soft, whimpering delicate flower. She was tough, resourceful, and she had a natural talent for spotting and deciphering omens. 

From the very beginning I was intrigued. A young woman finding out that she is adopted and that her biological parents are serial killers? Count me in. Even though, I was excited to read it, it took me awhile. Don’t ask me why. But either way, I finally gave it a go and I ended up enjoying it a lot. From the backdrop of the mysterious small town, the supernatural elements thrown in, and the strange inhabitants and their expectations…this was a book I easily got into.  Everything went together at a good pace and soon I found myself reading page after page, wanting needing to know more.

Kelley Armstrong has written an entertaining book with unique situations and fun characters. I’m looking forward to exploring Cainsville and its inhabitants a little more in the second book, Visions releasing August 19, 2014.

RATING: 4½ out of 5.

BUY:

Amazon | B&N | Kobo

Google | Book Depository

Join the Addiction:

My Blog: | Twitter | BlogLovin’ | Facebook