Blog Tour Playlist: Falling in Between

Today is my stop for Devon Ashley's Falling in Between Tour. Devon was nice enough to provide me with a list of her personal favorite songs, listed below. If you'd like to sample some of the music, I also provided a playlist as well. Enjoy!

01. Bad Moon Rising by Creedence Clearwater Revival
02. Not Enough by Avril Lavigne
03. We Used to Be Friends by The Dandy Warhols
04. 21 Guns by Green Day
05. Kill by Jimmy Eat World
06. Behind Blue Eyes by Limp Bizkit
07. Nothing Left to Lose by Mat Kearney
08. Misguided Ghosts by Paramore
09. Mad World by Adam Lambert
10. Twenty Years by Augustana

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Title: Falling In Between
Author: Devon Ashley
Series: Falling, Book 1
Publisher: Self-Published
Format: Kindle Edition
Release Date: February 14, 2012

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Falling In Between, by Devon Ashley

Finally! A private conversation. And all I had to do was throw myself off a cliff, drown in a pond in my undies and let him put his hands on my breasts to bring me back to life. Yay me! (yeah, that’s sarcasm)

Yep, that pretty much sums up the most craptastic night of Jenna Baker’s life. She drowns after jumping off a cliff, meets a hotty named Chance in the pearlescent in-between and is brought back to life by her soon-to-be boyfriend Robert.

Just when things start to move forward with Robert, the guy she'd been crushing on for a year now, in walks the man of her dreams – literally. Chance suddenly appears in her dream every time she closes her eyes. So it's Robert by day and Chance by night. One in the real world and one in the dream world. What could possibly go wrong?

Absolutely nothing – until she comes face to face with the guy she met in the in-between, and realizes her romantic rendezvous with Chance may be more than just her imagination.

*Mature YA. Recommended for older teenagers.

This was a surprisingly great read. Not surprising in that I was surprised the author wrote such a great book (I know better from experience), but surprising in how original and completely captivating the story was.

Jenna is a character that feels very real and one that you can connect to almost instantly. She's not some cookie-cutter damsel-in-distress YA female lead that makes you like a book a little less.. she's actually genuine and acts like a typical teenager - a real teenager. Her relationship with her roommate Sophie was beautiful and it's nice to see a friendship that doesn't sour almost instantly for any reason during a story. I also liked the relationships that Jenna had with Chance and Robert. Although similar in that they both seem to develop a little too quickly, they are almost polar opposites in their pace, though that doesn't seem to make Jenna like one more than the other.

I think the part of this story that had me on the edge through most of the book (besides Jenna's relationships) was the fact that I had no idea if Chance was real or just a dream. I kept thinking if I read faster, I'd know even quicker. It had me biting at my nails because of the suspense!

Falling in Between is an easy to read book that has all the aspects of a heart-warming romance that will make you want to devour it in one reading - including a paranormal aspect that added an unexpected layer of wonder to the story. I enjoy this story immensely and cannot wait for its sequel.

Rating: ★★★★✩
Source: Author

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Title: Falling In Between
Author: Devon Ashley
Series: Falling, Book 1
Publisher: Self-Published
Format: Kindle Edition
Release Date: February 14, 2012

Ordained, by Devon Ashley

Ordained (The Immortal Archives #1)
Devon Ashley

Publisher: N/A
Release Date: April 15, 2011
Genre: YA, Paranormal
Pages: Paperback, 332 pages
Source: Author
Rating: 5/5 (Avg 4/5)

Normally, the school creates the hunters - not the monsters.

Abby Sorrensten likes to play rough. Ripping the horns off the foreheads of demons, manipulating lightning and setting things on fire with the flick of your wrist can give you a serious rush. So she probably wasn’t the best choice for the Order’s experimental training program. Thirteen years of isolation, lack of affection and a bruised and broken body from horrendous training sessions creates more than just an exceptional fighter. It creates an evil within - an evil responsible for several deaths the night she left.

Two hundred years later Abby resurfaces as the very thing the Order trained her to kill: a vampire. A mythical demon has set his sights on the school and only the ordained hunter has the powers to face it. Unbeknownst to the Order, Abby’s their precious ordained one and their only chance for survival. As much as she would love to leave them hanging, she’s not willing to risk the life of Emily, a fellow friend and hunter also fed up with the organization.

But for Abby, locking herself away in a fortress with angry descendents of those she killed causes suspicions and tensions to run high. Abby must learn the demon’s weaknesses for battle before the Order learns hers.

I'll have to admit, this book pretty much has everything that I love about paranormal books. Lots of paranormals, some kick-ass action and intense emotional scenes are jam-packed in this book, snagging you from the beginning and not releasing you until the very end.

The characterization in this book is not only amazing, but something that I haven't seen in a while. Abby is the main character and we see a lot of her, watching her grow over the course of the novel. But there are also several other characters that get their own time in the spotlight to shine, telling us their story as we go. One of these characters is Emily, who I also enjoyed very much - she might possibly be my favorite character of the entire book.

There are plenty of vampires, witches and demons in this book to satiate any paranormal lover's thirst, along with the hunters - who are just as interesting to observe in this book as the supernaturals. The story itself is a little familiar in certain ways, but very unique in so many other ways. It flowed well, never dulling for a moment, chock full of unexpected twist and turns that keep you on the edge of your seat. This is an incredible beginning to a very promising series and I cannot wait to get my hands on the second book in the series, Metamorphosis.

Blog Tour Character Interview: Emily from Ordained

It is my pleasure to welcome Emily, one of my favorite characters from Ordained, to the blog. She's here to give us a little insight into her world and some of the characters that she encounters.

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Welcome, Emily. Tell us, what are your thoughts on the Order's training program?
They have a training program? I could’ve sworn it was just a bunch of stuffy old men grouped together in a creepy manor in the middle of nowhere, playing God, pretending to have all knowledge this world has to offer in the ways of weaponry and hunting just so they can feel superior in the eyes of children with abandonment issues. Did I mention that 95% of vampire hunters die against demons and not vampires? Yeah, that’s right – demons! Yet the Order refuses to acknowledge demons in our so-called training program and train us how to kill the different kinds. Arrrrrghhhh!!!! Sometimes I just wanna take this stake and shove it up their @$e$!!!!!

What was your initial reaction the first time you met Abby?
Well, I was sorta dead. I only met her because she healed my body (after I was attacked by a freakin’ demon! That’s right – demon!!!) and performed a reincarnation spell that returned my soul to my body. So, honestly, I was so freaked out about that, that I wasn’t even focused on Abby at the time. But, I guess if a gal *cough-vampire* brings you back to life, you should probably just stick with being thankful, right? Yeah, I know – vampire saves vampire hunter – it’s a messed up world I live in.

How have your feelings for Abby changed since the first time you met her?
Well, I’ve been training under her for two years now (something worthy of being called a training program) and learning about demons, so my opinion of her shot well above my opinion of the Order (hard not to though). I don’t know, she’s sorta like a big sister to me now. You know, the kind that takes you under her wing, protects you, teaches you, but will totally kick your @$ if you step even one foot out of line….that kind of sister.

Do you do anything outside of being a hunter?
Yep. His name is Tommy. Oh, wait. You probably weren’t looking for that, huh? Uh…hobbies, hobbies... I should have one of those, shouldn’t I? Maybe I’ll take up knitting. That way, if I get a surprise attack, I’ll have a nifty pair of metal needles to use as a weapon.

Is there any one single moment in your life that you would change?
Not dying would be pretty high on the list.

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Thanks to Missy for letting Emily rant…she needed to do something to relieve the stress. Don’t forget to stop by my Crazy Dream Blog for a chance to win a copy of Ordained signed with a personalized doodle-graph. Giveaway ends August 20th.

- Devon