Tag Archives: Valentine

When you are rooting for the bad guy… a review of CITY OF ASHES

Posted on November 11, 2016 | Comments Off

City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare (Audiobook) This is book two of THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS series. This is a really interesting world with a wide cast of characters having to do with a secret group that fights bad paranormals (like werewolves and vampires).

I think I liked this more that the first book because we get to see more of the bad guy, Valentine. While yes, Daddy is a jerk, I have to give the guy credit for standing up for what’s right. Shadow hunters are supposed to protect humans (mundanes) from vampires and werewolves and the like. That’s their job. This guy wants to take it to the next level and wipe them all out.

Part of me – the part that has watched monster movies and read horror novels, is on his side. “Protect the innocent!” The only reason I’m not 100% rooting for him is because the monsters in this book aren’t all monstrous. (It’s kind of like hating everyone in one country because a few of them are bad apples) Okay, yes, Valentine’s methods are not the best, but I do UNDERSTAND why he does what he does. And maybe a little part of me is rooting for him. I actually find him a little more interesting than the male lead, to be honest. I will be continuing this series (maybe next year). I’m brushing off my pom poms for Valentine.

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Posted in Book/Movie Review

Tagged Book Review, cassandra claire, city of ashes, jennifer eaton, jennifer M. Eaton, mortal instruments, Review, Valentine

Great opportunity! Get your first five pages critiqued by a professional editor

Posted on February 7, 2014 | 29 comments

I’ve missed this opportunity the last two times this call opened up because I was on vacation. Boy was I mad! But this time I’m all ready to go. Yay!

Breathless Press (Adult) and Lycaon Press (YA) are opening up for a “Tender Love Critique Session” on February 14^th (Valentine’s Day) until midnight EST Sunday, February 16^th.

Send your first five pages **Times New Roman, 12 pt font, double spaced** in .rtf or .doc format (no .docx) to critiques@breathlesspress.com

The cool thing is that you don’t have to be one of the first 10 or even the first 100 to enter. EVERYONE who submits gets a critique. (I don’t think they are giving a turnaround time, though)

Another cool thing is your manuscript DOES NOT need to be complete, and it is not even a formal submission. They are critiquing everything.

Why would they do this?

They are pretty smart, actually. Most editors know if they want a book within the first few pages. If they like what they see, they will ask to see your manuscript when it is complete. (This happened with a friend of mine)

My question for you…

What do you have to lose? Send in your first five, even if Breathless/Lycaon are not on your radar, your first five pages are the most important pages of your book. Why not get an educated opinion of how good they are?