Welcome to my stop on the Hold Tight Blog Tour, hosted by AToMR Tours! Oh you guys, I love Cherie Colyer soooo much!! She is not only one of the sweetest authors/people I’ve had the pleasure of talking with on Twitter and email, but she’s a damn good writer as well! I’m thrilled to be on this tour and help promote her books, because they are so much fun and make me so happy! Keep reading for my review of Hold Tight, as well as a giveaway for (2) print copies of Hold Tight and Embrace (the first book in the series) for US/Canada readers, and (10) e-books for International readers.
Title: Hold Tight (Embrace, #2)
Author: Cherie Colyer
Publisher: Omnific Publishing
Publication: August 20, 2013
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Tour organized by: AToMR Tours; http://atomrbookblogtours.com
What’s one little spell?
When you’re new to magic, one spell can be the difference between getting what you want…and ruining the lives of everyone you love.
Sixteen-year-old Madison has just embraced her magical powers. The trick now is learning how to control them. She and her boyfriend -and fellow witch- can’t even enjoy a simple kiss without getting shocked when their powers collide. Instead of mastering her new skills, though, Madison is stuck watching her kid brother and doing chores.
But being a witch does have its benefits. With a simple spell, Madison instantly conjures the help she needs around the house. Or so she thinks. Her idea of “help” invites trouble of its own as a pair of dangerous yet enticing beings enter her life. When a classmate disappears soon afterwards, Madison discovers she’s the next victim of a threat she’s powerless to resist…and there’s nothing it won’t kill to make her surrender.
Watch the Hold Tight book trailer:
My review:
In a word: A story full of intriguing supernatural creatures, with a delicious blend of conjuring, romance and secrets, snappy dialog and characters that will make you smile.
**Mild spoilers if you haven’t read the first book!
I was so looking forward to reading Cherie’s follow-up to Embrace, and I wasn’t disappointed. Hold Tight continues the story of Madison and her friends right after she has discovered she has powers, and when the story opens she’s still learning how to use and control them. I love the sense of family and friendship in Cherie’s stories. Not only do Madison and her close friends help and support each other, but they also form a coven and combine their powers when they use magic. Cherie adds a sense of fun to her stories that just makes me smile! Yes, there is danger, and tension and bad guys, but the overall flavor of Hold Tight is one of joyfulness. The author takes things further with this installment by introducing some slightly unsavory magical characters, who put our leading lady Madison in somewhat of a pickle.
Madison is overwhelmed with school, friends and family life. Since her father’s been working overtime, she’s been charged with caring for her six-year-old brother and doing housework. She decides to try summoning a fairy to help her clean the house, and that’s when the trouble begins. Even though Madison changes her mind and doesn’t finish the spell, something manages to slip through anyway: a seemingly benevolent and charming fairy named Brea. But when Madison’s friend Natalie suddenly goes missing, she begins to wonder exactly what got in when she read that spell. Now it’s up to Madison, her boyfriend Isaac and friends Kaylee and Josh to find Natalie before someone else disappears. And it’s not going to be easy, as Madison struggles to keep her family safe and herself from falling prey to a mysterious boy named Reed.
Let’s talk about the characters first. Madison is just the type of protagonist I can relate to: she’s a mostly happy-go-lucky girl with an adorable boyfriend, a hard-working father, and loyal friends. But she’s not perfect. She’s just begun to figure out her powers and she makes mistakes all the time. Madison reminds me a lot of Willow from Joss Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer in Season One and Two, when Willow has just started practicing witchcraft and all her spells are going wrong. And even though she’s happy with Isaac and their growing relationship, she’s intrigued and even tempted by the arrival of two mysterious boys in town, Reed and Caden.
Madison and Isaac have a very unique problem: whenever they try to kiss, Madison’s powers go haywire and she winds up shocking him! Which makes make-out sessions very challenging! I loved that twist to their relationship and how they handle it.
My other favorite character is Caden, a new and mysterious boy in town. When he first appears at school, he’s practically stalking Madison. Plus he smokes, so she’s immediately turned off by that habit. But I loved Caden’s role in the story, and little by little Madison realizes that Caden can offer her something that no one else can. This event, hopefully, sets up some possible scenarios for the next book.
Cherie adds lots of fairy lore to her story, and if you’ve ever read anything about fairies, you will know right away where she’s going with her plot. I thought the mixture of witchcraft and fairy lore was so well done, and the author weaves the two together seamlessly. And just wait until you find out what Caden is! (and no, I won’t spill the beans).
The only thing I thought could have used more development was the relationship between Madison and Brea the fairy. I felt Madison let Brea into her life way too easily and trusted her way too readily, since Brea comes and goes whenever she wants, wears Madison’s clothes and sleeps in her bed! I did love the friendship they seemed to have, but it was just a little too sudden for me.
The story resolves almost everything at the end, and leaves just enough wiggle room for another book in the series. I’ve really come to love these characters, and I look forward to reading more about Madison and her friends. And as for Cherie Colyer? I will read anything she writes!
Many thanks to the author and publisher for supplying a review copy.
Find Hold Tight: * Goodreads * Amazon * Barnes & Noble *
About the Author:
Cherie Colyer is the author of YA paranormal thriller/romance, EMBRACE (available now), and HOLD TIGHT (August 2013), from Omnific Publishing. Check out her website and blog for news on her books and bonus material. Follow Cherie on Twitter and/or Facebook for updates on writing, book and special offer
Find Cherie: * Website * Facebook * Twitter *
And now for the giveaway! For US/Canada residents only, the author is offering (2) each print copies of Embrace and Hold Tight. Click the Rafflecopter button below to enter now:
For my International peeps, you can win one of (10) e-book copies of Embrace (Book #1 in the series). Click the Rafflecopter button below to enter now:
Catch up with Madison and her friends in Embrace, book one in the series.
You can follow the rest of the Hold Tight Blog Tour by clicking here. Many thanks to AToMR Tours for hosting this tour!
I would love to read this book. Story sounds like an A+ read. I’ve added this book to my book wish list.
jmesparza821 at gmail dot com
Would love to read this book and thanks for the opportunity! Did not read the review as to spoilers, but got the gist…..hope to read it soon!
Hi Tammy. Thanks for being a part of the tour and for reviewing Hold Tight. I’m so glad you enjoyed the book.
Thanks you for visiting, Cherie!
Looks like a really good read! Thanks for the chance at a copy!
Congrats to Cherie Colyer on the release Hold Tight. I especially like the book cover and trailer. It sounds like a great read.
Thanks for hosting the giveaway! Fingers crossed to win.
This series looks great read, i wanna read it. I like the cover books too.
Thanks for review, make me know about good books. Will love to read this book 🙂