I Like Mine Weird

Posted November 1, 2012 by kate in Blog Hops, Giveaways, Recommended Reads / 82 Comments

Welcome to my stop on the FALL IN LOVE Blog Hop! Thanks to Jenese at Readers Confession and author Toni Aleo for hosting this fabulous Blog Hop!!

 

Although I don’t typically write reviews of the books I read, I LOVE to recommend books that I’ve fallen in love with. And one of those books this year was Cecy’s Robson’s THE WEIRD GIRLS: A NOVELLA. The novella is a prequel to Robson’s upcoming Urban Fantasy series, which debuts in December with SEALED WITH A CURSE.

 

    

So, here’s the scoop on THE WEIRD GIRLS:

Celia Wird and her three sisters are just like other 20-something girls—with one tiny exception: they’re products of a backfired curse that has given each of them unique powers that make them, well, a little weird…

The Wird sisters are different from every race on earth — human and supernatural. When human society is no longer an option for them, they move in among the resident vampires, werebeasts, and witches of the Lake Tahoe region. Could this be the true home they’ve longed for? Um, not quite. After the sisters accidentally strip a witch of her powers in a bar brawl, they soon realize the mistake will cost them. Because to take on a witch means to take on her coven. And losing the battle isn’t an option…

Why I fell in love with this novella:

I’m generally not a fan of prequel novellas because I feel like they too often read like a prologue for the novel and lack any substance. But I can guarantee you that is not the case with this one! THE WEIRD GIRLS reads like a full novel, just shorter. The plot is fully fleshed out and completely separate from the novels that are to follow and could easily stand on its own. That being said, the novella does an awesome job introducing readers to the Wird sisters, their conflicts (internal and external), their unique abilities, and their family dynamics.

And Robson has a knack for description that blew me away. Everything she described — whether it was the setting or the characters’ emotional responses to the action — was fantastic! There’s one scene with rats (which is one of my biggest phobias, by the way), that had me crawling out of my skin. I was there with Celia every moment of the story.

Speaking of Celia — she’s a seriously kick-ass heroine! The battles were suspenseful, bloody, and action-packed without being over-the-top.

THE WEIRD GIRLS is also hilarious at times, offering a satisfying balance between action, suspense, and humor. I laughed out loud on several occasions, usually just when the story needed a little levity to lighten things up. Here’s a sample of what you can expect:

“Witches were a lot like Jersey Girls. You didn’t want to get in between two fighting. Fists, foul mouths, and fake hair would fly.”

The central conflict between the sisters and a witch with a boulder-sized chip on her shoulder is fabulously done and definitely kept me turning the pages. But even more enticing to me on a personal level was how beautifully Robson portrayed the relationship that Celia has with each of her sisters. There was one scene in particular that was so gut-wrenchingly painful to read, I was in tears (and that’s a compliment).

Basically, Robson’s novella is skillfully written, engaging, action-packed, witty, and damned funny. It grabbed me from the first page and didn’t let go. I hope you’ll give this series a try when it debuts in December!

And if you want to run out and pre-order the novella and/or SEALED WITH A CURSE, I will be giving away a $10 gift card to either Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble (winner’s choice) as part of the Blog Hop to get you started.

And don’t forget to hop over to visit the other bloggers taking part in the blog hop to find out who they fell in love with this year and have a chance to win other fabulous prizes!


As a special treat, co-hostess Toni Aleo is even giving away a Kindle Fire to one lucky hopper: www.tonialeo.com.

Thanks for stopping by, folks — and happy reading!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tags: , , , , , , , ,


82 responses to “I Like Mine Weird

  1. To Kate SeRine: who has written a commanding series, and whose review of my novella brought tears to my eyes, I thank you. You are a wonderful friend and an amazing author.

  2. kate

    Truly my pleasure, Cecy! I wouldn’t have said any of it if it wasn’t true. I look forward to letting folks get to know you a little better when you stop by to chat on November 16th! 😀

  3. Kelsey S.

    Thanks for the great giveaway and the book recommendation. I will definitely be checking out the Weird Girls.

    kesummer69(at)gmail(dot)com

  4. Hi Kendal, The Weird Sisters is actually a different series, but I hear it’s really good. My series is The Weird Girls, I hope you’ll give us both a try. : D Thank you so much for stopping by.

  5. kate

    Thanks for stopping by, everyone! I’m so delighted to be part of the Fall in Love blog hop! I hope you all enjoy Cecy’s novella as much as I did. 🙂

  6. Michelle Bledsoe

    Thank you Kate for recommending Cecy and her book. I am always on the hunt for new authors and you have really got me interested in her novella and upcoming book.

    koonie2888 at yahoo dot com

  7. Kathryn Anne Merkel

    I’m usually not a big fan of prequel’s either, so it’s good to know that The Weird Girls is one that is worth reading.

    drainbamaged.gyzmo at gmail.com

  8. Elizabeth H.

    A new author I’ve fallen in love with Debra Anastasia. She is the author of Poughkeepsie and it is an awesome love story. There’s a lot of heavy emotional content in the book but she balances it quite nicely with hilariously funny secondary characters. It is a phenomenal book if you ever get the chance to read it. Thanks for joining the hop and for the chance to win!

  9. kate

    Michelle, Kathryn, and Ellie: I think readers are really going to enjoy this series and become big fans of Cecy Robson. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂

  10. kate

    Elizabeth – Thanks for stopping by! I’ve not heard of Debra Anastasia, but I love books with a great balance of emotion and humor! I’ll have to check this one out. 🙂

  11. kate

    Carmen – Thanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoy the WEIRD GIRLS – I know I’m looking forward to diving into the novel and sharing more of their adventures.

    And thanks for your interest in RED! I hope you have as much fun reading the novel as I had writing it! 🙂

  12. kate

    Thanks for stopping by, Liz! I keep meaning to add Nan’s book to my TBR list–it sounds wonderful! Thanks for the reminder. 🙂

  13. Books4me

    Thank you for the review. LIke you, I don’t normally like prequels but this sounds like the exception! I’m adding to my TBR list!

  14. @Dawna: OMG, thank you so much! I can’t tell you how thrilled I am that you’re interested in my series! On behalf of Celia, Taran, Shayna, Emme, and myself, we thank you!

  15. @Michelle: thank you! If you like twisted humor, action, and great sexual tension, I think you’ll find that you’ll like my Weird Girls series.

  16. @Kathryn, to be honest, I’m not a fan of prequels either. I tried to make this more like a mini-novel rather than simply an introduction. Hopefully you’ll find that I did it justice. Thank you for stopping by!

  17. @Carmen. Thank you! I hope you dive right into my Weird Girls series. And, I must say, RED rocks! I can’t wait to read THE BETTER TO SEE YOU.

  18. @Books4me: Thank you. I hope you’ll find it’s more like a mini-novel. Like Kate says, I believe it works as a stand-alone. I hope you enjoy it. Best of luck to you!

  19. Alicia

    It’s nice to know there are some novellas out there that are actually stories, I have read way too many that feel like they are the first couple of chapters for a book.

    Thanks for participating in the hop and having a giveaway!

  20. Lona Stringer

    I love finding new to me authors, I’m looking forward to reading the Transplanted Tales series. Thx for the great giveaway.

    blinkysthebest at aol dot com

  21. kate

    Thanks for stopping by, everyone! I hope you’ll all give the WEIRD GIRLS a try! I’ll be chatting with Cecy on my blog later next week and giving away some awesome WEIRD GIRLS swag! I hope you’ll come by again and learn more about Cecy and her novels. 🙂

Leave a Reply to Trix Cancel reply