Giveaway and Apology

100 Followers Giveaway and an Apology from me to you.

When I started blogging last October I wasn’t even sure what I wanted to do with the blog to begin with. I knew I wanted to be involved in the literary community but I didn’t know how. At first I was just doing the occasional review. See, I want to write my own series, I’ve been having these characters doing the rounds in my head for such a long time now that I was thinking that maybe by starting a blog I could somehow get them out. Feat that I started but I’m nowhere near half way through, let alone finishing it. So slowly I shifted my blog’s focus from me into book reviews. And I have to say that so far I have found an incredibly supportive community that I had truly no idea of its magnitude. Still, 7 months later, I’m not sure I can fully grasp it.

UPDATE: The Giveaway is over and the WINNER IS.....

Apology

So why am I apologizing? Because I’ve been so focus on getting my Google Friend Connect (GFC) to reach the first 100 followers (currently at 87) that I had completely bypassed and ignored all of you that have so amazingly follow me through email. Yes, I had not realized that as of today I have 121 followers through email. So I’m sorry, I should have seen this sooner. But, I have some news for all of you.

Giveaway, Open Internationally!

In honor of my blog breaking through the first 100 followers milestone I’m having a Giveaway beginning today and going through all the month of June.

What’s the prize?

A $25 Amazon Gift Card to the lucky winner.

Review: Crimson Midnight by Amos Cassidy

Title: Crimson Midnight
Series: The Crimson Series, Book 1
Author: Amos Cassidy
Publisher: Self Published through Kindle Direct Publishing
Length: 341 Pages
Publication Date: March 15, 2012
Available Format: Kindle Edition
Source: Supplied by the Author
My Rating: ★★★★★
Get it @: Amazon

Description:

Rose wants excitement, bright lights and late nights, but she gets more than she bargained for when she swaps her wholesome country life for the hustle and bustle of London.

The city night is home to hungry shadows, eager to consume her. Rose discovers there is more to this world than what the mundane eye sees, and that she herself is a part of it. Unexpected friendships are forged and unwanted, sometimes dangerous, attractions flare.

London becomes a playground for magic, danger and supernatural threat. While her life, and those of who she loves, hangs in the balance, she must endeavour to embrace her new nature and assist in identifying the hidden threat before it succeeds in its dark purpose.

An Urban Fantasy filled with moon-praising, flat-dwelling vampires, chic corporate werewolves, bar-tending warlocks, ravenous demons and much, much more.

Step inside…

This book is right up my alley, it has all the Urban Fantasy elements that I love:

• Crafty and powerful Witches and Warlocks ü 
• Strong and pretty friendly vampires ü
• Hot and steamy werewolves ü
• Deadly and somewhat unhinged fairies ü
• Unknown superpower as the main character ü
• Some nasty demons  ü
• Action and adventure ü
• A good fast paced storyline ü
• And a great city to host all the paranormal activity ü

Crimson Midnight is one of those books that once you pick up its hard to put down unless absolutely necessary. You know which ones I’m talking about, the ones that you eat while reading because you can’t stop; yup, one of those.

1st Snail Mail Paperback!!

Hello everyone, I'm so excited!! Today I received my first paperback novel from an author! I have received books for reviews before, some of them through NetGalley, others thanks to the various blog tours I’ve participated (and will continue to), and some because the authors actually contacted me (email me) asking for a review.

But all of them have something particular in common, all of them are ebooks. Don’t get me wrong, I love ebooks, my kindle currently houses 414 of them; most of are still unread, but there at the ready thanks to the wonderful eReader IQ site which sends me a daily email warning me of free books on Amazon. Anyways, I digressed, back on topic; I’m a big ebook supporter and, with a boyfriend that works in the computer industry (which means I have to hear about it day and night), I consider myself pretty technologically savvy. However, that doesn’t mean I no longer care for physical copies.

Books in News #8

A wrap-up of recent events, announcements, releases, or other news circulating the web.

Welcome back my amazing followers and lurkers, today is Books in News #8, your weekly fix of all things written and other related matters.

Let’s begin this round with positive news. The comic books fever has never truly receded. Each year we see announcements of any given attempt at reinventing the genre and bring it forth to a new generation. Although I don’t personally read comic books, not currently anyways, I have grown loving them and respect the various forms of empowerment that they inspire. So this particular bit of news brought a smile to my face when I read it, and still does. Being a comic book fan has no age, gender, or even nationality, it has become a multicultural phenomenon. So it’s really no surprise that little kids want to emulate their favorite powerful and cool characters. So is the case of Anthony Smith, a 4-year-old who refused to wear a hearing aid because superheroes do not wear them. This kid’s parents contacted none other than Marvel, asking whether or not there was a superhero that had some extra help. Marvel replied that yes, Hawkeye had used a hearing aid before his hearing was restored. However, in true superhero fashion, Marvel went above and beyond and created a completely new super called Blue Ear, a hero that can rescue the innocent bystanders thanks to his hearing aid. Inspire kids’ dreams and help them realize that they are incredible no matter what, now that is what I call Super!

News: Goodreads Q&A with Jeaniene Frost (Original Transcript)

Hello my amazing followers and lurkers, I’m calling forth all Jeaniene Frost’s Fans to come out of the woodwork!! The Goodreads Group Gotta Have Paranormal Romance with a Kick had a Q&A with the author of the Night Huntress, Night Huntress World and Night Prince novels! I went through the thread and have prepared a transcript for your enjoyment; get ready to get some first-hand news straight from Jeaniene Frost’s keyboard ~.^

The dynamic was that fans will write questions and for two hours Mrs. Frost answered them. The questions will be in bold and the name of the user that originally posted it will be underlined. If I have to make a comment of any sort the text will be in pink. I will transcribe them as the original posted wrote them; I will not change their questions, or the answers.

I will try to get reorganize the questions so that I can distill the information for easier (and faster) access. Those will go on another post later this (or next) week; in the meantime, here is the original transcript in the order that Jeaniene answered the questions:

Jeaniene: Hi everyone! Thanks so much to the moderators for inviting me to come out tonight, and thanks so much to YOU for keeping me from being lonely ;-). I'll start answering the questions already posted, but please feel to free to ask away on any new ones.

Elizabeth wrote: "Are u gona write more then nine Cat and Bones books?Please say yes"

Jeaniene: Sorry, I have to say no. Since I started their series, I knew how it would end, and each book brings Cat and Bones closer to their final resolution. Besides, they've earned some time away from the evils of my keyboard, righ? *wink*

Emily wrote: "Ms. Frost, How did you come up with your first book idea? Also, how long did it take you to write it?"

Jeaniene: I came up with the idea for Cat and Bones from a dream. I've always had very vivid dreams and as a teen, I used to write them down and make little (unfinished) stories out of them. Anyway, right around the time that I was having a mild meltdown about turning 30 and having done nothing toward my goal of being an author one day, I had a dream where I saw a half-vampire woman arguing with a full vampire man about why she'd left him years before. In the dream, I knew she still loved him and hadn't wanted to leave, but felt like she had no choice. I also knew he'd been looking for her that whole time and was NOT going to go away quietly. When I woke up, I kept thinking about those people and wondering who they were and how they'd gotten to that point (let alone a half-vampire and a vampire together? How did that happen?). Answering those questions eventually become my first book, Halfway to the Grave.

As for a timeline, I have some detailed information about that here: http://frost-light.livejournal.com/107613.html

t'irla ~aka s'layer~ wrote: "I adore your books! When can we expect Ian's book I love his bad boy self:) Will Tate and the boys be making a come back in the future? I also get a big kick out of Cat's Mom and I know she loved Rodney but Will she be meeting someone else and getting her HEA? I have a million more questions but will give others a chance :)"

Straight to Heaven Blog Tour: Author Interview

Hello my amazing followers and lurkers, today I'm hosting my second stop on the Straight to Heaven Blog Tour for Michelle Scott. Yesterday I brought you my review of the first book on this series. Today I'm bringing you an interview with the author!

Michelle Scott received her MFA from Wayne State University. Her stories have appeared in such places as Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show, All Possible Worlds and Realms. Her fantasy novel, The Dragons of Hazlett was nominated for a 2009 EPPIE Award. Michelle’s YA novels include the vampire romance, Blood Sisters, and the fantasy Uncommon Magic. Her latest fantasy novel, An Anthem for the Battle Lands, was recently released from Mundania Press, LLC. Michelle lives in southeast Michigan with her husband and three children.

Interview:

First of all, Welcome to Journey with Words and thank you for stopping by to answer a couple of questions and to let my readers get to know you a bit better.

Michelle: Thank you so much for hosting me! I’m glad to be here.

Q: Tell me a bit about yourself.

Michelle: I’m a pretty average person (a middle-aged mother of three) who loves to read and write urban fantasy. I’m also a huge movie buff and am addicted to movie theater popcorn with extra butter and Milkduds. I’ve been writing for nearly twenty-five years which is as long as I’ve been married. Since my husband is a teacher, in the summers, we love to make road trips with our kids. So far, our favorite vacation spot has been Glacier National Park in Montana because it reminds us all of the Lord of the Rings movies, lol.

Q: What types of stories do you turn to when you want to read a book? Are you a Paranormal Romance girl, or do you like them more action oriented, more grounded on reality than fantasy… what genre you prefer the most?

Michelle: I’m urban fantasy through and through! Although I do enjoy PNR, I’m more about action than romance. For a while, I was reading a lot of science fiction and horror, but I’ve changed my obsession to witches and demons. I also read a lot of non-genre and historical fiction. I have to admit that I love interpersonal drama and emotional. Strong characters are what win me over every time.

Q: When did you realize that writing was your passion?

Review: Straight to Hell by Michelle Scott

Title: Straight to Hell
Series: Lilith Straight, Book 1
Author: Michelle Scott (Click to read Interview)
Publisher: Self Published
Length: 179 Pages (approximately)
Publication Date: September 8, 2011
Available Formats: Kindle Edition, eBook
Source: MOBI Format provided by the author
My Rating: ★★★★☆

Description:

Lilly Straight had it all, the husband, the daughter, the house, the money, the perfect life we all dream about every now and then. But after a series of events force her to give up her haute couture life style, Lilly most find a way to make ends meet if she wants to be able to support her family. It is at that moment that you belief you have begun to figure things out that life chooses to play one of its crazy cards and literary turn your world topsy-turvi. That is exactly what happens to Lilly, thanks to an accident she was sent straight to hell and now must honor a bargain with a demon done by one of her ancestors some generations back in order to be able to continue to care for her family. As succubi, Lilly must tempt people so that they fall to their doom, but is she capable of sacrificing other’s souls in order to save her own?

Straight to Hell was a surprising reading with a story that once it has grabs you it refuses to let go. The story mixes the typical aspects and struggles of everyday life while adding as extra pressure the paranormal realm to create a compelling story with the age old battle of good vs evil. The book follows the life of a struggling mother trying to find her footing after practically losing all she was used to and finding herself barely able to scrape by for survival. To top things off she has to look after her nice and her irresponsible younger sister. And as if that wasn't enough there is a very sexy incubus who’s giving the rounds around our heroine.

Pavlov’s Dogs Blog Tour

Welcome back my amazing followers and lurkers. Today I have for you a taste of a new Dystopian book called Pavlov’s Dogs. Let’s give a warm welcome to the authors behind this novel: D.L. Snell and Thom Brannan. So stick around because I have the authors' bio, a book synopsis and a excerpt for your enjoyment.

So who are these authors you may ask?

D.L. SNELL is an acclaimed novelist from the Pacific Northwest. Anthologies include Pocket Books’ Blood Lite series, edited by best-selling author Kevin J. Anderson. Snell’s first novel, Roses of Blood on Barbwire Vines, also attained critical acclaim from popular novelists such as New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Maberry.

Where can you stalk him? You can find Mr. Snell @:

• Goodreads
• His Website
• Facebook
• Twitter

THOM BRANNAN (est. 1976) has been a submariner, a nuclear operator, an electrician and now works on an offshore drilling platform. He lives in or around Austin, Texas, with his lovely wife, Kitty, a boy, a girl, a cat and a dog.

Where can you stalk him? You can find Mr. Brannan @:

• Goodreads
• Amazon

So what exactly is Pavlov’s Dogs about?

Zombies Versus Werewolves: Who Will Win?

Pavlov’s Dogs is a new action, sci-fi, horror novel that answers the burning question all fans want to know.

With the rise in popularity of zombie fiction, readers have been dying to know which monster can beat the walking dead. Novelists Thom Brannan and D.L. Snell answer one of those questions in their newest book, PAVLOV’S DOGS (Permuted Press).

PAVLOV’S features genetically enhanced werewolves designed to operate as spec ops soldiers. They can transform at will and are fearsome killing machines. When the dead rise, the mastermind behind the Dogs wishes to unleash his creations against the undead hordes and send them on rescue missions to bring survivors back to his island. But many members of the doctor’s team raise critical questions: The Dogs are still prototypes, untested. What happens if they’re not ready for battle and their systems fail? More importantly, what happens when a Dog gets bitten by an infected human? Can the werewolves win out against the hordes?

Books in News #7

A wrap-up of recent events, announcements, releases, or other news circulating the web.

Welcome to the 7th installment of Books in News. Today’s news are from the week between Sunday May 13, 2012 and Saturday May 19, 2012.

Let’s begin with some TV news, the CW has officially canceled two of its new series, The Ringer and Secret Circle, while renewing Hart of Dixie and ANTM. Now, I actually like (and might be one of the apparent few by the sounds of the fans) Hart of Dixie, but I think that ANTM has run its course, but that is just me.

In book news, a study suggests that you are what you read, yup, just like you read it. According to a new study published at the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, connecting with our favorite characters might, unconsciously, make us replicate their actions and belief systems in real life. Apparently those who read books with good protagonists do more good actions, while those who read books with evil protagonists (say, a serial killer) are more inclined to justify the character’s actions. It's an interesting concept, I guess the same can also be argued about TV programs and movies.

Movie Review: The Avengers

Movie: Marvel’s The Avengers
Genres: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Runtime: 143 minutes
Format: Regular and 3D
Rating: PG–13
Studio: Marvel Studios
Country: USA
Language: English
Official Website: http://marvel.com/avengers_movie/

Director: Joss Whedon
Producer: Kevin Feige
Writer: Joss Whedon

Music: Alan Silvestri
Based on: The Avengers by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Cast: Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Clark Gregg, Cobie Smulders, Stellan Skarsgård, Samuel L. Jackson

Release Date: May 4, 2012
Find it: In a theater and Imax theater near you
Scores:

• Metacritic: 69/100 (critics); 8.6/10 (users)  
• Rotten Tomatoes: Fresh: 93% (critics); 96% (users)  
• My rating: ★★★★★

No wonder the movie has made millions, it’s amazing! It is the funniest of all the superhero movies to date. Now I want to see it again.

Did you saw Thor? If you did, know this, Loki (played by Tom Hiddleston) is back and with a thirst for vengeance. If you didn’t saw that movie, Loki is Thor’s adopted little brother, who believes he is the only one fit enough to be king.

So Loki is back searching to get revenge on Thor by taking over Earth and subjugating every last human being, whom he compares to ants. Yup, according to Loki, we are ants and he is the boot. His weapon of choice to take over worlds? The Tesseract, known in the comic universe as The Cosmic Cube; it’s a self-sustained source of immeasurable power. Humans (world leaders) want to use it and uncover its secrets to solve the worldwide energy crisis –or so they say– while Loki has other plans for it. So naturally, humans are scrambling in order to avoid succumbing to Loki’s reign of terror. In comes Nick Fury (played by Samuel L. Jackson) closely follow by Agent Coulson (played by Clark Gregg) with a plan, a last hope that will prove either the perfect solution or the biggest mistake ever; The Avengers Initiative.

Review: The City of Eternal Hope

Title: The City of Eternal Hope
Series: Standalone
Author: Rina Grant
Publisher: Amazon Digital Services
Length: 14 Pages (approximate)
Publication Date: January 10, 2012
Reviewed Format: Kindle Edition
Source: Free Download
My Rating: ★★★★☆
Get it @: Amazon

A good short story about the decisions we make in life and the consequences that arise from them. The City of Eternal Hope tells the sorry of Bhasset, a female demon, and her downfall from grace. Bhasset’s job is to lure unsuspected humans into willingly give away their souls to her. But when she sets her eyes on Tim she doesn’t realizes that her doom is close. This is a (as far as I’m aware) a kindle only short story of approximately 14 pages long. To tell you more about it will give away the whole plot, but if all you want is to read a quick story that makes you rethink your choices in life you can check this one out.

ARC Review: Gabriel by M.A Abraham

Title: Gabriel
Series: Elven Chronicles, Book 1
Author: M.A. Abraham
Publisher: Smashwords Edition
Length: 183 pages
Publication Date: 2012
Available Format:
Source: ARC in PDF supplied by the author
My Rating: ★★★★☆
Get it @: Amazon

Book Description:

"He has returned from the wars a hero to his people, savior of their Empire and honored as such, but his world is empty, despite the peace he has won for his people. There is no light where he lives, no soft touch to comfort him, to push away the darkness of his memories. He lives only to serve his King and the world he lives in. He is the High Lord General Gabriel Eagle Claw, Commander of the Combined Elven forces sent into the outside world to bring their people home he travels with his troop to the valley where he has been told they await his coming. She is like a forest creature, wild and free. Warrior trained alongside her brothers. She guards the life and spirit of the forests that surround them, as well as those who live in the valley with them. She also guards a secret, for she is more than just a simple Elven maiden tending to the care of the elements they live in. Bur when blue eyes meet silver each knows they have met their Life Mate, but such things are not as quickly accepted as they are recognized. He would have order in his ranks, she must be free to mark her own trail, he would bind her, tie her, control her. She would test his patience and will to the limit, and challenge his rights to own what she would not give freely."

One of the main reasons I love the fantasy genre so much is for its epic worlds and descriptions. The adventures have a monumental feeling with a wonderful lore supporting the main story arc. That is exactly what I got when I read Gabriel.

Books in News #6

A wrap-up of recent events, announcements, releases, or other news circulating the web.

Hello my amazing followers and lurkers and welcome to another edition of Books in News. Like I mentioned in last week’s meme, May is a pretty busy academic month for me so today’s meme will be on the short side. Sorry for that, I’ll try to make it up on future posts.

If you are a Jeaniene Frost fan you most know by now that a new spin-off series of the Night Huntress will hit stands next month. The new series, called Night Prince, will feature the always funny, hot, Romanian vampire Vlad Tepesh and his Leila, his love interest. Well, reviews from the ARCs of the first book, Once Burned are popping up in various blogs, among them, author Charlaine Harris added her two cents to what I know will soon turn into an avalanche of reviews. Another post and giveaway of the book is being currently hosted by Vampire Book Club.

Now let’s move on from vampires to witches. Kim Harrison’s next installment on The Hollows series has a new publication date. Lately the books have been published on February of each year, but not the next book. Ever-After, the next book about Rachel Morgan and her journey is expected to hit stands on January 22, 2013.

And in news of another of my favorite authors, the next book on the Fever Series, Iced: A Dani O’Malley Novel, is already available for pre-order. Check your favorite buying spot for the book. In the meantime here are the links to Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

That is it for today, thank you for stopping by.

Happy Mother's Day!

In this and every day I want to congratulate the real superheroes of our lives. They are the queens of every household and the rock that holds us together. 

With or Without CAPTCHA?

Hello my amazing followers and lurkers, hope you guys are all doing great. I have an important question to ask you. What is your opinion about CAPTCHA?

Don't know what CAPTCHA is? CAPTCHA is that image that you see with scrambled letter and/or numbers whenever you are going to post a comment in most sites nowadays. It is used to verify that the computer through which the comment is being made is handled by a human instead of a bot. This, in turn, helps to weed out spammers from actual followers. But it seems that it also deters people from commenting at all.

The wonderful ladies at the Vampire Book Club were asking their followers to voice their opinions on the matter. Apparently, the topic on how much people dislike this feature has been doing the rounds on the net with an impressively big number of bloggers, articles and videos on how to get rid of this feature. I'm sorry to say that I was oblivious to it, so thank you Chelsea for that great post.

Some CAPTCHAs are simpler than others, some are almost impossible to read. I have to admit that when the CAPTCHA is too difficult to read I give up on commenting altogether. My question is, do you?

For the time being I have disabled this extra step from my blog to see if it makes any difference when it comes to new comments. Still, I will love to know your honest opinions on this feature and whether or not you are happy to see it go. Please answer the following poll and express your opinions on the comments section below.

Poll:

Is Captcha Stopping you from Commenting?
	Yes, I hate captcha!
	Sometimes, depending on the captcha.
	No, I comment regardless
pollcode.com free polls

The Third Fate Blog Tour

Hello my amazing followers and lurkers, May is going to be a bit of a busy month with me hosting four Blog Tour Stops. The first one was last week's Gabriel and its author M.A. Abraham, and today I'm welcoming author Nadja Notariani who brings her novel The Third Fate for you to get a taste for. So please, go ahead and...

Meet the Author:

Nadja Notariani was born in Rochester, Pennsylvania in 1971. Her upbringing included very diverse environments, affording wide and varied richness of ethnic and religious tradition. Raised in both an Italian/Mediterranean American home and a traditional German household, Nadja gleaned the unique benefits of viewing the world through two widely different lenses.

Nadja currently resides in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Her published titles follow.Claiming The Prize, a contemporary romance.Her Dark Baron, a historical novella.The Third Fate, a paranormal romance, published in late March, 2012.

Books in News #5

A wrap-up of recent events, announcements, releases, or other news circulating the web.

Welcome back my amazing followers and lurkers to another ‘Books in News’, your go-to meme for book related news.

First of all let me apologized for last week’s miss. May is the end of the road for the academic year and this is the month that we are stretched thin by the professors. Last weekend I was so overwhelmed by work that I didn’t had a chance to even look for some news.

Now, while searching this week I did come across some of the news from the previous week so I’ll incorporate them on this post; a two in one sort of post, please bear with me.

Let’s start the mega post with the previous week, the one between Sunday April 22, 2012 and Saturday April 28, 2012.

Exclusive content from the next installment in the Mortal Instruments series has been and will continue to be posted on Mundie Moms, one of the main go to blogs when it comes to all things TMI. The series of posts are called City of Lost Souls Celebration and they will continue until May 7, 2012. The posts will include deleted scenes, press release, snippets, and more.

In Hunger Games news, Catching Fire has begun its pre-production process, while the DVD (and I’m assuming Blu-Ray) release can be expected to hit stands around 5 months after the movie’s theatrical release day. Since they movie came out on March, we should be expecting it by the end of August. Meanwhile, the newspaper The Guardian did an article on “the woman behind the phenomenon” and her lack of public appearances.

Gabriel Blitz Tour

Hello my amazing followers and lurkers, today I have a special treat for you. My first Blitz Tour! (Also known as a Blog Hop) To celebrate the occasion, we are being visited today by author Mary Ann Abraham who is here to talk to us a bit about her debut novel “Gabriel” and to give us a slight insight into her mind and the mind of her major characters.

For my review of the book go HERE.

So without further ado, let’s give a warm welcome to M.A. Abraham:

In my mind the kiss of death of any story is slow dialogue. A book that is not moving is one that is apt to get thrown across the room in frustration. I think that reasoning follows through with most anyone who reads. Sure there are people who read books I consider dull, people who think any book that is not academic is not worth reading. I am sure there are people who think Gabriel silly and without purpose. It is not a story that is meant to have a major purpose; it is meant to be entertaining. I hope I reached that goal. It is meant to make you chuckle and shake your head with the things that happen at times between the proverbial covers. It is also meant to show love in all the different forms it can take.

ARC Review: The Peculiars by Maureen Doyle McQuerry

Title: The Peculiars
Series: Standalone Book
Author: Maureen Doyle McQuerry
Publisher: Amulet Books
Length: 354 Pages
Publication Date: May 1, 2012
Reviewed Format: eGalley through NetGalley
My Rating: ★★½☆☆☆

Description: 
Lena Mattacascar has lived all her life scared of what she might be; hiding her abnormal hands and feet fearing that someone will recognize her as a Peculiar, not knowing if she truly is one. On her 18th birthday her mother hands her over a letter left by her deadbeat dad which prompts her to pack her bags and travel to Scree, a territory believed to be the home of all Peculiars to try to find her long lost father. Will she ever see him again, or will destiny have another plan for her?

Lena, as the female heroine and main character of the story, was –for me– a bit disappointing; she began as a strong character and somehow was replaced halfway through the story. I like my heroines to be strong. Lena’s insecurities were so deeply rooted on her need to be accepted that she let others dictate her actions instead of taking ownership of her situation. She is constantly just waiting to be rescued and relies on others to be able to do anything. Strangely, that is not the character that we meet at the beginning of the book. From the get go Lena seems to be ready to find out her father and just try to make it on her own. However, as soon as she arrives at the first point on her destination she completely develops the damsel in distress syndrome. Even when she ‘takes matters into her own hands’ she is just ignoring the evidence right in front of her and letting other characters’ decisions and actions determine her moves and her path.