Steadfast by Claudia Gray Blog Tour and Giveaway: Steadfast Soundtrack

STEADFAST

Author: Claudia Gray

Release Date: March 4, 2014

Pages: 352

Publisher: HarperTeen

Goodreads/Amazon/Barnes & Noble

The second book in the dazzling Spellcaster series from New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray is perfect for fans of the Beautiful Creatures and Hex Hall series.

Nadia, Mateo, and Verlaine saved Captive's Sound from the dark sorceress Elizabeth . . . or so they thought. But despite their best efforts, a crack opened and a new, greater evil seeped through. With Mateo as her Steadfast, Nadia's magic is magnified but her training is still incomplete. And a darker magic has begun to call Nadia. . . .

With her Steadfast, Mateo, and her best friend, Verlaine, Nadia must fight the black magic that tempts her and stop the One Beneath before he comes to claim what is his.

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STEADFAST Soundtrack

I love putting together soundtracks for my movies. Usually, when I write a series, I carry over a few songs throughout the soundtracks for each book – the big themes, you’d say. (Also, some instrumental music from movie scores always plays a part; it really helps set a mood. That said, the movie scores I’ve written the SPELLCASTER series to were for Danny Elfman’s score for “Alice in Wonderland” and … Daft Punk’s score for “Tron: Legacy.” No, I can’t explain that last one.)

Even with continuing music through all the series soundtracks, I always find some unique songs for each book. Here’s what I listened to while writing STEADFAST:

“White Diamonds,” by Friendly Fires

This is one that makes me think of Verlaine and spoiler spoiler I can’t tell you! during their last scene together in STEADFAST, which takes place during the first snow of wintertime in Captive’s Sound.

Stuck in a world that would pull them apart, and it cost in time

If only they knew that ahead loomed a cloud that was black as night

She'd do anything for him

She'd do anything for him

Oh they were strong, they could take on the world and put up a fight

And even the clouds couldn't stand in the way when they held on tight

He'd do anything for her

He'd do anything for her

“Velvet,” by The Big Pink

Mateo, the main male character in the story, is cursed with visions of the future. While they allow him to foresee some of the dangers they face – and are the reason he found Nadia in the first place – they also exact a painful price.  He and Nadia have some conflict in this book, which makes these lyrics ring very true for him.

She's the only one, lost the best I had


I found her in a dream, looking for me


This heart's on fire, I'll bring myself


Up to fall, and down again

“Red Right Hand,” by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

Of course this is a classic! But when your villain has actually been seduced by the Lord of Hell, only a song as great as this will do.

He'll wrap you in his arms,

tell you that you've been a good boy

He'll rekindle all the dreams

it took you a lifetime to destroy

He'll reach deep into the hole,

heal your shrinking soul

Hey buddy, you know you're

never ever coming back

He's a god, he's a man,

he's a ghost, he's a guru

They're whispering his name

through this disappearing land

But hidden in his coat

is a red right hand

“Fire From Heaven,” by Sleepthief and Roberta Carter Harrison

A friend of mine, after hearing this song, said it sounded more like Katniss Everdeen than Nadia Caldani … and since then I can’t unhear it. Still, I think this song works for any heroine who’s realized the deck is stacked against her, and plans to strike back.

Somebody's stolen fire from heaven

Maybe the skies have been broken

Somebody's taken fire from heaven

How could we be so forsaken?

“Through Glass,” by Stone Sour

The lyrics of this song refer to romantic disillusionment, I think. For me, though, they come from the demon Asa, who spends a lot of STEADFAST watching our heroes, and learning all their weaknesses, one by one. 

'Cause I'm looking at you through the glass

Don't know how much time has passed

All I know is that it feels like forever

But no one ever tells you that forever feels like home

Sitting all alone inside your head

“Many Shades of Black,” the Raconteurs

Yet again I repurpose a breakup song. As you might remember from SPELLCASTER, Mateo believed he’d had a long friendship with Elizabeth Pike – which turned out to be an illusion she’d planted inside his head. Mateo’s figured out the truth now, but that doesn’t mean he’s forgiven Elizabeth.

Yeah, see if I care


And see if I stand firm or if I fall


'Cause in the back of my mind


And on the tip of my tongue


Is the answer to it all

And everybody sees


And everyone agrees


That you and I are wrong


And it's been that way too long

“Break My Soul,” by Hybrid

Verlaine is probably the single most outcast person in Captive’s Sound. All her life, she’s tried to tell herself that it’s the people around her that have the problem – that someday she’ll find friendship and love. Then, in SPELLCASTER, Verlaine learned that dark magic was responsible for setting her apart from people, maybe forever. This song captures both the loneliness she feels and her determination to keep going.

I'm not drowning in your sea

Believing in you will not be the death of me

Not waiting for the curtain drop

Or waiting for the hurt to stop

Not drowning in a teardrop for your love

“Help I’m Alive,” by Metric

Sure, there’s romance in STEADFAST – but the characters deal with a lot of deeply scary stuff. This song captures the constant tension of living in Captive’s Sound when you actually know what’s going on.

I tremble, they're gonna eat me alive

If I stumble they're gonna eat me alive

Can you hear my heart beating like a hammer?

Beating like a hammer

“Harbor,” by Vienna Teng

Despite everything they go through, Nadia and Mateo’s love remains powerful. So they deserve a beautiful love song.

Fear is the brightest of signs

The shape of boundary you leave behind

So sing all your questions to sleep

The answers are out there in the drowning deep

Sail your sea, meet your storm

All I want is to be your harbor

The light in me will guide you home

All I want is to be your harbor

You’ve got a journey to make

There’s your horizon to chase

So go far beyond where we stand

No matter the distance, I’m holding your hand

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Tour Schedule

Week One:

2/24/2014- Fiktshun- Guest Post   

 2/25/2014- Two Chicks on Books- Guest Post          

2/26/2014- Fantasy Book Addict- Interview

2/27/2014- Magical Urban Fantasy Reads- Character interview with Verlaine

2/28/2014- Jenna Does Books- Author interview

Week Two:

3/3/2014- Mundie Moms- Review and an excerpt

3/4/2014- Parajunkee- Interview

3/5/2014- Bookalicious- Guest Post         

3/6/2014- Tales of a Ravenous Reader- Guest Post

3/7/2014- YA Sisterhood- Guest Post     

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Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Spellcaster by Claudia Gray

Spellcaster by Claudia Gray

ARC received from Harper Teen

Release Date:  3-5-2012

Reviewed by:  Middle Sis Jenn

The Sisters Say:  Enchanting, Enigmatic, and Ethereal

When Nadia’s family moves to Captive’s Sound, she instantly realizes there’s more to it than meets the eye. Descended from witches, Nadia senses a dark and powerful magic at work in her new town. Mateo has lived in Captive’s Sound his entire life, trying to dodge the local legend that his family is cursed - and that curse will cause him to believe he’s seeing the future … until it drives him mad. When the strange dreams Mateo has been having of rescuing a beautiful girl—Nadia—from a car accident come true, he knows he’s doomed.

Despite the forces pulling them apart, Nadia and Mateo must work together to break the chains of his family’s terrible curse, and to prevent a disaster that threatens the lives of everyone around them. Shimmering with magic and mystery, New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray’s new novel is sure to draw fans of the Hex Hall and Caster Chronicles series, and fans of the hit CW TV show The Secret Circle.

For Nadia, magic is real.  All she has to do is come up with 3 memories that serve as ingredients to call on her gift.  If you are a fan of Claudia Gray, don’t miss out on this new series.  It has all the ingredients for a magical book:

Magic breaking free

Evil encompassing all

Love ever enduring

Claudia Gray has created a world that will spellbound you!

I really think there should be more books focusing on witches.  There are tons of paranormal books where witches are mentioned or are minor characters, but there are very few books where the entire focus is on witchcraft.  Have you ever been looking and looking for something and then you find it right in front of you?  That’s what witches are in the YA world—overlooked when they should be obvious!!

I enjoyed Claudia’s new book—it was different than what I expected.  I went into it thinking that it was going to be more “old ways” like Salem type witches, or that all the spells/wording was going to be archaic, but it wasn’t.  It was new and inventive, and I was pleasantly surprised with Claudia’s take on the Craft. 

There were times when the plot was slow, and I did find myself bogged down by some of the details.  The descriptions of the town were great—crumbling, dingy, with a sheen of evil.  I really enjoyed those details of the story, but there were other times when Nadia seemed to be very repetitive in her thoughts and actions, and I just wanted it to hurry along.  But, that didn’t keep me from enjoying the plot and how it developed.  I actually felt like the end was rushed a bit, and I wanted more details here about the climactic event!

I like Nadia, but I wasn’t overly impressed by her.  She is a budding witch with no teacher, and with the powers she has, she is able to accomplish much more than she should.  Her struggle and her revelations kept me wanting to see inside her mind more, but she still just seemed like a normal heroine to me—nothing that will really stay molded in my memory.

The character that will stay molded in my memory?  The bad guy.  I won’t tell you who it is because (even though it is revealed early) it is a spoiler.  Let me just say that the bad guy was ruthless—voice dripping with poison, wolf in sheep’s clothing, I’ll cut you to ribbons with a butter knife kind of ruthless!  I was more into this person than any of the other characters because he/she had so many layers and dimensions to discover.  The story was written where we see so many characters POVs.  While this got annoying because there were just too many viewpoints, I did enjoy the ones where we saw inside the mind of evil.

And the guy.

Mateo.  He was interesting enough, but unfortunately, he wasn’t one that swept me away.  He was endearing and loyal, but, I don’t know, there wasn’t that spark to him that lights me on fire.  I guess he was just too sweet?  I can’t help it, I like the troubled, bad boys.  Mateo is troubled, just not rebellious.  He is more victim than anything.  I do think many readers will like him, though, because he isn’t the cocky, in your face, rebel without a cause type of guy we see so often in YA.

Overall, I enjoyed reading something new and different, and I will definitely be checking out the sequel!!!

Teaser Tuesday: Spellcaster by Claudia Gray

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB over at Should Be Reading!

To participate all you have to do is:

•Grab your current read

•Open to a random page

•Share "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page

•BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!

(make sure what you share doesn't give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others!)

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Spellcaster by Claudia Gray
Release Date:  3-5-2013
Published by:  HarperTeen

 

"What if I'm the reason Nadia's going to die?"

 

"The future was rushing toward him--his future and his curse."

Both from an ARC, pg 35

 

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I was so excited to get the chance to read an early copy of Spellcaster.  I love Claudia Gray, and this was something different from her past books.  While it didn't end up being one of my favorite Claudia Gray books, it was still interesting--especially because it centered around witches.  I think witches are neglected in the YA paranormal world!

Waiting on Wednesday: Spellcaster by Claudia Gray

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine. It spotlights books that have not yet been released, but ones that you should pre-order today! This week's book that we are anxiously awaiting is SPELLCASTER by Claudia Gray.  SPELLCASTER releases on March 5, 2013 from Harper Teen.

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When Nadia’s family moves to Captive’s Sound, she instantly realizes there’s more to it than meets the eye. Descended from witches, Nadia senses a dark and powerful magic at work in her new town. Mateo has lived in Captive’s Sound his entire life, trying to dodge the local legend that his family is cursed - and that curse will cause him to believe he’s seeing the future … until it drives him mad. When the strange dreams Mateo has been having of rescuing a beautiful girl—Nadia—from a car accident come true, he knows he’s doomed.

Despite the forces pulling them apart, Nadia and Mateo must work together to break the chains of his family’s terrible curse, and to prevent a disaster that threatens the lives of everyone around them. Shimmering with magic and mystery, New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray’s new novel is sure to draw fans of the Hex Hall and Caster Chronicles series, and fans of the hit CW TV show The Secret Circle.

 

 

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Witches.

Curses.

Accidents.

Disasters.

Claudia Gray.

What more you could want?  I'm really looking forward to this one!  Claudia definitely knows how to write swooon-worthy guys, and I'm sure that Mateo will have his moments!  Plus, there are not enough books that focus on the paranormal aspect of witches.  Most books that have witches also have vampires or werewolves or some other mythical creature that the story centers around, so it will be nice to read one where witches are the focus. 

 

If you haven't read Claudia's other books, the Evernight Series and Balthazar, you should check them out!

 

What are you waiting on?

Balthazar by Claudia Gray

Balthazar by Claudia Gray
Reviewed by: Middle Sis Jenn
ARC received from Harper Teen
Release Date: 3-6-2012
The Sisters Say:  Boundary breaking, Blood thirsty, and Breathtaking

Haunted by memories from his first days as a vampire, Balthazar has spent hundreds of years alone—without allies, without love. When he emerges from his isolation to help Skye Tierney, a human girl who once attended Evernight Academy, Balthazar has no idea how dangerous it will be. Skye’s psychic powers have caught the attention of Redgrave, the cruel master vampire responsible for murdering Balthazar and his family four centuries ago. Having learned of Skye’s powers and the remarkable effect her blood has on vampires, he plans to use her for his own evil purposes. As they stand together to fight the evil vampire, Balthazar realizes his lonely world could finally be changed by Skye...just as Redgrave realizes that he can destroy Balthazar once and for all by taking her for his own.

In a story filled with forbidden love and dark suspense, one of the most beloved characters in Claudia Gray’s New York Times bestselling Evernight series will captivate readers with his battle to overcome his past and follow his heart.
(from goodreads.com)



Oh Balthazar, you make me sigh,
For you, all guys, I will deny,
Your chiseled abs and brooding smirk,
Make daydreaming a lifelong perk.
Forget that Skye and come to me!
Bite my neck and set me free!
The thought of you, I am in awe,
I close my eyes, and oh la la!

So I was never one of those people that read and re-read Twilight over and over again, so I am not even close to bored of vampires yet…which is great, because otherwise I might not have read Balthazar right away; and I would have completely been missing out!  It was such a quick read (which I love….makes me feel accomplished and genius-like) and there’s just enough detail that you get the action without being bogged down by the color of the sky or the smell of the trees or other such nonsense.  Because, with me, I like to get to the steamy part right away!!! (But I’m going to make you wait…not long…but just a little tease!)

Balthazar is a stand-alone novel with characters from the Evernight series.  I’ve never read the Evernight series, and I was able to pick up this book and read like I already knew the characters.  The only one that confused me at times (where I had to look up a character analysis just to be clear about what he was) was Lucas, and he only has a few cameos (we never see him in person…only a mention of a phone call or text).  So that was great that I could read a book without having to go purchase and read all the ones that came before it. 

Okay…so here we go…

The novel is focused around Skye Tierney  who has the gift of “death sight.”  She inherited the ability to experience the deaths of people when Bianca (a wraith) possessed her at the end of the last Evernight book.  As a result of the possession, Skye’s aura was awakened to the dead.  Now, any time she is in the place where someone died a violent death, she goes into a trance and relives the death—the fear, the pain, all of it.  Soon, these psychic powers catch the attention of a monstrous vampire, Redgrave, who just happens to be Balthazar’s nemesis.  Skye, unaware of the power her blood has over vampires, finds herself in the middle of a cat and mouse game with Redgrave and his minions.

Enter Mr. Dreamsicle…my mouth is starting to water!

He’s sexy and broody—my two favorite attributes in a vamp!  For 100s of years, Balthazar has lived without love; he’s seen how the vampire world tears apart love and innocence.  But for some reason, Skye opens his eyes and his heart (all at once now…..awwww!).  He pledges to protect her from Redgrave, which requires him to be at her side constantly—even throughout the night. 

So, what do I LOVE about it?  I absolutely love that Claudia Gray wrote the novel in third person, going back and forth between Skye’s point of view and Balthazar’s.  We see Skye constantly fret over whether or not Balthazar looked at her or thought about her.  You know what it’s like (or remember what it’s like)….where you want to grab a flower and recite the “He loves me, He loves me not,” over and over again because just maybe he really does love you!  You really get to see how Skye deals with the budding romance, it’s ups and downs.  I do wish the novel would have delved deeper into her psychic powers because that it was causes the problems to begin with; however, her abilities are put on the back burner while its effects on vampires is thrust in the forefront.  I would have liked to see Skye really push her limits to discover what true power she holds. 

I love Balthazar’s point of view a hundred times more!  He made one rule many centuries ago:  no humans.  But as Balthazar continues to fall for Skye, he has to continually remind himself of that, and every time he repeated the phrase “no humans,” I smiled because it showed his vulnerability and it’s just great to know that guys can be driven crazy, too.  But he keeps refusing to show his feelings—even after Skye saves his life…I won’t tell you how….but I will tell you that there’s an shower scene (EEEEKK!!!!) and he ends up naked in her bed.  So beware, parents, about letting your teenagers read this—even though it says it’s for ages 13 and up.  Anyways…after that, Balthazar has to recite his rule over and over again.  Finally, when he gives in to his desire for Skye, they end up in heart-thumping, chills down your back, embrace that, yes, I read multiple times.  Let me tell you—OH LA LA!!!!!

I’ll let you discover the rest on your own.

So, Survey Says….

I am oh so glad I read this book.  While, in my opinion, Balthazar is not Jace or Four, I still found him to be oh so hot, so if you enjoy paranormal romance, this book is for you. 
What bugged me?  It’s supposedly a stand-alone novel, but it ends like it’s going to be a trilogy of its own.  So, if there aren’t any books coming after this in the future, I’m going to be upset.  I mean, Skye is just now starting to understand her psychic powers (in the last 2-3 chapters of the book) and the power they hold.

For parents, there are a few curse words here and there, but most importantly, there is sexual content.  There’s the naked shower scene, a hot and steamy make out session which fades to black, and then there are lots of references to touching each other and kissing each other after the initial sexual acts.