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.

**********************************

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

******************************************

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     

*****************************************

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!)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

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

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

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.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

 

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.

 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

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?

Spellcaster by Cara Lynn Shultz

Spellcaster by Cara Lynn Shultz

Reviewed by:  Middle Sis Jenn

ARC received from Harlequin Teen via Net Galley

Release Date:  3-27-2012

The Sisters Say:  A breathtaking blow by blow of bewitchment and beguiling romance!

Finding your eternal soulmate - easy.
Stopping a true-love-hungry evil - not so much…

After breaking a centuries-old romantic curse, Emma Connor is (almost) glad to get back to normal problems. Although...it's not easy dealing with the jealous cliques and gossip that rule her exclusive Upper East Side prep, even for a sixteen-year-old newbie witch. Having the most-wanted boy in school as her eternal soul mate sure helps ease the pain-especially since wealthy, rocker-hot Brendan Salinger is very good at staying irresistibly close....

But something dark and hungry is using Emma and Brendan's deepest fears to reveal damaging secrets and destroy their trust in each other. And Emma's crash course in über-spells may not be enough to keep them safe…or to stop an inhuman force bent on making their unsuspected power its own.

If you liked Spellbound, you are going to LOVE Spellcaster!  I couldn’t put it down!  Cara Lynn Shultz definitely upped her game with more magic, more mystery, and more mahem!  (Not to mention more make-out scenes)!!!

I really loved to see the characters develop even more in this installment—especially Angelique!  She is so much fun to read about—so much attitude that she had me laughing out loud at times.  But then we also get to see a more sensitive side of her that we didn’t see in Spellbound.  We also meet her cousin, Randi, a fellow witch who has some enjoyable moments as well. 

Emma definitely undergoes some changes through this novel, too.  That confidence that we begin to see at the end of Spellbound really takes off, which I love (because who doesn’t love a kick butt heroine), but I also like that her struggles were realistic (if you take out the fantasy part…hehe).  I mean, it’s not like she snaps her fingers and all of a sudden she’s one of the Charmed ones.  She has to work on her spells, and it’s really captivating to see her ups and downs as she struggles with this new aspect of her life.

And then…the best part—Brendan.  We see so much more of him in Spellcaster.  He’s just as overprotective in this installment, and it makes me love him so much more!  Just like Emma, it’s great (and heart breaking) to see him struggle with the idea that all the danger Emma finds herself in is his fault.  He’s the guy that every girl wants—compassionate, completely devoted, and overprotective to a fault—not to mention that he’s stunningly handsome.  I absolutely adore him and can’t wait for more!  The scenes between Emma and Brendan are a little more hot and heavy (but I still wish Cara Lynn Shultz would dive in with the details), but still PG, with one scene that hints at some PG-13 related content, but it’s still not extremely specific.

I actually really enjoyed the villain in this book, too—truly evil with a vendetta that, if you’re like me, might cause your heart to speed up (and for you to look behind your shoulder when walking anywhere alone).   I won’t tell you any more, but I will say—I didn’t see this villain coming!  Oh…and Kristin?  She’s still there with a vengeance…but trust me…you’ll want to read this to see what Emma has in store for her!

What bugs me?  I wish Cara Lynn Shultz would add an umbrella conflict to the series—a storyline that reaches from book to book, instead of just focusing on a different conflict for each book.

Overall, Spellcaster is a must read for those of you who enjoy paranormal romance novels.  The action was fun and exciting with no dull moments!  It comes out Tuesday…so go get it!