Oct 232013
 

Slayers2Friends and Traitors (Slayers #2)

Author: C. J. Hill

Publisher: Feiwel and Friends

Published Date: October 15, 2013

Hardcover: 400 pages

Genre: YA Contemporary Fantasy

ISBN# 978-1-250-02461-9

Reviewed by: Shanda

FTC FYI: received a free softcover ARC in exchange for an honest review

Summary (Back Cover)

In C.J. Hill’s action-packed sequel to Slayers, the group of teens known as Slayers have been betrayed—but they won’t give up without a fight.

Tori’s got a problem. She thought she’d have one more summer to train as a dragon Slayer, but time has run out. When Tori hears the horrifying sound of dragon eggs hatching, she knows the Slayers are in trouble. In less than a year, the dragons will be fully grown and completely lethal. The Slayers are well-prepared, but their group is still not complete, and Tori is determined to track down Ryker—the mysterious missing Slayer.

What Tori doesn’t bargain for, however, is the surprising truth about her powers. She isn’t just a Slayer, she’s part Dragon Lord, too. How can Tori fight to save her friends when half of her is programmed to protect dragons? And with a possible traitor in their midst, the Slayers will be divided in more ways than they ever imagined.

Review

I loved reading Slayers, so it was great revisiting these characters again in Friends and Traitors. After a key member of the Slayers’ team is revealed as a traitor, two new dragon slayers join the team. Adventures are had, battles are fought, and relationships are forever altered.

I haven’t read a lot of YA involving dragons (only the Slayers series, the Dragon Slippers series by Jessica Day George and the first book in the Firelight series by Sophie Jordan), but it’s interesting to see different aspects of dragon lore portrayed in various ways in each one. If you like dragons, you will probably enjoy all three of these series.

The Slayers series is a lot of fun. I appreciate reading about a strong yet feminine lead character, as well as a group of teens working together as a team for the good of society. Both young men and young women, as well as their parents, will enjoy Slayers and it’s sequel, Friends and Traitors.

Visit C. J. Hill:

BLOG | WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | GOODREADS

Find Friends and Traitors:

AMAZON | KINDLE | BARNES & NOBLE | NOOK | GOODREADS

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 For the full Friends and Traitors Blog Tour schedule, visit the Fire and Ice blog.

CJHillBioPhotoAbout the Author: CJ Hill is a pen name for a YA author who is best known for writing romantic comedies. (Slayers will be her 18th published book.) Her writing has shifted away from the romantic comedy genre, so her editor thought a pen name would be a good idea. (New books will include: dangerous dragons, time travel to dystopian worlds, and flesh-eating beetles.) Since the publisher refused to let her have the pseudonym : The Artist Formerly Referred to as Princess, she chose a name to honor her mother. CJ Hill was her mother’s pen name, or at least it would have been if her mother had published. Her mother wrote a few children’s books and a middle grade novel but was taken by cancer before she had fully learned the craft.

(Most writers’ first novels aren’t publishable. CJ Junior’s first novel wasn’t, but somehow was published anyway. Now, even though it is out of print, it remains forever available on Amazon, where it taunts her with its badness. This was another good reason to use a pen name.)

CJ Hill has five children, three of whom like her on any given day depending on who is in trouble. She has lived in Arizona for the last half of her life, but is still in desert denial and hopes that one day her garden will grow silver bells and cockle shells or maybe just tomatoes.

Oct 082012
 

Erasing Time

Author: C.J. Hill

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Published Date: August 2012

Hardcover; 368 pages

Genre: YA Science Fiction/Dystopian

ISBN# 978-0062123923

Reviewed by: Shanda

FTC FYI: received an uncorrected paperback ARC in exchange for an honest review

*** See giveaway details below! ***

Summary

When twins Sheridan and Taylor wake up 400 years in the future, they find a changed world: domed cities, no animals, and a language that’s so different, it barely sounds like English. And the worst news: They can’t go back home.

The twenty-fifth-century government transported the girls to their city hoping to find a famous scientist to help perfect a devastating new weapon. The same government has implanted tracking devices in the citizens, limiting and examining everything they do. Taylor and Sheridan have to find a way out of the city before the government discovers their secrets. To complicate matters, the moblike Dakine has interest in getting hold of them too. The only way for the girls to elude their pursuers is to put their trust in Echo, a guy with secrets of his own. The trio must put their faith in the unknown to make a harrowing escape into the wilds beyond the city.

Full of adrenaline-injected chases and heartbreaking confessions, Erasing Time explores the strength of the bonds between twins, the risks and rewards of trust, and the hard road to finding the courage to fight for what you believe in.

First Line

It was as good a day as any to plan treason.

Review

I’ve always had a thing for time-travel stories. Maybe it’s the science geek in me. I know there are laws of physics that have to be dealt with and that it’s generally accepted as a bad idea all around, but I love the idea of time-travel anyway.

Erasing Time is set in the year 2447, far enough in the future that the English language is almost unrecognizable to people from the “twenties,” and the country has fractured into self-regulating domed cities who war with each other from time to time.

The technology in Traventon interested me. For instance, the government tracks its citizens with crystals implanted in their wrists. When someone sits down at a table to eat, their health statistics are displayed on a monitor. Most people proudly wear badges that display their “rank” in the city, based on wealth, position, health, and family relations as well as ratings from friends.

Yet, with all of this technology, including the Time Strainer that pulled twins Sheridan and Taylor into the 25th century, language is still a barrier. Echo and his father, Jeth, are historians who understand and speak the 21st century version of English and serve as translators for the government and the twins.

Soon, Sheridan and Taylor discover that they can speak openly about escape in front of Echo and Jeth without them understanding by using idioms. For example, they can “chew the fat” about how hard it would be to “flew the coop,” etc. I found this particularly entertaining and it made me realize just how much we use idioms in every day speech.

There were other contrasting aspects that I found interesting. For example, appearances seem to be everything (numerous hair colors and styles, make up in varying degrees of intensity and design) and yet their laser guns are simple black boxes. They despise the flesh-eaters that hunted animals into extinction yet there are all types of meat substitutes on the menus attempting to recreate the flesh-eating experience.

I think a book club could have a lot of fun discussing all of these little idiosyncrasies of this new “modern” society, not to mention the “Dakine” and “Doctor Worshippers.” It’s these “Doctor Worshippers” that make me want to keep reading the series. I’m very curious to know more about them.

While I did figure out a few things ahead of time it didn’t affect my enjoyment of the book. I found Erasing Time to be a quick read, one that kept me turning pages and left me looking forward to more.

You could win a copy of Erasing Time! Must be 18 years of age. US residents only. See details on the Rafflecopter entry form below. Good luck!

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Mar 262012
 

Slayers

Author: C.J. Hill

Publisher: Feiwel and Friends

Published Date: September 2011

Hardcover; 373 pages

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

ISBN# 978-0-312-61414-0

Reviewed by: Shanda

FTC FYI: checked out from the library

Goodreads Summary:

Dragons exist. They’re ferocious. And they’re smart: Before they were killed off by slayer-knights, they rendered a select group of eggs dormant, so their offspring would survive. Only a handful of people know about this, let alone believe it – these “Slayers” are descended from the original knights, and are now a diverse group of teens that includes Tori, a smart but spoiled senator’s daughter who didn’t sign up to save the world.

The dragon eggs have fallen into the wrong hands. The Slayers must work together to stop the eggs from hatching. They will fight; they will fall in love. But will they survive?

My Review

I knew I was going to like this book, I just didn’t realize I would enjoy it even more than I expected. The characters, the history, the adventure– I liked it all.

Tori was a fascinating character to me for several reasons. She’s spoiled, yes, but not as bad as her sister and their rich friends. On the other hand, compared to the Slayers, she is as pampered as they come. Once Tori arrives at the summer camp for dragon lovers, everyone is questioning her place there, including Tori.

The story easily held my interest. My curiosity about the history of the slayer-knights and their particular talents, wondering what Tori’s talent would be, learning how they train, and then, of course, the climactic confrontation that nobody is quite ready for despite their training kept me turning pages.

There is a twist I suspected was coming, but it didn’t quite go the way I expected. There was emotion involved that pleasantly surprised me. I anxiously await Book 2. I can’t wait to read more about the Slayers, the dragons, and, of course, the romance.

I highly recommend Slayers and plan to purchase my own copy soon.

Content

I don’t remember there being any bad language, there is no sex (a couple of kisses but no explicit descriptions), and some violence (nothing graphic).