Jadie Jones Rambles: Giveaway, review, and a stop on the blog tour for "Deadly Kisses" by Kerri Cuevas

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Giveaway, review, and a stop on the blog tour for "Deadly Kisses" by Kerri Cuevas

First thing's first - the Deadly Kisses' official summary:

Aiden Grant is seventeen, has a killer kiss, and a boss who used to be President, back in the old days. You see, Aiden is a grim reaper and his kiss welcomes the newly dead. But Aiden’s pleasant grim reaper lifestyle is in jeopardy. And it’s not only because Honest Abe keeps throwing out history lessons with reaping assignments, just to confuse him. It’s because Aiden’s next assignment is to reap the soul of Bee, the only girl he has ever loved.

When Aiden’s kiss of death fails, intertwining their souls, Bee is still very much alive and they are both in trouble. The ancients want Bee, who has special powers of her own, and they’ll do anything to get her.

Some rules are meant to be broken—even if that means Aiden must bargain with his own soul to save Bee. Who knew the afterlife could get so complicated?

My thoughts, beginning with a summary of my own: Aiden Grant is your typical teenage guy: loves music, not a big fan of taking orders, and has a crush he has no plans of discussing. There’s just one problem: Aiden’s dead. Not glittery, vampire undead, but dead-dead, a decaying reaper of souls, black cloak, scythe, and gondola to boot. The life he left and the eternity he’s fated with collide as his boss, none other than past-president Abraham Lincoln, tests Aiden by ordering him to take the soul of Bee, his aforementioned secret crush. But things don’t go as planned. Not only can she see him, but she also fights back, leaving their souls, and their lives, in a twist. They only have seven days to figure out how – and who – will survive.

My favorite aspect was main character Aiden Grant: he has depth without being morose, and even though he’s no longer living, he pays tribute to his memories in a way that feels natural and not overdone. Deadly Kisses has the feel of a Cassandra Clare read, but set to an upbeat tempo – with a guitar solo somewhere in the mix. Cuevas weaves a tale as grounded as it is fantastic, with an ending that entices the reader to stand side by side with Aiden and his allies – both living and dead alike.

GIVEAWAY! There's also a giveaway for a copy of Deadly Kisses and some killer swag! Enter using Rafflecopter here:

a Rafflecopter giveaway About the author: Kerri Cuevas was born and raised in Rhode Island. She moved to New Hampshire with her husband, three kids, cats and a rabbit named Hercules in 2005. When she's not writing, she's chasing chickens on her small farm or searching for the ultimate mac-a-cheese recipe.

Kerri went to college for Early Childhood Education but now writes books for young adults full-time. Her storytelling stems from watching too many horror flicks as a teen, but she no longer needs to sleep with the lights on.