Review & Giveaway: Telesa: The Covenant Keeper by Lani Wendt Young

The Story:

Nestled in the heart of the Pacific is Samoa - a lush tropical paradise. We walk to a different drum beat. Here, ancient mythology tells of Telesa. Demon women who are guardians of earth and gifted with the elemental powers of Air, Water and Fire.Telesa are vengeful and cruel.Tales to frighten children.Or are they more than that? From Washington D.C, comes Leila, in search of family,a place to belong. Instead she finds her destiny and it threatens to tear her apart. There is the bewitching call of a Telesa sisterhood and there is Daniel. Will Leila embrace her birthright or will she choose the one who offers her his love with a crooked smile and dancing green eyes? Will Daniel be the element that gentles the fire of the Telesa? Or must love burn at the altar of the telesa covenant? There are many different kinds of love. All of them require sacrifice. Who will give everything for the one they love?

My Thoughts:

There were so many things running through my head before and after reading Telesa. Lani and I had a discussion about reading books your friends have written and how you would react if you didn't enjoy it. I have to admit, I lost a little sleep worrying about this. Luckily for me, Lani is extremely talented and I needn't have stressed. Telesa is one of those books that you pick up because of the great mythology and stays with you because of the loveable characters. To top everything off, Lani is just one of the funniest, most insightful bloggers I have met and you'd be barmy if you didn't check out her blog Sleepless in Samoa.

Things I liked:
-How freaking awesome is the cover? Whoever designed it is a genius.

- Leila is my kinda heroine and someone I can identify with immensely. She's that tough chick who will stand up for what she believes in but is also respectful of her elders and doesn't want to hurt people to get what she wants. Leila is frightened and alone but she doesn't let that turn her into a mopey sad sack. Instead, she takes her future into her own hands and flies across the world to find her destiny. That's pretty ballsy in my books.

- Jason. He deserved a post of his own. Read about why I loved him so much HERE.

- Daniel. How can you not fall in love with a guy who says this: “I love you. And I can’t be without you any more. I want to be everything to you. But if I can’t, then I’ll be what you want me to be. Your friend. Your debate sparring partner.” A crooked smile as he paused before proceeding. “Your designated driver. The guy who picks you up the next time you pass out in the hallway. Heck, I’ll even settle for being the guy who gets his eyebrows singed – just so I can give you my shirt when you burn all your clothes off.”

- Simone. He is a Fa'afafine with a wicked sense of humor and I warmed to him the second he appeared. I almost jumped up and down when I read about him because I learned about Fa'afafine at University and it's the first story I've read that highlights this interesting culture.

- Those of you who know me well will know that food is one of my main loves. And man can Lani describe delicacies to make your mouth water. At one point I was like huh? is Jason in this scene with his top off? I just want to eat this food!!!!!

- Those Telesa ladies are some badass mofos. Part of me really disliked them but another evil part wanted to see them unleash hell. If you're looking for a read where the badies are bad but their motives are in that grey area, this is the book for you.

- I can't help but be drawn to the underlying environmental theme in this book. I'm not sure if Lani meant for this to happen or if it just came out because of the Telesa mythology but as bit of a greenie I really enjoyed the lesson.

Things I wasn't so keen on:
- For a very short time I thought Lani had gone the route of Cassandra Clare and made Leila and Daniel long lost siblings....I don't want to give too much away but I kinda wished a certain aspect of the mythology had come to light earlier. Although I know it will be explored in the next book of the series.

Rating:

9/10

AND NOW THE GIVEAWAY!!!!

Lani has been kind enough to offer two copies of  TELESA to two lucky readers. You can choose from the print version or the e-book version. To enter, please fill in the form below. The giveaway is international and will run from today until 23 October 2011. The winners will be drawn using Random.org. Good luck everyone!!

*I'm pretty new to Google forms so if this form stuffs up I apologise in advance :(

Writer's Corner - Touchy Subjects (Literally!)

Inspired by this post by Lani and because I'm currently grappling with this contentious topic in my own writing, I thought I'd open up the forum and get your thoughts on S-E-X in YA books. I personally don't have a problem with it as long as it's not overly graphic and portrayed in the right way. Then again I'm not really a young adult anymore and have probably become desensitized to it (come to think of it, libraries really shouldn't let 13-year-olds borrow adult romance books!!).
      From the perspective of a parent (even though I'm not one) I guess the idea of your 14 year old reading a book with sexual content is a bit of a minefield. I'm curious if there are any parents out there who screen the books that their kids read for the naughty bits. I guess my biggest reason for not really minding sexual and probably also drug related content in YA books is because let's face it, kids are probably experimenting much more in real life than what is written in a book. Then there is the issue of sex on TV and whether there is any point in trying to leave it out of books when they can pretty much flip on any channel and it's right there in front of them.
      I suppose there are heaps of arguments for and against sex in YA books, but is there ever a time when, for want of a better phrase, it just feels right? 

Miscellaneous Monday: Blogger Etiquette....Follow Friday Aftermath

Pic courtesy of Love That Etiquette

For over a month now, every Friday I've participated in the Follow Friday meme hosted by Parajunkie and now Alison Can Read. It's the most awesome meme and has put me in touch with so many amazing bloggers. My TBR pile has grown exponentially and I now have too many books to read as opposed to thinking no cool books had been published in years! Through FF, I met Lani at Sleepless in Samoa who is just the best blogger in the world. Seriously, check her out!
        But I digress, this post is meant to be about what the etiquette is for those people you've followed that don't follow you back. You know the ones. You've hopped onto their blog. Made the effort of following and leaving a comment and....nothing. Zip. Zilch. The first couple of weeks, I was pretty new to blogging and sort of let it go, thinking they must have forgotten or not checked their updates. But then I'd see their new posts and feel a bit bewildered. Then there are the ones who check out my blog and still don't follow. I used to let these go too, thinking that they'd come back later.
         Not anymore my friends. I'm a month older and wiser now and I have a lot less time to spend sorting through updates for people who have no intention of playing fair. If blogging were football I would be the quarterback. I spend a lot of time on blogs reading and commenting and I don't want to waste the effort and anguish anymore. Now I give people a 3 day grace period, and unless they haven't been online,  they get the cut. Brutal but necessary.
         I tend to be a bit Libran about it. A friend once said that I look at life on a scale of justice and indecisiveness. As a Libran, this kind of rudeness just doesn't sit well with me. I'm really interested in what others do in these circumstances. Let it go or give it the heave ho?