Blog Tour, Review and Excerpt: Shudder by Samantha Durante

Hi there gorgeous people!  I'm very excited to be part of the Shudder Blog Tour!  I read Stitch, the first book in the series (see my review here and only .99 right now in Amazon) and really enjoy it. You can find the rest of the tour stops here.

Title: Shudder by Samantha Durante (Stitch #2)

Release date:  July 15^th, 2013

Source: Provided by author for review

Format: Paperback (348 pages)

Genre: Dystopia / Paranormal

Age group: YA

Grade rate:

It's only been three days, and already everything is different.

Paragon is behind her, but somehow Alessa's life may actually have gotten worse. In a wrenching twist of fate, she traded the safety and companionship of her sister for that of her true love, losing a vital partner she'd counted on for the ordeal ahead. Her comfortable university life is but a distant memory, as she faces the prospect of surviving a bleak winter on the meager remains of a ravaged world. And if she'd thought she'd tasted fear upon seeing a ghost, she was wrong; now she's discovering new depths of terror while being hunted by a deadly virus and a terrifying pack of superhuman creatures thirsting for blood.

And then there are the visions.

The memory-altering "stitch" unlocked something in Alessa's mind, and now she can't shake the constant flood of alien feelings ransacking her emotions. Haunting memories of an old flame are driving a deep and painful rift into her once-secure relationship. And a series of staggering revelations about the treacherous Engineers - and the bone-chilling deceit shrouding her world's sorry history - will soon leave Alessa reeling...

The second installment in the electrifying Stitch Trilogy, Shudder follows Samantha Durante's shocking and innovative debut with a heart-pounding, paranormal-dusted dystopian adventure sure to keep the pages turning.

My Review

Wow!  I’m glad to report that Shudder did not suffer from the second book syndrome.  It had many twists and turns and many surprises that kept me at the edge of my seat for most of the book.

Shudder starts where Stitch left off.  Isaac and Alessa are outside or Paragon looking for a rebel base.  They have a really hard time trudging through the ‘outside’.  They are afraid of the virus that took most of humanity, they are hungry, and to top it all they find some weird ‘creatures’ that are following them. I don’t want to spoil the book for you, so let me just say that it was quite the quest.  This time served to tried and strengthen Alessa and Isaac’s relationship. 

I like Alessa and Isaac because they are strong, but flawed characters.  They are deeply in love and they are fiercely loyal to each other and to those they love.  Even if Isaac felt helpless at times to help Alessa with her newfound abilities, he still sticks with her and tries (typical of a man!) to find an explanation and cheers her on.

One of the things I like the most is that we find out a lot more about the post-war, post-virus world.  We understand what happened to our characters and to humanity as a whole and why.  We get many answers (even if we don’t like them!), and still have many questions. 

Stitch read like a paranormal contemporary (a ghost story) and then switched when we know what was really happening.  In contrast, Shudder’s story is told in the third person point of view, from different perspectives.  We have the distinct voices of Alessa, Isaac, Nikhil, Phoenix, and at a lesser degree 14.  Surprisingly, this adds a lot of depth to the story without making it confusing.  There seems lot be a traitor in their mist and I hope that she knows better.

The writing is good, and easy to understand.  To me, the best part of the series is the plot and world building.  It is a testament to Ms. Durante’s imagination that when came up with this dystopian world and all its evils.  I suspected some things and others had me fooled until the end.  Let me just tell you that Paragon is a bad place :)

I can’t wait to read Stuck, coming out next year!

About the cover:  I live the cover a lot.  It has the illusion of a ‘break’ with neurons behind and Alessa and Isaac’s hands reaching for each other. 

Where to find it:  Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Smashwords

Excerpt

The scraping was driving Nikhil insane.  Or maybe he was just imagining it.  Maybe he was already insane.

He shook his head vigorously, willing the sound – imaginary or not – from his ears.  Scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch.  For what had to have been the thousandth time in weeks, he searched the room for its source, but once again came up empty – it was everywhere and nowhere at once, on and off and then on again for hours at a time.  Scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch.

Nikhil stood and paced back and forth in his cell, hunched slightly so his head wouldn’t brush the cold, hard ceiling.  Perhaps his footsteps would drown out the noise, bring him some relief from this torment.  But it persisted – scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch – the tiniest little scraping, reverberating off the walls until it formed the blaring soundtrack to his every thought.

He tried to distract himself with thoughts of better times, transport himself somewhere – anywhere – outside this dark, cramped prison cell.  The rush of victory at a water polo match.  The scent of blown birthday candles and a warm embrace from a smiling mother.  A stolen kiss behind the bleachers.  The relief of finding help after a long and harrowing journey.  The gratitude of a patient’s family.  Rescuing a fallen brother from enemy fire.  A noble lady’s favor tucked into his pocket…

The problem was that he couldn’t remember which memories were real and which were fake.  There were so many different lives jumbled in his head, it was hard to tell now which was the real Nikhil.  Though in the end, did it even really matter?  Anywhere was better than here.

Scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch.  The train of pleasant images halted, Nikhil sighed deeply and stretched his broad shoulders and long arms as best he could in the miniscule space.  He resumed his usual place on the floor beside the rigid metal cot.

It was cool on the cement, but at least he could stretch his legs in front of him without his feet dangling.  He leaned his head back against the wall, cursing the day he’d begged the gods for a reprieve from the silence of his lonely cell.  Even silence was better than this maddening scratching, grating away at his already frayed nerves.  Resigned, he waited for the scraping to stop, as he knew it eventually would.

It might have been minutes or it might have been hours, but finally the moment came.  Peace at last.  Nikhil groaned a long sigh of relief.

Scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch.

Growling in frustration, Nikhil rolled onto his side and beat the wall in front of him helplessly with his fist.

And then the noise stopped.

About the Author

Samantha Durante lives in Westchester County, New York with her husband, Sudeep, and her cat, Gio. Formerly an engineer at Microsoft, Samantha left the world of software in 2010 to pursue her entrepreneurial dreams and a lifelong love of writing. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s Jerome Fisher Program in Management & Technology, Samantha is currently working full time for her company Medley Media Associates as a freelance business writer and communications consultant. The Stitch Trilogy is her debut series.

Find Samantha here: Website | Twitter | Facebook

Stacking the Shelves #49

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews in which we feature all the book goodness that we received, borrowed or purchased during the previous week. All links are to Goodreads.

Another busy week comes to an end :)  I didn't do a STS last week because, besides not having a lot to share with you, we celebrated C's 8th birthday last Saturday.  Next week I will be away for a few days with hubby, we are celebrating our wedding anniversary (¡te amo mi cielo!).  Here's what I got in the last two weeks:

Purchased (or Free) for Kindle

Eyes Ever to the Sky by Katie French - I saw this book in a few Top Ten lists this week and got it.

Purchased Physical Books

Incarnate by Jodi Meadows - I met Jodi at the Frederick Book Festival earlier this year and I can't wait to start her series.

Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson - I've heard wonderful things about this book

Library

The Program by Suzanne Young - I love Young's writing and this books sound really interesting.

Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff - This is another book that I've heard great things about. 

For Review

These are for upcoming book tours:

Shudder by Samantha Durante - This is book two of the Stitch Trilogy

Viral Nation by Shaunta Grimes - This review is up today and this book is SO GOOD!

An Endless Summer by C.J. Duggan - The second book of her Summer series (book one was awesome!)

What is stacking your shelves this week?

Waiting on Wednesday and Giveaway: Shudder by Samantha Durante (Stitch #2)

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine in which we have the opportunity to let others know about books that we are eagerly waiting for.

Title: Shudder by Samantha Durante
Published by: Self published
Release date: June 15th, 2013

It's only been three days, and already everything is different.Paragon is behind her, but somehow Alessa's life may actually have gotten worse. In a wrenching twist of fate, she traded the safety and companionship of her sister for that of her true love, losing a vital partner she'd counted on for the ordeal ahead. Her comfortable university life is but a distant memory, as she faces the prospect of surviving a bleak winter on the meager remains of a ravaged world. And if she'd thought she'd tasted fear upon seeing a ghost, she was wrong; now she's discovering new depths of terror while being hunted by a deadly virus and a terrifying pack of superhuman creatures thirsting for blood.And then there are the visions.The memory-altering "stitch" unlocked something in Alessa's mind, and now she can't shake the constant flood of alien feelings ransacking her emotions. Haunting memories of an old flame are driving a deep and painful rift into her once-secure relationship. And a series of staggering revelations about the treacherous Engineers - and the bone-chilling deceit shrouding her world's sorry history - will soon leave Alessa reeling...The second installment in the electrifying Stitch Trilogy, Shudder follows Samantha Durante's shocking and innovative debut with a heart-pounding, paranormal-dusted dystopian adventure sure to keep the pages turning.

Find it here: Goodreads | Amazon  

Why I want to read it: Stitch, which is book one of the series (see my review here), was really good.  I can't wait to see what happens next with Alessa and Isaac.

Now for the Giveaway!  Thank you Ms. Durante :)

Enter the Giveaway HERE!!!

Review, Guest Post, and Giveaway: Stitch by Samantha Durante

Hi Gorgeous people!  Today I have a great treat for you in the form of review of Stitch, but stay with me for a guest post and giveaway too!

Title: Stitch by Samantha Durante

Published:  August 1^st, 2012 by Samantha Durante

Source: Provided by the author for review

Format: Paperback

Challenge(s): Debut author

Grade Rate: B+

Her heart races, her muscles coil, and every impulse in Alessa's body screams at her to run... but yet she's powerless to move.

Still struggling to find her footing after the sudden death of her parents, the last thing college freshman Alessa has the strength to deal with is the inexplicable visceral pull drawing her to a handsome ghostly presence. In between grappling with exams and sorority soirees - and disturbing recurring dreams of being captive in a futuristic prison hell - Alessa is determined to unravel the mystery of the apparition who leaves her breathless. But the terrifying secret she uncovers will find her groping desperately through her nightmares for answers.

Because what Alessa hasn't figured out yet is that she's not really a student, the object of her obsession is no ghost, and her sneaking suspicions that something sinister is lurking behind the walls of her university's idyllic campus are only just scratching the surface...

The opening installment in a twist-laden trilogy, Stitch spans the genres of paranormal romance and dystopian sci-fi to explore the challenges of a society in transition, where morality, vision, and pragmatism collide leaving the average citizen to suffer the results.

My Review

I was very excited when Ms. Durante contacted me to be part of the blog tour for Stitch, and I’m happy to report that I was not disappointed in the least!

Stitch is a clever mix of many genres.  At the beginning I thought that this was a ghost story, but as the story progressed I found out that it is part mystery, part thriller, part sci-fi, part romance and most surprisingly a dystopian novel.   

The main character is Alessa, who is a brave, confused, smart girl that is obsessed with an apparition (aka as ghost) that she starts seeing in her sorority house.   As she searches for the truth about who her handsome ghost is, she unravels something much more sinister and harder to grasp.  We get some clues as to what might be going on in the form of nightmares that plague Alessa’s existence.   Issac is the ghost, but as we get a few chapters and sections from his point of view, we find out that Alessa is an apparition for him as well.  This is when the plot starts getting much more interesting and the story picks up the pace.  Is a little harder to identify with Isaac as he is not present on the story as much, but we do get a pretty good insight from Alessa’s point of view.  I also liked Janie, Alessa’s best friend and her sole support system. 

I am fascinated by the notion that two people are so attuned to each other, so in love with each other, that they can recognize each other on a deeper level, even if they cannot remember their past.

The story started a bit slow for me.  It is hard to build the story line and the plot, and then include all the twists and turns that appear out of nowhere.   The plot is, therefore, unique in its complexity and there is still a lot to be discovered. The writing is very descriptive and easy to read.   I wish I could tell you more (and I know this sounds very mysterious), but you need to read Stitch, my lips, as they say, are sealed :) 

Shudder is the second book in the trilogy and I will definitely read it.

About the cover:  Isn’t it beautiful?  I love the cover, both Alessa and Isaac are on it and you can see the ‘stitch’ and what’s in between them (which makes a lot of sense after you read the book). 

Where to find Stitch: Amazon | Smashwords | Barnes & noble

Samantha Durante lives in New York City with her husband, Sudeep, and her cat, Gio. Formerly an engineer at Microsoft, Samantha left the world of software in 2010 to pursue her entrepreneurial dreams and a lifelong love of writing. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s Jerome Fisher Program in Management & Technology, Samantha is currently working full time for her company Medley Media Associates as a freelance business writer and communications consultant. Stitch is her first novel. Learn more about Samantha at www.samanthadurante.com.

Facebook  | Goodreads

How Dystopia Happens by Samantha Durante, Author of Stitch

I LOVE dystopian books.  Even putting aside the awesome characters and exciting storylines found in so many great dystopian novels, just learning about the world itself could easily be enough to keep my interest.  Dystopian societies are fascinating.  So many rules, such a different way of doing things, and it always seems to just work for the people of that society (until, of course, it doesn’t – and that’s where the fun begins!).

But there’s one thing about my beloved dystopian books which has always driven me nuts, and it’s this: no one ever explains how the world came about.  There’s always some vague backstory about a war or a catastrophe a hundred-plus years ago that brought our current world to its knees, and then out of the ashes rose this wonderful new society where everything was neat and tidy and everyone accepted these crazy new rules just as they were.

But how does that really work?  At what point in history have we ever seen one civilization transition into the next without some sort of fight?  For the sake of enjoying the story, I always swallow this jagged little pill and accept that the society stands, but there’s forever a tiny voice in the back of my head saying, “Wait – how does any of this make sense?  Why would these people allow this to happen?  Why would they submit themselves to this kind of control when they knew freedom before?  And who put these crazy leaders in charge, anyway?”

When I decided to write Stitch, I vowed that I would do things differently.  I wanted to explore a society in transition – not one where the rules were in place, but one where the people in charge were still trying to figure them out.  I wanted to try to understand how we could go from the world we live in today to something totally different, and who could have made that happen and, most importantly, why they would go to the trouble.  (And before you start harping on me, I will freely admit that no, I did NOT answer most of these questions in the first book – but this is what a trilogy is for!  I promise I will answer all the questions to the best of my ability by the end of book 3.)

In Stitch, the characters are the first generation to rise from the rubble and start fresh in a new society.  They’re young – only teenagers when everything happens – and you get to watch from their eyes how our world came tumbling down, to be replaced with something different, something which was shiny on the surface but sinister underneath.  And you’ll be by their side as they try to figure out what they can do to set things right.

After all, the threat of a dystopia is very real.  With today’s volatile economic and political environment, it’s a material possibility that our grandchildren could one day live on a planet that resembles what we’ve come to call a dystopia.  And in Stitch, I explain through the eyes of people like us just how that could happen – and, hopefully, what we could do to stop it.

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