REVIEW: Beacon Blog Tour (+$75 Amazon GC Giveaway!)

Title: Beacon

Author: Angela Brown

Series: Ripped Ties #1

Pages: 222

Date Published: November 20th 2014

Publisher: Evernight Teen

Format: Kindle

Genre: Paranormal YA

Source: Goddess Fish Blog Tours
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Synopsis:
Tsunamis reduced the USA into a shell of itself, called The Fold. Surviving humans and vampires joined forces to form The Colony, where registered citizens do as they're told.

They donate blood quarterly and dream of being chosen as Attendees for the Jubilee celebrations, that is, everyone except Macie Breen. With high school graduation near, she’s anxious to ditch the rules in hopes of starting a new life with Thane, an unregistered and also her best friend.

Her hopes fizzle when Macie is selected as an Attendee, forever registered. Any future with Thane…impossible. Being chosen comes with another unexpected price.

Truths about The Colony blaze into ashes and lies when she discovers the vampires haven't kept their part of the bargain. Worst still, Macie’s life unravels as her stint in the city of Bliss forces her to face daunting truths about who, and what, she really is.

~My Thoughts~

What a cool story! I'm used to zombies or nuclear war destroying the world...but tsunamis?? How cool! And Angela doesn't stop there with her creativity, she brings out never before seen elements of a unique dystopia that stands apart from the vast collection of desolate wastelands that fill the genre. The Fold (Tsunami...) allowed vampires to shrug off the shadows of ignominy and become the dominant class of this brave new world. Vamps aren't the only super-humans to do so though. All manner of creatures have crawled out of obscurity to find their place and what an insane world it is! 

Humans are chosen (and kind of sadistically honored) into being blood donors, for the elites in this new world: The Colony.  All Macie wants is to escape being a ward of the state with her best friend Thane, but her dreams are shattered when she is chosen as and Attendee and is transported to Bliss (vampire city!) for the Jubilee Celebration. 

Poor Macie. This girl goes through a lot during the course of the book and by the end it's almost impossible not to completely be on her side simply because of the amount of crap she's had to wade through. I liked her energy, fiery spirit and personality and she seemed to be a cut above the somber heroines that run rampant in this genre. 

This was book one of  new series for me, and I got a kick out of it. Blending my two favorite genres is pretty much guaranteed to get me to rave about your book but Angela did so much more with the Ripped Ties series. This is a fun read, full of angst, a few splotches of horror, and tons of distopian fabulousness. 

~Try an Excerpt!~

"We’re not kids anymore, Macie. You’ve learned what little The Colony had to say about the vampeer, wights and devil spawn. There’s something else they’ve hidden from you. From all registered citizens. I’ve wanted to tell you for a long time why we met. Just how special you really are. But you won’t want to be my friend anymore once you know the truth. Losing you would be…”

Words trickled from my mouth unfiltered. “I, what do you mean I wouldn’t…”

He turned to me, chewing his bottom lip. The last time he did that was the day I broke first blood.

We were playing at knight warriors, a favorite of ours since we were kids. I thrust my wooden sword forward. It clattered to the ground as I doubled over from a sharp spasm in my stomach. I tried to shoo Thane away, deal with the pain on my own. But, noticing the grimace on my face – I really tried hard to be quiet, but I cried out anyway – he wouldn’t have it. When he glanced at my yellow cargo pants, he chewed his bottom lip, eyes wide. My gaze trailed down to the bloody mess I’d become. My face couldn’t have flashed hotter if I set it on fire.

Now he was doing it again, chewing his bottom lip. What could he possibly have to say? He opened his mouth to speak when the tent flap ripped away. We jerked our heads around to face a tall being covered in shaggy, brown fur from scalp to hoof. A shadowy glow encircled it like a dirty aura. Two arms protruded from both sides. Jagged teeth crowded its mouth. Drool leaked down its chin. Reptilian eyes shone bright white with a red slit down the middle. One set of eyelids blinked side to side as the second set followed up and down. It snarled, spat and drooled some more. My bladder felt one moment away from losing it.

“Frag me,” I whispered as my world collapsed into a nightmare.

~Meet Angela!~ 

Born and raised in Little Rock, AR, Angela now calls Central Texas home. She's a lover of Wild Cherry Pepsi and chocolate/chocolate covered delicious-ness. Steampunk, fantasy and paranormal to contemporary - mostly young adult - fill her growing library of books. Mother to a rambunctious darling girl aptly nicknamed Chipmunk, life stays busy. Her favorite quote keeps her moving: "You may never know what results come of your action, but if you do nothing there will be no result." ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Angela will be awarding a $75 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour, and a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn host. Additionally, Goddess Fish Productions will be awarding a $5 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn host.

a Rafflecopter giveaway