ARC Review: As You Wish {Time of Transition #2} by Gabi Stevens

 

 

 

 

Born into a magical family, Reggie Scott is content to live out her life as a normal human until the moment she’s informed that she’s a newly appointed fairy godmother. Left struggling to deal with powers the never thought she’d have, Reggie faces a curse, a plot to overthrow the Arcani, and an entirely too enthusiastic mother—all in a matter of days.

Jonathan Bastion is a man of power and wealth—and a dangerous secret. He desperately hopes that Reggie's new powers will hold the answer to his problem and he isn't above using her to achieve his goals. What he doesn't expect is how much Reggie will affect him. Her honor, her honesty, and her strength quickly make cracks in his ruthless exterior.

As danger from the Arcani swirls around them both, Jonathan realizes that what was once a ploy to get Reggie to assist him has become a battle to keep her safe and protected…in his arms.

From Goodreads.

 

• Publisher: Tor Books 
• Release Date: April 26th, 2011 {Today}   
• My Copy: ARC Received from the author.
• Pages: 320 
• Series: Time of Transition 
• Genre: Paranormal Romance 
• Author's Website
• Order The Book:

As You Wish

*Minor spoilers from the previous book in the series

The Wish List introduced us to the world of the arcani and we got to read about Kristin’s rise to Fairy Godmother status and her and Tennyson’s adventures in trying to stop a nefarious plot, by a terrible villain, to take over both magic and human world.

However, everything has it’s consequences and in this case it was Kristin and Tennyson' becoming fugitives, since the magic council didn’t really believe their story.

Now it is time for the second Fairy Godmother to be revealed and it is none other than Reggie, a woman born into a magical family but that until now believe she has no power of her own.

All Reggie wanted to do was run her small but successful bakery alongside her very special friend Joy and Tommy. But the universe has other plans for her when it puts a very mysterious man in her life and throws her right into our villains world-dominating plans.

As You Wish is a great sequel to The Wish List and just as good as its predecessor. I did have a few problems with it, though. I felt that there was a bit of a lack of consistency when it came to Kristin. I mean, there was a point where I had already seen her use a certain power and when a situation presented itself where that power was perfect, it wasn’t even mentioned.

I did enjoy the hero and I liked how Gabi Stevens kept us guessing, even though I pretty much guessed the secret early on in the story and I think that it might have been best to unveil it before she did.

My favorite part in this book was hands down Joy and Tommy at the bakery. They were simply awesome and Gabi did a superb job in writing these characters.

All in all the time of transition series is a pretty good one, not mind blowing, but definitely entertaining and compelling, mainly because of such vivid characters.

I can’t wait for book three and find out more about the third Fairy Godmother!

 

Previously in The Time of Transition Series:

My Review

 

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Author Guest Blog & Giveaway w/ Gabi Stevens!

 

Usually when I’m asked to do a guest blog, I write about my book, the process, where I got my ideas, what my life as a writer is like, or something along those lines. This time, I want to focus on something a little bit different. Oh, it ties in with AS YOU WISH (the novel), but not exactly on the novel itself. I want to talk about two special characters in the book, Tommy and Joy.

If you didn’t already know, AS YOU WISH is a tale about the Arcani, magical humans who live among us, and their world. My novel features fairy godmothers, but they aren’t whom I wish to talk about today. Tommy and Joy are Arcani, bakers, and have
special needs. Tommy has Down syndrome and Joy is...well, Joy is just Joy. Reggie, the newest fairy godmother and the heroine of the novel, has set up a bakery for her friends and works beside them, taking care of the business aspects because she doesn’t bake. Tommy and Joy are very capable and talents bakers. And yes, they are realistic. I should know. My daughter was the inspiration for Joy. Give her the rules and instruct her, and my daughter can do most things. Oh, she requires supervision
for her daily life, but she’s fiercely independent—heck she’s a typical teenager in more ways than not—but she makes her own lunches for school, cooks some, and makes all the brownies for the family. In AS YOU WISH, Reggie truly regards Tommy
and Joy as her friends—friends who need perhaps a little more care, but friends first. And this brings me to the point of this blog.

Did you know that fifty-four percent of individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) never receive a phone call from a friend in their lifetimes?

When I first heard this statistic, I was shocked and yet at the same time not shocked. I’d seen it with my own daughter. When she was younger, five or six years old, children didn’t mind including her in their parties or outings. But as she and they aged, she became lonely. She wanted nothing more than a friend—not someone to look after her, just someone to play with. I can’t blame the other children; they were still growing, still in that self-centered phase of life when they don’t think of others;
but it was hurtful. Then, when she reached high school she found a group—Best Buddies, International.

Best Buddies™ is a non-profit organization that pairs up kids and adults with IDD to peer buddies. They have school programs, college programs, community programs and employment programs around the world. My daughter now texts with her buddy just like any other teenager. They have lunch together, go out to events
together, and look for each other at school. She gets phone calls, goes to dances, and also attends special activities. Yes, in a way it is artificial, but my daughter doesn’t see that. She loves her buddy and the sense of normalcy she receives from her Best
Buddies™ chapter.

So in honor of my daughter, Tommy, and Joy, I have pledged ten percent of my royalties to Best Buddies™. I hope you will help me support this group. All you have to do is buy a book. Besides, I happen to think it’s a pretty good book.

This post started out with its focus on two characters I’m sure I will never forget. So a question for you, Readers:

Which characters have stayed with you the longest (books or movies)?

A copy of THE WISH LIST, the first book in the trilogy, goes to one lucky commenter.

--Gabi

*One entry per comment!

International!

Ends April 29th!

Good Luck!

Find Gabi Stevens Online:

Website | Blog | Twitter

Buy Gabi’s Books:

Amazon.com | Barnes & Noble

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Lala’s Book Corner Presents: Author Interview & Giveaway w/ Gabi Stevens!

 

 

 

Hey everyone! Here we go with another awesome interview and giveaway!

This week I am happy to welcome the author of “The Wish List”, Gabi Stevens.

I loved the book and I am really excited she is here today =)

Ypu can check out my review of The Wish List HERE!

Giveaway deets, at the end of the interview!

Enjoy!

• When did you first start writing?

When my twins turned one, they suddenly became easier to deal with and I realized that I had to do something just for me to keep my brain from turning to Jell-o. I’ve always told myself stories and read tons, so I decided to write down one of the stories swirling around in my head. A teacher in high school once told me I couldn’t write, that I didn’t have the spark it takes to write fiction, and I believed her until well into my adulthood, despite my imagination.

• Have you always enjoyed Romance?

As soon as I started read it, I was hooked. I read Victoria Holt and Mary Stewart as a twelve year, but I didn’t read hardcore romance until I was sixteen read. When I studied abroad in Germany, I always saved enough money to buy the German translation of the Harlequin/Mills and Boon books available (I kept many of those magazine style books and still have them)--they helped me learn German. Back home, whenever I felt depressed or bad at school, I would crawl into a romance novel and feel better. Romance has always provided me with the type of entertainment I wanted.

• What about the Paranormal?

I’ve been a fan of the paranormal genre since I was a kid. I read the Prydain series by Lloyd Alexander, Half-Magic and the rest of the books by Edward Eager, all the Oz books, Tolkien (yes, as a child), Escape to Witch Mountain and so many more. That never changed. I love books with magic, science fiction, psychics, etc.

• Why writing Paranormal Romance?

If you combine my two favorite types of books--paranormal and romance, it’s a no brainer. Mixing magic with love is the ideal story for me. The story limits are endless. Paranormal is the category I finaled in the Golden Heart with many years ago.

• Were there any Books, Movies or Writers that have inspired you?

Too many to mention, but here’s a partial list: Teresa Medeiros, Jodi Thomas, Jill Barnett, Nora Roberts, Stephanie Rowe, Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Julia Quinn, Jasper Fforde, Steven King, Agatha Christie, and so, so many more. Books include To Kill a Mockingbird, Dandelion Wine, The Eyre Affair, Pride and Prejudice, And Then There Were None, Harry Potter, Outliers…oh gosh, this is just turning into a long boring list. Movies include LadyHawke, Notting Hill, The Shawshank Redemption, any Pixar movie, Indiana Jones, Star Wars.

• What is your favorite subject in the Paranormal Romance Realm?

Magic. People with magical powers.

• The sex scenes in "The wish List" are great! Did you find it hard to write them?

Funny, but for the first time ever, these scenes were easy to write. I think they fit with the book so well and were such a critical part to the story that they just flowed out of me. I’m so thrilled you enjoyed them.

Favorites:

• Favorite Paranormal themed Movie?

LadyHawke

• Favorite Paranormal themed TV Show?

Charmed (but I’m a huge fan of Star Trek too)

• Favorite Paranormal themed Book?

Bewitched by Jill Barnett

• Favorite Author?

Don’t have just one. Really. I’m not trying to avoid the question, but I couldn’t answer this one. Sometimes it depends on my mood.

• Favorite Paranormal Romance Author?

Jayne Ann Krentz/Jayne Castle

• Favorite one of your Books?

SPELLBOUND, the second book in the Time of Transition trilogy, which won’t be coming out until April 2012. Of course, that might just be because I’ve just finished it, and it’s fresh in my mind. Usually my favorite of my own books is “the one I’m working on now.”

• Who is your favorite of your own characters?

I really liked Tennyson, the hero of THE WISH LIST. He is brave, strong, handsome, yadda, yadda, but he’s also an egghead. I really go for the nerd types. Good thing, since my husband has a PhD in Robotics.

• Which was the hardest to write?

The three aunts in THE WISH LIST because I had to give them each a distinct personality and they liked to talk over one another. I could hear each one clearly in my head and I hope their differences became apparent on the page as well. Lily is the sober, serious one, the one who is in charge. Rose is the flibbertigibbet, until she’s crossed, and Hyacinth is the cynical softie.

• What would you be if not a writer?

Independently wealthy. So I could travel. Everywhere. Oh, what? That isn’t a choice? Ok, ok, then I’d want to be a linguist. I love grammar (I know; I’m a freak), the way languages work, the way they develop, etc.

Quickies!

• Coffee or Tea? Coffee, especially if it’s coffee ice cream.
• Up or Down? Up
• Virtual or Real? Real
• Right or Left? Left
• Vampires or Werewolves? Werewolves
• Witches or Fairies? Witches
• Angels or Demons? Demons
• Friends or Seinfeld? Friends
• Rolling Stones or The Beatles? Beatles
• Reading or Writing? No fair. I can’t choose.

• What is your favorite part of the writing process?

Getting the ideas and typing “the end”.

• What is your least favorite part?

Actually sitting down and writing. That’s hard (HARD!) work.

• The Time of Transition Series in your own words?

In the Arcani world a Time of Transition occurs every seventy years. It is the time when old Council members step down and new ones are chosen; but the biggest change is the appointment of the new Fairy Godmothers. Unlike their role in storybooks, Fairy Godmothers protect the barrier between the Arcani and Groundling world. Three new godmothers discover their destinies in this series.

Only this time the transition won’t be smooth. 

• Any plans for more Books in the series?

Book 2, SPELLBOUND comes out in April 2011, and TOIL & TROUBLE comes out in March 2012. And I’ve already had an idea for a fourth book in the same world that I hope I get a chance to write.

• What is coming up next for you?

Well, I’m working on TOIL & TROUBLE right now, and then we’ll see. Oh, and I’ll have an essay coming out in the fall in a book on the TV show Glee.

• Do you have any advice or tip to those like me that want to become a published Author someday?

Read and write, then do it some more. Join a writer’s group to meet like-minded individuals. And never, never give up.

• Anything you would like to say to your fans out there?

Believe in the magic, because it’s out there. Oh, maybe not so much of the hocus-pocus kind, but magic is everywhere if you look for it. I hope you find some.

• Thank you so much for being here!

Thanks so much for having me.

Now, The Giveaway!

You can win a SIGNED copy of The Wish List!

 To Enter:

- Leave a comment about anything on this post.

- Leave an EMAIL for contact! (if you don’t feel comfortable leaving it here, email me at larissa@larissaslife.com)

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Lala's Book Corner: The Wish List (Time of Transition #1) by Gabi Stevens (ARC Review)

"Kristin Montgomery is more than a little shocked when her aunts inform her they're fairy godmothers. Worse, after dropping that bombshell, they hand her a wand and head off on a world cruise. Now Kirstin's uncomplicated life as a CPA in San Diego has disappeared like magic, and she not only has to deal with he burgeoning magical powers but also a reluctant - ans distractingly sexy - magical arbiter.





Tennyson Ritter is a historian. A scholar by choice, he is yanked from his studies to act as arbiter for the newly chosen fairy godmother. He doesn't want to waste his time with a woman who doesn't know anything about magic or the magical world, but soon the beguiling Kristin draws him away from his books and into her life.





But before Kristin can hone her skills and pass the tests necessary to fully claim her powers, she and Tennyson must work together to defend the world - both magical and human - against those who would claim her powers for their own."





Book Blurb. (More info HERE)

Publisher: Tor Books

Original Release Date: May 1st, 2010

My Copy: ARC

Pre-Order This Book @Amazon or @Barnes & Noble!

Author's Website

I have to say that The Wish List was a very pleasant surprise to me. I read the whole book in just a few hours because I could not put it down for a second and I even missed a class because I lost track of time.





Kristin's world turns upside down when her three "aunts" tell her that magic is real and not only that, she is meant to be one of the the next generation of fairy godmothers that are rising to substitute them. Our heroine needs to come to terms with the fact that only the world the Brothers Grimm portraited is real, she is a part of it.





The "aunts" leave her to her own devices, since they are not supposed to train her at all and she meets Tannyson Ritter, the man who is supposed to evaluate her and determine if she is suitable to be a fairy godmother.





I loved the premise to this new series, I found it so refreshing. I mean, as an avid reader of Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy, one gets her fair share of witches, weres, vamps and so on... This was a first, a heroine that is a fairy godmother. I have to say that Gabi Stevens not only delivered but thrived in delivering a fresh new take in the Paranormal Romance realm.





I mean, let's be honest amongst a world with so many UF and PNR worlds, no one is inventing the wheel anymore and it is always cool to find a new series that has a fresh take or a new point of view in a genre that already has so many.





Kristin is a very likable character and our reluctant heroine. I loved watching her evolve in this book from someone that didn't believe in magic to someone that was not afraid to put herself on the line for the people she cares about. She is not a tough-as-nails, kick-ass-heroin but she is very intelligent, quick, has magic and awesome powers on her side.





Tennyson is a great leading man. So infuriating and rude at first, he also evolves through the novel and becomes very swoon worthy. Granted that since the beginning he has a sex appeal that you cannot deny, besides being sweet, but Kristin takes longer than us readers to figure that out hehe =)





I have to say I did guess who the villain was before the characters did, but it did not take away any of the fun in this book. The villain is creepy and when his mask finally falls off, you just wish Kristin would throw a "troll" at him (villain will remain unnamed to avoid spoilers). 





The Wish List is a great start to a very promising series. A fast paced, fun and light novel that I recommend to any PNR fan out there. I cannot wait for the next book in this series!

Smut Level: 3.5/5 =)

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