Book Review - The Claires: An Ascenders Novel by C.L. Gaber + Giveaway

Photo Credit - Amazon

Four girls are born together but, they are not identical. They are named Claire and each has a different ability. One can see visions of the future, another can feel another person's pain, one can tap into the spirit world, and other has clear knowing. 

They were originally born in 1911 and first died together in 1928. The Claires are a victim of a curse where they perish at the age of seventeen and are reborn two months later. The Claires are always violently murdered and then reborn to a woman who finds out she is pregnant. The Claires try to break the curse that ensures they die young. Can they find a way to break the curse?

This novel was my foray into the Ascenders series. The writing style was engaging and easy to get into. I was in between loving this novel and liking it. The story was very engrossing read about four young women trying to change their destiny. Since I am new to the series, I felt like I was missing some story nuances on the characters. There were some portions of the novel that felt strange and completely unbelievable. For example, the way Claire C. slaps a student on the face in front of the school's administration. Instead of being punished, I felt like the Claires could do whatever they want. I had a hard time understanding how they can try to do nice acts to save themselves but, be so cruel to people. Then they start becoming annoyed when someone was being cruel to them but, they are cruel to other people for no reason. I think if I read that other books in the series, the Claire characters would be more clear to me. I can't wait to read the other books in the series.

**Disclosure - I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion. This post may contain affiliate links which means I earn advertising and/or referral fees if you purchase an item through my link. Please note, there will be no extra charges to you. Thank you for your support.**

Print Length: 417 pages
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0996242015
Publisher: Big Picture Media Inc. (January 14, 20MTV.com20)
Publication Date: January 14, 2020
Language: English
ASIN: B07ZYB6W2J

Praise for THE ASCENDERS SERIES

"Teenage angst like you've never seen it before." —MTV.com

"I wish I could go back and read it again and again - not knowing what would happen." —MUGGLENET.com, the world's largest Harry Potter site.

Four beautiful girls. Quadruplets. They are not identical.
But each is named Claire.
Claire V is Clairvoyant—clear seeing with visions of the future.
Claire S is Clairsentient—clear feeling as she embraces another’s pain.
Claire A is Clairaudient—clear hearing to tap into the spirit world.
Claire C is Claircognizant—clear knowing with 100% accuracy.

Born in 1911, they first died together in 1928 at age seventeen. Two months later, they were reborn. And reborn. THE CLAIRES only live to seventeen and then they’re violently murdered. Somewhere in the world, a woman finds out she’s pregnant with quads. The Claires return to a new family as they try to break a curse that guarantees they die young.

It’s current-day Los Angeles, and once again, their seventeenth birthday is looming. Can they save themselves, clean up the streets in the name of penance, and crash their own prom?

The Claires is the first novel spin-off of the best-selling Ascenders Book Saga. Also available in paperback starting on January 14, 2020.

You can purchase The Claires: An Ascenders Novel at the following Retailers:

        

Photo Content from C.L. Gaber

I’m C.L. Gaber, an author and film journalist for the New York Times Syndicate and Chicago Sun Times. I also co-authored Jex Malone series. Originally from Chicago, I make my home in Nevada with my husband, bonus daughter and two unruly dogs.

My husband knows that Ascenders began with me in bathroom half the night writing on tiny notepads because I didn’t want to wake him. When daylight did roll around, I told him, ”Baby, I had the most incredible dream”.

        

PART ONE - REVIEW AND INTERVIEWS

FEBRUARY 24th MONDAY JeanBookNerd INTERVIEW

FEBRUARY 25th TUESDAY Books, Dreams, Life EXCERPT

FEBRUARY 25th TUESDAY BookHounds YA INTERVIEW 

FEBRUARY 26th WEDNESDAY Insane About Books REVIEW

FEBRUARY 26th WEDNESDAY Crossroad Reviews REVIEW

FEBRUARY 27th THURSDAY Casia's Corner REVIEW 

FEBRUARY 27th THURSDAY Nay's Pink Bookshelf REVIEW 

PART TWO - REVIEWS

FEBRUARY 28th FRIDAY Ya It's Lit REVIEW 

FEBRUARY 28th FRIDAY Books Less Travelled REVIEW

FEBRUARY 28th FRIDAY Gwendalyn's Books REVIEW

FEBRUARY 29th SATURDAY Pages and Pugs REVIEW

FEBRUARY 29th SATURDAY TTC Books and More REVIEW

MARCH 1st SUNDAY Two Points of Interest REVIEW 

MARCH 1st SUNDAY J.R.'s Book Reviews REVIEW

*JBN is not responsible for Lost or Damaged Books in your Nerdy Mail Box*

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Book Review - On a Summer Tide by Suzanne Woods Fisher

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Camden Grayson loves a challenge. Her professional career has never been better but, the rest of her life needs improvement.  Her sisters believe that her motto of "moving on" isn't helping her. Cam's life gets all topsy turvy when her father sells their childhood home to buy a remote island off the coast of Maine.

Paul Grayson and his deceased wife shared a dream of returning to the camp where they first met and fell in love. However, while Paul was busy chasing his career, his wife passed away during an unfortunate accident. He decided that he spent too much of his time waiting to achieve their dreams and decides to buy the island. He believes that he already wasted time he could have spent with this wife but, now he can use this time to bond with his daughters. Will the island provide solace to the family? Will they be able to find their path of happiness?

I grew up and spent most of my time in the city but, I have visited a few islands. Living on an island or even a small community has a different pace of time. A person can breathe and reconnect with each other and Mother Nature. The novel showed how people sometimes get caught up with the daily demands of life that they forgot to take time and reconnect with themselves and each other. The novel was a nice cozy read about three sisters finding their path to happiness along with a few twists.

**Disclosure - I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion. This post may contain affiliate links which means I earn advertising and/or referral fees if you purchase an item through my link. Please note, there will be no extra charges to you. Thank you for your support.**

Book Review - All the Bad Apples by Moïra Fowley-Doyle

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Deena refuses to believe her wilder older sister Mandy is dead when she goes missing.  When letters start arriving from Mandy, Deena believes that Mandy is asking Deena to find her. The letters detail their family's history of a curse that affects women from generation to generation. Mandy decides to go search for the root of the curse before it's too late for Deena. Deena travels cross country guided by Mandy's letters that appear out of nowhere. Will Deena be able to find Mandy before it's too late?

I am torn between loving and liking this book. The book had a powerful message about friendship, being yourself, and women's rights. I love how the characters were connected and how they preserved during their hardships. The magical story had me captivated from the beginning to the ending with the unique storyline. A definite read for anyone who likes books about witches/banshees, magic, and friendship.

 **Disclosure -  This post may contain affiliate links which means I earn advertising and/or referral fees if you purchase an item through my link. Please note, there will be no extra charges to you. Thank you for your support.**

Book Review - House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig

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Annaleigh lives a privileged life at Highmoor with her sisters and her father and stepmother. She used to be one of twelve sisters but, one by one her four sisters' lives has been cut short. Each one of their deaths more tragic than the previous. There are whispers in the village that the family is cursed by the gods.

After a series of ghostly visions, Annaleigh is convinced that there is something suspicious of her sister's deaths. The girls decide that they are done with mourning and decide to sneak out every night to attend balls and dance until dawn in their fancy silk gowns and shimmering slippers. Annaleigh is unsure if she stops them or joins them in their forbidden outings. She wonders who are they really dancing with as more darkness befall her family. Will Annaleigh be able to figure out who is behind her family's tragedies? 

I thought the novel was an engrossing and well-written read. I did find some parts to be a bit boring and the ending to be predictable. However, I did enjoy the world-building aspects of the novel and the different characters. At times, I felt that there was too much going on but, overall I did enjoy reading the book.

 **Disclosure -  This post may contain affiliate links which means I earn advertising and/or referral fees if you purchase an item through my link. Please note, there will be no extra charges to you. Thank you for your support.**

Book Review - Charlotte Brontë Before Jane Eyre by Glynnis Fawkes + Giveaway

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Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre is a well known classic and beloved by people of all ages. It is known as a literary masterpiece. This graphic novel shows how Jane Eyre was born out of Charlotte's personal hardship and tragedy. The work was originally published under Currer Bell. In Jane Eyre, Charlotte tried to show characters who were often ignored in popular literature at the time.

Fans of Charlotte Bronte will love this graphic novel. I found the book shows an interesting point of view of Charlotte's life. It was interesting to see how she was struggling to find a job that she could support herself with. Overall, it would the perfect book for any Charlotte Bronte fan.

  **Disclosure - I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion. This post may contain affiliate links which means I earn advertising and/or referral fees if you purchase an item through my link. Please note, there will be no extra charges to you. Thank you for your support.**

CHARLOTTE BRONTE BEFORE JANE EYRE ASSETS

About the Book:

Title: CHARLOTTE BRONTE BEFORE JANE EYRE

Author: Glynnis Fawkes

Pub. Date: September 24, 2018

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook

Pages: 112

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, Amazon Paperback, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD

Do you think, because I am poor, obscure, plain and little, I am soulless and heartless? You think wrong!--I have as much soul as you,--and full as much heart!

Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre is a beloved classic, celebrated today by readers of all ages and revered as a masterwork of literary prowess. But what of the famous writer herself?

Originally published under the pseudonym of Currer Bell, Jane Eyre was born out of a magnificent, vivid imagination, a deep cultivation of skill, and immense personal hardship and tragedy. Charlotte, like her sisters Emily and Anne, was passionate about her work. She sought to cast an empathetic lens on characters often ignored by popular literature of the time, questioning societal assumptions with a sharp intellect and changing forever the landscape of western literature.

With an introduction by Alison Bechdel, Charlotte Brontë before Jane Eyre presents a stunning examination of a woman who battled against the odds to make her voice heard.

About Glynnis:

I'm an cartoonist and illustrator living in Burlington, VT.

My most recent book is Charlotte Bronte Before Jane Eyre, Center for Cartoon Studies Presents series, will be published in September 2019 by Disney/Hyperion. Also in September, Secret Acres will publish Persephone’s Garden, a collection of autobiographical comics that have appeared in the New Yorker and other places.

I began working on excavations as illustrator in 1998 and have worked on sites in Greece, Crete, Turkey, Israel, Cyprus, Syria, and Lebanon.  I continue to work in Greece every year.   My illustrations have been published in several books and many articles.  

Many of my personal comics reflect a career in archaeology and family life.  Greek Diary is about working on a dig and traveling with children.  My drawings about my children were published regularly on Muthamagazine.com  and were nominated for an Ignatz Award at the Small Press Expo in 2016.

Another project, Alle Ego, is about my first trip to Greece and how it launched my work in the direction of archaeology.  A draft of this book won the MoCCA Arts Festival Award in NY in 2016.  I drew most of it during a residency at La Maison des Auteurs in Angouleme, and I plan to return to work on this book in the future.

I’m currently working on a middle grade adventure set after the eruption of Thera in Late Bronze Age Greece.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest |  Tumblr | Goodreads

Giveaway Details:

3 winners will receive finished copies of CHARLOTTE BRONTE BEFORE JANE EYRE, US Only.

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Tour Schedule:

Week One:

9/2/2019- Odd and Bookish- Excerpt

9/3/2019- Country Road Reviews- Excerpt

9/4/2019- dwantstoread- Review

9/5/2019- A Dream Within A Dream- Excerpt

9/6/2019- Lifestyle Of Me- Review

Week Two:

9/9/2019- Christen Krumm, Writer, Reader, Serious Coffee Drinker- Review

9/10/2019- Careful of Books- Review

9/11/2019- Character Madness and Musings- Excerpt

9/12/2019- Fictitiouswonderland- Review

9/13/2019- Fyrekatz Blog- Review

Week Three:

9/16/2019- Little Red Reads- Excerpt

9/17/2019- Book-Keeping- Review

9/18/2019- Life of a Simple Reader- Excerpt

9/19/2019- Kati's Bookaholic Rambling Reviews- Excerpt

9/20/2019- Inspired by Savannah- Review

Week Four:

9/23/2019- History from a Woman’s Perspective- Review

9/24/2019- Wishful Endings- Excerpt

9/25/2019- Just Another Reader- Review

9/26/2019- Jade Writes Books- Review

9/27/2019- Rants and Raves of a Bibliophile- Review

Week Five:

9/30/2019- two points of interest- Review