My sister site and author friend Jimena Novaro is throwing a cover reveal tour for her upcoming novel, Blue Rabbit! I’m so excited that she’s finally releasing her book, because she’s been working on it for a long time, and I’ve been waiting impatiently to read it. I bet you’ll want to read it, too, when you see this gorgeous cover she’s got:
About Blue Rabbit:
In Knoxville, Tennessee, there’s a bridge to another world.
When they first cross it, Erika and her friends feel like they’ve stumbled into a dream. Magical and mysterious, the other world becomes their little paradise, a place to explore and escape from their everyday lives. Until one night a boy from school, Mike, follows them to the other side―and he’s kidnapped by strange and powerful Creatures.
Back home, everyone thinks Erika and the gang are responsible for Mike’s disappearance. The dream has become a nightmare. How can they negotiate with these Creatures to rescue Mike and clear their names? And why are the Creatures fixated on Erika, who feels drawn to their world even as she senses the danger?
Edited to add: If you use the Goodreads button to add the book to “Want To Read” shelf, then you’re automatically entered in a giveaway for a free copy of the Blue Rabbit ebook! Jimena will randomly select 5 people who add the book to their shelves before the release date, December 28. And all it takes is one button click!
About the Author:
Jimena Novaro always knew she would be a writer. It just took her a few years to realize that she wanted to do it full-time, and relegate things like going into outer space and being an opera prima donna to hobbies. She loves reading and writing science fiction, fantasy, and YA. A self-proclaimed geeky sort of nerd, she spends a lot of her time fangirling over her favorite shows, books, and bands and educating herself about super-important topics such as how to survive an arrow wound and whether or not you can shoot a gun in space. Sometimes she gets super serious and rants about some socio-political issue or other.
She’s a member of the awesome fantasy authors group Mystic Quills. You can find her free epic fantasy serial, The Withering Sword, on her website (a new chapter comes out every Sunday!) Her first book, Blue Rabbit, a YA urban fantasy, comes out this December!
Find her here:
Website: http://www.jimenanovaro.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/JimenaNovaro
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7170198.Jimena_Novaro
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JimenaNovaroWriter
Blue Rabbit by Jimena Novaro
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I flew threw this book! A very unique urban fantasy with a portal to another world. It kept me guessing with twists and turns. The story throws you right into the middle of the action. The five friends have already discovered the portal to another world, explored it a little, and found out its dangers when another boy from their school follows them into the forest, then gets kidnapped by the Creatures–and suddenly our protagonists are blamed for his murder! So they’re already struggling to figure out a way to fight back and hopefully rescue the other boy. The story continues to fast pace by leaping forward through numerous complications and action. At times I wanted a little bit of a breather and a chance to see the things that happened in between, but it definitely kept me hooked.
My favorite part is the relationships between the five main friends in the book. From the beginning, it’s obvious how bonded they are, and we see a few glimpses of their pasts growing up together through little photographs, videos, and other mementos. Later on, I learned that some of these relationships were a little complicated, but that loyalty stayed a common thread throughout the story. It reminded me of some of the intense friendships I had in my own teen years.
There was one disturbing part of the story, but the author handled it with subtlety and the actual event took place off-camera. I was nervous when I realized what was going to happen but relieved that I didn’t actually have to read it described directly. Instead, the author just shows how it affects the character afterward, in a very delicate and realistic way.
A lot of sacrifices were made along the way, and I was saddened by some of the ending, but overall it resolved the story and I felt there was hope for the future of the survivors. Interestingly, the final scene is not shown from the perspective of any of the main characters, but by a minor family member. It was intriguing to see a glimpse of the group of friends from an outsider’s viewpoint.
Overall, I loved this book, and I look forward to reading it again! A stunning debut novel from Jimena Novaro!
