The Lost Year Series Blog Tour: review and giveaway

Hi everyone! Hope you're enjoying your Saturday. We are one of the hosts for The Last Year Series Blog Tour today. This tour is presented by AToMR Book Blog Tours. The Last Year is a YA series fans of dystopian, sci-fi and fantasy will want to read. Our review is below and there is a giveaway which is open internationally. Thanks for spending part of your weekend with us.

Whispers in Autumn (The Last Year, book #1) by Trisha Leigh

YA Sci-fi/fantasy*Paperback, 388 pages*ebook

Published July 24th 2012 by CreateSpace (first published July 21st 2012)
Add it to your Goodreads | Purchase: Amazon | B&N

In 2015, a race of alien Others conquered Earth. They enslaved humanity not by force, but through an aggressive mind control that turned people into contented, unquestioning robots. 

Except sixteen-year-old Althea isn’t content at all, and she doesn’t need the mysterious note inside her locket to tell her she’s Something Else. It also warns her to trust no one, so she hides the pieces that make her different, even though it means being alone. 

Then she meets Lucas, everything changes. 

Althea and Lucas are immune to the alien mind control, and together they search for thereason why. What they uncover is a stunning truth the Others never anticipated, one with thepotential to free the brainwashed human race. 

It’s not who they are that makes them special, but what.

And what they are is a threat. One the Others are determined to eliminate for good.

Winter Omens (The Last Year, book #2) by Trisha Leigh

Paperback, 398 pages*ebook*Published September 25th 2012

Add to your Goodreads | Purchase: Amazon | B&N

Althea and Lucas barely escaped the Others’ clutches in the autumn, and were separated in the process. Alone and on the run from the cruel alien race determined to exterminate her, Althea struggles to adapt and survive in a world she never imagined. 

When a boy named Pax appears out of nowhere, he quickly recognizes Althea for what she is – a human/Other hybrid just like him. Althea begs him to help her find Lucas, but Pax refuses, intent on following his own mysterious agenda. 

The Others’ presence continues to devour the planet’s resources, and if history is an indication, they won’t leave until Earth is destroyed beyond repair. Althea and Pax sense theonly way to save themselves – and maybe their home – is to understand the powers simmering inside them. 

Together they push the limits of their capabilities in the quiet Wilds, but are soon confronted with a terrifying fact: no place is safe from the relentless pursuit of the Others.

Least of all their own minds.

About the author:

Trisha Leigh

Website

Raised by a family of ex-farmers and/or almost rocks stars from Southeastern Iowa, Trisha Leigh has a film degree from Texas Christian University. She currently lives in Kansas City, MO. Whispers in Autumn is her first novel, and she's hard at work on the remainder of the series. Her spare time is spent reviewing television and movies, relaxing with her loud, loving family, reading any book that falls into her hands, and being dragged into the fresh air by her dogs Yoda and Jilly.

Review: 

Whispers In Autumn is a fresh tale in the populated marketplace we call YA. Books for today's young adult audience no longer includes just tweens and teens, but also adults. Trisha Leigh has written an intriguing story with a solid plot and scary premise. Since the story takes place in 2015 (which is three years away), this adds a certain weird time element--at least it did for this reader. Imagine the earth, humans, being taken over and commanded by an alien race that controls our minds. Mind control. Whoa. Althea, 16, has a locket containing a secret slip of paper which calls her "Something Else." What is she then? She already knows she's not like everyone else. She's lucky--she isn't controlled by the Others. Althea thinks there is something wrong with her until she meets Lucas and soon realizes she is not alone in not being 'normal'. When they're discovered by the Others, humans who cannot be controlled must be eliminated and these two teens have to figure out what they need to do to stay alive.

Thank goodness Althea and Lucas don't fall in love by the third chapter. They. Take. Their. Time. And this brings to two clearly drawn individuals an added factor--they are believable. I liked them both. Another aspect of this novel I really liked was the way it was written. Trisha Leigh writes with a blend of prose, nice description, lovely images, and straddles so many of my favorite genres like dystopian, fantasy, and sc-fi. Whispers In Autumn is a refreshingly told futuristic tale of two teens who may be "Something Else" and offer the reader a lot to cherish and enjoy.

Winter Omens hooks the reader from the first page, continuing Althea and Lucas on the run. Unfortunately, with the Others pursuing them, they become separated and Althea finds herself in the Wilds, with a dog/wolf for a companion. She encounters a guy named Pax, and like she did with Lucas, she isn't trusting. Until she sees Pax is just like her, some type of hybrid human. She wants to find Lucas, Pax wants to discover more about his power, their power. Althea has no choice but to help him in order to get back to the guy she loves. But.... There's always a but in good stories. The more time these two spend together, the more their attraction intensifies. Meanwhile, the Others have devised a way to 'get' to Althea--when she sleeps. The poor girl is tempted by Pax when awake, tormented by Others in her sleep. Determined to continue her quest to save mankind and the planet, Althea and Pax need to search for the four seasons of the elements to help with their powers. 

Once again, the author takes us on a roller coaster ride of twists, turns, and exciting chases. I liked the dynamics of this love triangle and how Althea fights her physical attraction to Pax in order to protect her relationship to Lucas and remain loyal. Reading both books back-to-back heightened my enjoyment in the series. Recommended.

Rating: 4 for both.

Cover comment: I like the simplicity and the colors of these covers. 

Book source: I received eARCs from the author in return for my honest reviews during a book tour.

Giveaway:

The author is giving away (3) $10 Gift Cards to Amazon or Barnes Noble (winner's choice.) Open international.

a Rafflecopter giveaway