Book Review - Dead Radiance by T. G. Ayer

Bryn Halbrook had always seen the glow. But it is only when her best friend dies that she discovers the meaning of those beautiful golden auras — Death. Alone, lost in the foster system, she struggles to understand who she is and why she was cursed with the ability to see the soon-to-be-dead. 

The new foster kid, Aidan, isn’t helping any. Mr. Perfect seems to fit in no matter what, making her feel even more pathetic. But when his affections turn to her, Bryn finds him hard to resist. Impossible actually. A mystery himself, Aidan disappears, leaving behind a broken heart and a mysterious book that suggests Bryn might not be entirely human. 

Bryn stands at the threshold of a journey of discovery. Will destiny help her find herself, find her purpose and her place in a world in which she’d never belonged?


Okay - before I start with the guts of this review I just want to talk about the cover. Hello!! Gorgeous! Check out those amazing wings. I love it. This is one of those covers that made me want to read the book without even looking a the blurb. A great start, Ms. Ayer :)


I really enjoyed this book. The writing is elegant and intelligent. It is packed full of mysterious and questions that keep you turning the pages.


I really liked Bryn right from the outset. She is a strong, female character who is compassionate and very easy to cheer for. Her love interest, Aidan, is a total babe and I liked him from the second he pulled into her driveway on his motorbike.


The story leaves earth pretty quickly and you get to hang out with gods like Odin, as well as spend a little time with Valkyries, Warriors and Ulfrs. Ayer describes this world beautifully. I could picture everything so clearly. 


As much as I was fascinated with this world, I couldn't wait for the story to get back to earth. I wanted more of Aidan and Bryn's relationship. The story does head back there eventually and I loved that whole sequence.  I don't want to give anything away, but Bryn has a very cool mission to complete and throughout it gets one surprise after the next thrown in her direction. I really liked that.


I wanted more romance in this story, but I think that's more personal preference. We all know I'm a romantic sap and enjoy books with a very strong emotional element. Ayer has probably opened up the book to a much wider audience by not dwelling on the romance too much. Boys would really enjoy this book. It is action packed, interesting, fantastical - it's a really awesome read.


I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a little magic and mystery.
Norse mythology is pretty cool and Ayer has done a great job at wrapping a compelling story around it.


If you want to check out more on the book you can find it on:
Goodreads, Amazon and Facebook


You can also learn more about the author on her blog:
tgayer.wordpress.com and Facebook


There is a particularly cool character interview on Ayer's blog at the moment. Definitely worth checking out.


I hope you enjoy the book. I'm certainly looking forward to the second one!!

Friday Favourites - Family

Most characters in YA books come from some sort of family - whether they are close knit or ships passing in the night. I actually quite like it when the character has siblings or a close relationship with at least one of their parents. I like to see what the parents are like and the kind of home the character comes from... it helps  me understand the character's make up - why the behave the way they do sometimes.

So - who are your favourite YA families from books you've read or movies you've seen?

I really love the Cullens. I think Alice is awesome... in fact she's probably my favourite character from the series, along with Jasper. Their close knit family makes the books so much better.

Another favourite is the Weasley family from Harry Potter. They are so cool. The twins are so much fun and Ginny is just super sweet. Ron's parents are awesome. I love the way they take Harry under their wing.

So who do you like?

Which families do you think make the story so much stronger?

Forbidden Territory - first interview!

With the pending release of Forbidden Territory, we thought we'd bring in one of the main characters so you can get to know her a little bit. Meet Lexy Connell!

Hey Lexy, thanks for coming in today. Why don't you start by telling us a little bit about yourself.
Hi. Well I'm from New Zealand, a little tiny town called Te Anau. I'm super excited as this is my first interview, although you don't know me yet, you soon will once you read about my and Mica's adventures later this year.

Melissa and Brenda have written our story in a book called 'Forbidden Territory'. And they have written EVERYTHING... Mica and I fighting like cats and dogs, about both of us falling in love and racing through the bush for our lives. I can't wait for you to read it.

So how old are you and tell us more about the 'love' bit of the book:
I'm sixteen, nearly seventeen, and I've met the most amazing guy in the world (you'll read all about him too). His name is Tom and he's an exchange student from England. He's not just gorgeous but he has the most awesomely cool accent. Don't you just love different accents?

Totally. So the book is about you and your best friend Mica. What's she like?
Mica is the most awesome chick in the world. She basically is my sister but my exact opposite, we are two halves of a whole but occasionally we start World War 3. She's a band geek, but in a totally cool way and is feisty and fiery just like her burnt orange curls. We've known each other since we were eight when my family moved in next door to hers. Mica doesn't have any brothers or sisters so her parents take on exchange students every year... enter Tom!

Do you have siblings?
Eli is my older brother. He just got home from Africa a few months ago, thank goodness as I was going mad being the only kid in the house. Mum and Dad can be a tad annoying.

What can you tell us about Forbidden Territory?
Heh heh, it's an epic adventure of the weekend we decided to geo-cache in Fiordland National Park. By we I mean, Mica, me, Tom and Eli. I get my first kiss (eeeeekk) and Mica gets more than she bargained for. We also stumble across trouble in a major way, we get separated and the action doesn't stop until we end up locked up. That's all I can say without giving away the story too much. I know you'll love it.

Sounds amazing. Okay one more question. What do you want to do when you leave school?
Easy. Train to be an architect.

Thanks for your time, Lexy. If anyone has any more questions for Lexy, leave a comment and we'll chat to her again soon.

Fancy A Cat Fight?

I'm reading a fantastic book at the moment - Dead Radiance by T. G. Ayer. The book is filled with so many great characters. I've fallen in love with some of them and I'm growing to dislike a couple... one in particular is Astrid. Man - she is one mean cow. I love it!

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I'll never have to meet her in real life, but as I was reading last night, I thought about how much fun Ayer must have had creating this character. There is something so deliciously vicious about a mean female. I don't know what it is, but girls have a special talent for nastiness.

I really want to see Bryn (the heroine of Dead Radiance) put Astrid in her place. I want to relish that triumphant moment when good wins over evil. I think that's why writing a spiteful villain can be so satisfying, because you know, eventually they are going to "get there's"... and it is going to be sweet!

Have you come across any fantastic female characters lately? You know the ones you'd like to put into a room together and see what explosions issue forth?

Personally I'd love to see a face off between the likes of Astrid and... I don't know, the White Witch from Narnia. That'd be fun :)

Friday Favourites ~ Type of guy

I've been thinking about what sort of guy I like as the hero. Do I like them brave or cocky? Strong or sensitive?
Do we have to be attracted to the guy in a book to like the story?

Obviously Edward in Twilight is gorgeous, but is he too perfect? I must say, I got tired of Stephanie Meyer always describing him so perfectly, I know he's a vampire, but COME ON... no one is that perfect. No wonder Bella had a complex about why he even liked her! Jacob on the other hand, was described rather plainly and it wasn't until the movie came out that 'Team Jacob' started.

In Forbidden Territory (our book due out in July) we have two completely different guys. One is strong and independent and a total spunk. The other is more sensitive and a gentler type of guy. It is fun to write different kinds of guys... but I would be interested to hear what the reader prefers. Are you an Edward person (gorgeous, talented, sensitive) or Jacob (muscles, tough, cocky)?

In a book do looks matter? Or can you get away with a plain boy with an awesome personality?
Let us know your thoughts. If you know other teens, send them to our page so we can get their thoughts too!!

Character Description

Do you like a character to be described in full details: ie: hair colour, eyes, height etc... or do you like it to be left to your imagination?

I've read books that have both extremes.
1. Pages are spent describing every detail, from the way the blonde hair curls, right down to the tiny gold flecks in her eyes or
2. Nothing is mentioned apart from a fleeting comment about perhaps long or short hair

I prefer something in between these extremes. Hair colour and style, perhaps an eye colour, but gradually as the story builds, not all in one paragraph like the author is making a list of the character's attributes. Without even being aware of it, my mind will make up a picture of this person and sometimes when I watch the movie of a favourite book I'll be trying to marry my mind's picture with the actor and it doesn't always work.

In Twilight, I had pictured Bella's father sooooo differently to 'Charlie' in the movie, that it took me a long time to see Billy Burke as Bella's dad.

What about you? Do you like lots of description? and are there any movies that a character looked completely different to what your imagination had conjured up?

Have you ever read a book that would make a great movie?

When I write, I see the story play out in my head like a movie.

So when I see books like Hunger Games and Twilight come to life on screen, I get really excited.

Have you ever read a book that you thought would make a great movie?
What was it?
Why do you think it would work so well on screen?

Personally (and I know this will probably sounds biased!), I think the Time Spirit Trilogy would make excellent movies. The stories are fast paced and have good action sequences. I'd love to see the history brought to life. Every time Gemma travels back in time she gets to go to some very cool places. It would be so much fun to see it all on screen. A total dream come true.

I'm also reading another great book at the moment that would work well on screen - Dead Radiance. It's about a teenage girl who is actually a Valkyrie. She gets to meet Odin and discover this amazing world. I'd love to see it brought to life. It would be amazing.

So - what do you think?
Any books out there that should be brought to the attention of Hollywood?