{Review/Giveaway} AWAKE by Jessica Grey

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Did you see today's interview with author Jessica Grey?

On Wednesday, author Jessica Grey's guest post,
Fairy Tale 2.0 - Modernizing Your Favorite Tales,
appeared on The Book Rat for FTF!

AWAKE is available as an e-book on nook/Kindle/etc. for only $3.99!
VIEWS FROM THE TOWER, Jessica Grey's collection of 
fairy tale short stories, is available for only 99¢!
What a great deal!

O P E N I N G   H O O K:

THE LAST PLACE Alexandra Martin expected to see Luke Reed was at orientation for summer interns at the Museum Guild of Los Angeles. 

Quite honestly, Alex hadn't expected to see Luke anywhere after graduation  except maybe in the occasional news report about minor league baseball and eventually the majors.  Rumor had it he'd already signed a contract with a major league team and was going to be playing in their minor league farm system starting that summer.  Not that she paid any attention to rumors about Luke Reed.

(Page 4, US e-book edition)

What would happen if Sleeping Beauty never woke up?  She never discovered her prince, never found true love.  Jessica Grey explores this issue in her debut novel AWAKE, complete with a unique spin where we wind up with a modern-day Sleeping Handsome, where the girl gets to be the hero for once.

Alex has always been very scientific.  She loves gems and rocks, making her yearly summer internship at the Gem and Mineral Museum of Los Angeles a dream come true.  When GeMMLA scores a huge coup and brings over the precious stones from a recent archaeological dig, the practical world she knows and loves crumbles.  She goes to work early only to discover a strange girl in Medieval clothes wandering around, and a guy who looks strangely like her childhood friend Luke sleeping on a stunning, gem-ladden bed.  The strange girl, Lilia, claims that he kissed her and fell into an enchanted sleep himself.  Alex must now come to terms with whether or not fairy tales are real, since Lilia is claiming to be a princess from a kingdom long-dead and there's no way Luke could have grown such a long beard overnight.  Teaming up with her friend Becca, the three girls set about researching the curse and attempting to save Luke while keeping Lilia a secret.  They also discover stunning truths and find themselves in more trouble than they could have ever envisioned...

Jessica Grey's book of short stories, out now!

I don't know what I was expecting when I read AWAKE, but it never occurred to me that we'd get a Sleeping Handsome out of the deal.  It was really interesting to consider, "What would happen if the man who found Sleeping Beauty and kissed her awake wasn't her true love?"  Well, obviously the curse would transfer.  She'd wake up and he'd fall into his own enchanted sleep.  I thought that was pretty creative.  I also enjoyed watching three girls put on their thinking caps and use their brains to solve the mysteries of the past.  It does take a while for the book to get off the ground, but once the fairy tale elements are introduced, the story begins and it's easier to fall into.  I was never a scientific, pragmatic girl, but I love that Alex is, and think that we need more girls like her in YA for the teenagers who are that way.  I liked that science blended with fantasy to create a tale that actually could take place in today's world.

According to Grey, a sequel entitled ATONE is tentatively set to release by the end of June.  It's another fairy tale, this time featuring Alex's friend Becca!

~*~

C O V E R   D E S I G N:

Not my favorite color scheme.  I do like the way the girl's face is shadowed by a city.  The addition of the thorny roses and the girl's closed eyes lead readers to believe this is a tale of Sleeping Beauty, though they won't expect the unique storyline.

I do, however, prefer the cover for Jessica Grey's newest title, VIEWS FROM THE TOWER, which has more of a fairy tale vibe for me.

   ~*~

O F F I C I A L   I N F O:

Title:  AWAKE

Author: Jessica Grey

Release Date: Feb. 4, 2012
Publisher: Tall House Books
Received: For Review

SUMMARY:

Alexandra Martin didn’t believe in fairytales… 

Alex has always been more interested in rocks and science than stories about princesses and magic. Now she’s far too busy with her summer internship at the Gem and Mineral Museum to think about children’s stories. Between avoiding her former best friend and high school baseball star, Luke Reed, and trying to hide her unrequited crush on her mentor at the museum, the real world is occupying all of her time. 

…Until she walked into one. It turns out fairytales aren’t all fun and games. A curse has turned her neat and orderly world upside down, and to break it, she bands together with a fellow intern and a recently awakened princess who’s been asleep for 900 years. Can this trio of unlikely heroines put an end to an ominous enchantment, discover true love, and keep an ancient and evil magic from being unleashed on modern-day Los Angeles?

  ***GIVEAWAY**** 

Jessica has kindly offered up two prizes for Fairy Tale Fortnight readers! 

One winner (US/CAN) will win a paperback copy of Awake: a Fairytale, 

and a second winner (INTERNATIONAL) will win an e-book prize pack of Awake and Views from the Tower! 

This giveaway ends April 10, 2013 at 12am EST. Fill out the Rafflecopter below to enter. 

Good luck!! 

*As with all of the giveaways for Fairy Tale Fortnight, make sure you've already filled out our Giveaway Registration Form - this only needs to be done once! Please do not leave any sensitive info or email addresses in the comments!!

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