Guest Post: Author Ciye Cho

Far beyond heaven, earth and hell is a city known as Palladino, a place ruled by ghosts and filled with demons, magic, and all sorts of darkly beautiful things. A city where no one can ever escape.

Eighteen-year-old Rory is a cake decorator who makes stunning confections. But no amount of frosting or miracles can save her when a demon kidnaps her—and carries her to Palladino. Here, Rory ends up in a deadly charm school where young women are forced to become companions for the Ghost Lords. And for her to survive, Rory must become everything that she isn’t: graceful, elegant... and perfect.

But nothing is what it seems in Palladino. Not the magic. Not the ghosts. And definitely not Martin Marius, the bizarre Ghost Lord-slash-inventor who is drawn to Rory. For amid a thousand machines and a hundred cats, Martin holds a secret that could change everything. A secret that could either free Rory... or destroy her.

 

YA Haiku

Young-adult books are
magical things for readers
and dream believers.

To the young, they are
mirrors of a life they know.
(or wish they knew of.)

To the young at heart,
they are reminders of things
we must not forget.

all those joys, blunders,
dizzying fears and wonders.
And relationships.

young love, first love and
the dreaded love triangle.
Oh, the way hearts fly!

YA books take you far,
far away to worlds unknown
and worlds close to home.

-- Ciye Cho

 

About the Author:

 

 

Ciye Cho lives in Australia and works as a graphic designer. He writes YA novels in his free time--and his head is often lost in the clouds or some place far from reality...

 

Author's Website

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ARC Review: Florence by Ciye Cho

Seventeen-year-old Florence Waverley is out of her depth. Literally. Kidnapped and taken below the waves to the mer world of Niemela, she is the ultimate gift for merman Prince Kiren: a human familiar tied to his side. But nothing is what it seems amid the beauty and danger of a dark ocean.

Every Niemelan has a role to play, from the mermaids who weave towers out of kelp to the warriors who fight sea monsters. But in trying to survive, Florence will end up in the middle of a war between the mer and the Darkness. A conflict that will push her between two brothers: Kiren, the charmer inexplicably drawn to both her and the monsters; and Rolan, the loner who has been pushing her away since the day they met. But in order to take a stand--and find out where she belongs--Florence will have to risk it all: her life, her heart... and her very soul.

All I can say is....please let there be a sequel in the works! I had so much fun with this one. I have always been a fan of fantasy and mermaids are one of those creatures within the genre that just fascinates me for whatever reason, and Cho only furthered that compulsion of mine. The characters and the world Cho created with this title are fun, imaginative to say the least, and the creativity knows no bounds.

The royal family readers will meet will find hard not to be immediately drawn to and curious beyond measure as to what they currently face and have been dealing with for years. The struggles, the wonders they encounter and the way they go about things caught my attention and I had a hard time looking away. A fast read for sure, mainly because I didn't want to stop reading once I was in the swing of things. I was desperate to know what would happen next and how the characters would fare among the trials they were being put through. Florence was cute and brave and a female lead that grew on me. The brothers she meets were quite the pair.

Give this one a try if you're looking for an upbeat and fun read this summer. It hits shelves on the 1st of July and while I'm hoping and crossing my fingers that this adventure doesn't end with only one book, you can bet I'll be keeping an eye out for future installments.

I gave Florence 3 shamrocks!!!