ANNA & THE FRENCH KISS READ-A-LONG: DISCUSSION ANSWERS, GIVEAWAY, & MORE!

Have you guys been having a fabulous time reading along with us in Anna and the French Kiss these last two weeks?!

Molli and I have had an absolutely BLAST co-hosting this fantastic event for you guys! She's done a truly terrific job of picking up my slack for this second week, because I've had a few personal things come up that needed my attention, so I've been running a bit behind. However, I am back in action today, and ready to take on all of my assignments for the rest of this week and for the third and final week in our read-a-long. I'm kind of sad to see it coming to an end, because I've been having such a super teriffic time with reading ANNA for the first time and getting to know you guys and seeing all of your different perspectives on the book.

By now we've gotten through the first and second set of discussion questions and tomorrow, the answers for the second set will be going up on both mine and Molli's blog, along with the linky for you to link up the answers to yours. (Important: Remember that every time you link up ANYTHING it is another entry into the giveaway you don't want to miss out on!) Since I'm playing catch up, I'm going to ahead and post the vlog that I made answers the first set of discussion questions for Chapter's 1-16, and tomorrow I will post the second vlog with the answers to the discussion questions for Chapter's 17-31.

Discussion Answers for
Chapters 1-16

Today, we have a brand new challenge for you! We want you to tell us about an experience YOU had in high school (or college) where you can relate to Anna!

All you have to do to participate in this challenge, is create a post telling us about an experience that you had in high school (or college) where you could find yourself relating to Anna, then share the link with us in the linky below. Doing this will earn you an extra entry into the supa-SEKRET-giveaway for a copy of Ilsa.

Super-SEKRET-Giveaway ISLA AND THE HAPPILY EVER AFTER By Stephaie Perkins
a Rafflecopter giveaway


Hosted By: Molli @ Once Upon A Prolouge & Suz @ A Soul Unsung
REMEMBER

Doing all of the fun challenges and link-up's could possibly earn you extra entry(ies) into the giveaways.

Book Review: Surrender (The Ferryman & the Flame) by Rhiannon Paille

Surrender (The Ferryman & the Flame) by Rhiannon Paille

Published: November 1, 2011

Publisher: Self Published

Age Demographic: YA Fantasy

Pages: 418

How far would you go to save everything you ever loved?

Kaliel was warned about her love for the Ferryman. One day he will marry the land and leave Avristar forever. She doesn't listen, and because of what she is-- a Flame-- one of nine apocalyptic weapons, she sparks a war. In a desperate attempt to save her home and her love, Kaliel tries to awaken Avred, not knowing she may have to make the ultimate sacrifice.

To Purchase Surrender (The Ferryman & the Flame) visit: Amazon & Barnes&Noble

Surrender is a beautiful atmospheric novel, depicted with lush vivid imagery. The world that Rhiannon Paille creates is unlike any other that I've read before, full of splendor and beauty. The attention to detail, is what made this novel so appealing to me. In the world of fantasy, this is the book that you want to be reading, because her sense of narrative and writing style, are essentially what pulls you into the world. Gorgeous and compelling, from the moment you step foot into the world, to the moment that you turn the last page - this book will have you aching for more.

Conceptually, it is one of the most stunning and beautifully written fantasy novels, that I've read in a long time. The world bends to desire, melts into gorgeous scenery, and delights in telling a story that will definitely take you on an epic journey that you won't soon forget. The fantasy is rich and deeply beguiling. The characters and their world is intriguing and full of so much mystery and suspense, that you won't want to put the book down. It has every element that a fantastic fantasy novel should have and so much more to offer the reader.

To say that I was completely enthralled and absorbed in the stunningly original and creatively beautiful world that Rhiannon Paille has created, would definitely be an understatement. I literally thrived on the enchantment of it, alone. The journey that each of these brilliantly developed and wonderfully rich characters took, completely wowed me beyond belief. There is so much attention to detail and background information spun into the myth that Paille created, that sometimes it will set your head spinning. I don't necessarily want to say that it's too much at times, but there is a lot to get through, and sometimes it can lend itself to being a bit confusing.

The characters are wonderfully illustrated, complex, and interesting. Each of them are uniquely different in their own ways and come with their own quirks and fascets that explain who they are. Most of them are likable and easy to connect with for the most part, while few other's may not be. Kaliel was definitely different from most of the other girls in Surrender and I think that's why I was particularly drawn to her. It was nice to see a character that refused to just accept things at face value and in turn eventually ended up doing what she thought was best. Strong and resourceful, but full of her own brand of fire and spunk, Kaliel is definitely a character that I grew to love fiercely for my own personal reasons.

The romance that tenderly develops between Kaliel and Krishani is beautiful. While some might feel as if it were insta-love from the beginning, I actually found it endearing that he would have that much of a connection with Kaliel after having met her only once, to develop one of the many powers he learns in the novel. It's heart warming, touching, and extremely emotionally powerful in many ways. There are gorgeous tragedies in the midst of this complex and extremely captivating world that Rhiannon Paille has encapsulated in this one novel, that will leave readers churning for more. Any fantasy and sci-fi fan would definitely love this series, as it's the beginning of what will be an epic journey to the finish.

Website | Twitter &
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Rhi is the weird one in the red lipstick. She writes Young Adult Fantasy, Dystopian, Urban Fantasy and sometimes Contemporary. When she's not writing she's reading minds, singing karaoke, and burning cookies. You can find her sipping iced cappuccino at www.yafantasyauthor.com.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS #1: ANNA & THE FRENCH KISS READ-A-LONG

Have you guys been reading along with us in Anna and the French Kiss?! 

If you have, Molli and I, thought it would be fun to include some discussion questions to go along with the read-a-long. Ya know, just to kind of get to know one another a little better and also spark some extra discussion about this awesome book. So, I thought I'd share the first batch of them with you.

Discussion Questions for
Chapters 1-16

Anna is afraid to really experience Paris when she arrives. Would you be, or would you look at it as an adventure?

Which of the characters we meet – Anna, St Clair, Josh, Rashmi, or Meredith – do you most identify with? Why?

Anna is drawn to St Clair, as well, everyone is. She wants to be “just friends” with him. Do you think this will be possible for her? Can a guy and a girl BE just friends?

What are your first impressions of Anna? Of St Clair?

What’s your favorite moment from what we’ve read so far?

All you have to do is create a post on your blog that includes the read-a-long event button, with links back to both mine and Molli's blog, with your answers to the discussion questions. On Friday, April 5th, both Molli and I will be posting our answers to the questions as well - along with a linky where you can submit the link to your answers!

Hosted By: Molli @ Once Upon A Prolouge & Suz @ A Soul Unsung
REMEMBER

Doing this could possibly earn you extra entry(ies) into the giveaways.

KICK-OFF: ANNA & THE FRENCH KISS READ-A-LONG

Are you guys ready to KICK-OFF the Anna and the French Kiss Read-A-Long!? 

All you have to do is sign-up, grab the button below, and your copy of ANNA. That's it, easy as pie.


Hosted By: Molli @ Once Upon A Prolouge & Suz @ A Soul Unsung

You guys don't want to miss out on this, because there are going to be TONS OF FUN THINGS going on for the next three weeks! Awesome discussion questions, supa-SEKRET giveaway(s), mini-challenges, and so much more. To give you a better idea, you can find more about the schedule for this epic read-a-long brought to you in part by Molli and Suz!

SCHEDULE FOR ANNA & THE FRENCH KISS READ-A-LONG

April 1 – Kick-off post with schedule of events (HI GUYS!)
April 2 – First discussion questions at A Soul Unsung and Once Upon a Prologue (Covering chapters 1-16!)
April 3 – Molli's experience reading ANNA. (You guys can do this too, but you don’t have to – it’s not a challenge.)
April 4 – First challenge post at Once Upon a Prologue: Post a picture of yourself with your copy of ANNA, be it at a bookstore, in your house, etc. (Linky will be provided!)
April 5 – Answers to first discussion questions due. (Hosted at Once Upon a Prolouge and at A Soul Unsung, with a linky for y’all to link us to YOUR answers. The linky will be open for a few days afterward. Be sure to link up your answers so we can visit your blogs!)

Break for the weekend! PHEW. Congratulate yourself for your AWESOMENESS. Also at this point by the 8th, my goal is for us to be at Chapter 17 to start off the second week!

April 8 – Second discussion questions at Once Upon a Prologue, and A Soul Unsung (Covering chapters 17-31.)
April 9 – Special SEKRET Giveaway (Will be posted at Once Upon A Prolouge and at A Soul Unsung).
April 10 – If enough people follow along on Goodreads/Twitter, Molli will do a post with people’s reactions to what we’ve read so far of ANNA! (Use hashtag #AnnaRAL to update your status on Twitter, GoodReads, etc – post quotes, your progress, etc!)

April 11 – Second challenge post at A Soul Unsung: Tell us about an experience YOU had in high school (or college) where you can relate to Anna! Inquiring minds want to know... (Linky will be provided for y’all to link your posts!)
April 12 – Answers to second discussion questions (Hosted at Once Upon A Prolouge and at A Soul Unsung, with a linky for y’all to link us to YOUR answers.)

Break for the weekend! We’re in the home stretch! You might need the break for a couple days to gear up for the EPIC last week of the read-a-long – because here come ALL THE FEELS. By now (or by the 15th) we should all be ready to start chapter 32!

April 15 – Third/final discussion questions posted at Once Upon A Prolouge. (Covering chapters 32-47)
April 16 – Third/final challenge post at A Soul Unsung: Post a review of Anna and the French Kiss! (Linky will be provided, along with more information.)
April 17 – Molli's experience reading LOLA (again, y’all CAN do this, but don’t have to!)
April 18 – Answers to third discussion questions posted Once Upon A Prolouge and at A Soul Unsung. (Linkys will be at both blogs for y’all to link us to YOUR answers!)
April 19 – If enough people use the hashtag (#AnnaRAL), Molli will do another post with your/our reactions to the book!
April 20 – Our favorite quotes/wrap-up post/Twitter chat with swag pack giveaways for trivia questions and participants.

YOU GUYS READY?!

Sign-up's linky is just below for you guys!