Mundie Moms

Saturday, January 5, 2013

Book Review / Blog Tour: In Between Seasons by Cassandra Giovanni


Welcome to today's tour stop for Cassandra Giovanni's In Between Seasons hosted by Reading Away The Days. Today's stop features my review and a giveaway!


By: Cassandra Giovanni
Published by: self
Released on: May 9th, 2012
Source: book from author to review
3 stars: It's A Good Read
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble


At eighteen there is one thing Kate Ericson is certain of—the world is at war and has been since she was two years old. That was when her father pulled her family and a group of close friends to a God forsaken place in the middle of nowhere. For Kate there is no escape from the sea of lies she is drowning in until her world collides with Hunter Marks—the son of her father's biggest opponent. An opponent that Kate didn't even know existed. What Hunter kidnaps Kate for, and what her family will try to kill her to keep secret, is a knowledge that she doesn't have. Now Kate’s innocence seems to becoming undone at the seams of reality. Hunter then finds himself fighting the hopelessness that is creeping into the edges of her heart as she learns more about the corruption that has devoured their lives. As Hunter and Kate forge a strong and unique relationship it becomes clear that their love is something that the bureaucracy never expected, and that Hunter's father will do whatever he can to destroy it. Hunter believes he must sacrifice love in order to teach Kate that the world's deadliest weapon is her. Hunter and Kate will have to find the strength to rise above a deception that is so great, even the ones who created it don't realize its depth.

In Between Seasons is a new kind of post-apocalyptic novel, one that focuses on the characters and uses the lack of understanding of a corrupt world as the backdrop to shape them into who they are as people
-quoted from Goodreads



In Between Seasons is a character driven storyline with a touch of dystopia. With it's action and bits of romance, this is a fast paced read I finished in a couple of hours. The premise of the story is what drew me to this book. I was intrigued with what sounded like a complex, desolate world intertwined with romance. I'm a sucker for a romance in a complicated world. I also wanted to know what it was that Kate knew about that was the cause of her being kidnapped and what her family would kill for her. Well that and I also wanted to read about Hunter and find out how in the world he and Kate fall end up falling in love, especially after her kidnaps her. 

Let me start off by saying I did like the characters. I enjoyed reading about Kate and Hunter and if I wasn't someone who has read a good number of books and over analyzes each one I read, then this would have been rated higher. Don't get me wrong, it was still a good read, and one I think if you're looking for a book to just sit and read one afternoon you'd like. But for me I needed much more substance from the character's relationship to really fall in love with the book like I was hoping to. Being that this a character driven story I had a very hard time buying into the Kate/Hunter situation that happens at the beginning of the book, which ultimately set the pace for the rest of the book for me. 


While I did like the characters, I needed to feel that the situation that Kate found herself in with Hunter was believable, which I didn't. I mean when you're kidnapped by a hot "bad boy" you might find yourself thinking he's hot, but I didn't find her falling for him right off the bat realistic, nor did I buy into him calling his prisoner darling, realistic. I also needed to see more fear from Kate. I get she hated her home life, and she knew there was more going on that was she was being told, but to not show any sort of fear when you're being kidnapped and taking to some other tribe's land was not credible to me at all. I got she was tough in her own right, and I got she sensed she could trust Hunter, and was happy to rid herself of her home life, but I need much more than trust from Kate during this time.


Hunter's actions during the kidnapping made a bit more sense, well some of them any ways. I understood why he was being "nice", and that he didn't have any reason to be a ruthless kidnapper. Again, I felt like with Kate, he should have had his guard up more than he did. Relationship wise I really, really, really wish the relationship between Hunter and Kate was developed a lot more. I need more substance between them and I missed that whole getting to know you phase I enjoy reading in YA books. In skipping over this it made it impossible for me to really connect with the characters and their relationship. I didn't buy into it for much of the book, and instead I felt like it went from Kate being kidnapped to her and Hunter both falling for one another without even getting to know each other. I got they were attracted to each other, but as a reader I needed their relationship to be built up more than it was in order for me to really accept it. I will say I did like both of the characters individually. I liked how they both got each other and connected on a level that only two similarly broken characters could. I just needed more substance during the first half of the story to really fall in love with their relationship over all.


I'm normally a huge fan of a book's setting and the world the author creates, and I liked that Cassandra created a unique world that kind of took a back seat to the characters. It's different from a lot of what I've read lately. There are these other tribes, and parts of this desolate land that we don't yet know about, and I'm definitely curious to find out more about. Cassandra also does a great job at creating this ugly unknown. With a looming war between some of the tribes, threats of death, and there is this small hope of freedom that Kate and Hunter gasp onto.




About the Author

Cassandra Giovanni is an avid writer of young adult novels and can’t wait to share her work with you. The genres of her novels include dystopian, paranormal, mystery and romance all aimed at appealing to adults and young adults alike. Her personal goal with her writing is to show the reader the character’s stories through their dialogue and actions instead of just telling the reader what is happening. She began writing at a very young age, in fact from the moment she could draw she was telling stories that way. At age seven she won a contest in American Girl Doll to have a chapter she had written published. From that point on she was always writing, if not on paper than in her head. In May 2012 she published her first novel, In Between Seasons, which demonstrated her unique writing style and approach to the genre of post-apocalyptic fiction. On Halloween 2012 Cassandra released her second novel, Walking in the Shadows. This novel puts a new twist on the obsession of vampires in literature and explores some of the darkest parts of human nature, while still showing that there is always hope–if we only choose to believe in ourselves.

Cassandra is also a professional photographer with areas of interest such as car features, floral and architecture. Her photography company, Gio Design Studios, will be transitioning into a publication marketing company that designs covers and marketing materials for authors utilizing the company’s photography. She is currently studying to receive her associates degree in Marketing. Cassandra is happily married to the man of her dreams and they live in the rolling hills of New England with the other love of her life their dog, Bubski.


Follow Cassandra via her Website | WordPress | GoodReads 


The Giveaway:

I have one paperback and one bookmark to giveaway to US residents only, and for international blog tour followers 1 e-book. To enter, please fill out the form below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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