Recap: Kate Evangelista's Til Death Book Launch!

And the slew of awesome YA book signings continue with the launch of proudly Filipino author Kate Evangelista's book, Til Death, published by Entangled Teen. If you're curious to know what Til Death is all about, you can read my review to get an idea. It's good, I promise!

After a hearty meal at Shakey's with Leslie of Bibliophile Kid and Nina of The Bookish Confections, we arrived at the venue early for once! Our other book blogger buddies overslept and were still on their way so we had some time to kill. Which Leslie spent doing this:

The lovely Mina Esguerra, also an amazing Filipina author (Fairy Tail Fail, Not that Kind of Guy, Interim Goddess of Love) hosted the book launch/ signing. Mina asked a lot of questions regarding Kate's journey through publishing her novels (from Omnific to Entangled) and Kate answered questions about her writing process, querying, why she writes multiple novels at a time and how she does it. She also gave advice to future published authors. Just write that novel, people. Everything starts from there.

A quick rundown of the Q&A:

- When asked why Wyoming was the setting for Til Death, it was because Kate needed to find a place to set her story that was remote enough so it won't attract a lot of attention.
- When asked how many books she needed to write, she said 11. (Wow!)
- Also, she's a "glorified typist". Her characters just want their stories to be written!
- Kate loves having mixed reviews. At least she knows what she needs to work on. What's scary is having ALL good reviews, because if your next novel comes out and people started hating it you'll tend to ask "why? they loved my work before!" and also, you wouldn't know what you need to work on if you just keep on getting good ones.
- Query everybody. Find which path you need to take as an author. Some are satisfied with self-publishing because that's how they want to start building their platforms on.
- Write the whole novel first before you start querying!
- Rejection doesn't mean you're a bad writer. It just means that your story is not for them.
- When asked if her being a Filipina affected the reception of her books in any way, Kate said no. Because that's the beauty of the internet. It's not about where you came from, it's about your story.
- When asked if she plans on writing a book set in the Philippines, she said she's writing one already. A dystopian kind of novel, complete with robots!

A 9th grader reading Til Death chapter 2.

Kate was aware that she needs to work on the pacing of her story, and that it will be addressed in Til Death's sequel, where everything will make sense!

Photo from Kazhy at My Library in the Making

Also, Kate's momager, her ever supportive mom was there for her daughter's book launch! We talked to her a few times throughout the signing and she was such a sweetheart! Was the siomai her very own masterpiece? Because we loved it! Good food + good friends + awesome book and book launch = happy day for me.

Kate and I are both Kuroko no Basuke fans, so it was so fun just standing there talking to her about the anime (and Aomine) while she was signing my book! I even got a chance to take a (blurry) selfie with her!

The launch was also a venue for me and my book blogger friends to meet again! It was so fun to see all of these gorgeous ladies once more. I miss them all! We tried doing the Oscar selfie, but nope, it didn't happen. I failed. Twice.

Of course, because Mina was there, we couldn't pass up the chance to have our books signed by her. We had to run around NBS and buy her books in a hurry so we can have them signed! Thanks Mina for the impromptu mini-signing!

It was another awesome bookish day I spent with my friends, where we lost track of time bonding over books again even when the signing's over. I look forward to seeing these ladies again soon! The 29th! See you all there!

The obligatory group photo with Kate! Thanks to Kate at The Bookaholic Blurbs for the photo.

Thank you National Bookstore for another great event! See you soon fellow bookworms!

ARC Review: Til Death by Kate Evangelista

I am so glad to kick off this tour for fellow Filipino, author Kate Evangelista!

Please give me a moment to compose myself before I start screaming. What a cliffhanger. Cliffhanger!

Title: Til Death (Fractured Souls #1) by Kate Evangelista
Release Date: March 4th 2014
Published by: Entangled Teen
Source: Publisher (for blog tour)
Buy: Amazon | Book Depository

Summary:

Sixteen-year old Selena Fallon is a dreamer. Not a day-dreamer, but an I-see-the-future kind of dreamer. Normally this is not a problem as she has gotten pretty good at keeping her weird card hidden from everyone in her small town. Except from her best friend Kyle and her grandparents, of course. But when Selena dreams of her own rather bloody death, things get a little too freaky even for her.

Enter Dillan Sloan. Selena has seen the new guy in a different dream, and he is even more droolworthy in person. Beyond the piercing blue eyes and tousled dark hair, there is something else that draws her to him. Something…electric. Unfortunately, Dillan makes it more than clear that he does not feel the same. They just met, so why would he act like he hates her?

When Dillan and Selena are forced together one weekend to work on a school project, Selena prepares to be ignored as usual. But when she stumbles across a few undead in the backyard, Dillan comes to her rescue and reveals a whole lot more. Not only is he part of a society that hunts otherworldly creatures…she is too. And she is being targeted by a force bigger and darker than anything she ever imagined. Despite her death dream, Selena is not going to give up easy, especially when she discovers that Dillan might not actually hate her after all.

Selena has been having visions of the future, getting a glimpse of what was to happen through her dreams. It wasn't supposed to be a big deal, but when creatures started to target her, something must be done. If only she wasn't busy keeping her ability a secret and keeping a clear mind for the new boy in town. Dillan Sloan gets on Selena's nerves, and she hates how he easily pushes her buttons. But Dillan's got secrets of his own to keep, and Newcastle, the place he was exiled to, seems to be much more than it seems and it seems to be connected to Selena. The question is, how and why?

It was exhausting to read this book, and I mean that in a good way. Emotions keep on shifting a lot and if you lose focus, you will find yourself lost and confused. Selena and Dillian are both strong characters, and sparks literally fly whenever their paths cross. Selena's feisty in her own way and I like how she reacts towards Dillian. It's both amusing and very funny at times. Dillian is a certified bad boy. It doesn't help that his mood shifts ever so often, and that unstable, dark vibe draws a lot of attention to him and his past as much as it does to Selena and the story behind her ability.

It's interesting how Kate crafted Newcastle, and how it became such a perfect place for the supernatural and the bizarre to thrive in. It's such a crazy place! It seemed surreal at times, but it's quite a location for such a story to happen. I like how everything is not what it seems, what the surface looks like is an entirely different thing once you delved deeper. Also, I like how every person in Selena's life is tied to each other. It's not a surprise, but what was surprising is how each character, with their own secrets to keep, really are. The contrasts of their personalities once their secrets are out is quite a thing to read. Nothing and no one is what they seem in Newcastle.

The pacing however, is a bit slow, and it took time for me to figure things out. You might need a bit of extra patience, because things will get clearer as you get deeper in the story, this I promise you. Hold on tight! Kate masterfully held all the answers to the questions and secrets surrounding Selena that piled up throughout the story and unleashed it all towards the end, which gave it such an impact and a memorable finish. I loved how Kate was able to inject the creep, the mystery vibe and the thrilling sequences in the right parts. I found myself breathless a few times as well. Talk about breath taking scenes! It's like it's possible to feel the electricity between Selena and Dillian physically when I read of their clashes and encounters. They're so entertaining to read of especially when they bicker. They have the love-hate relationship down to a tee! Secondary characters like Kyle, Penny, Ranier, Grams and Gramps were inserted in such a way that made the story a bit more lively. They will all make you wonder how they all fit in Selena's life and what role do they have in it.

Also, can I please have Sebastian as my friend?

Overall, Til Death is quite an absorbing start to the series. I'm not surprised that the pacing is a bit slow, as this is the first book, but it's enough to feed the readers quite a tantalizing opener for what looks like a promising series! What an intriguing opener, Kate! It's something new and enjoyable. I liked this book and I will definitely be on the look out for the sequel!

What a way to end the first book. Katarina will be proud!

Content (plot, story flow, character):

Kate is evil! She just had to cut the story off just when it was getting to the juicy part. My biggest problem really was the pacing of the story, since I felt like it wasn't moving forward for quite the majority of the book, but the tension between Selena and Dillan more than made up for it! I expect a lot more BOOM and earth shattering moments in Book 2. When do we get it? :)

Shining: Worthy of a Goddess' Love!

Book Cover:
The cover made so much sense when you read the book!

GIVEAWAY TIME!!!

Signed copy of Til Death courtesy of Kate Evangelista

PH only

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Also, if you're in Manila this March, you can catch Kate at National Bookstore this March 15th for the book launch of Til Death! I hope to see you there!