I am humbled and thrilled to be able to share two blurbs I received for A Breath of Eyre by two authors I respect and admire immensely. Both are master storytellers whose YA books, like mine, have literary inspirations. Lesley Livingston is the author of the Wondrous Strange trilogy, which follows the star-crossed romance of Kelley and Sonny as they battle wits and faeries and surmount all sorts of otherworldly obstacles along the path to love. Each book is inspired by a Shakespeare play, and accordingly, Livingston's writing is rich and strange, full of allusion, humor, and wit. Her most recent novel, Once Every Never, which she was gracious enough to send me--signed!--was equally smart, clever, and addictive. Time travel + Druids + ancient curses + whip-smart protagonist + snarky but loyal BFF + gorgeous nerdy guy = pure genius!
Kelly Creagh is the author of Nevermore. If you haven't heard of this book yet, run to your bookstore now! Inspired by the twisted work and even more twisted mind of Edgar Allan Poe, Nevermore is an unconventional romance that seamlessly blends a contemporary YA world with a fascinating dream world full of poetry, nightmare visions, and thwarted love. It is wholly original, romantic, and spell-binding. And oh, the sensitive goth love interest Varen? He will win your heart even if goth isn't your thing. I am also happy to tell you that Nevermore is the first in a series (yay!), so the Gothic-tinged adventures of Isobel and Varen will continue!
Obviously, I'm a bit of a fangirl of both authors, so you can imagine my elation when I found they had offered blurbs for A Breath of Eyre. The practice of established authors helping newbies is one of the most rewarding aspects of this industry, and so far, I have found YA writers to be collegial and supportive in the very best ways. Huge heartfelt thanks go out to Lesley and Kelly for their thoughtful and gracious words about my book:
"Eve Marie Mont’s A BREATH OF EYRE is a layered and lovely story, full of both heart and mind. I fell into this book in the same way Emma falls into Jane Eyre and I didn’t want to fall back out again. Ms. Mont is a smooth and beguiling storyteller who writes with a keen sense of both the ache and the awesomeness of growing into adulthood. Her transitions between worlds and times, between Emma’s reality and Jane’s, are seamless and gripping and propel the story forward with a kind of heart-hammering rhythm. A rich, wonderful, smart adventure, steeped in romance. More please." --Lesley Livingston, award-winning author of ONCE EVERY NEVER (Penguin) and the WONDROUS STRANGE trilogy (HarperTeen).
"A captivating and heartrending read, richly layered and intricately woven. Like waking from my own mysterious dream, Emma's touching story stayed with me long after the final page was turned. Definitely one for the favorites shelf." --Kelly Creagh, author of NEVERMORE (Atheneum Books for Young Readers)