But Jackson's high-profile life takes an unexpected turn when he meets seventeen-year-old Maddy. She's smart and down-to-earth, and sees Jackson for who he is and not for his celebrity. They forge an instant - and electric - connection. Their vastly different backgrounds seem like the only obstacle in their path to being together... until something much more dangerous threatens to destroy their chance at love.
Because not everyone worships the Angels: a bitter killer is murdering the Guardians one by one. And it's up Maddy to save Jackson - he's next in the killer's sights.
Set in a reimagined Los Angeles that sparkles with glamour and celebrity worship, Scott Speer's Immortal City is charged with passion and haunted by themes of power and idolatry. (Goodreads)
I am seriously behind on book reviews!! So, for this lovely Friday, I thought I'd share a little of what I've been reading :)
So, I enjoyed Immortal City. It wasn't terribly different from other things I've read (the same girl-meets-supernatural-boy-and-events-ensue plot), but I did enjoy the rather different take on celebrity worship the book kind of pokes fun at. As someone who views our culture's obsession with celebrities with a lot of disgust, it's nice to see something new. Just in general, the book itself wasn't terribly good, or bad, just a middle of the road book with angels (and, yes, I do enjoy a good angel book, I'll admit it). Not much to write about, really. It was an interesting read, and if I can find copies of the next books in the series I might pick them up.
And now, the thing that kind of frosted my cookies: reading the author bio. Speer managed to get an agent without even a draft of this novel. Look, this is not a personal attack, but sometimes it really frustrates me to come across authors with books that, while not selling great, still have agents and a big publisher, from someone who got said agent and publisher just because they were personally connected. I know every author has their own path, but I've polished and worked and queried (and banged my head against the wall) for ages. Don't get me wrong, I am very proud of the books I've release and the publishing houses that I've worked with, but it's not like someone's given me national bookstore distribution or even an advance because I had an idea for a book (not even a draft!!!!) and knew the "right" people. Ugh. Sorry for the rant, but the bio clearly made me a little frustrated. And made me wish I knew these right people to manage to get an agent/big contract/etc. :)
oh boy...I know how you feel. I really REALLY get it <3 and just reading about the bio made my blood pressure spike a tiny bit lol
ReplyDeleteI hadn't heard of this one before. Sounds like a good summer read. I can't imagine getting an agent without a book that was actually written (it was hard enough with a book written). I thought that only happened to famous people, but I guess not. Wow- there really are such varied paths to publication.
ReplyDeleteOne wonders why they'd put that into their author bio- it can come back to bite them down the line.
ReplyDeleteGood review!
Heh, I like that frosted cookies line! ;) And yeah, when I read about stuff like that, it tends to get me a tiny bit down. This process of finding an agent/getting published is so hard!
ReplyDeleteThis also gets me frustrated. Sometimes I think it's all about who you know and querying and submitting at the right time (i.e., luck), while others fall through the cracks. So many of us work hard on polishing our work, while others get by on a pitch minus a manuscript.
ReplyDelete