Unfurl Blog Tour: Guest Post and Giveaway With Cidney Swanson!!!

Please enjoy the following guest interview of Samantha Ruiz, the main character from Cidney Swanson's RIPPLE TRILOGY. Plus, there's a great giveaway at the bottom!

1.  If you could choose to change whether or not you could ripple, would you get rid of the ability?

Honestly, no, I wouldn’t. I know that might sound crazy considering that my life could be all safe and normal if I didn’t have Rippler’s Syndrome. But think of it this way: how cool is it to be able to be invisible? And here’s the thing. It’s even more cool than it sounds. Um, that came out weird. I guess what I mean is that the being-invisible isn’t necessarily even the coolest part. Walking through a plate glass window? Hello! Now that is some crazy kind of wonderful.

2.  Sir Walter is a very interesting person to be around.  What era would you want him to give you a history lesson on?

 I don’t know anything about the era he was born into. Like, at all. Our French teacher says she’s going to tell us all about Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Provençal minstrels and how French cooking really came from Italy in the 14^th century, but she hasn’t done it yet. The 14^th century just sounds like it was a pretty cool time to be born. Well, except for the Black Plague. And all the wars. And no indoor plumbing. Okay, okay, maybe it wasn’t all that great to live in it, but I’d like to hear about it.

3.  If you and Will were a famous couple from literature, who would you be?

In my English class, we just read Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen which totally rocked, BTW. Even better than the movie although Matthew McFadyen looked good. For an old dude. Will would be Darcy and I would be Elizabeth. Except, really, I’d probably have to be Darcy (a girl version) because he was lots friendlier than me at the beginning. But Will and I have the whole “miscommunication” thing going on like they did.

4.  What would you do if you could spend one more day with your Mother?

Oh. Wow. I’d spend it in Yosemite, on a sunny day, watching her paint the Merced River or Half Dome or anything, really. I loved to watch her paint. There was just something so peaceful about seeing her face change expression from frustrated to satisfied and back again. And of course seeing the canvas come alive with color. We would eat dinner at the Ahwahnee Hotel dining room. We would drive home and get Foster’s Freeze soft serve in a regular cone. Then she would read to me from Little Women until I fell asleep.

5.   How old would you choose to be for the longest if you decided to let rippling slow down your aging process?

This is really, really hard to answer. I mean, it would be a lot simpler if I could take all my family members along with me. But life isn’t like that, is it? Will and I have talked about this a little bit. It seems like Sir Walter has really enjoyed living his six hundred-ish years, so maybe about that long? If I remember right from Harry Potter, I think Nicholas Flamel and his wife lived around that long and then they were good with just finishing out an ordinary lifespan. So, yeah, maybe six hundred-ish.

No Continental Drift...

Published: December 25th, 2011
Unfurl
By: Cidney Swanson
Williams Press
ASIN: B006Q5TTNC


Against all expectations, Samantha Ruiz has survived attacks by two of Helmann’s deadliest assassins. She’s alive, but she’s far from safe. Helmann is planning a second Holocaust and wants Sam to play a starring role. Will, meanwhile, separated from Sam by an ocean, seeks a way to prevent Helmann’s apocalypse. Along with Sir Walter and Mickie, Will plays a deadly game sneaking into Geneses’ facilities, discovering unsettling clues as to Helmann’s plans. The clock ticks down as Will and Sam discover just how much they must be willing to sacrifice to stop Helmann. UNFURL, the powerful conclusion to The Ripple Series, will leave fans breathless.

Review

   Unfurl picks up right where Chameleon left off: Sam going back to California and Will staying in France with Micke and Sir Walter.  Sam makes her way back to the States in the company of Christian, the son of Sir Walter, who has promised to act as her bodyguard.  Meanwhile, in France Sir Walter, Mickie and Will are trying to find out why Geneses has been buying random warehouses near the demographics they despise, while keeping them seemingly unused.  Hans manages to kidnap Sam and take something from her that could allow Helmann to clone her infinitely.  It turns out that Helmann has been experimenting with new results from his 'children' - he wants them to be the ones to play savior when he unleashes his planned devastations.  Will Sam and her family be able to come out unscathed from Hans' wrath when she escapes from him, yet again?  Can they all find a way to defeat Helmann and save the millions of people he is planning genocide for?  I loved this book!  It was extremely fast-paced and actiony which made it an awesome conclusion to the series.  Not once did I get bored or annoyed with the characters or the plot.  Cidney has amazed me with her ability to keep me riveted through the entire series, where as some trilogies die painful deaths at the end of the second book.  Sam and Will's longing for each other was not overdone in my opinion - it was very tasteful and true to the way teens are.  Plus, my favorite part of the book is at the end when Sam tells him, "You are my Africa."  That is such a cute ending scene for such a beautiful series.  I liked the fact that no unnecessary character death was thrown in as a plot device and I am completely exicted to see what Cidney writes next! :)

VERDICT:  5/5 Stars  Plus my eternal friendship and lots of hugs

*I was given an ebook copy of this book by the author herself (who is awesome), in exchange only for an honest review.  This book was published December 25th, 2011.*

Chameleon...You Come and Go

Published: September 1st, 2011
Chameleon
By: Cidney Swanson
Williams Press
ISBN-13: 9780983562184


Sixteen-year-old Samantha Ruiz has a lot on her mind. The crush who kissed her but changed his mind. The BFF who thinks Sam is in an abusive relationship. The geneticist who wanted Sam dead but now wants her ALIVE. And of course, Sam’s still dealing with a tendency to disappear into thin air.
When Sam learns of her nemesis Helmann’s Nazi-like plan to establish a Thousand-Year Reign, she’s determined to fight him. Along with Will and Mickie, Sam flees to France to meet Sir Walter—their best hope for stopping Helmann’s brave new world.
But Sam isn’t any safer in France. Someone is following her. Someone invisible. Sam will have to figure out how to hide from an enemy she can’t even see.

Review

   When we left off last in Rippler, Samantha's life had been turned upside down.  She had discovered that her genetic material was something others were being killed for, that her Mother's death was no accident and the beginnings of insight into Helmann's truly twisted mind/experiments.  Her best friend Gwyn is ignoring her because of a wrongful notion that Will is an abusive boyfriend and Sam's just allowing it to happen.  Plus, Will had kissed her finally.  Now, Sam is dealing with the fact that Helmann's daughter Helga is trying to find her for nerfarious purposed and Will is acting like the kiss never happened.  Micke, Will and Sam go on a class trip to France and use it as an opportunity to meet with Waldhart de Rochefort, their ally (also known as Sir Walter).  There are some startling revelations, including the fact that Sam's hunch was right - when rippling they exist outside of time.  Sir Walter is over six-hundred years old and so is Helmann - they are cousins!  Things only get more interesting from there.  Throw in some journal entries from Helga AND Helmann, a multiple personality-disordered henchman and a perilous battle for their lives and you have some heart-stopping adventure.  I truly fell even more deeply in love with these characters than I thought possible.  I had a deep affection at the end of the first book, but by the time this one was over I was close to being moved to tears.  Cidney Swanson has a powerful way with words.  There were some truly gorgeous passages in this novel.  Chameleon is the perfect example of exactly what a good young adult book should be.  She is going places and I am truly honored that I was given the chance to read her works.  I am desperate for the third book now!  I have to know what happens!   I recommend this book and the one before it so highly I barely have the words.  Check it out or you'll regret missing the boat. 

Check out my review for the first book in the series: Rippler

VERDICT: 5/5  Stars and a PERMANENT place in my heart

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the author herself, via LibraryThing. No money was exchanged for this review. The publication date of this book was September 1st, 2011.*