Saturday, March 4, 2017

Author Saturday Spotlight: Jex Lane~ #Interview #Review #Giveaway



Today's Author Saturday Spotlight belongs to the writer who brings us the Beautiful Monsters series. She's broken our hearts, mended them, and lit them on fire more times than we can count. This series is dark, angsty, suspenseful, angering, thrilling.... you get what I'm saying. Today we are going to take a look at the three books in this series. Her new release Broken, book three, released a few days ago so I will have a review with that one. Yeah, I'm doing it a little differently this week. There will be a giveaway at the end for a paperback copy of book one, Captive. So be sure to check that out. And don't worry, I put her through a rigorous interview!






Matthew Callahan has spent seven years struggling against the insatiable hunger for blood consuming him. Unable to stop the vampire inside from preying on humans, he keeps himself confined to a lonely existence.

Everything changes the night he is lured into a trap and taken prisoner by High Lord General Tarrick—a seductive incubus who feeds off sexual energy. Forced into the middle of a war between vampires and incubi, Matthew is used as a weapon against his own kind. Although he's desperate for freedom, he is unable to deny the burning desire drawing him to the incubus general he now calls Master.

This book is intended for mature audiences.









“Because love is the easiest way to control someone and I needed a way to control you.”

Still mending a broken heart, Matthew has spent a year avoiding incubi and their army of hunters.

Now he has a new goal: lift the shroud on his past. Why had he been turned and abandoned by his sire? Why didn’t he feel the initial bond between sire and child that vampires experience? Who were his parents, and why had they given him up at birth?

Frustrated by dead ends, his luck changes when a teenage girl tracks him down. She’s strange, socially awkward, and she can see the future. Matthew’s future. She’ll help him if he agrees to save her from the darkness…from Tarrick.

With the incubi armies closing in, a mysterious protector appears, swearing his fealty to Matthew. He’s ancient, seductive, and cursed—unable to explain why he keeps calling Matthew ‘my prince’.





Vampire. Incubus. Demigod. Weapon.

Matthew has many names, but none as distressing as pet. A slave to incubus High King Malarath, Matthew is tired. Tired of fighting. Tired of losing those he loves. Tired of the torture. And, in his despair, his body begins to decay around him.

The High King, angered that his pet is dying, brings in the one person who might be able to fix Matthew: High Lord General Tarrick.

While all trust Matthew had in the general is gone, maybe there is hope in the situation. All Matthew needs to do is start acting like an incubus and put on a show.










Review of Broken (Book Three)

I will start off by saying this book is the darkest of the three to date. Where it goes from here I do not know. If you read both Captive and Sire you are well aware of the affect Matthew has on your heart. It's so hard to review this book and not give spoilers. I know so many want to know what happened after book two ended. The cliffhanger was UNREAL! Well, I won't give spoilers but I will say more answers, more discoveries, and amazing surprises await you in Broken.

Jex Lane has an amazing ability to pull the reader  into the story. I wept with, and for, Matthew countless times. The rage I felt for those who hurt him... repeatedly, was fierce. The joy in the brief moments of happiness was like getting a lungful of fresh air after being submerged underwater. Each moment, emotion, situation, and character is so well thought out and created that I couldn't find a single flaw. The ones you're supposed to hate you really and truly hate. There's no maybe.

There are a lot of surprises in this book and not all of them are unpleasant.... I know that's shocking. The torture for Matthew was hard to take and it was far more brutal in this book than in the previous ones. But hang in there. If you thought Matthew was amazing before wait'll you see him now!

Again, no spoilers but I will say I was awesomely surprised at the turnaround of some characters, the revelation of plans, and what the future will hold now. You will not get out of this book without swollen eyes. I will say when it ended, though shaky, I was smiling. Yes, there's a lingering fear and in pure Jex Lane fashion you are left with that, "Oh hell what is she going to do know," feeling.

This is such a marvelous series and I said it last time I will say it again; it's by far one of the darkest, most creative, fantastically written series' out there. I am a full-fledged fan without a doubt and will devour this series if it kills me!


Interview

Thank you, Jex, for being here today! You have a lot to answer for, lady! I got you right where I want you now and you aren’t leaving until I get the answers. ALL THE ANSWERS. Kidding! Not really. Don’t fight the restraints. Answer honestly and you’ll be released.

Sounds like my kind of fun.

Beautiful Monsters is a series. Captive was book 1 and Sire book 2. In case people don’t understand why I’m so angry, you left us with a cliffhanger. So my first question is, why do you hate us so much?

The tears of my fans feed me.

But truthfully, Matthew’s books flow together and don’t work as stand-alones. That gives me the freedom to toss in twist endings every once and a while.

The series really does focus mainly on Matthew. Sweet, wonderful Matthew. Whom you torture ruthlessly. In book 3, Broken, it will open with what many hope are some answers. Can you tell us ANYTHING about book 3 that will give us some hope?

I won’t lie, Broken is a darker book. The darkest of the three. Matthew gets put through many trials and at times it might feel hopeless… but Matthew grows and learns through his struggles. I think readers are going to enjoy his journey in this book. They might need a few tissues, though.

If that’s not hopeful enough for you, there’s always Hiroto. The cute little fox makes everyone happy. Well, not the people he has to kill…but everyone else.

Have you planned out this whole series already, and do you have an end number of books?

Yes and no. I’m mostly a panster author, meaning I don’t do big outlines. I know the ending of Matthew’s story but I’m not 100% sure how he’ll get from A to B quite yet.

I have material for at least three more books for sure, and I also know I don’t want Matthew’s books to go more than nine.
I do have plenty of planned spinoffs in the Beautiful Monsters (BeMo for short) world.

When I read authors, like yourself, I always find myself wondering what sort of books THEY read when they have the time. So, who are some of your favorite authors and books?

I have so many! In the vampire side of things, I like Rice, Ward, Harris, Bella, Heaton…
But my all-time favorite series is Captive Prince by C.S. Pacat. Fun fact: I actually read the first book after I had written Captive and nearly changed the name of my book because of it. I stressed for months. Ultimately, I decided that since the series title is Beautiful Monsters, and not ‘Captive,’ I’d be okay. 

Music…. There has to be a soundtrack to this series. Has to be. If we were to watch this play out on screen, what songs would we hear?

Oh gosh, we’d be here all day if I listed the soundtrack for Broken but I’ll give you a little:
For fight scenes pretty much any video game or movie soundtrack works.
Don’t laugh, but while writing Broken I listened to Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood” a lot.
One of my fans recently turned me on to “Soldier” by Samantha Jade. It has a lot of themes that remind me of Tarrick and Matthew. Although, if it was ‘warrior,’ it’d be perfect.

There are people in the world who haven’t read this series yet, so I’m not going to ask a lot of the questions I want. But, if someone were about to start this series or was thinking about it, what would you say to them to prepare them or get them to read the Beautiful Monsters book series?

Don’t start reading before bedtime. These books are addicting.

This is a question many authors hate, but I’m asking it anyway. When is book 4?

2018. I don’t have the month yet and won’t until I finish the first draft.

A series like this one is emotionally charged and precise. How do you keep it organized?

Organized? Haha. Some authors have amazing outlines and grids to keep it all in order…but for each book I’ll write down maybe three or four sentences of major events I’d like to have happen, and that’s it. I’m telling the story as it needs to be told. I wish I had a more insightful answer for you, but I really do wing it most of the time.

Of all the characters you write in this series, which is your favorite and why?
Tarrick.
He’s a pain in the ass to write. He never does anything I want him to. Matthew is a good boy. When I need him to do X, he does X. Meanwhile, Tarrick is stomping X in the face and doing Y. But that’s what makes him so fun.
Plus, I have a thing for suits.

Can you tell readers where and how they can follow you so they can stalk you and this series? Facebook, Twitter, other….

Website: JexLane.com
Email: Jex@JexLane.com
Twitter: @AuthorJexLane
Facebook (where I’m most active — feel free to add me!): https://www.facebook.com/JexLane
Beautiful Monsters page: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJexLane/


Fast Fire Questions:

Day or night? Night!
Vampire or Incubus? Incubus
Horror movie or thriller? Thriller
Are you a lefty or a righty? Righty
Favorite band? Queen
Favorite movie? Star Wars
Dogs or cats? Both!
Indoors or outdoors? Indoors

Thank you, Jex, for being here. It’s been awesome! Keep writing and I’ll keep reading.

Thanks for having me!


Giveaway

Enter for a chance to win a signed paperback copy of Captive
Book One in the Beautiful Monsters series! GREAT COLLECTION TO HAVE.
Contest will end on March 10th and it's open
Internationally!

Thank you and thank you to Jex for all the pain.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

26 comments:

  1. I haven't read any of Jex' books yet, so no favourite so far...

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  2. Great interview and review I can't wait to read the 3rd book I just adore Matthew

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  4. I'm such a fan of Beautiful Monsters! I read Captive randomly and couldn't even handle it!

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  5. This has got to be one of my favourite series ever, Broken was amazing. I don't think its possible to pick a favourite but Hiroto never fails to make me laugh, he's adorable and I love him.

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  6. Love Jex and this series! Tarrick is my favorite, because I'm such a masochist, Jex (and Tarrick) are the sadists who torture me. ;)

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  7. I love this series - Matthew - such a complex and wonderful character, but I'm deeply intrigued by Tarrick.

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  8. I have read the first book and loved Matthew. He is so strong and am looking forward to reading the rest of his story.

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  9. I cannot get enough of Jex's Beautiful Monsters series! Have reread them several times

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  10. Such a delightful interview . . i cant wait to get captivated by your book !

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  11. Yes! I sooo freaking love this series! And I love Tarrick, Matthew and Devak. And Hiroto!
    Gods, I am so excited to read book 4... 2018 can't come soon enough!

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  12. One of the best series I've read in a long time. Highly anticipated each book and at the moment I'm 20% into Broken completely blown away so far.

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  13. The whole series is so awesome. You are right the third book is darker and some parts were tough, but those parts help build the characters and the story.

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  14. I love this series
    Matthew is my favourite

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  15. I looove her and her books!!
    Matthew and Hiroto are my favorite, who could say no to sweet Matthew and who could resist Hiroto fluffy ears!!

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  16. I actually haven't read any of them yet so i don't have a favorite yet.

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  17. This has got to be one of the best series out there. The books are ridiculously addicting and strikes a perfect balance between the romance, world building, action and story. I cannot get enough of these books. If I could hook Jex Lane up to IVs full of coffee so I'd get books sooner I would. Sorry Jex I'm addicted.

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  18. Hello ^^ French reader, I discovered Jex Lane on Amazon Best Sellers... But this author is so sympathic, enjoyful and funny, that I really, deeply fall for his world and his characters !

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  19. I've not read the series yet but my friend is a big fan and as been raving about it. Its definitely on my TBR list.

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  20. This is a fantastic series with a lot of interesting characters. Matthew is one of my favorite.

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  21. Love this series! I can't say enough good things about it. I was hooked from the first.

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  22. Great interview!! I love your response to Broken!!

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  23. Jeez this series is amazing. Devak is my Absolute favorite besides of course Matthew.

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  24. Yes I'm a fan! My favorite character is Devak :D Fingers crossed!!

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  25. Love love love this series!! Favorite well that's a tough one, three way tie - Matthew, Terrick and Devak. There are only a few I dislike, THE KING AND PRESCOTT!!!

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