Tuesday 22 May 2012

Straight to Heaven by Michelle Scott


Today I'm excited to be sharing the second book in the 
Lilith Straight series by Michelle Scott!

I not only have my review of Straight to Heaven

but a character interview with Lilith's sister, Jasmine, 
the author's playlist for Straight to Heaven, 
and an awesome giveaway thanks to the author!

See below for details...

First up, the book...
Straight to Heaven (Lilith Straight #2)



Hell’s newest employee, Lilith Straight, thinks she’s got a handle on her job as the Devil’s temptress until she finds herself going horns-to-halo with a guardian angel who’s determined to rescue Lilith’s next victim. To make matters worse, William Darcy, the hottest demon in hell, is trying to undermine Lilith’s mission with a few temptations of his own.



Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Smashwords






 




4 out of 5 stars
The second installment in the Lilith Straight series did not disappoint. Just as Lilith thinks she has things under control as a succubus, her world once again is pulled out from under her. After a run in with an angel bent on keeping her from succeeding on her current task and a contest against oh so yummy William about who will complete the task first, Lilith has to get creative in order to achieve her goal.

I love the take on Angels and Demons in this series. It's a different twist than the usual. Even though Lilith is technically a demon, or at least has one living in her, everything she does is for a greater good. She does what she has to do to survive and keep her daughter safe even if she does not necessarily like it.

I really liked that we got to see more of Ariel and her situation in this story. I really caught myself feeling sorry for her as the story progressed and I was glad that Lilith was there for her.

I also loved the humor in this book and actually caught myself laughing out loud a few times while getting strange looks from my family. I cannot wait to see where this story goes with Lilith and her new tricks, William and his new-found feelings, Tommy and Jasmine.  




Interview with Jasmine, Lilith's never-going-to-grow-up sister...

Q:  Describe your sister in three words.
A:  I would say ‘pain in the ass’, but that’s four words. Also, I promised Lilith I’d be nice for this interview. Instead, I guess I’ll say, “control freak, good mother, and unlucky in love.” Wait, that’s seven words. But you get the idea, right? She has terrible taste in men (why else would she marry Dr. Ted?) She’s also a really good mother, but she needs to loosen up. I mean, she writes menus every month so that when she packs Grace’s school lunches, all of the food groups are represented and no lunch is ever repeated twice. She’s insane.

Wait, that’s it: insane, boring, and a good mother. Shit. That’s still four words.

Q:  What did you think of Lilith's house rules?
A:  *eye roll* This goes back to the whole, ‘control freak’ thing. I mean no junk food? Come on, Grace deserves chocolate as much as anyone. And no swearing? Even my parents aren’t that strict. Lilith complains about Dr. Ted being a control freak, but she’s just as bad. Poor Ariel…it was like culture shock for her when she first moved in with us. She told me that she felt like she was in prison. I was like, yeah, join the club.

Q:  What would your dream job be?
A:  I definitely want to be a fashion designer, but I don’t want to do the boring ready-to-wear stuff. What I really love are costumes like the ones you see in Vegas with the feathers and the sequins? I love all that flash and sparkle.

Q:  Have you ever thought about going back to school?
A:  All the time. My grades in high school were okay, but not enough to get me any college scholarships. My parents offered to pay my tuition, but only if I promised to become something boring like a nurse or a teacher or a dental hygienist. My dad refused to pay for design school because he thinks there’s no career opportunities in fashion design. I made him watch Project Runway with me a few times, but he still didn’t get it.
 

Q:  Can you describe your relationship with your Lilith (pre Tommy incident)?
A:  We’re really opposite. Lilith has always been the smart and sensible one. She graduated from U of M with honors, whereas I hardly got a 3.0 GPA in high school. She also reads all the time. I mean books and not magazines like me. Lilith has a lot in common with my mom. They like to plan parties and organize events. Sometimes, Lilith acts like she’s my mom.

I think Lilith and I have only agreed on three things our entire lives. The first is that our dad is the greatest guy in the world. The second is that a woman should never get a discount haircut or buy a cheap pair of shoes. The third is that her ex-husband is a world-class jerk (but that only happened after her divorce.)
 

So, yeah, Lil and I fight all the time, but I will say that Lilith can be really decent when she wants to be. After all, she did let me come to live with her even when she was in that crowded apartment. Also, she stuck up for me when I told my parents that I wanted to go to design school. She told my dad that there was more to the fashion industry than he gave it credit for. I just wish she’d stop calling me her ‘stepsister’ instead of just plain ‘sister’. I mean, we’ve lived together my entire life, so it’s kind like of an insult, you know?

Q:  How did you and Tommy meet?
A:  Well, it was right after Thanksgiving, and I was driving home from this club. All of a sudden, one of the warning lights on my dashboard goes off. I would have kept driving, but the car just stopped running. I had to coast in order to get over to the shoulder of the expressway. Of course, I’m now stranded in one of the worst parts of Detroit. So it’s two-thirty in morning, freezing cold, and I’m sitting there wondering what in the hell I’m going to do.

Then this other car pulls off behind me and this huge guy gets out. If you’ve ever seen Tommy, you know that he’s pretty fierce looking. I mean, he’s bald, he’s got ink on his arms, and all kinds of hardware in his face. I hardly dared roll down my window. But I did, and he told me to open the hood. After poking around, he says he thinks it’s my alternator, and tells me to call a tow truck. He also says it isn’t safe for me to wait by the side of the road all alone, so he stays in his car behind me to make sure the tow truck gets there okay.

After thirty minutes of waiting for the stupid tow truck to arrive, I’m freezing my ass off because I can’t turn on the car to get the heater going. So I think, screw it, I’m going to wait in that guy’s car because if he hasn’t raped me now, he probably won’t. Tommy lets me into his nice, warm car and we start talking. At first, it’s the ‘getting to know you’ stuff, but pretty soon, I’m telling him about my old boyfriend, and he’s telling me about his sister. Then he’s talking about his holy pilgrimage and all this stuff about the highest power of the universe, and I’m blown away by how much he knows. The tow truck doesn’t arrive for almost two hours, but it’s like I don’t even care.

So anyway, when the tow truck guy finally gets there, he asks me where I want my car dropped off, and I tell him to take it to the mechanic shop where Tommy works. Never mind that it’s across town and forty minutes from my parents’ house. I just wanted an excuse to stop by and see Tommy again. Which I did. The next day, I took him out to lunch to say thanks for being my knight in shining armor, and we talked for hours. The rest is history!

Q:  What is your favorite food?
A:  Pizza. Definitely! Especially when it’s dipped in ranch dressing.

Q:  What is your idea of the perfect date?
A:  Let’s see. I love roller coasters. The taller and faster, the better. I’ve always wanted a guy to take me to Cedar Point (which is this amazing roller coaster park in Ohio) so that we could spend the day riding roller coasters together. But on my perfect date, we’d have the park to ourselves so that we wouldn’t have to wait in line, lol.






Haven't read Straight to Hell (Lilith Straight #1) yet? Get it here...




The moment Lilith Straight dies, the Devil appears to claim her soul and cash in on a family curse. Now, Lilith has no choice but to work for him. The job is bad, the boss is worse and she can’t imagine how she’ll explain her new reincarnation to her eight-year-old daughter. But then an arrogant, yet oh so yummy, incubus shows up…and hell heats up just a little more.


Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Smashwords



 







About the author:  Michelle Scott received her MFA from Wayne State University. Her stories have appeared in such places as Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show, All Possible Worlds and Realms. Her fantasy novel, The Dragons of Hazlett was nominated for a 2009 EPPIE Award. Michelle’s YA novels include the vampire romance, Blood Sisters, and the fantasy Uncommon Magic. Her latest fantasy novel, An Anthem for the Battle Lands, was recently released from Mundania Press, LLC. Michelle lives in southeast Michigan with her husband and three children.

Webpage – http://www.mscottfiction.com
 

Blog - http://www.mscottfiction.com/21stCenturyWriter/

Goodreads - http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2896599.Michelle_Scott






And last but not least, the giveaway!




7 comments:

  1. Depends on the mood. It could be anything from pop to rock to country! Thanks for the giveaway!

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  2. Great "interview". I really enjoyed reading it.

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  3. I mostly like all kinds of music. But the soft romantic ones are my favorite!
    Thanks for the giveaway! I hope I win!

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  4. Thanks so much for hosting me! (And Jas appreciates it, too, lol!)

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  5. I generally like anything, but not Opera or heavy metal.

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  6. I'm pretty easy going. i listen to almost anything. It really depends on my mood. I have happy, sad, angry, etc.. music

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  7. I have a pretty electic mix. I love it all.

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