review and interview of Torn Trilogy by Erica O'Rourke

This post was originally published on Julie's blog

Everyone has secrets.Even best friends.
Mo Fitzgerald knows about secrets. But when she witnesses her best friend's murder, she discovers Verity was hiding things she never could have guessed. To find the answers she needs and the vengeance she craves, Mo—quiet, ordinary, unmagical Mo—will have to enter a world of raw magic and shifting alliances. And she'll have to choose between two very different, equally dangerous guys—protective, duty-bound Colin and brash, mysterious Luc. One wants to save her, one wants to claim her. Which would you choose?

 Torn by Erica O'Rourke was released June 28, 2011 by Kensington Teen. Tangled, book two, and Bound, book three, are out, too. You can buy your very own copy of the trilogy at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound

Ashelynn's Review:

Kensington sent me a copy of TORN back in June, 2011, and I really, really loved it. I loved how it was unique to most YA paranormals out there--and it still is. There are mob and magic stories, and there's Chosen One stories, but TORN has a unique perspective: Mo isn't the chosen one, her best friend was. But now Mo steps up to the plate to save both worlds.

This entire series is amazing. I love it and hope more people would discover it! But remember: I was team Colin first. :) He's MINE. (if you want to read my full review written back in 2011, go here!)

The Interview:

Tell us a little about yourself that we wouldn’t know from your website/author bio.

Hmn…well, despite the state of my house, which is so messy it’s likely to be declared a FEMA emergency any day now, I love organizing things. Closets, bookshelves, filing cabinets…there is something about having the bare minimum of stuff, perfectly organized, that makes me profoundly happy. Which kind of begs the question: why isn’t my house tidier? It is a mystery for the ages.

 I am the same way! I love being organized, but keeping a house clean? No thank you. I love the Torn Trilogy, especially Colin *dreamy sigh* What was one of your favorite parts of writing the trilogy?

Oh, Colin. He IS swoony, isn’t he? Writing the boys was definitely one of my favorite parts. They were both so complicated and difficult and damaged and compelling to me, in very different ways, that writing them was always a treat.

Colin and Luc. <3 What about one of your favorite publishing parts of the trilogy?

Talking to readers. I am by nature a pretty chatty person, and talking books is one of my favorite things in the world. It’s still a little surreal any time someone wants to talk with me about Mo or which boy they like or why they love Uncle Billy even though he’s rotten. But it’s the very best kind of surreal.

What I really love is how real both places are—Chicago and Louisiana. Since you live near Chicago, I understand that it was (probably) a little bit easier to bring it to life, but what about Louisiana? Did you travel there before writing TORN? Or after? Or was it all just a Google experience?

Chicago was definitely easier to write from a geographical perspective. I’ve long been a fan of New Orleans, though, so I’ve read a lot about it, especially stories and articles focused on post-Katrina Louisiana. My husband and I went there for a visit while I was writing TANGLED, and it was incredible. I’m desperate to go back – I keep hinting that it would be a wonderful birthday gift, but I’m not sure he’s on board yet.

What is your favorite cover of the three? I think mine is BOUND, since I love green, but I also really love TORN.

Definitely BOUND – green is one of my favorite colors, and Mo looks a little less “magical” in that cover. Every time I go on a school visit, I ALWAYS get two questions: “Is the girl on the cover of TANGLED Demi Lovato?” and “Can you get her phone number?” (No to both, by the way.)

Holy crap, I never noticed that, but SHE DOES LOOK LIKE DEMI LOVATO. Okay, a question NOT about the Torn Trilogy—you recently sold another series (YAYAY, congrats!) can you tell us a little bit more about besides the publisher’s marketplace description? ALSO I am so excited to meet this new boy! Is it 2013 yet?

Thank you! I’m so excited about DISSONANCE, but I’ve got lots of work ahead of me, so 2013 can take its sweet time. As the PM description says, it’s about a girl who has the ability to move through alternate universes, and she falls for a different version of the same guy in each one. It’s more “soft sci-fi” or speculative than it is paranormal – Delancey’s ability to walk to these parallel worlds is genetic and science-based, not magical. Del is a lot different than Mo: she’s much more outspoken, and she wants people to notice her. I can’t wait for you to meet Simon – all the versions of him! It’s great fun – and a huge challenge – to create a character like this, who’s different in each world but at the same time, always himself.

Oh, my, I can't wait! <3 Anddd final question: what are you currently reading? Or what have you recently finished that you LOVED?

Let’s see: I just finished MOTHERSHIP, by Martin Leicht and Isla Neal, and it was hilarious – very different from anything I’ve read lately, with tons of snark and attitude, but at the same time, very touching. I’ve heard it described as Juno meets Aliens, and that’s pretty accurate.

On an entirely different note, I recently read Morgan Matson’s SECOND CHANCE SUMMER. It was devastatingly brilliant. Beautiful prose and such fully-realized characters, and I bawled my eyes out. It was a good cry, though.

I was also lucky enough to read an advanced copy of Sarah Fine’s SANCTUM, which comes out this fall, and loved it – a very dark and twisty story with one of the strongest heroines I’ve read in ages.

Yes, SANCTUM! I'm dying to read that one--lucky for me, it's on its way to me! Yay! Thank you so much, Erica!