Young Adult Book Reviews

Vampire's Kiss

2012-02-27T01:18:00.000-05:00

Publisher: New American Libarary/Penguin group
Publish Date: 6 March 2012
Source: ARC from publisher
Series: The Watchers
Other Books in the Series: Isle of Night, Blood Fever (August 2012)

IF YOU’RE GOING TO BE PARTNERED WITH A VAMPIRE, YOU HAVE TO WORK THE NIGHT SHIFT.

By her wits, blood, and sacrifice, so far Drew has survived the intensive training on the Isle of Night. As a second-year Acari, her ultimate goal is to become a Watcher, and now she has a shot at her first mission. Except nothing is as it seems. The vampire Alcántara is as sinister as he is sexy, Ronan is more distant than ever, and it turns out there are other vampires out there. Bad ones.

Ancient, bloodthirsty, and powerful, these undead are really old school. They’ve captured one of the Watcher vamps and are torturing him for information. The only chance to save him is to infiltrate a major summit the baddies are holding on their own island. There will be mortals there, serving as butlers, maids, and various hired help. Drew had better brush up on her skills as a serving girl, because she’s about to go undercover…

But, when their vampire prisoner turns out to be a gorgeous bad boy, Drew’s first mission quickly turns into more than she bargained for…

Annelise Drew aka Acari Drew has won the Directorate Award competition and things return to “normal” on Eyja næturinnar or the Isle of Night after the competition. Annelise’s prize for winning is that she gets to accompany the vampire Alcántara on a mission off the island. She had been looking forward to this because she is planning on escaping the Isle of Night. That is her main focus. Alcántara shows greater interest in her and Annelise is sure that he has interfered with things in the past. She has to take these strange classes, including ballroom dancing, in order to prepare for their mission, which she has no details of.

The one thing that makes her happy on the Isle of Night is Ronan. After her victory in the Directorate Award competition, he seems more distant than ever. Annelise, being a genius, likes to think things through. She wonders why Alcántara is showing favoritism toward her and what is going on with her and Ronan?

When Annelise finally finds out the details of the mission, she is happy that it is finally coming near and understands the reasoning for some of the classes she was forced to take. She learns that there are good and bad vampires and they are going to try to save one of the good ones. She is going undercover as a serving girl to ascertain the location of the vampire that they are rescuing. She plans to escape after helping rescue this vampire. Things don’t always go as planned. After this mission, the lines between good and bad are very hazy. The vampire she was saving, Carden McCloud, isn’t what she expected.

I thought this was a great sophomore book in the Watcher series. It was interesting to read. Wolff really draws you into the story. There was a few times where I would gasp because of what happened. A lot of my questions were answered from Isle of Night, but so many more were raised with this book. I am really looking forward to Blood Fever coming out in August 2012!

On the cover is a male, who I’m presuming to be Carden McCloud and Annelise. There is also a monastery, and I’m presuming this to be where the mission will take placed. Again, I like the colors and found myself looking at the cover quite a few times while reading the book. I especially like that you can see their eyes so well.

•Annelise Drew. I like her attitude. She is a fighter. She has been through an abusive relationship with her father and ended up at the Isle of Night because of her IQ. She questions why she has to learn all the stuff that they make her do, but she does it because she wants out of there. She makes friends in Yasuo and Emma and that is unexpected for her. She doesn’t know how to be a friend.

•Yasuo and Emma. Annelise’s friends. Even though she is new at friendship and doesn’t always say or do the right thing, they are loyal to her.

•Josh. I wanted to talk about Josh in the Isle of Night review, but I thought I would save it for Vampire’s Kiss. He is Annelise’s German Etiquette tutor. He is from Australia and is training to become a vampire. He has good standards and is a gentleman. He helps Annelise in more ways than one. I am interested to see what happens to Josh further on in the Watchers series.

•Carden McCloud. He is the vampire that they are rescuing from the bad vampires. He makes snarky comments.

• Alcántara. He is a vampire and is just creepy. Every time I would read about him, it would give me the chills.

•The Isle of Night. I do not like the things that happen there between the Acari, vampires, tracers and proctors.

•The Bad Vampires. They are “bad.”

Don't forget to check out my contest where you can win a personalized, autographed ARC of Vampire's Kiss from Veronica Wolff. Unfortunately, this contest is restricted to US only.

Kiss of Frost

2012-02-27T00:45:00.000-05:00

Publisher: Kesington
Publish Date: 29 November 2011
Series: Mythos Academy
Source: bought
Other books in the series: First Frost, A Touch of Frost, Dark Frost (June 2012)
I’m Gwen Frost, a second-year-warrior-in-training at Mythos Academy, and I have no idea how I’m going to survive the rest of the semester. One day, I’m getting schooled in swordplay by the guy who broke my heart – the drop-dead gorgeous Logan, who slays me every time. Then, an invisible archer in the Library of Antiquities decides to use me for target practice. And now, I find out that someone at the academy is really a Reaper bad guy who wants me dead. I’m afraid if I don’t learn how to live by the sword – with Logan’s help – I just might die by the sword…

Gwen Frost is a student at Mythos Academy, which is a school for training to defeat the Reapers of Chaos and prevent the evil God, Loki from escaping his prison and starting the second chaos war. In Touch of Frost, Gwen found out that her family has a history of fighting for the God Nike. Gwen and her family are gypsies. She doesn’t think that this will enable her to fight because she doesn’t have physical gifts like the other students at Mythos.

Gwen was not going to go to the Winter Carnival at the Powder, a ski resort. Her best friend, Daphne talked her into it because a Reaper is after Gwen. Gwen thinks Winter Carnival would be a good place to meet someone to help her forget about Logan, who is dating another person and practically ignores her. She first meets Preston in the lobby of the hotel when waiting for Daphne and her boyfriend Carson to check into the rooms. Preston seems like the perfect guy to help keep her mind off of Logan. He is from the New York Academy.

After arriving at Powder, strange things happen to Gwen there also that make her wonder if the reaper could have followed her to the ski resort. Part of Gwen doesn’t care and wants to just forget about her broken heart. What is going on with Oliver and why is he acting strange toward her after she touched his notebook?

Kiss of Frost was a good follow up to Touch of Frost. I thought the second book expanded on the characters that were introduced to you in the first book. I loved following Gwen and her experiences; trying to figure out who was trying to kill her. There is a lot in this book that you don’t expect and made it fun to read. I had trouble putting this book down also. I’ve said it before, but Estep knows how to draw readers into the stories that she tells. She is an amazing author.

“Come on, Gypsy girl. I'm bleeding to death here, in case you haven't noticed. At least make it worth my while and kiss me before I die.”

On the cover of Kiss of Frost, is Gwen. She has her eyes closed and snow is all over her face and she has some in her hand. She has her lips puckered like she is either blowing or kissing the snow. You also see some architecture on the front. It reminds you of the Library of Antiquities. I liked this cover. I especially like again, how the “T” in frost, is the sword. I think that this cover fits the story well. I especially like on the back of the book, the architecture and the quote there:

Logan Quinn was trying to kill me. My spartan classmate relentlessly pursued me, swinging his sword at me over and over agin, the shining sliver blade inching closer to my throat every time. A smile tugged at his lips, and his ice - blue eyes, practically glowed with the thrill of battle...

•Gwendolyn Frost. She is the main character here. Her weakness is finding out other people secrets. She just cannot leave well enough alone. Sometimes it works to her advantage and others, it does not. Using her psychometry magic, she attempts to figure out who wants her dead.

•Daphne Cruz and Carson Callahan. Daphne is a Valkyrie and Carson is a Celt. They are boyfriend/girlfriend and Gwen’s closest friends. Daphne talks Gwen into going to Winter Carnival. Carson and Daphne spend time with Gwen when at the Carnival.

•Logan Quinn. Even though he is busy making out with his Amazonian girlfriend, Savannah Warren, doesn’t pay much attention to Gwen, and is the reason for her broken heart, I still like his character. He is always there for Gwen when she needs him. She just wishes that she didn’t need him so much because it hurts to see him.

•Oliver Hector and Kenzie Tanaka. Both are Spartans who are helping Gwen to train with her sword and become better at defending herself. There are issues with Oliver in Kiss of Frost. He acts suspicious toward Gwen at Winter Carnival after Gwen had touched his notebook and found out his secret.

•Fenrir wolves. Gwen encounters one at Powder. Professor Metis said that there are some Fenrir wolves that are in the wild. I like wolves. Yes, they are mean, nasty, growl at you, and are trained by the Reapers to kill you, but that doesn’t mean they are all bad. Look at Gremlins. They were cute and look how that turned out.

“What are you smiling at?’ - ‘Oh, nothing much. Just my hero”

•Preston. Gwen chose him as someone to help her forget about Logan. From the beginning of the book, I didn’t really like him. I’m not sure why, but I didn’t. He seems like a nice enough guy.

•Savannah Warren. She is Logan’s girlfriend and enjoys making out with him. If I were Gwen, I’d be sick of it too. The fact that Gwen has a thing for Logan would be irrelevant. Savannah also likes to pick on Gwen and others.

“I didn't know if he really meant talk, make out, or something else completely, but I'd be happy with any of them.”

Contest: The Watchers

2012-02-25T23:42:00.000-05:00

IF YOU’RE GOING TO BE PARTNERED WITH A VAMPIRE, YOU HAVE TO WORK THE NIGHT SHIFT.

By her wits, blood, and sacrifice, so far Drew has survived the intensive training on the Isle of Night. As a second-year Acari, her ultimate goal is to become a Watcher, and now she has a shot at her first mission. Except nothing is as it seems. The vampire Alcántara is as sinister as he is sexy, Ronan is more distant than ever, and it turns out there are other vampires out there. Bad ones.

Ancient, bloodthirsty, and powerful, these undead are really old school. They’ve captured one of the Watcher vamps and are torturing him for information. The only chance to save him is to infiltrate a major summit the baddies are holding on their own island. There will be mortals there, serving as butlers, maids, and various hired help. Drew had better brush up on her skills as a serving girl, because she’s about to go undercover…

But, when their vampire prisoner turns out to be a gorgeous bad boy, Drew’s first mission quickly turns into more than she bargained for…

Veronica Wolff, author of the Watchers series has generously donated and ARC of Vampire's Kiss to one of the YABR readers. She will also autograph and personalize this book. Vampires Kiss is the second book in the series, coming out on March 6. The first book, Isle of Night, was amazing. To add to this giveaway, I will be giving away one copy of Isle of Night. Sorry, this contest is US only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Touch of Frost

2012-02-20T22:41:00.000-05:00

Publisher: Kensington
Publish Date: already out
Series: Mythos Academy
Other books in series: First Frost (e-book), Kiss of Frost, Dark Frost (29 May 2012)

My name is Gwen Frost, and I go to Mythos Academy — a school of myths, magic and warrior whiz kids, where even the lowliest geek knows how to chop off somebody's head with a sword and Logan Quinn, the hottest Spartan guy in school, also happens to be the deadliest.

But lately, things have been weird, even for Mythos. First, mean girl Jasmine Ashton was murdered in the Library of Antiquities. Then, someone stole the Bowl of Tears, a magical artifact that can be used to bring about the second Chaos War. You know, death, destruction and lots of other bad, bad things. Freaky stuff like this goes on all the time at Mythos, but I'm determined to find out who killed Jasmine and why—especially since I should have been the one who died. . .

Gwendolyn aka Frost, aka Gwen, has experienced somehardships in her life. The hardest beingthe death of her mom, who was hit by a drunk driver. After that, everything changed: Her school, friends… Her grandmother decided thatit was time she went to Mythos Academy. MythosAcademy and it’s students are described in Kissof Frost as “the descendants of ancient warriors, and they are at theacademy to learn how to fight and use weapons, along with whatever magic orother skills they might have.” Thesestudents include the following: Amazons, Valkyries, Romans, Vikings, Spartansand Gypsies. Gwen currently doesn’t haveany friends at the Academy. All thestudents who go there are rich and spoiled.

Gwen is a gypsie. More specifically, she has the gift of psychometry, meaning she cantouch objects and see things about them. This comes in handy when she is trying to find things for othersstudents. That is what she mainly usesit for at the beginning of the book. Also works well for finding out secrets. She is a second year student at Mythos. She not only has her studies, she also works at the Library ofAntiquities. Even for this “strange”school, abnormal things start to happen. First, one of popular girls, Jasmine Ashton, is murdered in the Library. What is even stranger is the fact that itdoesn’t seem to affect anyone. Gwen isdetermined to figure out what happened to Jasmine because secrets are herthing.

During that time, however, she keeps bumping into theSpartan, Logan Quinn. He is the labeledas the deadliest guy in the school. Spartans can kill you with anything. That is their gift. He has thereputation of signing mattresses of girls that he has slept with. Why is she runninginto him (literally)? What is happeningat the academy? Is Gwen really safethere and does she belong?

I had read the synopsis of this book a while ago and wantedto read it. The opportunity just neverpresented itself until now and I’m glad it did. I like the whole mythology angle of this book. It not only covers the usual Greek and Romanmythology, but there are others as well. It seems as though Loki has been brought up a lot in recentbooks/movies. Overall, it is a reallygood book with an interesting plot.

The cover features Gwen Frost. You can see her signature purple eyes. You also see part of the architecture andwhat looks to be gargoyle. I like howthe “t” in Frost is made up of the sword instead of the font for the rest ofthe word.

•Gwen Frost. She isthe main character. After going throughher mother’s death, she is sent to Mythos Academy and feels as though shedoesn’t belong. She has no friends. She is not über strong or super-fast likethe other students. She definitelydoesn’t have a weapon or know how to use one. Even still, she sticks to what she knows, psychometry, to solvemysteries. Even though Jasmine wasn’tvery nice to anyone, she still tries to find out who murdered her in thelibrary and cares when nobody else does.

•Daphne Cruz. The bookstarts out with Gwen and Daphne in the bathroom where Gwen is talking to Daphneabout a missing bracelet. Daphne is partof the popular crowd. Even though shedoesn’t really acknowledge Gwen, I still like her character. She is there for Gwen when she needs her,even though it is against her will. (Sheis a Valkyrie, so it isn’t TOO much against her will.)

•All the different students. Amazons, Valkyries, Romans, Vikings, Spartans and Gypsies…Ohmy. They make for a stimulating book. There are some others mentioned in the book,but those are the main ones.

•“Logan freaking Quinn.” He is a Spartan that keeps running into Gwen or vice versa. He doesn’t have a good reputation at Mythos,but he is one of the cutest. Therelationship between Logan and Gwen is hot and cold.

•Jasmine Ashley. Sheis the resident bad/evil person. She isthe girl who is the most popular in the school and because of that, she treatseveryone else poorly. No wonder peopledidn’t care that she was brutally murdered on the academy campus.

•Morgan McDougall. She is one of Jasmine’s best friends and takes up her position afterJasmine is murdered. She (and Jasmine)are Valkyries.

The Hunger Games

2012-02-20T20:45:00.000-05:00

The Hunger Games movie comes out March 23^rd. Lan at The Write Obsession and I are planning on doing a month long celebration of the book. We are planning a read-a-thon, giveaways, book and movie reviews among other things. If you want to be a part of it, either post a comment on here or send me an e-mail.

The Mail Still Runs Teaser

2012-02-20T20:30:00.000-05:00

In 2011, I reviewed Far From the War by Jeffrey David Payne, a book that I was very surprised with. The sequel is coming out in Summer 2012 and here is a teaser trailer. It doesn't tell you much about the book, but I am excited about it nonetheless. Here is the blurb from Roche Harbor Books' website:

The second installment of the Far From The War series shows how the war effects Esther's family back at home on Orcas Island. Told through the eyes of her sister Charlotte, this volume shows the family's anguish as they wait for Esther's return and how desperate neighbors disrupt their idyllic life on the island.

In My Mailbox and Updates

2012-02-20T19:48:00.000-05:00

I like it when I read other blogs and find new ideas. I was reading The Write Obsession and Lan did a post called Monday Updates that I liked, so I decided to make my mailbox and updates into one post. It seems like I haven't done a lot of stuff with the blog recently, so I thought I should post what I have been up to. First, though, in my mailbox this week:

If I Die by Rachel Vincent
Blood Bound by Rachel Vincent
Touch of Frost by Jennifer Estep
Kiss of Frost by Jennifer Estep

I must say that the Blood Bound book is the smallest book that I have seen in awhile. The above photo doesn't do it justice.

Fallen In Love by Lauren Kate

I received this book from the publisher in a contest that I won. I already have this book in hardcover. That can only mean one thing: Giveaway!!

Updates

I have been reading and reviewing a lot of books for upcoming tours. When I review books for tours, my posts are set on a specific date, so that is why I haven't posted many reviews recently. Also, some publishers specify how soon before a release that you can post your review. Ideally, they want it as close to the release date as possible to gain the most publicity for the book.
I have received a few review copies of books in the mail that are not the first in the series. I am one who likes to read a series from the beginning to really understand the story line. So, I've had to buy a few books and read them so I can read the review copies.

I've been selected to participate in the World Book Night. If you don't know what that is, you can go here and it will give you all the details. Basically, you hand out a specific number of books to people. The books are donated and you don't have to pay anything...well, maybe gas to go and pick up your books. Anyway, I don't know what books I am getting yet. I had to choose my top three. I think it is neat that those chose April 23 in honor of the anniversaries of both Cervantes' and Shakespeare's deaths.

Isle of Night

2012-02-15T12:42:00.000-05:00

Publisher: New American Library / Penguin
Publish Date: already out
Series: The Watchers
Other books in Series: Vampires Kiss (3/6/2012); Blood Fever (08/2012)

Is life offering fewer and fewer options? Then join the dead.

When Annelise goes off to college, it means good riddance to her abusive father and stepmother, but a bureaucratic screwup leaves her without a high school diploma, flat broke, and facing a future that seems more elusive than ever. Then she meets Ronan - tall, dark, and way to seductive for her own good. He promises Annelise a new life...if she has the courage to change the unknown. One look at him, and she certainly has the desire. He offers her a lift, and sure enough, accepting rides from strangers does yield surprises.

Whisked away to a mysterious island in the North Sea, Annelise is pitted against other female recruits in tests of skill, smarts, and strength. To win is to become a member of the Watchers, a unique elite partnership with vampires that dispatches its teams on the most dangerous missions imaginable. It's not exactly what Annelise had in mind for a new beginning, but it's livelier than the alternative. Because on the Isle of Night, to lose a challenge doesn't mean just dishonor. It means death.

Let the games begin.

Annelise Drew lives in Christmas, Florida with her father and her step-mother. She cannot wait to leave this abusive home and go to University of Florida in Gainesville where she got a full scholarship. When she gets there, things don’t go as planned. She tries to register for classes and cannot due to a new rule that they made at her old high school: she has to pass a swim test. Annelise, who goes by Drew, doesn’t swim. She doesn’t know how and is afraid of the water. It is there that she meets Ronan. At first, she sees him in the registration office. When she finds out she cannot register for college, she goes back out to her car and then sees Ronan again. When her car doesn’t start, she agrees to let Ronan give her a ride. Little does she know that the ride will change her life.

Ronan talks her into getting on a plane and traveling to Eyja næturinnar or the Isle of Night. This is a place where Annelise will compete against other women who were specifically chosen to become a watcher. Annelise was chosen for this because she is a genius. This is where she first learns of vampires and that they are not the cute kind that you normally see in movies. Annelise soon realizes that it is either win or die on the Isle of Night. They have strange rules and even stranger classes. The culmination of this is when they have the Directorate Award competition. Will Acari Drew (as she is called on the Isle of Night) win or die?

I origianally read Isle of Night because I was sent the sequel, Vampire’s Kisses, to review. I don’t like to read other books in a series without starting from the beginning. You lose a lot of what the book entails when you do that. When I first read the first line of the synopsis, I was drawn in and anxious to read it. I couldn’t put Isle of Night down! It was that good. It was nice because it had vampires in it, but it wasn’t what you normally think of vampire/ya/romance book to be like. I think Bram Stoker would be proud of the vampires in The Watchers series.

While I was reading this book, I kept looking back at the cover. A good cover will do just that: it will make you involve in the book. The cover has Annelise and Ronan on it. Below them is a castle of sorts. I like the colors on this cover. I also like the fact that both Annelise’s and Ronan’s eyes stand out and they look mysterious.

•Annelise Drew. She is the main character in The Watcher series. It starts out by describing a little of her childhood, her abusive father and how she had to overcome this along with being a genius. It doesn’t wear her down. She still shows good attributes, good priorities and knows what is important. She is, mind you, young (having just graduated from high school) and shows it in her actions sometimes. Nevertheless, she is a good character.

•Ronan. What can you say about Ronan? According to the cover of the book, he is nice to look at. He is so much more though. Annelise gets to know him a little in the book, but there is still a lot of mystery that surrounds him. He is her Tracer and that brings different responsibilities. In this book, it looks as though Ronan is torn, but he tries to lead Annelise in the right direction. He still calls her Annelise, even though he is supposed to call her Acari Drew.

•Amanda. She is Annelise’s proctor. She tries to make things easier for Annelise and explains things to her that she wouldn’t know otherwise.

•Yasuo and Emma. These are the two friends that she makes while on the Isle. They are loyal to her.

•Lilac Von Straubing. From the very beginning, Annelise and Lilac don’t get along. Lilac nicknamed Annelise “charity case” after a shirt she was wearing which is later shortened to “charity.” Annelise calls her “bunny,” but later decides on another nickname. Lilac is out to get Annelise and wants her dead.

•The Vampires. They are eerie.

A Celebration: A Wrinkle in Time 50th Anniversary & Giveaway

2012-02-11T02:50:00.000-05:00

Publisher: Macmillan
Publish Date: 1962
Series: Time
Other Books in Series: A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Many Waters, An Acceptable Time

It was a dark and stormy night; Meg Murry, her small brother Charles Wallace, and her mother had come down to the kitchen for a midnight snack when they were upset by the arrival of a most disturbing stranger.

"Wild nights are my glory," the unearthly stranger told them. "I just got caught in a downdraft and blown off course. Let me be on my way. Speaking of way, by the way, there is such a thing as a tesseract".

A tesseract (in case the reader doesn't know) is a wrinkle in time. To tell more would rob the reader of the enjoyment of Miss L'Engle's unusal book.

When I first read A Wrinkle in Time, I loved it! I don't think I understood how timeless it really was. After hearing about the celebration planned for the birthday of the book, I knew that I had to get in on that. February 13, 2012 marks the 50th anniversary of the first publication of A Wrinkle in Time.

I loved reading it again. I must admit that I haven't read all the books in the Time Quintet, but Wrinkle is one of my favorite books of all time. I was going to write up a review on the book, but I'm not sure I could do it the justice it deserves. At the beginning of my copy of the book, there is "An Appreciation" written and I am putting that on here because I love it's description. Happy 50th birthday A Wrinkle in Time!!

An Appreciation by Anna Quindlen

The most memorable books from our childhoods are those that make us feel less alone, convince us that our own foibles and quirks are both as individual as a fingerprint and as universal as an open hand. That’s why I still have the copy of A Wrinkle in Time that was given to me when I was twelve years old. It long ago lost its dust jacket, the fabric binding is loose and water stained, and the soft and loopy signature on its inside cover bears little resemblance to the way I sign my name today. The girl who first owned it has grown up and changed, but the book she loved, though battered, is still magical.

It’s heroine is someone who feels very much alone indeed. Meg Murray has braces glasses, and flyaway hair. She can’t seem to get anything right in school, where everyone things she is strange and stupid. And she runs up against some real nastiness at a young age in the form of all those snide looks and comments about her father, a scientist who seems to have mysteriously vanished – or, town gossip has it, run off with another woman.

But Meg doesn’t know real evil until she sets out on a journey to find her father and bring him home, along with her little brother, Charles Wallace, and a boy named Calvin. As they transcend time, space, and the limitations of their own minds, they get help from individuals of great goodness: Mrs Whatsit, Mrs Which, Mrs Who, the Happy Medium, and Aunt Beast. But the climax of their journey is a showdown with IT, the cold and calculating disembodied intelligence that has cast a black shadow over the universe in its quest to make everyone behave and believe the same.

If that sounds like science fiction, it’s because that’s one way to describe the story. Or perhaps you could call it the fiction of science. The action of the books, the search for Meg and Charles Wallace’s missing father, relies on something called a tesseract, which is a way to travel through time and space using a fifth dimension. Although there’s even a little illustration to make it easier to visualize, I still am not certain I do. Of course, Meg, who is so bright she can do square roots in her head, doesn’t entirely understand it either. “For just a moment I got it !” she says. “I can’t possibly explain it now, but for a second I saw it!”

The truth is, I’m not a fan of science fiction, and my math and physics gene has always been weak. But there’s plenty in the book for those of us predisposed toward the humanities as well. Mrs Who, who remedies her language deficit by using the words of others to explain herself, quotes Dante, Euripides, and Cervantes, to name just a few. When Meg is trying to keep IT from invading her brain, she realizes the multiplication tables are too rote to do the trick and instead shouts out the opening of the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” IT retorts that that’s exactly the point: “Everybody exactly alike.” Meg replies triumphantly, “No! Like and equal are not the same thing at all!”

Madeleine L’Engle published Wrinkle in 1962, after it was rejected by dozens of publishers. And her description of the tyranny of conformity clearly reflects that time. The identical houses outside which identical children bounce balls and jump rope in mindless unison evoke the fear so many American’s had of Communist regimes that enshrined the interests of state-mandated order over the rights of the individual. “Why do you think we have wars at home?” Charles Wallace asks his sister, channeling the mind of IT. “Why do you think people get confused and unhappy? Because they all live their own separate individual lives.” He tells Meg what she already knows from her own everyday battles: “Differences create problems.”

But While L’Engle’s story may have originally been inspired by the gray sameness of those Communist countries, it still feels completely contemporary today, except maybe for Meg’s desire for a typewriter to get around her dreadful penmanship. The Murray home is fractured by Mr. Murrays’ mysterious absence and Meg’s “mother sleeping alone in the great double bed.” Calvin may look like a golden boy, but his family barely notices he’s alive. Even more timeless is the sense Meg has of herself as someone who doesn’t fit in, who does “everything wrong.” Conformity knows no time or place; it is the struggle all of us face, to be ourselves despite the overwhelming pressure to be like everyone else. Perhaps one of the most compelling and moving descriptions of that internal battle comes near the end of the book, when Mrs Whatsit tells the children that life, with its rules, it obligations, and its freedoms, is like a sonnet: “You’re given the form, but you have to write the sonnet yourself. What you say is completely up to you.”

On its surface, this is a book about three children who fight an evil force threatening their planet. But it is really about a more primal battle all human beings face, to respect, defend, and love themselves. When Meg pulls the ultimate weapon from her emotional arsenal to fight, for her little brother and for good, it is a great moment, not just for her, but for every reader who has ever felt overlooked, confused, alone. It has been more than four decades since I first read A Wrinkle in Time. If I could tesser, perhaps in some different time and place I would find a Meg Murray just my age, a grown woman with an astonishing brain, a good heart, and a unique perspective on how our differences are what makes life worth living. Oh, how I would like to meet her!

What would a birthday celebration be without presents? I am hosting a giveway so the readers of YABR can enjoy the book as much as I have. What are the prizes? I'm glad you asked...

2 prizes of: T-Shirt (size large), bookmark, button, a copy of A Wrinkle in Time
2 prizes of: Tote bag, button, bookmark, a copy of A Wrinkle in TIme
3 prizes of: A Wrinkle in Time: 50th Anniversary Commemoritive Edition, poster, button, bookmark
7 prizes of: button, bookmark
20 prizes of: bookmark

All prizes except the books were donated by Macmillan for the 50th Anniversary Celebration.

●Names will be drawn by random.org that is within rafflecopter. Winners will be notified by e-mail and will have 48 hours to respond or you forfeit your prize.
●Contest is international.
●Must be at least 13 years old to enter.
●I reserve the right to cancel the contest at any time without notice.
●I am not responsible to prizes lost or damaged in the postal system. I try to package things so this doesn’t happen, but the postal system isn’t infallible.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

In My Mailbox

2012-02-11T00:30:00.000-05:00

In my mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren. I try to do this every week, but sometimes it just doesn't happen. All links will lead you to the Goodreads description of the book.

Vampire's Kiss (The Watchers #2) by Veronica Woff - I received for review from The Penguin Group
Cracked by K.M. Walton - Won from The Story Siren I also received bookmarks, magnet and a keychain.

Bought:
Horizon by Sopie Littlefield
Harbinger by Sarah Wilson Etienne
Isle of Night (The Watchers #1) by Veronica Wolff
The Giver by Lois Lowry

Author Interview – Aubrie Dionne

2012-02-02T00:01:00.000-05:00

Aubrie is an author and flutist in New England. Her stories have appeared in Mindflights, Niteblade, Silver Blade, A Fly in Amber, and several print anthologies including Skulls and Crossbones by Minddancer Press, Rise of the Necromancers, by Pill Hill Press, Nightbird Singing in the Dead of Night by Nightbird Publishing, Dragontales and Mertales by Wyvern Publications, A Yuletide Wish by Nightwolf Publications, and Aurora Rising by Aurora Wolf Publications. Her epic fantasy is published with Wyvern Publications, and several of her ebooks are published with Lyrical Press and Gypsy Shadow Publishing. When she’s not writing, she plays in orchestras and teaches flute at Plymouth State University and a community music school.

As part of her blog tour for the New Dawn series, Aubrie answered some questions that I had for her.

YABR: What inspires you when you write?

AD: I'm inspired by watching awesome movies. I think of a book as a movie in my head. It's the best kind, because I can imagine everything how I'd want it to be, and how I'd want the characters to look. Some of my favorite movies are the original Star Wars trilogy, the Lord of the Rings movies, Star Trek Generations, all of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, and the recent Jane Eyre movie.

YABR: Do you base your characters off of real people? Do you have a process for coming up with characters?

AD: Every one of my characters has a little bit of me in them. It's kinda scary when I look at them and recognize it myself! I don't base them off real people because I don't think my family or friends would like that! *wink wink*

YABR: Do you ever experience writer’s block and how do you get over it?

AD: All of the time. If I sit at the computer for too long, I get blocked. That's when I take a walk with my dogs, do laundry, practice my flute, then it frees up the ideas.

YABR: What type/genre of books do you like to read?

AD: I read all genres, but science fiction and fantasy are my favorites!

YABR: Who is your favorite character in the New Dawn series and why?

AD: Actually, it's the bad guy, Tiff, Striker's ex girlfriend. She's the character with the most flaws, and the one that grows the most over the entire book. I loved her so much, I brought her back as a grandmother in my YA tie in (currently being shopped around to publishers!)

YABR: The New Dawn series is something that is not mainstream Sci-Fi, where did you get the ideas for the series?

AD: I worry about the end of the world all the time. I wonder what people are going to do when Earth becomes uninhabitable or overrun with people. What if people could live their whole lives on colony ships and pass down their DNA to future generations able to colonize other planets?

YABR: How would you describe the New Dawn series to someone who has never read it before?

AD: It's a space opera, complete with space ships, laser battles, mysterious aliens, monstrous creatures, space pirates, desert planets, ince worlds, jungles, everything you'd expect.

YABR: Favorite color

AD: Blue. My eyes are blue, so when I wear blue, it brings them out. Also, my room from my childhood was blue.

YABR: Favorite holiday/season

AD: Summer!!! Beach bum all the way. I'd burn my snow boots if I could.

YABR: Word that best describes you and why

AD: Creative. I chose two careers that require a lot of creative energy: flute and writing.

YABR: Optimist or pessimist

AD: Optimist! Every one of my books ends happily for most of the characters involved.

YABR: Favorite author/book/series

AD: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

YABR: Favorite food/drink

AD: Pizza and coffee, but not together!

YABR: Favorite place to read/write

AD: The computer!

YABR: Favorite pizza topping

AD: Vegetables! I'm a vegetarian and I LOVE vegetables!

Title: A Hero Rising (A New Dawn, #3)
Author: Aubrie Dionne
Genre: Sci-Fi Romance
Length: novella
Release Date: February 2012

Prequel to A New Dawn - Book Three

After watching his love leave on a colony ship, James Wilfred must save those left behind from a planetary apocalypse. Their salvation lies in an unfinished ship tucked away in a secret government base, and only James can break in and pilot him and his people to freedom on a nearby space station.

Skye O’Connor’s boyfriend never returns after his gang attempts an assassination of the Governor, and the State Building is destroyed. Worse, crazed moonshiners addicted to the chemical Morpheus have stormed the city, and she must find a safe place for her and her boyfriend’s daughter. When a heroic man saves her, Skye asks to accompany him on his quest to find the last colony ship left on Earth.

As the city falls around them, James and Skye must work together to build a new future, all the while rediscovering their ability to love, before the apocalypse claims them both.

Title: Tundra 37 (A New Dawn, #2)
Author: Aubrie Dionne
Genre: Sci-Fi Romance
Length: 288 pages
Release Date: February 7, 2012

Gemme is a hi-tech matchmaker who pairs the next generation of Lifers aboard the Expedition, a deep space transport vessel destined for Paradise 18. When the identity of her lifemate pops up on her screen, she’s shocked that he’s the achingly gorgeous and highly sought after Lieutenant Miles Brentwood—a man oblivious to her existence. Believing everyone will think she contrived the match, she erases it from the computer’s memory.

Just as comets pummel the ship and destroy the pairing system forever.

With the Expedition disabled, the colonists must crash land on the barren ice world of Tundra 37 where Gemme is reassigned to an exploratory mission, led by Lieutenant Brentwood. Only in the frozen tundra does she understand the shape of his heart and why the computer has entwined their destinies.

Title: Paradise 21 (A New Dawn, #1)
Author: Aubrie Dionne
Genre: Sci-Fi Romance
Length: 248 pages
Release Date: August 2011

Aries has lived her entire life aboard mankind’s last hope, the New Dawn, a spaceship traveling toward a planet where humanity can begin anew—a planet that won’t be reached in Aries’ lifetime. As one of the last genetically desirable women in the universe, she must marry her designated genetic match and produce the next generation for this centuries-long voyage.

But Aries has other plans.

When her desperate escape from the New Dawn strands her on a desert planet, Aries discovers the rumors about pirates—humans who escaped Earth before its demise—are true. Handsome, genetically imperfect Striker possesses the freedom Aries envies, and the two connect on a level she never thought possible. But pursued by her match from above and hunted by the planet’s native inhabitants, Aries quickly learns her freedom will come at a hefty price.

The life of the man she loves.

In My Mailbox

2012-02-01T23:55:00.001-05:00

I got several things in my mailbox this week that I'm excited about and several things for upcoming giveaways on the blog.

This is the A Wrinkle in Time 50th Anniversary celebration kit that I received from Macmillan Children's Books. I expected to receive ONE kit, instead I received THREE. That is going to be a massive giveaway! The anniversary is scheduled for February 11. In each kit there is: a t-shirt, 5 buttons, 25 bookmarks, a tote bag, a poster (not pictured) and instructional papers. Now all we need are some books...

Article 5 by Kristen Simmons
Fallen in Love by Lauren Kate
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I have bought multiple copies of The Hunger Games and I must say that the best cover goes to the flaming mockingjay. These are for an upcoming giveaway...stay tuned.

Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton (paperback)
Wings of the Wicked by Courtney Allison Moulton

The paperback copy of Angelfire and one copy of Wings of the Wicked are for an upcoming giveaway.

I also picked up some bookmarks to give away with the books above. If you have read the Angelfire series, you know who the characters are. The bookmark on the far left shows what the other bookmarks have on the back. There is one of each character with each book.

Wings of the Wicked book signing and Giveaway

2012-02-01T23:30:00.000-05:00

I went to Lansing with my sister Jamie and my niece Ilana, to our favorite Indie bookstore, Schuler Books. They always have fun book signings. I have a few that I hope to go there this spring including Leah Clifford and some others that I won't mention yet. I always love going to book signings in Michigan because I get to see all my favorite Michigan authors (I'll include Leah Clifford in this although she is not technically a Michigan author. It's an honorary title.) like Leah Clifford, Courtney Allison Moulton, DJ DeSmyter and Aimée Carter. It's really neat to see them at almost every signing that we go to.

The reason for this signing, however, was the release of the 2^nd book in the Angelfire series, Wings of the Wicked. At this signing, Courtney Allison Moulton, read some of her new book, took questions and then signed books. It was a really casual event.

Reading some of Wings of the Wicked

The signing. Courtney had cool bookmarks that I have seen on her blog. I was excited about these. She also had the blades from the cover shoots. They were awesome. Not very sharp though, although I guess that is a good thing.

This was the most exciting of the day. I got to play with the blades and be the Preliator...for a few minutes.

The first prize is one autographed copy of Wings of the Wicked. Along with the book, I am giving you three bookmarks. These are the character bookmarks. The one to the far left is the back of the other three. You will get a complete set with your autographed book.

I am also giving away one autographed copy of the new paperback copy of Angelfire. This copy has some extras in it. You will also get a set of three character bookmarks.

●Names will be drawn by random.org that is within rafflecopter. Winners will be notified by e-mail and will have 48 hours to respond or you forfeit your prize.

●Contest is international

●Must be at least 13 years old to enter

●I reserve the right to cancel the contest at any time without notice.

●I am not responsible to prizes lost or damaged in the postal system. I try to package things so this doesn’t happen, but the postal system isn’t infallible.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Brightest Kind of Darkness

2012-02-01T01:21:00.000-05:00

Publisher: Patrice Michelle
Publish Date: June 27, 2011
Version: e-book from author
Series: Brightest Kind of Darkness

Nara Collins is an average sixteen-year-old, with one exception: every night she dreams the events of the following day. Due to an incident in her past, Nara avoids using her special gift to change fate…until she dreams a future she can’t ignore.

After Nara prevents a bombing at Blue Ridge High, her ability to see the future starts to fade, while people at school are suddenly being injured at an unusually high rate.

Grappling with her diminishing powers and the need to prevent another disaster, Nara meets Ethan Harris, a mysterious loner who seems to understand her better than anyone. Ethan and Nara forge an irresistible connection, but as their relationship heats up, so do her questions about his dark past.

Inara "Nara" Collins is different than most kids her age. She has dreams that show her what happens the following day. This helps her in many aspects of high school. She knows when there is going to be an embarrassing moment and how to avoid it. She is the star goalie for her soccer team because she already knows which way they are going to kick the ball. She knows the interactions she is going to have between her and her best-friend, Lainey O'Neil. This is monotonous and boring to her, and she wishes for a "surprising day" where she doesn't know what happens.

Then she meets Ethan Harris. He is the strange new kid at her school. He doesn't interact with any of the students. The only interaction Nara has had with Ethan was during the hall when she almost ran into him. This changed the day she decided to interfere with what she saw in her dreams. She dreamed that there would be a bomb at the school. She alerted the school about the bomb and school was closed. Ethan actually talked to Nara while they were standing in the parking lot.

Strange things start happening in Nara's life. She loses her dreams; students at the school are getting hurt; Nara sees things that are odd; Nara's father contacts her after walking out of her life when she was little; her relationship with Ethan intensifies... It is up to Nara to figure out what is happening and how Ethan plays into that.

I LOVED this book! From the very start of the book when Nara made the 911 call about the bombing at the school to the very end, I was drawn into the story. The last ⅓ of the book was a nail-biter. I couldn't put the book down. This book caused me to make up a new category, I'm not sure about. This book made it really hard to pen my likes/did not like because I didn't want to spoil things and tell people WHY I liked/did not like them.

•Nara. I love Nara. She has these dreams and when she sees something catastrophic, she interferes with it. She is strong-willed. The passion that she has is admirable.

•Lainey. Nara's best friend. She gets caught up in the whole high school experience and this causes her and Nara's friendship to drift apart. Even still, she is a good person.

•Ethan. Everyone has their opinion of him in this book. Ethan's character is not fully revealed until later in the book. I'm not going to spoil it for you, just know I like him.

•Nara's mother. She is distant from Nara ever since her father walked out. It's obvious that she cares for Nara, she just doesn't know how to show it.

• I love the interaction between all the characters in the book and how it was a real "high school" experience.

•Miranda, Sophia, Jared and other various high school students. They act their age or younger. It is not very attractive.

•Other characters in the book. They are not meant to be liked. I won't tell who they are because I don't want to spoil it for you.

•Coach of the soccer team. The coach is easily swayed by members of the team.

•Nara's father. You don't really get a sense of him in the book. The only thing that you really know is that he walked out on Nara and her mom when she was five. There are a few other details, but I’ll let you read the book to discover them. Even still, I’m not sure whether I like him or not. I'm sure he'll be more of a presence in the next book and I'll have a better opinion of him then.

I think the cover is beautiful. Nara looks like how she is described in the book. I don't know where the red dress fits in with the story, but that is insignificant. I love the fall colors on the cover. The fact that Nara is in the woods goes along with a few points in the story.

Cover Reveal: Lucid

2012-02-01T00:00:00.000-05:00

I'm excited to reveal the cover for the second book in the Brightest Kind of Darkness series, Lucid by P.T. Michelle.

Isn't the cover pretty? I couldn't find any more information about Lucid except that it will be released in Spring 2012. As soon as I find out more information, I'll be sure to post it.

I'm reading Brightest Kind of Darkness now. I'll post my review soon. Below is information on the first book in the series :

Nara Collins is an average sixteen-year-old, with one exception: every night she dreams the events of the following day. Due to an incident in her past, Nara avoids using her special gift to change fate…until she dreams a future she can’t ignore.

After Nara prevents a bombing at Blue Ridge High, her ability to see the future starts to fade, while people at school are suddenly being injured at an unusually high rate.

Grappling with her diminishing powers and the need to prevent another disaster, Nara meets Ethan Harris, a mysterious loner who seems to understand her better than anyone. Ethan and Nara forge an irresistible connection, but as their relationship heats up, so do her questions about his dark past.

Challenges

2012-01-28T19:02:00.000-05:00

I have decided on two challenges to do this year besides the normal "number of books" challenge that I get from goodreads.

The first challenge is hosted by The Story Siren and is the Debut Author Challenge. This challenge is as follows:

To read & review a minimum of twelve young adult or middle grade debut novels between the dates of January 1, 2012 – January 31, 2013.*

*The 2013 extension is so that December Debuts can be read and count toward the challenge.

The second challenge is hosted by Icey Books and I Like These Books and is called the Standalone Reading Challenge. This challenge is:

To read 15 standalone YA books in 2012!

I am excited about these challenges and to see if I can complete them? What challenges are you doing for 2012?

Within Blog Tour

2012-01-28T00:30:00.000-05:00

Publisher: Faery Ink Press

Publish Date: November 13, 2011

Version: e-book from author

Series: unknown

Trinity Hartell’s life changed after the accident. Left with irreversible brain damage, she becomes a burden to her mother, a cause for heartbreak for her boyfriend Zack, and a flattened obstacle for her best friend, Ellie.

But then she starts writing. Perhaps it’s a coincidence that the psychotic, murdering protagonist of her novel bears a striking similarity to the charming Wiley Dalton, a mayoral candidate in the upcoming election.

Or, perhaps not...

January 29 – Uniquely Moi Reviews (Guest Post)

January 30 – The Violet Hour

List of tour stops

Prologue | Chapter One

This books starts with two different stories, the first one being that of Trinity, Zack and Ellie. They are working on an English project together at Ellie’s mom’s house. After they are finished, Ellie drives Trinity and Zack, who are boyfriend/girlfriend, home. On the way to drop them off, they are in a terrible accident, one that they aren’t sure that Trinity will survive.

She does survive, but has severe brain damage. She reverts to adolescence. Trinity’s parents, Stephanie and George, are having disagreements on how to take care of Trinity. Stephanie works for Wiley Dalton, who is running for mayor. George wants her to ask for time off of the campaign to stay home and take care of Trinity. Stephanie doesn’t really want to ask for time off, but she does half-heartedly. Wiley encourages her to stay on as the elections are nearing. This is putting a strain on Stephanie’s and George’s relationship.

Trinity starts having these episodes where she is writing non-stop. It is amazing, that someone with her level of brain function can write such intricate stories. Zack visits Trinity nearly every day. Sometimes he brings Ellie along. It isn’t long before they start to get intrigued by Trinity’s stories as well.

Then there is Edmund and how he created the Order of Purus who worship the God, Omnus. The Order of Purus believe that they are the superior race and they need to “redeem” the “impure.” It tells of how Edmund recruited men to the Order and how they go about redeeming.

At first, I found this story hard to get into. The two different parts of the story weave in and out and I had a hard time connecting the two. After I got about ⅓ to ½ ways through the book, I began to understand the stories a little better and things started to make sense. Between was full of surprises, though. As soon as you thought that you understood things and that you knew what was going to happen next, something would happen that would change the direction of your thinking. Overall, this was a good book. I love the mystery element to it and that fact that it wasn’t predictable.

●Trinity. I even like her at the beginning of the book before the accident. She was not only a good friend to Ellie; she was also a good girlfriend to Zack. After her accident, she reverted and didn’t remember either of them.

●Zack. He is very loyal to Trinity, both before and after her accident. He always has hope that Trinity will get better and that she will remember him and love him like she used to.

●Ellie. She is Trinity’s best friend and consequently hangs out with Zack a lot because of it. She tries her best to do right by Trinity and she feels guilty for what happens because she was driving when the accident happened.

●George. Trinity’s father. He doesn’t get mentioned much in the book, but he truly has Trinity’s best interest at heart.

●Stephanie. Trinity’s mom. When she was first presented with the problem of someone needing to stay home with Trinity after the accident, she didn’t want to take time off of work to do that.

●Wiley Dalton. At first he seems really good…too good. He ruined it for me when he talked Stephanie out of staying home with Trinity because he needed her for his campaign.

●Edmund. He has issues.

●The Order of Purus. This society, cult, whatever you want to call them, is just sick and wrong. Killing people, redeeming the impure…

On the cover is Trinity. I really like the way she looks on this cover. It looks like she is simple minded and not paying attention to anything which fits the description of her after the accident. I’m not exactly sure what the leaves have to do with the story, but they add a nice touch to the cover.

Shatter Me

2012-01-22T15:27:00.000-05:00

Publisher: Harper Collins

Publish Date: November 15, 2011

Version: hardcover print

Pages: 338

Series: Shatter Me

Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don't fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war-- and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she's exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

Juliette Ferrars has been locked up in an asylum for 264 days by the Reestablishment. They locked her up because her touch is fatal. She spends her day looking out the one window in her cell. She wonders about rain drops and birds. It has been awhile since she has seen a bird in the skies.

She has been alone all that time. Now she is getting a roommate. At first, she is excited to see another human being, but has mixed feelings once she finds out her roommate is male. Adam, that is his name. Juliette has been alone for so long, that it is difficult for her to open up and talk to anyone. At first, she ignores him, but then she helps him out with the things that they do daily in the cell. Juliette cannot help the feeling that she knows Adam from somewhere. She knows his eyes.

After a while, soldiers come in and take Juliette and Adam out of the cell. They take Juliette to another place and there she meets Warner. She also learns that Adam’s name is Adam Kent, that he is a soldier and can finally place where she knows him. Warner tells her that he wants her on his side in the war. At first, she doesn’t understand what he is talking about. When she figures out that he wants her to torture people to get information for his side, she instantly refuses. Warner then shows her the things that she is missing. One of those things is that she gets to go outside, which is exhilarating to Juliette because it is not a dream.

Juliette has choices to make and questions to answer. Will she side with Warner and do what he wants her to do? Will she forgive Adam for deceiving her when he first came into the cell? How will she get out of this current predicament and where will she go?

This book was very well thought out. There were points in the book that I didn’t know what would happen. Not because Juliette was wavering, but the circumstances prevented you from predicting it. I found that I could understand the feelings that Juliette had and the actions she took because of them. There are a few surprises in this book and I won’t spoil them for you, but they make the read worth it.

«Juliette. She is the main character in this book. Her touch is fatal and so she thinks that she is a monster. It takes a lot of persuasion to get to start thinking otherwise. When she is forced to kill a soldier so Warner can see what she can do, she feels awful about it. She never wants to feel that again. She has been ostracized her whole life because of this strange power that she has. Throughout the book, she learns what it means to have such power and what people will do for it.

«Adam Kent. He is the boy who is put in the cell with Juliette at the beginning of the book. At first, he is mean to her, but then he softens up. When Juliette finds out that he is a soldier, she believes that she was just a “job.” Throughout the book, Adam has to keep up appearances and he does it so well sometimes that Juliette doesn’t even know which side he is on.

«James, Adam’s brother. You don’t meet James until the later part of the story, but he is a neat kid.

«The ~~strikethrough~~ print. It was interesting to read what Juliette was thinking in contrast to what she said. It was like she was debating on whether to say something or not.

«Warner. He wants Juliette on his team to torture people that he captures in the war. He puts her in situations where she will have to use her power even though she is dead set against. He doesn’t want to let Juliette go. He uses fear as a tool and kills people for trivial things.

«The Reestablishment. You don’t hear a whole lot about them in this book, but you do get a sense that they are not the good guys. They were supposed to come in and make things better, but instead they take over and try to rule.

On the cover, there is Juliette dressed in a white gown with her hair down. There are lines coming out of her like she is wielding a secret power. She has her hands on her hips which is symbolic of defiance. The cover reads: ~~My touch is lethal~~. My touch is power. I like how the cover is shiny. It really makes Juliette stand out on the cover. This fits the description of Juliette well.

In My Mailbox

2012-01-21T23:07:00.000-05:00

I got some really cool books and swag this week. All links will take you to the Goodreads description of the book.

Birthmarked by Caragh M. O'Brien - I borrowed this book from my sister.
Fracture by Megan Miranda - Bought

I received these neat bookmarks from Jennifer Estep. They are from The Mythos Academy books - Touch of Frost, Kiss of Frost and Dark Frost. As you guessed it, these will be used in a future giveaway. There is also a "0.5" book in the Mythos Academy series. It is called First Frost.

I received The Hunger Games collector's edition and this swag from Scholastic Books for an upcoming giveaway. (Stay tuned!!)

New Design

2012-01-17T08:58:00.000-05:00

I've been working with Hafsah from Icey Designs on a new design for my blog. I am very pleased with the way things turned out. I loved working with Hafsah. I initially chose her because I really liked the designs that were in her portfolio. When we first had contact, I told her that I didn't know what I wanted, but I wanted it to be classy and I liked the colors blue and purple. We must've e-mailed back and forth about 20 time or more getting everything right. Hafsah was so patient with me. I admit that I am a little bit OCD about things and she fixed what I had issues with without complaint. I love, love, love it!! It gets even better though. Not only did she design my blog, she designed social network icons that I can use in my post and a twitter background. (check it out!) I highly recommend her!

Cinder

2012-01-14T10:44:00.000-05:00

Publisher: Fiewel and Friends (Macmillan)
Publish Date: 03 January 2012
Version: print ARC from Macmillan (Thank you!)
Series: Lunar Chronicles

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

This story starts out with Cinder’s booth in the New Beijing market. She is taking off her foot, while Iko retrieves another one for her. Iko is another android who lives with Cinder in their household with her step-mother, Adri and her step-sisters Peony and Pearl. While she is waiting, Prince Kaito comes up to her booth and asks for Linh Cinder. At first he doesn’t believe that they are the same person as Linh Cinder is supposedly the best mechanic in New Beijing. He then relays to her that he has an android that is in need of servicing. Cinder is mesmerized by the prince and agrees to work on his android.

New Beijing is fighting against a disease that is widespread and highly contagious. They have yet to find a cure for this plague known as letumosis. There was an outbreak at the market when Cinder and Iko were there which caused the market to close and them to go home early. When they take Peony to the junkyard to retrieve a magbelt for their hover, Peony starts showing symptoms of the plague. She is quarantined immediately. Cinder and Iko are checked over to make sure that they don’t have letumosis and they are sent on their way. Cinder doesn’t know how she is going to explain this to Adri, but when she arrives at her house, she finds out that she already knows and blames Cinder for her daughter catching letumosis. This doesn’t bode well for Cinder as she is then forced to “volunteer” for scientific research to help find a cure for the plague. It is during that time that Cinder finds out what she must do. The question is does she have the courage to do it or is she going to follow her dreams and run away so Iko and her will be free? Then there are the Lunars. The Lunar Queen Levana comes for a visit and everything turns chaotic for Cinder and Prince Kai.

I cannot say how much I loved this book. From beginning to end, it had me in a spell and I could not put it down until I finished it. I am so looking forward to more books from Meyer. The way that the fairy tale of Cinderella was weaved into this story, makes it all the more magical. It was if you knew what was going to happen based on the fairy tale, but then again, you didn’t because this was a totally separate story. One of the points that I really liked in the book was that of letumosis. It affected anyone and wasn't a disease that was specific to the poor.

Cinder. She is the main character. She has a lot of guts and does things that she knows to be right. Even though she is “just an android,” she has a lot of heart and took care of those people that she loved. She has some tough choices to make in this book, and it made the book even better to see the reasons behind those choices.

Iko. The other android living in the household. Adri has previously mentioned how she wanted to get rid of Iko. This was said in some kind of punishment and caused Cinder to want to protect her even more. Iko has a fun personality. She was quirky.

Prince Kaito, Crown Prince of the Eastern Commonwealth. He seems a little naïve in this book, although I don’t think he was as all. He doesn’t seem to understand that Cinder is an android. Or at least, he isn’t giving it away in his actions. He also appears to be shy in some of the interactions with Cinder. He doesn't act like his title as Prince should make him better than anyone else and that is the main reason why I like him.

Peony. Cinder’s sister. She is the only one out of the family that treated Cinder like she was a family member. Out of all the people in the household, the fact that Peony got letumosis is integral to this story. If it were Adri or Pearl, Cinder probably wouldn't care as much.
Dr. Erland. He is the doctor that Cinder is working with on research to cure letumosis. At times, I didn’t like him because of the way he acted and the things he put importance in, but overall, he is on the like list.

Adri. Cinder’s step-mother. She makes Cinder work in the market so she can live the lifestyle that she is used to. After Peony is diagnosed with leitmosis, she signs the consent for Cinder to be used as a test subject (or volunteer) to discover a cure for letumosis.

Queen Levana. She is the Lunar queen who is taking advantage of the terrible misfortunes of others. She controls people by using her mind. As with other Lunars, she can project an image that she wants people to see. She wants people to see her as beautiful.

The cover is of a leg and a red, high heeled shoe. You can also see inside the leg and see the machinations of an Android. I love this cover. It really fits the fairy tale of Cinderella because it was all about the shoe left at the ball. Only in Cinder’s case, she is part Android, so not all her parts are human. I like the font that they used for the title, Cinder. It is elegant and again, makes you think of the fairy tale.

Find Marissa

Buy Cinder

Lola and the Boy Next Door

2012-01-14T06:49:00.000-05:00

Publisher: Penguin Group
Publish Date: already out
Version: e-book
Series: none

Budding designer Lola Nolan doesn’t believe in fashion . . . she believes in costume. The more expressive the outfit -- more sparkly, more fun, more wild -- the better. But even though Lola’s style is outrageous, she’s a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood.

When Cricket -- a gifted inventor -- steps out from his twin sister’s shadow and back into Lola’s life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.

Dolores Nolan aka Lola lives with her two dads, Nathan and Andy. She has a boyfriend, Max, who is 22 and is in a rock band. She believes that he is “the one.” She is eccentric and loves to dress up. It is rare that anyone ever sees the true Lola. Every Sunday, Lola and Max endure brunch with her fathers, who dislike Max. Then Lola’s world gets turned upside down when the Bell family moves back into the house next door. They lived there before and things didn’t end well between Lola and Cricket, one of the twins. Now, Cricket and his twin sister, Calliope, are back and this worries Lola. Lola had a hard time forgetting Cricket and how he broke her heart and she is trying to not let that interfere with her relationship with Max.

Lola has a difficult time dealing with the fact that Cricket is back. She has mixed feelings about this. This boy was her first love. Now he’s here, next door, with his bedroom window right next to hers. Cricket is different now. It had always been Calliope who had been in the spotlight with her ice skating and now he is doing things for himself. This causes Lola to make difficult and questionable decisions, when she is forced to choose between Max and Cricket.

I had a hard time putting this book down. It is not usually the type of book I like to read. I loved the way that Perkins pulled you into this story. I mean, the teen with the older boyfriend who was pining for the neighbor boy is not a new idea, but the way that it is told in Lola, is extraordinary.

Cricket. Even his name is charming. He is a genuinely nice person. I found that throughout the story, I was liking him even more. I liked everything about him. The way he dresses, how he writes notes on his hands. Yes, he had some bad moments, but don't we all?

Lola’s two fathers, Nathan and Andy. I like how Perkins differentiates between the two personalities in this book. They care about Lola and her well-being. It is nice to see how they fit into Lola's world along with her birth mother.

Lindsey. Lola’s best friend. She looks out for Lola when things aren’t going so well. Anyone who says “shove it, fartbreath” is worth knowing.

Étienne St. Clair or St. Clair, for short. I like the way that he is devoted to Anna. He follows her everywhere, but not in the annoying stalker-boyfriend kind of way. In this book, he is a good friend to Lola and gives her good advice.

Calliope Bell. At first you get this horrible picture of the things that she used to do to Lola. Calliope does change some in the book, but I still put her on my did not like list. She is training for figure skating in the Olympics. I like how Cricket described it as the "Calliope Show."
Max. He was 22, but he acted like he was 12. Granted, he did go through everything that Lola’s fathers asked him to in regards to the Sunday brunches and other things, but his attitude toward everything was horrible. He is in a rock band and that is how he met Lola.

In this cover, you see a girl (Lola) and a boy (Cricket) sitting on a windowsill. Lola is dressed in costume. This is how she is described in the book. Cricket is also dressed as he is described, with his dress pants. In the background you can see a neighborhood of houses. (This reminds me of the opening scenes from Full House.) I think that this cover is appropriate for the book. The only criticism that I have on the cover is the look on Lola’s face. With her eyes open wide like that, it reminds me of a mannequin doll that you would see at the store or a robot.

Find Stephanie

Buy Lola and the Boy Next Door

In My Mailbox

2012-01-09T00:35:00.000-05:00

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme that is put on by The Story Siren where you tell what books you have received that week. I don't post on this very often, but I have bought quite a few books this past few weeks, so I thought I would share.

Fearless by Francine Pascal
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Doctor Proctor's Fart Powder by Jo Nesbo (illustrated by Mike Lowery)
Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
The Woman in Black by Susan Hill

The Woman in Black particularly appeals to me because the movie is coming out on 03 February 2012 and I like to read the book before seeing the movie. Fearless was a Wal*Mart special and contains three books in the series: Fearless, Sam and Run. The book sounded interesting and I love buying books like this because there isn't a wait for the next book and it doesn't take up as much space. I've heard a lot of great reviews about Under the Never Sky and had to check the book out for myself. Fart Powder and The Hunger Games are for a guest reviewer.

City of Bones
City of Ashes
City of Glass
City of Fallen Angels
Clockwork Angel
Clockwork Prince

All of these are by Cassandra Clare. They were on sale and I got all six books for around $40. I am excited to read these. I have wanted to read these two series for awhile now because I have heard great things about them. Now I have the books and have no excuse.

Author Interview: Jennifer L Armentrout

2012-01-07T23:12:00.000-05:00

Jennifer lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you've heard about her state aren't true. When she's not hard at work writing. she spends her time reading, working out, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russel Loki.

Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories....which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She also writes adult romance under the name J. Rogers.

The Covenant series, The Lux series and the Unchained Trilogy (under the pen name of J.L. Rogers) are some of the books that have been written by Jennifer. She also has a new novel, Cursed, coming out tentatively in September 2012.

The books that I have read that Jennifer has written are Daimon: A Prequel to Half-Blood and Obsidian. She has graciously answered some questions I had for her.

You have a few different series out. Which one is your favorite to work
on and why? Do you have a favorite character? If so, who is it and why?

Whatever series I'm working on is usually my favorite. It has to be for me to do my best. So one moment I'm totally in love with the Covenant Series and the next I'm all about the Lux series. I think my two favorite characters are Alex from the Covenant Series and Daemon from the Lux Series. Both of those characters bring the snark and I love me some snark!
Cursed is coming out in September 2012. Is this book going to be a
stand-alone book or a series? Can you tell us a little about this book and
where you got the inspiration for it?

Cursed is currently a standalone and is about a girl who dies and comes back (thanks to her little sister) with a toxic touch. Anything she touches basically withers up and dies. Beside trying to discover how her sister brought her back and what the means, Ember has to learn how to control her ability plus discover who caused the accident in the first place and why. Of course, she has some help from an uber hot guy with his own secrets and abilities. My inspiration for Cursed was kind of weird. It all started with the opening scene, which is Ember waking up with a dead hamster sitting on her chest. Yeah, I know, bizarre. But the hamster was her little sister's pet that had died and was brought back. So it was a weird Pet Cemetery moment., kind of creepy, kind of fun. It just spawned from there.
What inspires you when you write?

It's pretty simple. Telling stories inspries me.
Do you base your characters off of real people? Do you have a process
for coming up with characters?

Some secondary characters are based loosely on people I know, but the main characters almost never. The characters are usually the first thing I come up and the plot develops around them.
Do you ever experience writer’s block and how do you get over it?

Oh, God, yes. Scary moments there. Usually I try to power through them with a sledgehammer, but if the block is real big, then I moved ahead in the story, write a scene I want and then come back to the area that's tripping me up.
What type/genre of books do you like to read? What are you currently
reading?

I'm a fan of paranormal and fantasy mostly. Right now I'm reading a billion novels it seems: Immortal Rider, Hallowed, Goddess Interrupted, Legend, and Enclave.
Favorite color

Red.
Favorite holiday/season

Halloween and Christmas are tied.
Word that best describes you and why

Random. I'm pretty random.
Optimist or pessimist

Realist.
Favorite author/book/series

Right now? Rachel Vincent Soul Screamers.
Favorite food/drink

Red meat and coffee (healthy, right?)
Favorite place to read/write

Living room.

Young Adult Book Reviews would like to thank Jennifer Armentrout for answering our questions.

Find Jennifer

Daimon: The Prequel to Half-Blood

2012-01-07T21:33:00.000-05:00

Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Publish Date: already out
Version: e-book
Series: Covenant

For three years, Alexandria has lived among mortals—pretending to be like them and trying to forget the duty she'd been trained to fulfill as a child of a mortal and a demigod. At seventeen, she's pretty much accepted that she's a freak by mortal standards... and that she'll never be prepared for that duty.

According to her mother, that’s a good thing.

But as every descendant of the gods knows, Fate has a way of rearing her ugly head. A horrifying attack forces Alex to flee Miami and try to find her way back to the very place her mother had warned her she should never return—the Covenant. Every step that brings her closer to safety is one more step toward death… because she's being hunted by the very creatures she'd once trained to kill.

The daimons have found her.

Daimon is the prequel to Half Blood. In the description of it, it says that it is Covenant 0.5. The story starts out with Alexandria Andros remembering when she was examined by Hematoi ministers. They do this because Alex is a half-blood and they determine what she will be in life. Then Alex is pulled out of her memory by Matt Richardson, the boy that she is out with at the time. While they were on the beach, a few guys came over to them and started some trouble. Alex, having been trained, defended her and Matt from the guys only to have Matt get mad at her for it because he didn’t condone violence.

When Alex gets home, she is greeted by her mother who talks to her about sneaking out at night in Miami. She relates the events of the evening and gets that off her chest before going to bed. The next morning, she was supposed to be up “bright and early” cleaning up the balcony. After waking up at noon, she quickly got dressed and then proceeded to go out to the balcony to begin cleaning it. What she discovered when she was out there, was alarming. She saw the very thing she was trained at the Covenant to fight – a Daimon. Daimons feed on aether, the essence of the gods or the life force running through pure-bloods and less concentrated in half-bloods. What happens when she encounters the Daimon is where this story really starts.

This is the second book by Jennifer L. Arementrout that I have read and I really like it. She is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. I liked this book because it gave you a good background into the Covenant series. Daimon leaves a lot of questions and I hope that they will be answered as the series progresses.

Alex. She has a good personality that is easily likeable. She doesn’t know the reasoning behind her mom and her leaving the Covenant but doesn’t question this decision outright. I also like the fact that she is a take charge kind of girl.

Alex’s mom. You can tell that she has given up a lot for Alex. Being a pure blood, they believe that half-bloods, such as Alex, are beneath them. Alex’s mom doesn’t show this belief. She genuinely cares about Alex.

Matt. The guy that she is out with on the beach. He doesn’t like it when Alex defends her and him. He seems like a nice guy, but he makes Alex feel like a freak afterwards.

Daimons. They are aether-loving, evil, weird looking people with bad teeth.

On the cover it shows a green tulip. This picture reminds me of pictures that I have seen before where they took x-rays of flowers. Only this particular flower has a green smoke-like substance rising out of it. The cover is very pretty, although it doesn’t tell me anything about the story.

Release Date: already out
This is book one in the Covenant series. After reading Daimon, I'm eager to read this book.
Buy Half-Blood: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, The Book Depository

The Hematoi descend from the unions of gods and mortals, and the children of two Hematoi-pure-bloods-have godlike powers. Children of Hematoi and mortals-well, not so much. Half-bloods only have two options: become trained Sentinels who hunt and kill daimons or become servants in the homes of the pures. Seventeen-year-old Alexandria would rather risk her life fighting than waste it scrubbing toilets, but she may end up slumming it anyway. There are several rules that students at the Covenant must follow. Alex has problems with them all, but especially rule #1:Relationships between pures and halfs are forbidden. Unfortunately, she's crushing hard on the totally hot pure-blood Aiden. But falling for Aiden isn't her biggest problem--staying alive long enough to graduate the Covenant and become a Sentinel is. If she fails in her duty, she faces a future worse than death or slavery: being turned into a daimon, and being hunted by Aiden. And that would kind of suck.

Tentative release date: April 3, 2012
Book 2 in the Covenant series.
Pre-order Pure: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, The Book Depository

There is need. And then there is Fate...

Being destined to become some kind of supernatural electrical outlet isn't exactly awesome--especially when Alexandria's "other half" is everywhere she goes. Seth's in her training room, outside her classes, and keeps showing up in her bedroom--so not cool. Their connection does have some benefits, like staving off her nightmares of the tragic showdown with her mother, but it has no effect on what Alex feels for the forbidden, pure-blooded Aiden. Or what he will do--and sacrifice--for her.

When daimons infiltrate the Covenants and attack students, the gods send furies--lesser gods determined to eradicate any threat to the Covenants and to the gods, and that includes the Apollyon... and Alex. And if that and hordes of aether-sucking monsters didn't blow bad enough, a mysterious threat seems willing to do anything to neutralize Seth, even if that means forcing Alex into servitude... or killing her.

When the gods are involved, some decisions can never, ever be undone.

Find Jennifer

Buy Daimon

The Gathering Storm

2012-01-04T21:39:00.000-05:00

Robin Bridges

Publisher: Delacorte Press
Tentative Publish Date: 10 January 2012
Version: Netgalley e-book
Series: The Katerina Trilogy

St. Petersburg, Russia, 1888. As she attends a whirl of glittering balls, royal debutante Katerina Alexandrovna, Duchess of Oldenburg, tries to hide a dark secret: she can raise the dead. No one knows. Not her family. Not the girls at her finishing school. Not the tsar or anyone in her aristocratic circle. Katerina considers her talent a curse, not a gift. But when she uses her special skill to protect a member of the Imperial Family, she finds herself caught in a web of intrigue.

An evil presence is growing within Europe's royal bloodlines—and those aligned with the darkness threaten to topple the tsar. Suddenly Katerina's strength as a necromancer attracts attention from unwelcome sources . . . including two young men—George Alexandrovich, the tsar's standoffish middle son, who needs Katerina's help to safeguard Russia, even if he's repelled by her secret, and the dashing Prince Danilo, heir to the throne of Montenegro, to whom Katerina feels inexplicably drawn.

The time has come for Katerina to embrace her power, but which side will she choose—and to whom will she give her heart?

This is the story of Katerina Alexandra Maria von Holstein-Gottorp, the Duchess of Oldenburg, who is known as Katiya by her family. She goes to the Smolney Institue in St Petersburg, Russia with her cousin Dariya, where they teach how to be a good wife. Katerina has always wanted to be a doctor and would rather go to medical school, but it is not acceptable for women to attend medical school in 1888. Katerina is a necromancer. She doesn’t understand this totally and calls this a “curse” that was given to her.

At the annual Smolney Ball is when you are introduced to the tsar’s sons, Grand Duke George Alexandrovich and the tsarevitch Nicky Alexandrovich. It is there at the ball’s dinner that Katerina is forced to use her “curse” to help the tsarevitch. This is also when she catches the eye of the Montenegrins and earns an invitation to Cetinje for Christmas to meet Elena’s brother, Danilo. This doesn’t bode well with Katerina because she knows that the Montenegrin princesses are witches and knows what Elena attempted with the tsarevitch. After talking with Dariya about it, she decides to enlist the help of her brother, Petya.

Katerina doesn’t want to fall for the Crown Prince Danilo, but finds that she is be-spelled by him and eventually agrees to marry him despite the warnings that people have given her. After that, strange things start happening in St. Petersburg. Not only does Katerina learn of supernatural beings living in the city, but soldiers of the corps start dying and disappearing. Unexpected alliances form to battle the same foe.

I didn’t know what to expect when I started this book, but I was pleasantly surprised. I was drawn into the story surrounding Katerina and will be anxiously awaiting the second book in the series.

Katerina. She thinks that her necromancy is a curse and doesn’t tell anyone about it. She doesn’t like it when she is forced to use it at the ball and likes it even less when it draws attention to her from the Montengrin princesses. All Katerina can think about is being a doctor. She doesn’t want to think about marriage and other things that the Smolney Institute focuses on.

Petya. Katerina’s brother. He is very loyal to Katerina and always helps her out when she needs it. He is a soldier in the corps.

Dariya, Katerina’s cousin. She goes to the Smolney Institute with her and is someone who Katerina can talk to.

Grand Duke George Alexandrovich. He comes across as crass in this book, but he is worried about Katerina aligning herself with dark forces. He does not like the fact that she is a necromancer and isn’t afraid to tell her. Knowing all this, he wants to do what’s right, even if that means going against his first inclinations.

The Montenegrin family: Danilo, Elena and her sisters Militza and Anastasia, King Nikola and Queen Milena. All they think about is what they want and don’t really care who they have to hurt to get it.

All the titles in the book. My head was swarming with them. I realize that it was important to know the social structure of the time period, but it was still confusing with all the princes, grand dukes, tsareviches, et cetera.

Katerina’s mother, Yevgenia. She was a frail woman who would have spells when stressful moments arose. I believe that she wanted to do the best for her daughter and have her marry the best person, but she was only concerned with titles and not who the person actually was.

On the cover, there is a girl whom I presume to be Katerina. The outfit that she is wearing reminds me of Russia, so that is a good fit. It is snowing in the picture. Even though I liked this cover, I didn’t think it supported the story very well. It doesn’t give you a glimpse into what the story is about. It wasn’t one of those books where you see the cover and say “I’ve got to read that book.” I actually didn’t want to read it until I read the synopsis.

Find Robin

Buy The Gathering Storm

The Hunger Games!!

2012-01-02T01:14:00.001-05:00

2012

2012-01-01T23:19:00.000-05:00

I have read through a lot of best books of the 2011 posts and I have thought of the books that I have read and cannot narrow them down to my favorite. There were very few books I read that I didn't like and that is always a good thing. Instead, I decided on doing a post of things I am looking forward to in the new year. I guess you would call these my blog-olutions.

The Hunger Games movie. I cannot tell you how excited I am about this. I am going to have to re-read the book before the movie comes out on March 23 because it has been so long since I last read it. I have some ideas of special things to do for the movie release on my blog.

There are a lot of book series that have new books coming out in 2012 that I am interested in reading. Also, there are new series by authors that I love coming out.

Expanding my reviews. I have made some changes to the way that I write reviews. I don't know if these changes are good or bad. I think they are good, but I may be a little biased. If you have any comments about new stuff, please let me know.

Learning more html and css. I want to take a class in this. I wish I knew how to do stuff that I see on other blogs. I am learning...slowly.

Reading more blogs. I love the different opinions on books.

A co-worker of mine's 10-year old son, Alex L, has expressed an interest in reviewing books. I hope to have his views on here this year.

A good book should leave you... slightly exhausted at the end. You live several lives while reading it. ~William Styron, interview, Writers at Work, 1958

Obsidian (Updated)

2011-12-27T08:07:00.000-05:00

Publisher: Entagled Publishing
Publish Date: already out
Version: e-book
Series: A Lux Novel

Starting over sucks.

When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I’d pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring…. until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up.

And then he opened his mouth.

Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something…unexpected happens.

The hot alien living next door marks me.

You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon’s touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I’m getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades.

If I don’t kill him first, that is.

“Katy’s Krazy Obsession” is a book blog by Katy Swartz, who recently moved to Ketterman, West Virginia. Her mom, Kellie Swartz decided that they needed a fresh start after living in the same spot in Gainesville, Florida after Katy’s father had died. In Ketterman, Katy and her mother move in next door to the Blacks, Daemon and Dee. When Katy meets Daemon, her initial reaction was that of shock of the way he looked. She almost couldn’t ask him where the nearest store was, her reason for going over there in the first place. Then Daemon talks to her and all bets are off. By the end of the conversation, Katy is calling Daemon a “douchebag,” but he does give her directions to the store in Petersburg.

While at Foodland in Petersburg, Katy meets Dee, Daemon’s brother. After talking with her a little, she agrees to come over to Katy’s house and help her with the flower garden later. Through Dee, Katy gets more exposure to Daemon, although he isn’t any nicer to her. Dee eventually makes him be nice to Katy and take her swimming. This is the start of the love/hate relationship that Katy and Daemon have.

It isn’t long before Katy starts noticing that the Blacks, along with some other students in town are not “normal.” While taking a walk in the woods with Daemon, he saves Katy from a bear and thus puts a trace on her. This trace will lead certain people straight to her. After a few more strange things happen, Katy is finally let in on the truth. The only thing left is to figure out how to get a trace off of her, keep her safe and how to keep the identities of her new friends a secret.

When I started this book, I couldn’t put it down. If you read my reviews, you know that I like things are not mainstream. It makes my brain work and I like that. This book was definitely that. The fact that Daemon was such a jerk in the book made it all the better. I was always waiting for the next altercation that Daemon and Katy would have.

Katy. In the beginning of the book, she decides that she is no longer going to be “reserved, practical Katy.” Even though Daemon is acting like a jerk toward her trying to scare her away from Dee, she is still friends with Dee. She takes in everything that happens in the book and fights for what she cares about.

Dee. Dee is one of a set of triplets. There are Daemon and Dawson. You don’t hear too much about Dawson because he disappeared with a girl the year before. Dee wants to have a normal friend and that is what she sees in Katy. She stands up to Daemon to keep her as a friend.

Daemon. Yes, I like Daemon. Even though he acts like a jerk to Katy in the book, he will fight to protect his family and those he cares about. That is what is important. Even though he does give Katy unnecessary stress and tries to keep her from being friends with Dee, he does have his good moments.

Carissa and Lesa. They are Katy’s two friends that she makes in school. They inform Katy of the local gossip and about Dawson. They are good friends to her. Even though they don’t know what is happening, they are good friends.

Ash. I understand where she is coming from regarding Katy, but I still don’t like her. She acts bratty and wishes she were Daemon’s girlfriend.

The Arum. They are the people who are after Daemon, Dee and others of their kind. They don’t hesitate to hurt anyone that comes in their path.

Daemon. I put him on both sides because I don’t like the way he acts in the beginning of the book. Even after Katy finds out about them, he still has his moments.

I thought that this cover was brilliant. There is a girl and a boy on the cover. I presume the boy to be Daemon and the girl is Katy. I like how you can see Daemon’s green eyes. The title is written in hexagons at the top of the cover. The green really makes it stand out and again helps bring out the green in his eyes. The byline “They’re not like us…” fits here and you can tell from looking at the pictures that they look kinda perfect.

Tentative release date: February 21, 2012
This is described as Lux 0.5 and was meant as a prequel to Obsidian. From the sounds of the synopsis, you don't have to read Obsidian to understand what is happening in this book. This book stars Dawson, the lost triplet of Dee and Daemon.

The last thing Dawson Black expected was Bethany Williams. As a Luxen, an alien life form on Earth, human girls are…well, fun. But since the Luxen have to keep their true identities a secret, falling for one would be insane. Dangerous. Tempting. Undeniable.

Bethany can’t deny the immediate connection between her and Dawson. And even though boys aren’t a complication she wants, she can’t stay away from him. Still, whenever they lock eyes, she’s drawn in. Captivated. Lured. Loved.

Dawson is keeping a secret that will change her existence...and put her life in jeopardy. But even he can’t stop risking everything for one human girl. Or from a fate that is as unavoidable as love itself.

Tentative Release Date: May 29, 2012
Onyx is the second book in the Lux series. Again, it has Daemon and Katy on the cover. I like the blue on this one. Green is okay, but blue is my favorite color. The ending of Obsidian left lots of questions, so I will be anxious to see if they are answered in this book. Well, at least some of them.

Being connected to Daemon Black sucks…

Thanks to his alien mojo, Daemon’s determined to prove what he feels for me is more than a product of our bizarro connection. So I’ve sworn him off, even though he’s running more hot than cold these days. But we’ve got bigger problems.

Something worse than the Arum has come to town…

The Department of Defense is here. If they ever find out what Daemon can do and that we're linked, I’m a goner. So is he. And there's this new boy in school who’s got a secret of his own. He knows what’s happened to me and he can help, but to do so, I have to lie to Daemon and stay away from him. Like that's possible. Against all common sense, I'm falling for Daemon. Hard.

But then everything changes…

I’ve seen someone who shouldn’t be alive. And I have to tell Daemon, even though I know he’s never going to stop searching until he gets the truth. What happened to his brother? Who betrayed him? And what does the DOD want from them—from me?

No one is who they seem. And not everyone will survive the lies…

Find Jennifer

Buy Obsidian

Every Other Day

2011-12-26T18:48:00.001-05:00

Publisher: Egmont USA
Publish Date: December 27, 2011
Version: NetGalley e-book
Series: unknown

Every other day, Kali D'Angelo is a normal sixteen-year-old girl. She goes to public high school. She attends pep rallies. She's human.

And then every day in between . . .She's something else entirely.

Though she still looks like herself, every twenty-four hours predatory instincts take over and Kali becomes a feared demon-hunter with the undeniable urge to hunt, trap, and kill zombies, hellhounds, and other supernatural creatures. Kali has no idea why she is the way she is, but she gives in to instinct anyway. Even though the government considers it environmental terrorism.

When Kali notices a mark on the lower back of a popular girl at school, she knows instantly that the girl is marked for death by one of these creatures. Kali has twenty-four hours to save her and, unfortunately, she'll have to do it as a human. With the help of a few new friends, Kali takes a risk that her human body might not survive. . .and learns the secrets of her mysterious condition in the process.

Kali D’Angelo isn’t a normal girl. Every other day, she is something other. She doesn’t know what she is, but she feels the need to hunt preternatural beings. She is drawn to them. Her blood is poison to them. This is her normal. What is not normal is attending high school. She attended Heritage High for three weeks before she made a friend in Skylar Hayden. She meets Skylar in a pep rally and they instantly hit it off. Even though Skylar warns her that her reputation will suffer if she is seen hanging out with her, Kali does it anyway.

At lunch, she is introduced to Darryl, John Michael and Genevieve, who also become her friends and will help her out later in the book. They help her figure out how to pass her history test that she has coming up. This is when she meets one of Skylar’s brothers, Elliot and his girlfriend, Bethany Davis. The thing that catches Kali’s eye is not the popular couple, but the ouroboros tattoo on Bethany’s back, which is a death sentence and means she was bitten by a chupacabra. Bethany is the daughter of Kali’s father’s boss and Kali was sent to Heritage High to get in good with her. She never expected anything like this.

When Kali goes to her next class, all she can concentrate on is the ouroboros that is on Bethany’s back. Finally she gets out of class, gets Bethany out of her class and asks her if she has a tattoo. Surprisingly, Bethany knows about the ouroboros and what it signifies. Kali manages to lure the chupacabra to her and by doing so, saves Bethany’s life. Kali is presently human and having the chupacabra in her presents a whole slew of problems. First and foremost, is surviving until the next day, when she will not be human anymore and the chupacabra will die. As soon as the chupacabra enters Kali and before she passes out, she meets Zev. When I say meets, he talks to her in her mind.

There is this agency, Chimera, out to get Kali because she has the chupacabra. During finding out all about Chimera and the roles that her father and Bethany’s father plays in it, she finds out more about Zev and plans to rescue him. Now, Skylar, Bethany and Kali (with the help of Skylar’s brothers) must figure out how to do that and stay out of Chimera’s way.

This book was an interesting read. It was different than the normal I’m a demon, vampire, werewolf, whatever books that I have read in the past. The fact that she only had “super-powers” every other day and had to absolve herself that she was human the other days, really upped the excitement in the book.

Kali. She goes out and hunts preternatural beings not only because she has this overwhelming desire to do so, but she also is helping mankind in the process. When she makes a friend in Skylar, she is still skeptical. Not because she wonders if Skylar is a true friend, but because she doesn’t want to put her at risk.

Skylar. Skylar introduces herself to Kali in a pep rally in the gym. She first introduces herself as the “school slut.” She elaborates on this in detail telling Kali how she got this title. Kali is intrigued by her right away. Skylar has five brothers and they have taught her a little about nearly everything. Whenever she needs something, a brother is there.

Skylar’s brothers: Elliot, Reid, Nathan, Vaughn. There is another brother, but he is not mentioned in the book. The thing that strikes me is that her brothers are so vast. Elliot is still in high school. Reid works for the FBI. Nathan is a lawyer and Vaughn is a Veterinarian. The other thing that is awesome is how protective of Skylar they are and how they react to Kali, a new friend.

Zev. He is the voice in Kali’s head. She soon learns that he is like her. He talks to Kali (through her mind) and keeps her sane. He is there for her through tough times.

The science in the book. It is very believable. I’m not sure if it is 100% real, but it is believable nonetheless. I like that scientific classifications are used in the book when appropriate.

Bethany Davis. She is a cheerleader, who is the girlfriend of Skylar’s brother Elliot. She is also the one that Kali first notices the ouroboros tattoo and exchanges the chupacabra with her. Even though Kali gives her many opportunities to back out and leave Kali to her mess, Bethany helps her through all of this.

Professor Armand D’Angelo. He is Kali’s father. He has no idea what his daughter goes through every other day, but he is one of those single dads who is trying to raise a teenage daughter and is doing the best that he can. Kali describes him as not very outgoing, yet you can tell throughout the book, that he really cares.

Paul Davis. He is Bethany’s father. This was another case where I wasn’t sure which side to put him on. He seems like an overall good guy, but he has a few issues. He is also one of the main people that work for Chimera.

Chimera. This is the agency that is first introduced to the book when they come to the school to get Kali and Bethany after the exchanging of the chupacabra/passing out incident. They are the ones who are experimenting on preternatural beings.

Preternatural beings. Okay, I know that this one is a given, but I really didn’t like the chupacabra and the other beings that they came in contact with throughout this book. Some were expected and some were not. This list excludes the Alan. There isn’t much mention of them in the book, but what it does say describes them as being gentle creatures.

The cover has an hour glass with a red liquid in it. This cover is simple, vibrant and I like it. It goes well with the book as every 24 hours, Kali’s blood (and body) changes from human to nonhuman and vice versa.

Find Jennifer

E-books versus Print

2011-12-25T20:19:00.001-05:00

There has long been a debate on which is better. I like both of them for various reasons.

E-books

I have an iPad and like to use that when I'm at home. I don't take it elsewhere because it's not really worth it. The space requirements for e-books is what draws me to them. The other thing I like about e-books is that I have a dictionary function that I can use in the book. Trivial, I know. I find that when I read a print book, I miss that. I know that there is the whole piracy aspect of e-books and I wish that there was a way to overcome that. My library:


My favorite e-book programs containing over 300 books

I have tons of print books. I have a library, bookshelves in my room and I am still in need of more bookcases. I like to take print books to work because when I can read is sporadic sometimes and print books are just easier. You sometimes get a better feel of a print book than you do an e-book. Covers and other aspects don't always translate to e-books. The only drawback is they take up so much space.
The pictures are of my virtual library (my iPad) versus my actual library. Including the latest additions.
My library and some new additions:

Messy and full...

The bookcase in my room. Also full

New Additions. Excited about these!

What is your opinion?

Tempest

2011-12-20T03:19:00.000-05:00

Julie Cross

Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin

Tentative Publish Date: January 17, 2012

Version: Advanced Readers’ Edition from Librarything FirstReads

Series: Tempest

This story starts out with Jackson Meyer writing entries in his journal. He is doing this because his friend, Adam Silverman, has told him that she should record his experiences. One thing about Jackson is he can time travel. It is the year 2009 when he first starts experimenting with Adam and time traveling. Adam is the only person that Jackson has told about his abilities.

He is dating Holly Flynn and works at a day camp. Holly suspects that there is something Jackson is hiding. Due to Jackson’s and Adam’s time traveling experiments, Jackson is late for a date with Holly on October 29^th. This creates tension between them and Jackson goes over to Holly’s dorm to smooth things over. They are awoken on October 30^th by the sounds of someone knocking on the door. Jackson soon realizes, that the people who are at the door want to do he and Holly harm. He tries to get them to leave, but in the chaos, Holly ends up getting shot.

Jackson “jumps” or time travels to get out of that situation. At first, he cannot believe he left Holly there to die. As he goes back over what happens, he wonders if they knew that he was able to jump. He jumped to 2007. He cannot figure out what is happening and tries to get back to 2009. While trying, he jumps to 2003, 2004 and 2007. While he is stuck in the past, he gets to spend time with his twin sister Courtney, who has previously died. He also learns more about his dad and the people that were after him. His main thought at first is to weave himself into Holly’s earlier life and prevent the event on October 30^th, 2009 from happening. Through Holly, he meets Adam again and he helps Jackson make sense of things and the new people who show up in Jackson’s life. There are many things about time travel and his history that Jackson doesn’t know about. The questions are, is he willing to pay the price to find out and how far will he go to protect Adam and Holly?

When I first received this book in the mail from Librarything’s First Reads, I was ecstatic! This was a book that I was anticipating reading for a while and it didn’t disappoint. There have been a few books recently which deal in time travel. The thing I like about this is that it is always different. You can basically have a book about the same thing (time travel) and have a different experience each time because the opportunities are so vast. What makes Tempest so great is that the learning experience that Jackson embarks on while he is trying to get back to 2009.

The year is 2009.   Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy… he’s in college, has a  girlfriend… and he can travel back through time. But it’s not like the  movies – nothing changes in the present after his jumps, there’s no  space-time continuum issues or broken flux capacitors – it’s just  harmless fun.

That is… until the day strangers burst in on  Jackson and his girlfriend, Holly, and during a struggle with Jackson,  Holly is fatally shot. In his panic, Jackson jumps back two years to  2007, but this is not like his previous time jumps. Now he’s stuck in  2007 and can’t get back to the future.

Desperate to somehow  return to 2009 to save Holly but unable to return to his rightful year,  Jackson settles into 2007 and learns what he can about his abilities.

But  it’s not long before the people who shot Holly in 2009 come looking for  Jackson in the past, and these “Enemies of Time” will stop at nothing  to recruit this powerful young time-traveler.  Recruit… or kill him.

Piecing  together the clues about his father, the Enemies of Time, and himself,  Jackson must decide how far he’s willing to go to save Holly… and  possibly the entire world.

▪Jackson Meyer. In the beginning of the book, he is more self-centered and thinks more of himself than other people. When he gets toward the end of the book, he is more appreciative of Adam, Holly and his Father and what they’ve been through. Jackson learns more about himself and who he is during his stint in the past. In the end of the book, he has tough decisions to make that don’t just affect him.

▪Holly Flynn. Even when things get weird around Jackson, she sticks with him.

▪Adam Silverman. Adam is described as a “science nerd.” When Jackson jumps back to 2007 and “meets” Adam for the first time, it doesn’t seem to faze him that much when Jackson tells him about his time travel capabilities. Adam is a smart person who is always thinking ahead.

▪Courtney Meyer. Jackson’s twin sister who died of cancer. When Jackson jumps back to when he can actually interact with Courtney, she trusts him when he tells her that he is from the future.

▪Emily. I don’t know much about her character as it is not discussed a lot until the last part of the book, but what I do know, I like. She is the young girl that Jackson keeps seeing that reminds him of Courtney. You might be asking how can you like a character that you know very little about? To find that answer, you'll have to read the book and then you'll understand more.

▪Kevin Meyer. I wasn’t sure which side I was going to put him on. He is Jackson’s and Courtney’s father. The reason for my hesitance is that there is a lot of information that he kept from Jackson and whenever he shows up, trouble seems to follow him. I believe that his intentions are good.

▪Dr. Melvin. This is a doctor that has taken care of Jackson and Courtney all of their lives. He seems to want what is best for Jackson. This is another one who was hard to determine if I liked him or not because there are things brought up near the end of the book that make me not like him.

▪The EOT or enemies of time. The way that they are pictured in the majority of this book puts them in bad light. I will have to read the subsequent books before making a final judgment on that. They want to capture Jackson and are who Kevin Meyer and his team fight against.

▪Chief Marshall. He is the one who is in charge and isn’t afraid to let everyone know it. He doesn’t seem to have a compassionate bone in his body.

On this cover, you are shown clouds and a thunderstorm. In the front are a boy (Jackson) and a girl (Holly) trying to reach each other. This fits the story well, because that is basically what the book is about. Jackson trying to get back to Holly. I really like the colors in this cover. That is what drew me to the book primarily.

This is what it said about this book on Julie's website:

Here's the 411 on this title you may have seen around online.

WHAT IS IT? This is basically like a prequel and it's about 10,000 words which might not mean much to the non-writers. I think it was around 50 pages double spaced in a word document.

DO YOU HAVE TO READ THE BOOK FIRST? Nope. But I would highly recommend reading the free excerpt first which is the first four chapters. You get a sense of how time travel works in TEMPEST from the opening and I don't rehash those rules in the bonus story. If you have read the book from one of the "early review" opportunities or because you're related to me, and you liked the characters, specifically Jackson, Adam, and Holly, then you will most likely enjoy TOMORROW IS TODAY.

WHAT SHOULD I EXPECT? Expect a lighter tone and a lot of fun because this story is before everything went bad for Jackson. When time-travel was just fun and games. It's even before Jackson got the girl. You'll get a little more insight into both Holly and Adam's characters.

WHEN CAN I GET IT? It's available for e-readers on December 6, 2011. You can pre-order now and have it automatically download on December 6th.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST? It's FREE! totally and completely 100% free.

Order it here
Read the first four chapters of Tempest here

Find Julie Cross

Dearly, Departed

2011-12-20T02:56:00.000-05:00

Lia Habel

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group

Publish Date: October 18, 2011

Version: netgalley e-book

Series: Gone With The Respiration

Real ladies can give orders, Real gentlemen can take them, and Real zombies don’t eat brains.

This series starts out by introducing us to Abraham “Bram” Griswold and tells of his death in the Celesto Mine with his best friend Jack on July 4, 2193 in “Punk-controlled Brazil.”

After that, you are taken to Nora Dearly’s point of view and tells of the last day of school at St. Cyprian’s School for Girls. This is not only the last day of school, it is also the first day that Nora is no longer in mourning. She has mourned the death of her father, Dr. Victor Darling, for a year now. Nora is waiting with her best friend, Pamela Roe aka Pamma, for their carriage to take them back home. When the carriage finally arrives, they get in and are about their way. A lag in traffic causes them to be at a standstill and Nora decided to walk. She lives underground and is close enough to her home that she should make it safely. While she is walking home, she encounters someone who wants to talk to her about her father and then insists that she come with them. This scares Nora, she screams and is saved by two constables. The constables take her home and after dealing with her Aunt Gene and guardian, Nora decided to get ready for the evening.

The next day, Pam came over to visit and Aunt Gene suggests that they accompany her while she goes out and visits people during the day. This takes them to the Allisters’ house, where you first meet Michael Allister, who Pam is crushing on. That evening, while Nora was watching war holos, she was kidnapped by undead soldiers and taken to Z Beta Base. It is there that she learns more about the species of men who captured her, why they want her in the first place, about her father’s work and what is happening in New Victoria.

Nora is given just as much information as she asks for at first and this is a lot for her to handle. Captain Bram Griswold or just Bram, is the one who primarily deals with her. When Commander Wolfe is not on base, he is the commanding officer. After days of being held captive, Nora finds out that her homeland of Elysian Fields was under attack and her aunt and Pamela might be in danger. With her newfound friends, Renfield, Chas, Tom and Coalhouse, and Bram, they set off to rescue Pam.

Meanwhile, Pam is trying to get her family to leave their home to go into hiding, so they won’t get the illness. When she finally does, it might be too late as everyone is trying to get to where Pam wanted to hide out. She runs into Michael Allister. She leaves her family and goes to the roof with Michael and her brother Issy to get better phone reception. Will Nora make it in time to rescue Pam before anyone gets hurts? What will happen to the members of Company Z?

This book started out good with the backstory of Bram, but then slowed when it got to the history of New Victoria. I understand that the history is crucial to any story; I just have never liked history. It makes a book harder for me to read when there is a lot to go through. Putting that aside, this was a really good book. I like books that are full of action, has some G-rated romance and where the main characters learn something and Dearly, Departed has all of that.

Love conquers all, so they say. But can Cupid’s arrow pierce the hearts of the living and the dead—or rather, the undead? Can a proper young Victorian lady find true love in the arms of a dashing zombie? 

The year is 2195. The place is New Victoria—a high-tech nation modeled on the manners, mores, and fashions of an antique era. A teenager in high society, Nora Dearly is far more interested in military history and her country’s political unrest than in tea parties and debutante balls. But after her beloved parents die, Nora is left at the mercy of her domineering aunt, a social-climbing spendthrift who has squandered the family fortune and now plans to marry her niece off for money. For Nora, no fate could be more horrible—until she’s nearly kidnapped by an army of walking corpses. 

But fate is just getting started with Nora. Catapulted from her world of drawing-room civility, she’s suddenly gunning down ravenous zombies alongside mysterious black-clad commandos and confronting “The Laz,” a fatal virus that raises the dead—and hell along with them. Hardly ideal circumstances. Then Nora meets Bram Griswold, a young soldier who is brave, handsome, noble . . . and dead. But as is the case with the rest of his special undead unit, luck and modern science have enabled Bram to hold on to his mind, his manners, and his body parts. And when his bond of trust with Nora turns to tenderness, there’s no turning back. Eventually, they know, the disease will win, separating the star-crossed lovers forever. But until then, beating or not, their hearts will have what they desire.

In Dearly, Departed, romance meets walking-dead thriller, spawning a madly imaginative novel of rip-roaring adventure, spine-tingling suspense, and macabre comedy that forever redefines the concept of undying love.

"Boy, I am going to feed you to the infected myself," Michael growled. I think he almost made my brother cry. Good.

▪Nora Dearly. I like how at the beginning, you are told the story of her father’s passing and that day represents the first day that she is out of mourning even though she still feels sad and doesn’t want to be what everyone expects her to be. When she is taken to Z Beta Base, at first she has some fear and prejudices, but she works through them and truly shows her character.

▪Abraham “Bram” Griswold. He initially takes on the task of watching after Nora when she is on his base. You can tell by the things he says and does, that he is a gentleman.

▪Renfield, Coalhouse, Chas and Tom. These are Bram’s closest friends inside the Z Beta Base. Therefore, they are the soldiers that Nora has the most interaction with. They don’t even hesitate when they are asked to help Nora.

▪Pamela Roe. She is Nora’s best friend. While Nora is gone, people tell her that she should use this opportunity to “move herself up in the world” as she was in the spotlight. Pam wasn’t hearing it and was genuinely concerned for Nora’s safety. She is a loyal friend.

▪The fact that manners and modesty have returned in civilization. While reading this, I would occasionally get confused as to what time period I was reading from. It was obviously written in the future, but some of the customs made it seem like it was from the past.

▪Company Major Dorian Averne. He is the commanding officer of the punk army in Bolivia. He is not averse to torturing people to get what he wants.

▪Vespertine Mink. She is one of the kids at school who tease Pam about her situation and that she is on scholarship to the school.

▪Michael Allister. I don’t like him. I won’t tell you why. For the majority of the book, he is a gentleman.

▪Company Commander James Wolfe. He is the commanding officer at Z Beta Base. He doesn’t seem to like his situation very much. He is always grouchy. I don’t like the way that he handles things.

On the cover you see a girl, who I presume to be Nora, wearing a black dress and holding a black parasol while standing in what appears to be a cemetery. Underneath the title, it reads “love can never die.” When reading the story, you find out more about the parasol and so that makes sense. The fact that Nora was wearing black also makes sense because she had to wear black for a year while she was mourning her father’s death. I think that this cover is not only appropriate in what it contains, but the coloring of it also play up the book nicely.

I had to put this cover up there because I like that they not only have Nora on it but also what I presume to be Bram. In the book, it says he looks very good in his captain's clothes and this represents not only that, but his and Nora's relationship. I really like the zombies in the background and the fire. All good points in the book. I like the saying "Tall, Dark and...Dead?" It fits the book well.

The only bad thing I have to say for this cover is in the title. I know that this is a UK cover and the grammar might be different there, but in the US title and cover, it is Dearly (comma) Departed. As in her last name is Dearly. This cover doesn't have the comma. Is that important? I don't know. It might be.

On Habel's blog and on Goodreads, it says that there is an upcoming book in the series called Dearly, Beloved. It doesn't show a cover or anything, just that it is expected out 2012.

Find Lia Habel

Ascend

2011-12-19T09:50:00.000-05:00

Amanda Hocking

Publisher: Amanda Hocking

Soon to be published by: St Martin’s Griffin

Publish date:

e-book: already out

print: 24 April 2012

Version: e-book

Series: Trylle Trilogy

This is the last book in the Trilogy, following Switched and Torn. Many things happen at the beginning of this book. Loki requests amnesty from Elora, who is getting weaker and Wendy must step in to fulfill her role as princess. It is after then that Wendy finds out how he has been tortured by the Vittra King. On top of that, Wendy has her wedding to be concerned about. Even though every aspect of the wedding is being planned for her by Marksinna Krohn and Willa, she is still worried about it. In Torn, Wendy learned what it is that the Vittra King wanted from her and in Ascend, she realizes that he will not stop his assaults on the Trylle until he gets what he wants.

The day after her wedding, this realizations hits home as she learns that one of the Trylle communities have been severely demolished by the Vittra and there are many people who are homeless and hurt. Wendy along with a few other people travel to the community of Oslinna, to see what help they can be there and to show support for the Trylle communities that aren’t in Förening. Wendy comes up with a plan to delay any more attacks on the Trylle people from the Vittra. But that plan comes with a price…

I thought that this was a good ending to a good series. Like all good series, I wish that they would go on and on, but I’m sure that it wouldn’t be quite as exciting. I will admit that Hocking answered all the questions I had formed throughout the series in this last book. I would highly recommend it to anyone!!

My lists for likes/did not like are growing smaller as I review more books in the series. Not because I like/did not like the characters any more or less, it is just redundant give the same rationale for them. So, instead, I tried to highlight the main themes of the books.

Third and final book in the Trylle Trilogy. 

With a war looming on the horizon, Wendy’s fate seems sealed. 

But everything she sacrificed might be in vain if she can’t save the ones she loves. 

Her whole life has been leading up to this, and it’s all coming to an end.

Wendy. I know I have said this for every book in this series, but I really like her character and how she shows so much growth and maturity in this book.
Tove. Tove has a hard decision to make in this book and I think he makes a wise choice. For that, I like him even more.
Loki. You don’t really get to know him very well until this part of the series, but I think he is a good guy. He knows what is right and isn’t afraid to go after it. Even though he has some stigma about his family history, that doesn’t deter him from the person that he becomes. Yes, some things that he does in the book are in poor taste.
Finn. I liked Finn a little more in this book than I did in Torn. He doesn’t seem like he is at war with himself as much in this book than in the previous books.
Matt, Rhys, Willa. I’ve put them all in one category because they are background characters, but are still important to Wendy and what she has to accomplish.

Oren, the Vittra King. Again, he is just a person who only cares about what he wants and will stop at nothing to get it.

As I stated in the cover review for Torn, this really isn’t a just review because I know what the print covers will look like and I like them more. However, the Ascend e-book cover almost looks exactly like the other e-books covers having the same blue colors, the same sky. Only difference that I noticed was that the flowers were different and this one said Ascend. The print cover show a girl (whom I presume to be Wendy) in a field with a chair. I presume the chair to be a throne. It does not look like a throne to me. In the books, the Trylle throne is described and this isn’t what I pictured it to be. Having said that, this is a pretty cover and I love the colors on it.

Torn

2011-12-19T09:27:00.001-05:00

Amanda Hocking

Publisher: Amanda Hocking

Soon to be published by: St Martin’s Griffin

Publish date:

e-book: already out

print: 28 February 2012

Version: e-book

Series: Trylle Trilogy

This is the second book in this trilogy. The first book, Switched, gave the history behind the Trylle and some history of Wendy. At the start of this book, Wendy and Rhys, who is Wendy’s mänsklig, leave Förening. Förening is the place where the Trylle live and Wendy was taken to in the last book to keep her safe. When she returns to her home in Florida with Rhys, her brother Matt is excited to see her. It isn’t too long before Finn showed up to protect Wendy once again. After refusing his help and that of the tracker who was assigned to her, Duncan Janssen, the two trackers unwillingly leave. This leaves an entry for the Vittra to kidnap the princess.

Wendy put up a fight when the Vittra came in and attacked her and Loki Staad, Vittra Markis or royalty, helps in the capture of Wendy, Rhys and Matt. When she wakes up, she is in the dungeon of the Vittra palace and is confused about what had happened at home. She then finds out that she is more of a princess than she thought and understands why both the Vittra and Trylle want her to reign. She also is introduced more to Loki and she is confused by him because he seems to want to help her but then again, he is the one who kidnapped her in the first place.

Duncan, Finn and Tove finally come to rescue her, Matt and Rhys. With the help of Loki, they are freed and on their way back to Förening. While there, Matt learns about the Trylle and Wendy’s history. Wendy also learns more about her mother, the Queen. The Vittra break in during Wendy’s Christening Ceremony which causes the Trylle to reinforce their security. It isn’t too long before the Vittra try another tactic and Loki is captured and held prisoner. This is when he has more access to Wendy as she is trying to figure out everything that is happening between the two kingdoms, and at the same time, find out she was arranged to marry.

I read through this book quickly. It went much smoother than Switched, because there wasn’t as much history in the book. It was all action. I had a lot of questions that remained from the first book and this one created so many more.

After I finished Switched, I immediately downloaded Torn. The print version isn't expected to come out until February, but I couldn’t wait that long. I am excited for the print versions to come out because in my ARE of Switched, it says that there will be a bonus short story with each of the books.

Torn the second installment of the Trylle Trilogy... 

Wendy thought she finally understood who she was and what she wanted, but everything changes when the rival Vittra come after her. 

She's caught between two worlds, torn between love and duty, and she must decide what life she is meant to lead.

Wendy. She is the heart of the books. She is confused in this series about how important she is and what she means to the Trylle and Vittra. She is trying to figure out things for herself instead of just believing what people tell her.
Finn. He is the Trylle that Wendy first met and fell for. In this book, he tries to pull away from Wendy even though he cares for her because he knows that it is the right thing to do.
Matt and Rhys. Wendy’s brother and mänsklig. They are Wendy’s side through everything. Even though Matt doesn’t understand everything about the Trylle and their society, he tries to be a good big brother for Wendy and thinks of her safety first. It was good to see more of Matt in this book. I was also happy to see that Rhys was spending more time with Matt.
Willa. Wendy’s friend in Förening. She is helping Wendy through a lot of the stuff in this book, including the planning of her upcoming nuptuals.
Tove. He is the Marksis Kroner and is teaching Wendy how to use her talents. He is a patient person and works really well with her.
Loki Staad. Yes, he kidnapped Wendy in the beginning of the book, but he has some good qualities about him. He helped Wendy, Rhys and Matt escape from the Vittra palace. Also, when Wendy is questioning him in the Trylle palace, you get a sense of who he is.
Sara, the Queen of the Vittra. She is on the “bad” team, but she is a good person. She helps Wendy when she is hurt and also comes to retrieve Loki.
Elora, the Queen of the Trylle. I like her more in this book than I did in Switched because you get a better picture of her and what she has been through in her life.
Duncan Janssen. He continually gets flak for not being a great tracker, but Wendy likes him as her guard and he makes good decisions.

Oren, the King of the Vittra. He is a nasty person who likes other people’s pain.
Finn. I’ve put him on both sides on this book because there are things that I like and do not like about him. I didn’t like the fact that even though he thought he was doing the right thing, he was essentially abandoning Wendy when she had the most stress and needed him the most. In trying to stay apart from her, he also was hurting himself.
Aurora Kroner. Again, she wound up on the did not like list. She says whatever she wants and doesn’t care who it hurts. I don’t like people like that.

This isn’t really fair because I have seen the covers on the print version that are coming out and I really like them. On the e-book version, you see the blue sky with stars, some flowers and what looks like a spider hanging down from the flowers. The word torn is written across the top. This cover is very basic and doesn’t tell you anything of the story at all. The print cover (pictured to the left) is very colorful has a girl, whom I presume to be Wendy, sitting on her knees in a field holding a crown. In the background you can what look to be gates. There is a part about gates in the story, but I didn’t think it was important enough to put on the cover. The crown, however, is integral to this book. Overall, I like the print cover and the e-book cover leaves much to be desired.

Wander Dust

2011-12-17T20:22:00.000-05:00

Michelle Warren

Publisher: Michelle Preast

Publish Date: already out

Version: e-book

Series: The Seraphina Parrish Trilogy

Not all those who wander are lost.
-J. R. R. Tolkien

Seraphina Parrish is a normal (and I use that term loosely) sixteen year old girl who lives in Miami with her father. The story starts out with her sixteenth birthday celebration. It is at a restaurant with her dad, Ray and his girlfriend, Maddi. During this celebration is when Seraphina, who goes by Sera, first encounters the Lady in Black and feels the effects of the lady in black’s fire. This terrifies Sera and she is sure that the Lady in Black will come back to finish the job that she started. The night is almost completely a bust when Ray gives her a birthday present. It is a bracelet that belonged to her mother before she died. This makes the whole night bearable. While trying on this bracelet at school, something strange happens. Sera is transported to another city in another time. Then there is the mysterious letter with a picture of a boy in it. Sera doesn’t know who the boy is, but he makes her feel safe whenever she looks at his picture.

After some mishaps in school that end in Sera getting “grounded for life,” Ray decides that it is time to send Sera to her Aunt Mona’s in Chicago. Mona is her mother’s sister and Sera has always loved visiting her and is looking forward to moving so she can finally find out things about her mother. When she first arrives in Chicago, she learns that the airline has lost her luggage and all she has is what is on her back. This isn’t nearly enough for the cold Chicago winter. While traveling to Mona’s brownstone, she not only is freezing, but encounters “the grungy gang” who seem to want to kill her. She doesn’t know what to think about this, but knows she needs to run to get away from them. It is on the platform while running that Sera first meets the boy from the photo. She isn’t sure at first whether he is good or bad and thinks he might be with the grungy gang.

Mona finally finds her, gets her home and gets her some clothing appropriate for the winter. Even though Sera trusts Mona, she isn’t sure whether she wants to tell her about the things that have been happening. She thinks that she is going crazy and doesn’t want anyone else to think that also. She then starts her “list of weird,” or the things that she cannot explain.

Sera is to start at Washington Square Academy, where Mona works. It is the same high school that her mother attended, so she is happy about that. At school, she makes friends and sees the boy standing outside her classroom. Sera tries to be late for class in order to see this boy and ask him what he is doing there. Finally, she gets in contact with him and learns how to wander. Once she does this, she is transferred to the boarding school side of Washington Square Academy. She learns things there that she never could have imagined. Her list of weird still plagues her and as the book goes on, she adds and subtracts things to the list.

I thought that this book was a good way to start out a series. It gives you the background information of what “wandering” is, but also leaves enough questions so that you’ll want to read the next book. This book was a good read. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Ever since her sixteenth birthday, strange things keep happening to Seraphina Parrish. 

The Lady in Black… burns Sera’s memories. 

Unexplainable Premonitions… catapult her to other cities. 

The Grungy Gang… wants to kill her. 

And a beautiful, mysterious boy… stalks her. 

But when Sera moves to Chicago, and her aunt reveals their family connection to a centuries old, secret society, she is immediately thrust into an unbelievable fantasy world, leading her on a quest to unravel the mysteries that plague her. In the end, their meanings crash into an epic struggle of loyalty and betrayal, and she’ll be forced to choose between the boy who has stolen her heart and the thing she desires most. 

Wander Dust is the breathtaking fantasy that will catapult you through a story of time, adventure, and love.

Seraphina. She is thinking about her list of weird all the time. Even though she doesn’t understand things, she goes on to find out more about her mother, making tough decisions along the way. Sera truly shows her character in the decisions that she is forced to make.

Aunt Mona. She tries her best to do things right by Seraphina and is hindered by what she can tell her. Even still, she always puts Sera ahead of other things and she is one that Sera knows she can trust.

Macey DuBois. She is Sera’s first friend in Washington Square Academy. Sera doesn’t tell her everything that is going on and Macey is still a good friend to her and helps her out a little when she first arrives at the Academy.

Gabe, the activities director at Washington Square Academy. His enthusiasm for the things he has to do is contagious. I just love reading about the things that Gabe has had a part in. He is unpredictable, but that is part of his personality that is so great.

Samantha James, Max Bishop. They are in Sera’s team. At first, they don’t seem too pleased to be paired up with Sera, but later on they warm up to her. While in the Washington Square Academy, you live in an “apartment” with your team, attend classes with them, and are basically with them 24 hours a day. With all this time spent together, Sera still doesn’t get to really know them until near the end of the book. Sam and “Bishop” help Sera out in a lot of things that she couldn’t do on her own in her pursuit to find out what happened to her mother.

Sera’s list of weird. I like how she adds things that she doesn’t understand or seem weird to her and subtracts things that she figures out. I also like her determination in finding out the answers to her list of weird. I think we all should have this attribute.

Ray Parrish. Sera’s father. Even though he acts like a dork at the opening scene, which I understand Sera’s attitude of being grossed out, he does try to do right by Sera. Sending her to live with her Aunt Mona was a tough decision for him. He is a single father who has no idea how to raise a teenage daughter. Throughout the book, Sera mentions how her father wouldn’t have shown her compassion, how he puts his job and girlfriend before her, but in the end, I think he is a good guy.

The Washington Square Academy. Holy Crow! If all schools were like how this one is described, I don’t think we would have nearly the dropouts as we do now. Both sides are described and seem wonderful to me. Although, living in an apartment where your every whim is catered to does seem like quite the wonderful thing when you are in high school.

Some of the other classmates in Sera’s school. I won’t name names or say why I don’t like them because alas, that would spoil the book for you and this is one book that you should definitely read!

Terease Ivanov. I didn’t like her before she was introduced in the Academy and I didn’t like her after. She is the one who seems to appear out of nowhere to discipline the students. The description of her seems fitting to her personality.

The Grungy gang. The way that they are described as being putrid and smelling like garbage. Yuck! Also the fact that they are after Seraphina, doesn’t help their popularity any.

I think the girl on the cover is Seraphina although she looks older than sixteen. The Chicago skyline in the background is fitting to the events that happened and the fact that the Academy was in Chicago. I’m not sure what the field has to do with the story, but that is irrelevant. The fact that she is running is integral to the story. I liked the colors in the cover. Overall, I think that this is a very nice cover and it outlines the story well.

See the author interview and giveaway.

Blog Tour: Wander Dust by Michelle Warren

2011-12-17T01:00:00.000-05:00

Being that this is the first blog tour post that has been done on Young Adult Book Reviews, I have been very excited to do this. First, there is an author interview with the author of Wander Dust, Michelle Warren, then there is a giveaway and finally there is a scavenger hunt which will take place on Michelle's Facebook page on December 18th.

Ever since her sixteenth birthday, strange things keep happening to Seraphina Parrish.

The Lady in Black… burns Sera’s memories.

Unexplainable Premonitions… catapult her to other cities.

The Grungy Gang… wants to kill her.

And a beautiful, mysterious boy… stalks her.

But when Sera moves to Chicago, and her aunt reveals their family connection to a centuries old, secret society, she is immediately thrust into an unbelievable fantasy world, leading her on a quest to unravel the mysteries that plague her. In the end, their meanings crash into an epic struggle of loyalty and betrayal, and she’ll be forced to choose between the boy who has stolen her heart and the thing she desires most.

Wander Dust is the breathtaking fantasy that will catapult you through a story of time, adventure, and love.

Michelle Warren

Michelle Warren has graciously answered a few questions for me.

What inspires you when you write?

I love, love science fiction. When I think of story lines in my head, this is usually the direction they lean, mixed with a little magic, of course. I’m fascinated by concepts that seem unreal now but may be completely possible one day. For me, these make the best stories.

Do you base your characters off of real people? Do you have a process for coming up with characters?

I would say that my characters are Frankenstiened. They are a mish-mash of qualities in people that I know, have met, or wish that I could meet. Many qualities appeared organically as I wrote. That’s the fun of character development. They literally take on a life of their own. It seems I choose character traits based on how they will react with other characters. I love to create tension.

Do you ever experience writer’s block and how do you get over it?

Yes, I have. I like to meditate on scenes in the book before I write. There was once instance where that didn’t work and after a few months, I woke up in the middle of the night with the answers. So I guess sleep made me kick my writer’s block to the curb!

What type/genre of books do you like to read?

I read mostly YA fantasy and paranormal, but Dan Brown is one of my favorite authors. He’s amazing.

Favorite color

Pink or orange. It changes. I’m an artist. I can’t help it :)

Favorite holiday/season

Thanksgiving. I love that it’s all about family and friends.

Word that best describes you and why

Perpetual. My brain never stops.

Optimist or pessimist

I try very hard at optimism

Favorite author/book/series

My favorites right now are Daughter of Smoke and Bone and the Tiger’s Curse series.

Favorite food/drink

Chocolate, Milk

Favorite place to read/write

Read: my couch | write: my mac

Find Michelle:

There will be a scavenger hunt on Michelle's Facebook page starting on December 18th. Here is a puzzle piece from that scavenger hunt. The details have not been released yet, so check back here when they are.

I love giveaways! I got a generous prize pack from Michelle to give to my lucky readers. This giveaway is so great, I wish I could enter it myself, but that wouldn't be very fair, would it? The giveaway is international and will end on December 31st.

The prizes are as follows:

▪One lucky reader will win the signed paperback copy of Wander Dust, the Tolkein quote necklace, and a signed Wander Dust bookmark.

▪Nine other winners will receive an autographed Wander Dust bookmark.

a Rafflecopter giveaway