Wednesday 30 September 2009

A Time for Dancing by Davida Wills Hurwin

From Goodreads: Samantha and Juliana. Sam and Jules--they've been best friends forever. Now, in the summer before their senior year, they're ready for anything! College? Professional dance careers? They'll share the triumphs and face the fears together. But neither of them is prepared for what happens when Jules is diagnosed with an incurable cancer.

I brought this because I liked the film adaptation of it. The book is quite different from the film but this isn’t a bad thing. It was well written and I liked having the story from both points of view. I really enjoyed the friendship between Jules and Sam – it felt realistic. Davida Wills Hurwin did a great job in creating these characters and gave them unique voices – it was easy to tell who was speaking without having to check each chapter heading. The story has been done before but the characters and relationships makes this one stand out – Jules has a great relationship with her parents and I loved how Sam acted with her family too. The scenes towards the end of the book are very touching – between Jules and Sam and between Sam and Jule's parents. I would really like to read the sequel 'The Farther You Run.


I think this would appeal to people who have enjoyed 'Before I die' or books by Lurlene McDaniel. The beginning and ending were really good but I felt it lost momentum a bit in the middle – otherwise I would easily have given it 4 stars.


Tuesday 29 September 2009

Cover Wars: US vs UK

I brought Finding Cassie Crazy by Jaclyn Moriarty last week - it took me a while to realise it's the same book as The Year of Secret Assignments - yes sometimes I can be a bit dense! It got me thinking about the difference in cover designs for the UK and US editions. With the exception of Feeling Sorry for Celia I really like the covers (and titles) for the US editions - I don't dislike the UK ones but the US ones really catch my eye - and I like the smiley/un-smiley faces! Also, is there any significance for the lemon/strawberry/cherry on the UK editions?


US UK



US UK

US UK


What do you think?

Monday 28 September 2009

Living dead girl by Elizabeth Scott

From Goodreads: Once upon a time I was a little girl who disappeared. Once upon a time my name was not Alice. Once upon a time I didn't know how lucky I was. When Alice was ten, Ray took her away from her family, her friends -- her life. She learned to give up all power, to endure all pain. She waited for the nightmare to be over. Now Alice is fifteen and Ray still has her, but he speaks more and more of her death. He does not know it is what she longs for. She does not know he has something more terrifying than death in mind for her. This is Alice's story. It is one you have never heard, and one you will never, ever forget.


I knew this wasn’t going to be an easy read but I wasn’t completely prepared for how brutally realistic it was going to be. I loved Bloom and was astonished that this was written by the same author – it was just so different. It was beautifully written though, almost like verse in a way, and I truly believed in Alice’s voice. I had so many emotions while reading it – horror, sympathy, hatred, unease and for some reason guilt. It almost felt as if I was reading something I shouldn’t really be reading – which in itself is testament to Scott’s talent as a writer.


The story is devastatingly sad. It scared the hell out of me too and I realised that Alice’s three rules - No one will see you. No one will say anything. No one will save you - are unfortunately true. How many times do we ‘not see’ the things we don’t want to see? How many times to we not want to get involved? It also gave me an insight into abuse that I had never really considered. I have never understood why someone would stay, would not tell someone what was happening – but I didn’t really understand the impact of fear as a motivator. I realised after reading this though that fear for oneself is not the only type of fear – the threat against her family was so strong I could understand why it had the impact it did and it terrified me that essentially love can be used against you in this way. It also scared me that I could see signs in Alice that she too had the potential to become an abuser – how that the need to escape, to not be abused anymore overtook everything else.


Would I recommend this book? Hell yes! It’s not the most comfortable read but Elizabeth Scott does an outstanding job bringing the story alive. It was absolutely heartbreaking to read but Alice will be a character I remember for a long time.


Sunday 27 September 2009

In my mailbox (8)

In my mailbox is hosted by Kristi @ The Story Siren


This week I bought:

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

From Amazon: Grace is fascinated by the wolves in the woods behind her house; one yellow-eyed wolf in particular. Every winter, she watches him but every summer, he disappears. Sam leads two lives. In winter, he stays in the frozen woods, with the protection of the pack. In summer, he has a few precious months to be human . . . until the cold makes him shift back again. When Grace and Sam finally meet they realize they can't bear to be apart. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human - or risk losing himself, and Grace, for ever.

Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott


From Goodreads: Once upon a time I was a little girl who disappeared. Once upon a time my name was not Alice. Once upon a time I didn't know how lucky I was. When Alice was ten, Ray took her away from her family, her friends -- her life. She learned to give up all power, to endure all pain. She waited for the nightmare to be over. Now Alice is fifteen and Ray still has her, but he speaks more and more of her death. He does not know it is what she longs for. She does not know he has something more terrifying than death in mind for her. This is Alice's story. It is one you have never heard, and one you will never, ever forget.



Take me There by Susane Colasanti

From Goodreads: In one short week . . . three lives change. Rhiannon is devastated after the breakup with her boyfriend and wants him back. Nicoles ex is still in the picture, but she can't help having a new crush. James and Rhiannon are just friends, though he may try to take it to the next level. Will their desire to take a mean girl down a notch bring these three friends what they want . . . and more?

The Awakening by Kelley Armstrong

From Amazon: Chloe Saunders used to be a normal teenage girl - or so she thought. Then she learned the shocking truth - she is a walking science experiment. Genetically altered at birth by a sinister group of scientists known as the Edison Group, Chloe is an aberration - a powerful necromancer who can see ghosts and even raise the dead, often with terrifying consequences. Even worse, her growing powers have made her a threat to the surviving members of the Edison Group, who have decided it's time to end their experiment - permanently ...Now Chloe is running for her life with three other supernatural teenagers - a charming sorcerer, a troubled werewolf and a temperamental young witch. Together they have a chance for freedom - but can Chloe trust her new friends?

The Hollow by Jessica Verday

From Amazon: Growing up in the town of Sleepy Hollow, the mystery and intrigue over Washington Irving's classic legend are all part of daily life for sixteen-year-old Abbey. But when her best friend, Kristen, vanishes at the bridge near Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Abbey's world is suddenly turned upside down. While everyone is all too quick to accept that Kristen is dead, Abbey refuses to believe that she is really gone. And when Abbey meets the gorgeous, but mysterious, Caspian at Kristen's memorial she starts to feel like she has something to hold on to for the first time since Kristen's disappearance. But when Abbey finds a diary hidden in Kristen's bedroom, she begins to question everything she thought she knew about her best friend. How could Kristen have kept silent about so much? And could this secret have led to her disappearance or even her death? Hurt and angry at Kristen's betrayal, Abbey turns to Caspian for support...and uncovers a frightening truth about him that threatens both their emerging love and her sanity...


The Disreputable History of Frankie Laudau-Banks by E Lockhart

From Goodreads: Frankie Landau-Banks at age 14: Debate Club. Her father’s “bunny rabbit.” A mildly geeky girl attending a highly competitive boarding school. Frankie Landau-Banks at age 15: A knockout figure. A sharp tongue. A chip on her shoulder. And a gorgeous new senior boyfriend: the supremely goofy, word-obsessed Matthew Livingston. Frankie Laundau-Banks. No longer the kind of girl to take “no” for an answer. Especially when “no” means she’s excluded from her boyfriend’s all-male secret society. Not when her ex boyfriend shows up in the strangest of places. Not when she knows she’s smarter than any of them. When she knows Matthew’s lying to her. And when there are so many, many pranks to be done. Frankie Landau-Banks, at age 16: Possibly a criminal mastermind. This is the story of how she got that way.


Finding Cassie Crazy by Jaclyn Moriarty


From Amazon: Cassie is in Year 10 at Ashbury High. Ashbury students claim that the kids at Brookfield High are drug-dealers and psychopaths. Their teacher starts a pen-pal project which leads to an escalation of the war between the two schools, to secret romance and to Cassie learning to face her fears.


And thanks to Sheena for managing to get me a proof copy of Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl


From Goodreads: There were no surprises in Gatlin County We were pretty much the epicenter of the middle of nowhere. At least, that’s what I thought. Turns out, I couldn’t have been more wrong. There was a curse. There was a girl. And in the end, there was a grave. Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she’s struggling to conceal her power, and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps, and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever. Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town’s oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them. In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.


How did you all do?

Friday 25 September 2009

I want to read that...

The Mark by Jen Nadol

From Amazon: Sixteen-year-old Cassandra Renfield has always seen the mark—a light glow reminiscent of candlelight. The only time she pointed it out taught her she shouldn’t do it again. For years, the mark has followed Cassie, its rare appearances odd, but insignificant. Until the day she watches a man die. As she revisits each occurrence of the mark, Cassie realizes she can see a person’s imminent death. Not how or where, only when: today.

Now armed with a slight understanding of the mark, Cassie begins to search for it. Even as she hides her secret, Cassie mines her philosophy class, her memories, and even her new boyfriend for answers about the faint glowing mark. But many questions remain. How does it work? Why her? And finally, the most important of all: If you know today is someone’s last, should you tell them?


Sounds good and I really like the cover:)

Thursday 24 September 2009

Story of a Girl by Sara Zarr

From Goodreads: When she is caught in the backseat of a car with her older brother's best friend - Deanna Lambert's teenage life is changed forever. Struggling to overcome the lasting repercussions and the stifling role of "school slut," she longs to escape a life defined by her past. With subtle grace, complicated wisdom and striking emotion, The Story of a Girl reminds us of our human capacity for resilience, epiphany and redemption

I was taken by surprise with this book. I had heard good reviews but it was just beautifully written. I loved how the author created a world where things are not black and white. The characters are realistically complicated, especially her dad, who I spent most of the book being annoyed at yet also understanding why he behaved the way he did. I really felt as if I was in Deanna’s head - at first she felt very guarded, even from herself, preferring to think about herself as the anonymous girl she liked to write about, but towards the end you get to really see how she feels. The book is full of emotion and was heartbreaking to read at times, especially Deanna’s confrontation with her father. It also ended in a good way – feeling realistic rather than a ‘happily ever after’ – although I would love to know what happened next and how Deanna got on.

Overall a really beautiful book – I’m looking forward to reading other novels by Sara Zarr.

Wednesday 23 September 2009

Marked by P.C and Kristin Cast

From Amazon: When sixteen-year-old Zoey Redbird gets Marked as a fledgling vampire she must join the House of Night school where she will train to become an adult vampire. That is, if she makes it through the Change. But Zoe is no ordinary fledgling. She has been chosen as special by the Goddess Nyx and discovers her amazing new power to conjure the elements: earth, air, fire, water and spirit. When Zoey discovers that the leader of the Dark Daughters, the school's most elite group, is misusing her Goddess-given gifts, Zoey must look within herself to embrace her destiny - with a little help from her new vampire friends. Not suitable for younger readers.


This seemed to take a while to grab my attention but once it did I really enjoyed it. I like the premise – that becoming a vampire is a biological change that you either survive or don’t - as it was a different take on the vampire mythology. I found Zoey a likable character – her friends too - and I liked the direction the story took with Zoey and her abilities. Also, I felt there is enough intrigue in the house of night school to keep things interesting in future books.

Overall I really enjoyed it and by the end I couldn’t wait to read the next instalment.


Tuesday 22 September 2009

Cover Wars: Hardback vs Paperback

Having recently ordered Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott in paperback (there are so many good reviews for this and I loved Bloom) I was disappointed that they changed the cover for it's release. That is not to say I don't like it because I do - although it has a very 'twilight' feel that seems to be in abundance lately (black background with a photographic image) - there is just something about the hardback that really caught my attention.




Hardback/Paperback

Which do you prefer?

Monday 21 September 2009

Cindy Ella by Robin Palmer

From Amazon: Prom fever has infected LA—especially Cindy’s two annoying stepsisters, and her overly Botoxed stepmother. Cindy seems to be the only one immune to it all. But her anti-prom letter in the school newspaper does more to turn Cindy into Queen of the Freaks than close the gap between the popular kids and the rest of the students. Everyone thinks she’s committed social suicide, except for her two best friends, the yoga goddess India and John Hughes–worshipping Malcolm, and shockingly, the most popular senior at Castle Heights High and Cindy’s crush, Adam Silver. Suddenly Cindy starts to think that maybe her social life could have a happily ever after. But there’s still the rest of the school to deal with. With a little bit of help from an unexpected source and a fabulous pair of heels, Cindy realizes that she still has a chance at a happily ever after.

This is a charming modern day retelling of Cinderella. Cindy Ella is delightful character and endeared herself to me from the start. She seems to have the knack of getting herself into embarrassing situations on a regular basis which added to the humour in the novel. I loved her friends too, and her baby brother Spencer was just adorable. The John Hughes movie references were an added plus for me as I am a big fan of those movies. Granted, the story was on the predictable side, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. It was fun waiting for Cindy to work it out - and her reaction when she does is priceless! I thought the ending was really sweet and it left a very goofy smile on my face.

Overall a great light hearted read - I've added Geek Charming to my to buy list.


Sunday 20 September 2009

In my mailbox (7)

n my mailbox is hosted by Kristi @ The Story Siren

I didn't purchase anything this week - I ordered loads but none came :( - but I did get a nice surprise gift.

Thank you to Andrew for this, as he managed to get me a signed & dedicated copy of Marked! Apparently they didn't sign that many so you can imagine how excited I was!




How did you all do this week?

Saturday 19 September 2009

I want to read that ...

This World We Live In by Susan Pfeffer

From Goodreads: It's been over a month since Miranda Evans has written in her diary, a month of relative calm for her and her family. It's springtime, and with warmer weather comes rain, and the melting of the winter's snow. The shad are running in a nearby river, and Miranda's brothers Matt and Jon leave home for a few days to see if they can catch some to supplement their food supply. When they return, Matt brings with him a girl named Syl, who he introduces as his bride. But that's not the only shock Miranda and her family have to deal with. A few weeks later, Miranda's father, stepmother, and baby brother show up at her door. Accompanying them are three strangers, a man named Charlie Rutherford, and two teenagers, Alex and Julie Morales. These five people have crossed America together, becoming, in their own way, a family. Miranda's complicated feelings about Alex, curiosity, resentment, longing, and passion turn into love. Alex's feelings are equally complex. His plans to escort Julie to a convent where she can be taken care of, so that he will be free to enter a monastery, are destined for failure. He wants desperately to live up to his moral code, but his desire for Miranda is too strong. He proposes to Miranda that they take Julie and go to a safe town. But before Miranda and Alex can go off together, a devastating tornado hits the town of Howell, and in its aftermath, Miranda makes a decision that will change forever her life and Alex's, and the world that they live in will never be the same.

I can't wait for this! It is published in the US 1st April 2010. There is no UK date yet (Grr!)

Friday 18 September 2009

Golden Oldie # 4

Golden Oldie: A book I love that has been published for a while. Each post will concentrate on one author I used to, and still do, love

So, my final Golden Oldie goes to The Other Side of Dark by Joan Lowery Nixon.

From Goodreads: Stacy wakes up in a room that's not hers, in a body she doesn't recognize, to discover she's been in a coma for four years. Her mother is dead--murdered--and Stacy, recovering from a gunshot wound, is the only eyewitness to her mother's murder.She can recall only a shadowy face, so far. But the killer is not about to let her reveal his identity...

I enjoyed all of the Joan Lowery Nixon books I read but this one really stood out for me. It was another one of those books that I read over and over again. I loved the suspense and the romance, and the fact that it was slightly scary was a bonus. I haven't re-read it in a long time so I don't know if it will live up to it's memory but as a teenage girl I absolutely loved it!

The other book of hers I loved was A Deadly Game of Magic.

Thursday 17 September 2009

Golden Oldie # 3

Golden Oldie: A book I love that has been published for a while. Each post will concentrate on one author I used to, and still do, love


The third Golden Oldie goes to The Third Eye by Lois Duncan

From Amazon: High school senior Karen, who worries that her psychic powers will make her seem different from other people, is frightened at first when a young policeman asks her to use her gift to help the police locate missing children.

I read this when it was published in the UK as The Eyes of Karen Conner - I actually prefer that title - it sounds more interesting and I think it sums the book up better. I re-read this book so many times when I was younger I think I could probably have quoted it word for word! I loved the romance, the mystery, the coming of age, Karen's psychic ability - everything about it! It is well written, although possibly short by today's standards, has really good characters and a great plot - and how much did I love the ending!

Lois Duncan has written many books - the film 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' was based on her novel of the same name (her book is much better by the way!) Those that stand out for me alongside The Third Eye are Don't Look Behind You and Stranger With My Face.

Wednesday 16 September 2009

Golden Oldie # 2

Golden Oldie: A book I love that has been published for a while. Each post will concentrate on one author I used to, and still do, love.

Golden Oldie number 2 goes to The Last Vampire series by Christopher Pike.

From Amazon:
As to blood -- ah, blood, the whole subject fascinates me. I do like that as well, warm and dripping, when I am thirsty. And I am often thirsty....
Alisa has been in control of her urges for the five thousand years she has been a vampire. She feeds but does not kill, and she lives her life on the fringe to maintain her secret. But when her creator returns to hunt her, she must break her own rules in order to survive.
Her quest leads her to Ray. He is the only person who can help her; he also has every reason to fear her. Alisa must get closer to him to ensure her immortality. But as she begins to fall in love with Ray, suddenly there is more at stake than her own life....


This series has been release in the US in 2 parts as Thirst and is available in the UK as The Last Vampire in 3 volumes.

Okay, so without making myself feel really old I read Christopher Pike the first time around. He is a very talented author and is great at writing action and suspense. He also amazes me with his ability to write characters with a distinct voice (both male and female). In this series he does a superb job with Alisa (Sita) - a 5000 year old vampire, who he manages to make powerful, yet vulnerable and injects her with the wisdom you would expect a 5000 year old vampire to have. The story is suitably dark, beautifully written and I just loved it!

Just writing this review has made me want to re-read them again to see if I still love them as much now as I did then - I am in love with the US covers so I might have to get myself those!

I've never read a Christopher Pike book I didn't like but the other ones that stood out for me were Remember Me, Weekend, Final Friends Trilogy, Witch and The Midnight Club. In fact I have reread them several time since their publication and loved them just as much, if not more! Unfortunately, I am not sure if they are currently available - I am hoping the the re-release and repackaging of The Last Vampire series will trigger the re-release of his other works.

Tuesday 15 September 2009

Golden Oldie # 1

Reviewing the 'Tomorrow' series got me thinking about other books I read years ago that people would really enjoy today. So I though I'd have a 'golden oldie' week this week and post about the books I love that have been published for a while. Each post will concentrate on one author I used to, and still do, love.

The first Golden Oldie goes to Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume

From Amazon: Davey's father was murdered when a break-in at his store went horribly wrong. Now, Davey, her mother and her little brother are left shattered, with no idea how to go about rebuilding their lives. The family flees to New Mexico, to escape the painful memories. In this alien place, with its arid landscape and sunbaked earth, Davey meets Wolf, a mysterious boy who understands her without asking questions. Slowly she begins to piece the broken fragments of herself together again.

When I first read Tiger Eyes it just blew me away. Judy Blume was the first author (with Are You There, God? It's Me Margaret) that introduced me to how amazing reading could be. Tiger Eyes for me was like hitting the ball out of the park - it just had everything. It is a very sad story but also very real and I loved the characterisation in the book. I reread it recently and love it just as much now. It doesn't take long to read and I found myself so absorbed in the story that it went even quicker. A great book that I think fans of Before I Die, Cracked Up to Be, Going Too Far or If I Stay would love.

Other Judy Blume books worth reading are Forever (probably the best know one) and Deenie. I love them all but those are the ones that stand out for me.

Monday 14 September 2009

The 'Tomorrow' series by John Marsden


I've seen these listed on a few blogs recently and just had to post a review for them. They are absolutely fantastic! John Marsden is an excellent writer who has also written the equally brilliant Letters from the Inside and So Much to tell you. The 'Tomorrow' books are set in Australia and follow a group of friends who return from a camping trip to discover war has broken out and all their friends and family have been captured. The story is told from Ellie's point of view - who I fell in love with immediately - and is full of action and romance. The action scene are written so well you really feel the urgency and there are some quieter moments between the characters that really bring them to life. There are seven books in total and there is a series called the Ellie Chronicles that follows on from these (although I haven't read them yet - but they are on my ever mounting TBR pile!) Without wanting to sound cliched - I can't recommend the series highly enough!
You can check out these and his other books on his website by clicking here

Sunday 13 September 2009

In my mailbox (6)

In my mailbox is hosted by Kristi @ The Story Siren

This week I purchased:

Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler
From Amazon: For sixteen-year-olds Anna Reiley and Frankie Perino, their twenty day-long, minimally supervised California vacation will be the 'Absolute Best Summer Ever' and according to Frankie, if they meet one boy every day, there's a pretty good chance that Anna will get her first real boyfriend. Anna lightheartedly agrees to the game, but there's something she hasn't told Frankie - she's already had that kind of romance, and it was with Frankie's older brother, Matt, just before his tragic death one year ago. Written in lyrical, accessible prose, this is a debut novel that explores what it truly means to love someone and what it truly means to grieve, and perhaps most importantly, how to make the most of every single moment this world has to offer.

Everlost by Neal Shusterman
From Amazon: Nick and Allie don't survive the crash, and now they are in limbo, stuck halfway between life and death, in a netherworld known as Everlost. Everlost is home to those who didn't make it to their final destination: A magical yet dangerous place filled with shadows where lost souls run wild. Shocked and frightened, Nick and Allie aren't ready to rest in peace just yet. They want their lives back. Desperate for a way out, their search takes them deep into the uncharted regions of Everlost. But the longer they stay, the more they forget about their past lives. And with all memory of home fading fast and an unknown evil lurking in the shadows, Nick and Allie may never escape this strange, terrible world. In this imaginative, supernatural thriller, Neal Shusterman explores questions of life, death, and what just might lie in between.

The Eternal Kiss - edited by Trisha Telep
From Goodreads: There’s an allure to vampire tales that have seduced readers for generations. From Bram Stoker to Stephenie Meyer and beyond, vampire stories are here to stay. For those fresh-blooded fans of paranormal romance or for those whose hunt and hunger never dies, these stories have what readers want! This collection of original tales comes from some of the hottest, most popular, and best-selling YA writers.

Catalyst by Laurie Halse Anderson (I found this in a charity shop for £1 - bargain!)
From Amazon: Kate's failure to get into college to study chemistry, the only subject she can cope with, sends her spinning out of control. She'd only applied to one college - now what? Then her rector father brings home a local family, made homeless in a fire. Teenager Teri is the class outcast, but slowly she and Kate become friends, while little Mikey melts Kate's heart, until a tragic accident sets in motion a chain of events which will change both Teri and Kate's lives for ever.

Beauty by Robin McKinley (Also found this a charity shop for the bargain price of 50p)
From Amazon: When the family business collapses, Beauty and her two sisters are forced to leave the city and begin a new life in the countryside. However, when their father accepts hospitality from the elusive and magical Beast, he is forced to make a terrible promise - to send one daughter to the Beast's castle, with no guarantee that she will be seen again. Beauty accepts the challenge, and there begins an extraordinary story of magic and love that overcomes all boundaries. This is another spellbinding and emotional tale embroidered around a fairytale from Robin McKinley, an award-winning American author.

What did you get?

Saturday 12 September 2009

Strange Angels by Lili St. Crow

From Amazon: Dru Anderson: Night Hunter. Knife Wielder. Heart Breaker. Dru can sense evil, which helps when she and her Dad are tracking down ghosts, suckers, wulfen, and the occasional reanimated corpse. It's a dangerous life, but it's the only one she knows. Then Dru's dad turns up dead and she suddenly finds herself in the middle of a deadly game where every move she makes could be her last. Dru is more special than she realizes - and whatever killed her dad could be coming for her next. Can Dru stay alive long enough to fall for one - or both - of the guys hungry for her affections? Find out in the heart-stopping first book in a thrilling series.

I had high expectations for this and although it didn't quite live up to them it was still really good. It started a bit slow but gathered speed a third of the way through and as soon as Christophe was introduced it galloped to the end. I really like the world that was created here. There was some really good mythology behind the story that held my interest and the characters were well created. Graves was great in an adorable puppy kind of way and the banter between him and Dru was one of my favourite aspects of the story. I really liked Dru also, more so towards the end when she started to get stronger, and loved Christophe. I found him very intriguing. I found myself gripped by the action scenes in the book and the author created some standout scenes that really set the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Overall, I really enjoyed it and am really looking forward to the next installment.

Friday 11 September 2009

Trailer: Storm Glass by Maria V Snyder

There is new trailer for Maria V Snyder's new book Storm Glass





With her unique magical abilities, Opal Cowen has always felt unsure of her place at Sitia’s Magic Academy . But when the Stormdancer clan needs help, Opal’s knowledge makes her the perfect choice – until the mission goes awry.
Pulling her powers in unfamiliar directions, Opal find herself tapping into a new kind of magic as stunningly potent as it is frightening. Now Opal must deal with plotters out to destroy the Stormdancer clan, as well as a traitor in their midst.
Following Maria V. Snyder’s popular and critically-acclaimed Study series, Storm Glass is the first in her new and much anticipated Glass trilogy.

This looks really good! It is available to buy now.

Trailer: Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters

This is an adult horror title but I just had to post the trailer as it had me in stitches! It's written by Ben H. Winters (and Jane Austen of course!) and is published 15 September.

(Younger viewers - please bear in mind it is a trailer for a horror book so there are some scenes of violence!)

Thursday 10 September 2009

I want to read that...

The Line by Teri Hall
From Amazon:

An invisible, uncrossable physical barrier encloses the Unified States. The Line is the part of the border that lopped off part of the country, dooming the inhabitants to an unknown fate when the enemy used a banned weapon. It’s said that bizarre creatures and superhumans live on the other side, in Away. Nobody except tough old Ms. Moore would ever live next to the Line.

Nobody but Rachel and her mother, who went to live there after Rachel’s dad died in the last war. It’s a safe, quiet life. Until Rachel finds a mysterious recorded message that can only have come from Away. The voice is asking for help.

Who sent the message? Why is her mother so protective? And to what lengths is Rachel willing to go in order to do what she thinks is right?

The Line is being published March 2010

Wednesday 9 September 2009

Bloom by Elizabeth Scott

From Goodreads: There's a difference between falling and letting go. Lauren has a good life: decent grades, great friends, and a boyfriend every girl lusts after. So why is she so unhappy? It takes the arrival of Evan Kirkland for Lauren to figure out the answer: She's been holding back. She's been denying herself a bunch of things (like sex) because staying with her loyal and gorgeous boyfriend, Dave, is the "right" thing to do. After all, who would give up the perfect boyfriend? But as Dave starts talking more and more about their life together, planning a future Lauren simply can't see herself in -- and as Lauren's craving for Evan, and moreover, who she is with Evan becomes all the more fierce -- Lauren realizes she needs to make a choice...before one is made for her.

I really enjoyed reading Bloom. Elizabeth Scott is a fantastic writer and managed to create some very complex and layered characters. The plot was easy to get lost in and Laureen had a great voice – I found her to be a very likeable character even though she didn’t always do the most likeable things. I could understand her actions though – I felt she tried so hard to be the ‘perfect’ person she thought people wanted her to be that she didn’t want to do anything to change that. And although I don’t think it made her happy I think it made her safe. Evan, of course, changes all that. There were some really lovely moments between the two of them – I epecially liked the whole boxset incident. I was impressed that the plot wasn’t a straight forward love story – all the characters were three dimensional and I was equally interested in all their stories. In fact, a slight complaint would be that some story lines were not tied up in the end – Katie's story being one of them. I would really like to find out what happened with her.

Overall this was a great introduction to Elizabeth Scott and I will certainly read more of her books


Tuesday 8 September 2009

Cover Wars: US vs UK

I was pleased to see that they are going to publish The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson in the UK (April 2010). I've wanted to read it for ages. According to the image on Amazon this will be the cover:






Alternatively, this is the US cover:




Well, I think the US cover is gorgeous and the UK one is ... well.... not! I'm really hoping they change their minds and use a different one!

What do you think?

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...