Cover Wars: The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

Hmmm... cant decide! I think I like them both:)



Which do you prefer?

Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

From Goodreads: When Sophie Mercer turned thirteen, she discovered that she was a witch. It's gotten her into a few scrapes. Her non-Gifted mother has been as supportive as possible, consulting Sophie's estranged father--an elusive European warlock--only when necessary. But when Sophie attracts too much human attention for a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, it's her dad who decides her punishment: exile to Hecate Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward prodigium, a.k.a. witches, fae, and shapeshifters. By the end of her first day among fellow freak-teens, Sophie has quite a scorecard. Three powerful enemies who look like supermodels; a futile crush on a gorgeous warlock; a creepy, tag-along ghost; and a new roommate, who happens to be the most-hated person and only vampire on campus. Sophie soon learns that a mysterious predator has been attacking students, and her friend Jenna is the number one suspect. Meanwhile, Sophie has a more personal shock to grapple with. Not only is her father the head of the prodigium council, he's the most powerful warlock in the world, and Sophie is his heir. As a series of blood-curdling mysteries starts to converge, Sophie prepares for the biggest threat of all: an ancient secret society determined to destroy all prodigium, especially her.

I think it’s safe to say I have been looking forward to reading this for months so I’m please to say it’s good. Really really good!

It’s one of those books that gripped me straight away. I loved the main character Sophie and really enjoyed spending time with her. I found her to be incredibly sweet and funny - someone I could easily imagine myself being friends with. I loved her friendship with Jenna and Archer Cross is just hot! Oh boy oh boy – I feel another obsession coming on!

I love the world created here and how we get to learn about it alongside Sophie. The story was really fast paced and I didn’t find it predictable at all. In fact there were some twists and turns I really didn’t see coming. The ending is somewhat of a cliffhanger, and because of this the book feels like part one of a larger story. This is not necessarily a bad thing – except that I have to wait until next year for book two! Nooooo! There are some loose ends that need tying up and there is definitely scope for plenty more books in the series – and if they are anything like this one they will be outstanding!

I can’t wait for more of this series. It is an amazing debut and I loved Hawkins style of writing. Completely addictive!

I want to read that...

Claire De Lune by Christine Johnson

From Goodreads: Torn between two destinies? Claire is having the perfect sixteenth birthday. Her pool party is a big success, and gorgeous Matthew keeps chatting and flirting with her as if she's the only girl there. But that night, she discovers something that takes away all sense of normalcy: she's a werewolf. As Claire is initiated into the pack of female werewolves, she must deal not only with her changing identity, but also with a rogue werewolf who is putting everyone she knows in danger. Claire's new life threatens her blossoming romance with Matthew, whose father is leading the werewolf hunt. Now burdened with a dark secret and pushing the boundaries of forbidden love, Claire is struggling to feel comfortable in either skin. With her lupine loyalty at odds with her human heart, she will make a choice that will change her forever?

This sounds sooo good! It's published in the UK by Simon and Schuster 5 Aug 2010 and is published in the US May 18th 2010 by Simon Pulse

Mr Monster by Dan Wells

Review copy: Headline. Published 4 March 2010
From Goodreads: From the author of I AM NOT A SERIAL KILLER...John Wayne Cleaver has always known he has a dark side but he's fought hard to oppress it and live a normal life -- separating John from Mr Monster to survive. But after confronting and destroying the vicious killer that was terrorizing his town, his inner monster is getting stronger and harder to contain. And now more bodies are being discovered...With the police failing to catch Clayton County's second serial killer John is going to have to use his secret knowledge of the first demon-killer to trap the second...but will he be able to avoid suspicion falling on him, and, in the face of extreme horrors, will he be able to restrain Mr Monster?

For some reason the first book in this series completely passed me by so I am really pleased I was given the opportunity to review Mr Monster. I really loved it and think it’s fast become one of my favourite YA horror books.

Dan Wells has a charming style of writing and I found myself completely immersed in John’s story from the first few pages. It felt completely original and unlike anything I had read before. I found it easy to follow even though I hadn’t read the first book (‘I am NOT a Serial Killer’) so you can easily read this as a standalone if you wish but I felt like kicking myself for not reading the other one first. I enjoyed this one so much I really wish I had started at the beginning.

Described in the press release as a cross between ‘Dexter and The X-files’ I found myself comparing it more to the show ‘Supernatural' – perhaps because I associate The X-files more with aliens and this story is demon based but also because it has a more young and fresh feel. I have also got to admit I had the ‘Supernatural’ tag line ‘Scary just go sexy’ going through my mind the whole time I was reading it – although in the case of John Cleaver perhaps it should be ‘sexy just got scary’!

Despite the fact he is a sociopath I found myself really liking John Cleaver, which considering the type of thoughts he has on a day to day basis, was somewhat disturbing. But I really did and I think this is testament to how good a writer Wells is. I actually enjoyed spending time with John and look forward to future instalments.

The story itself is really, really good. It’s also rather scary for a YA novel. Actually I’d compare it to many of the adult horror stories that are available – it is rather dark and there were moments when I actually had to put the book down. Definitely creepy - it also felt very believable and Wells doesn’t shy away from some of the more ‘horrific’ aspects of the story –and it is so much better because of it.

Slightly disturbing but also rather awesome! I can’t wait to read more books by this author. I will have to go back to the beginning and read I am NOT a Serial Killer’ in my wait for the next book featuring John Cleaver.

In My Mailbox (33)

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi @ The Story Siren

Geek Charming by Robin Palmer
From Goodreads: Dylan Shoenfield is the princess of L.A.-s posh Castle Heights High. She has the coolest boyfriend, the most popular friends, and a brand-new -it- bag that everyone covets. But when she accidentally tosses her bag into a fountain, this princess comes face-to-face with her own personal frog: selfprofessed film geek Josh Rosen. In return for rescuing Dylan-s bag, Josh convinces Dylan to let him film her for his documentary on high school popularity. Reluctantly, Dylan lets F-list Josh into her A-list world, and is shocked to realize that sometimes nerds can be pretty cool. But when Dylan-s so-called prince charming of a boyfriend dumps her flat, her life-and her social status- comes to a crashing halt. Can Dylan-with Josh-s help-pull the pieces together to create her own happily-ever-after?

Dark Secrets: Legacy of Lies and Don't Tell by Elizabeth Chandler
From Goodreads: Two girls haunted by the past...and destined to relive it
In Legacy of Lies, Megan has to stay with the uptight grandmother she wants nothing to do with. She's determined to get through the visit without any drama, but when she falls into a twisted love triangle with potentially fatal consequences, Megan may be caught up in her family's legacy in more ways than she realizes.
In Don't Tell, Lauren knows that by returning to the town where her mother drowned seven years ago, she'll be reliving one of her most haunting memories. When she arrives, she is propelled into a series of mysterious events that mimic the days leading up to her mother's death. Maybe her mother's drowning wasn't an accident after all...and maybe Lauren is next.

Mealtimes and Milestones by Constance Barter - we had a launch for this at work and my friend Kirsty @ The Book Mogul tells me it's brilliant!
From Goodreads: This book presents an astonishingly moving and mature account of a young woman's struggle with anorexia nervosa, a serious mental illness affecting 1.1 million people in the UK. At fourteen years of age, Constance Barter was admitted as an in-patient to a specialist eating disorders unit where she remained for seven months. During that time, she kept a diary which sheds light on what it means to have anorexia, how it affects your life, and how it is not just a faddy diet or attention seeking disorder. Constance is an example to anyone suffering from this potentially life-threatening illness that with perseverance and support it can be beaten and sufferers can go on and lead a fulfilling, everyday life. This inspirational diary will help and inspire other sufferers to seek help and overcome their illness as well as providing an invaluable insight into the nature of the illness to families and friends.

Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins
From Goodreads: When Sophie Mercer turned thirteen, she discovered that she was a witch. It's gotten her into a few scrapes. Her non-Gifted mother has been as supportive as possible, consulting Sophie's estranged father--an elusive European warlock--only when necessary. But when Sophie attracts too much human attention for a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, it's her dad who decides her punishment: exile to Hecate Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward prodigium, a.k.a. witches, fae, and shapeshifters. By the end of her first day among fellow freak-teens, Sophie has quite a scorecard. Three powerful enemies who look like supermodels; a futile crush on a gorgeous warlock; a creepy, tag-along ghost; and a new roommate, who happens to be the most-hated person and only vampire on campus. Sophie soon learns that a mysterious predator has been attacking students, and her friend Jenna is the number one suspect. Meanwhile, Sophie has a more personal shock to grapple with. Not only is her father the head of the prodigium council, he's the most powerful warlock in the world, and Sophie is his heir. As a series of blood-curdling mysteries starts to converge, Sophie prepares for the biggest threat of all: an ancient secret society determined to destroy all prodigium, especially her.

The Dead Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan
From Goodreads: Gabry lives a quiet life. As safe a life as is possible in a town trapped between a forest and the ocean, in a world teeming with the dead, who constantly hunger for those still living. She’s content on her side of the Barrier, happy to let her friends dream of the Dark City up the coast while she watches from the top of her lighthouse. But there are threats the Barrier cannot hold back. Threats like the secrets Gabry’s mother thought she left behind when she escaped from the Sisterhood and the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Like the cult of religious zealots who worship the dead. Like the stranger from the forest who seems to know Gabry. And suddenly, everything is changing. One reckless moment, and half of Gabry’s generation is dead, the other half imprisoned. Now Gabry only knows one thing: she must face the forest of her mother’s past in order to save herself and the one she loves.

The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks
From Goodreads: Seventeen-year-old Veronica 'Ronnie' Miller's life was turned upside-down when her parents divorced and her father moved from New York City to Wilmington, North Carolina. Three years later, she remains angry and alienated from her parents, especially her father ...until her mother decides it would be in everyone's best interest if she spent the summer in Wilmington with him. Ronnie's father, a former concert pianist and teacher, is living a quiet life in the beach town, immersed in creating a work of art that will become the centerpiece of a local church. The tale that unfolds is an unforgettable story about love in its myriad forms - first love, the love between parents and children - that demonstrates, as only a Nicholas Sparks novel can, the many ways that deeply felt relationships can break our hearts ...and heal them.

I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You by Ally Carter (Review copy, UK Proof, Orchard books: published 6 May 2010)
From Goodreads: The Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women is a fairly typical all-girls school—that is, if every school teaches advanced martial arts in PE, chemistry always consists of the latest in chemical warfare, and everyone breaks CIA codes for extra credit in computer class. So in truth, while the Gallagher Academy might say it's a school for geniuses what they really mean is spies. But what happens when a Gallagher Girl falls for a boy who doesn't have a code name?

Cammie Morgan may be fluent in fourteen languages and capable of killing a man in seven different ways (three of which involve a piece of uncooked spaghetti), but the Gallagher Academy hasn't prepared her for what to do when she meets an ordinary boy who thinks she's an ordinary girl. Sure, she can tap his phone, hack into his computer, and track him through a mall without him ever being the wiser, but can she have a regular relationship with a regular boy who can never know the truth about her? Cammie may be an elite spy in training, but in her sophomore year, she's doing something riskier than ever—she's falling in love.

Princess for Hire by Lindsey Leavitt (won - big thanks to Sasha @ The Sweet Bonjour)
From Goodreads: When a well-dressed woman steps out of a bubble and wants to know if you'd like to become a substitute princess, do you
A) run
B) faint
C) say yes?
For Desi Bascomb, who's been longing for some glamour in her Idaho life, the choice is a definite C). Desi has a rare ability: with the help of "Royal Rouge," she can temporarily transform into the exact look-alike of any princess who needs her subbing services. Dream come true, right?
Well, Desi soon discovers that subbing involves a lot more than wearing a tiara and waving at cameras.... In this winning debut, one girl's dream of glamour transforms into the desire to make a positive impact. And an impact Desi makes, one royal fiasco at a time.

Hope you all had a great week and wishing you a good Easter:)