The Book Bundle

The DUFF by Kody Keplinger

2012-02-08T09:50:00.000-08:00

Cross posted from Incandescent.

Out one night in support of her two best friends, Bianca is doing what she always does when they drag her to The Nest: sit at the bar sipping Cherry Coke and talking to the bartender Joe. She's bored and restless, but resigned. At least until Wesley Rush decides to occupy the bar stool next to hers. He's arrogant, rude, charming, promiscuous, and unbelievably attractive, so Bianca doesn't bother playing his game. Which is a good thing because he pretty quickly admits he's only talking to her because she's the DUFF--the designated ugly fat friend--and spending time with the DUFF is a surefire way to hookup with the hotter friends. And he has his eye on hers. Disgusted, Bianca douses Wesley in the remainder of her Coke, grabs her friends, and storms out, convinced she won't be hearing from Wesley again anytime soon. His insult, though, plays incessantly in her mind. Add that to finding out her crush has a girlfriend at another school, her mom--who has been on a book tour for two months--still isn't coming home, and crashing in Wesley in the hall during school and Bianca is teetering on the edge of a truly horrendous day. Wesley sitting next to her at The Nest that night is just icing on the cake. Already on edge, she loses control when he notices her foul mood and actually asks her what's wrong. Without thinking, she grabs him and pulls him into a kiss that nearly devours them both. The rush is like a drug that makes her forget all of her stupid problems. At least, until she feels Wesley's hand traveling up her chest and into forbidden territory. Then she pushes him away, slaps him across the face, and once again storms off.

Life seems to be plotting against her, though. Problems that seemed manageable grow ever worse and then expand into unforeseen territory including the return of her one ex-boyfriend and the guy she gave her virginity too years ago and the arrival of divorce papers from her mother. Bianca doesn't know how to handle it, but she remembers how easy it was to forget everything when Wesley's mouth was on hers, so she loses herself in him again, this time in an enemies-with-benefits relationship that consumes them both. As things get worse at home, she finds herself spending more and more time with Wesley (and not just in bed) and less time with her friends, especially Casey who asks too many questions. But Wesley is safe because he doesn't really care. Wesley is safe because she's just another notch on his headboard. Wesley is safe because she's the DUFF--as he constantly reminds her--and there's no way the infamous Wesley Rush would ever fall for the DUFF. But there is the danger that the DUFF may fall for Wesley Rush. Eventually, Bianca has to face facts and try to fix the mess her life has become. Will she be able to figure out what to do about Wesley, how to fix her strained relationship with her best friends, and save her father from going off the deep end before everything is shattered beyond repair?

Before I go into my take on this story, a warning. This book is definitely rated PG-13. Possibly R depending on your stance on things. There's a lot of sex (not graphically described, but it's there), swearing, and a few other things some parents would probably find objectionable. On the other hand, it's also a pretty honest look at teen life today. Honest, accurate, and eye-opening. The point of the story isn't the sex, the crush, the parents, or even the friends. It's about Bianca's perception of herself, especially after hearing herself described as the DUFF by one of the hottest guys in her school. She can instantly see that he's right and each time he calls her Duffy (which is often as their relationship continues), it's like a knife wound in her already shaky self-confidence. It has become habit for Bianca to bottle everything up to the point where her friends know to translate the phrase "I'm fine" as "Shut up because I'm not going to tell you what's wrong." Everything in her life feels like it's out of her control but she doesn't want to add her stress to everyone else's. That is something I can completely understand as it's a habit I have as well. One that's hard to break. While some people are going to dislike the casual references to sex and the way Bianca flings herself into a relationship with a guy she knows is a "man-whore," I think the whole story is crafted in a way that shows you how little you see of the people around you and how you can't judge them just because you know one thing about them. It teaches a lesson that can be applied universally, to boys, girls, teens, or adults. I was impressed by Kody's characters and the way they developed through the story and it really felt like a peek into the life of some group of highschool kids somewhere in the country. Anywhere, really. So, despite the maturity warning I attach to the book, it's still one I highly recommend. I really enjoyed reading it.

Sera's Rating: 8/10

In My Mailbox (5/2)

2012-02-05T09:20:00.000-08:00

Time for another In My Mailbox!

No video this week, because I really should be doing homework instead of blogging and videos take a while. Hopefully next week I'll have some interesting books to show you guys, and time to make a video, although I'm off to Newcastle for the weekend with my parents, so it might be a late post on Sunday night. Anyway, this week I got:

"Dreamfever", book 4 in the Fever series by Karen Marie Moning. I'd been warned that book 3 finished on a cliffhanger, so when I was a couple of chapters from the end, I went on a mission around Edinburgh to find the next one! So far it's been great, but I'm getting to the end of it now, and I'm a bit nervous about not having book 5 to go on to. I really shouldn't be buying more books just now, but I know I'll need to read the next one when I get to the end of this! I have a feeling that, once I've finished the series, I'll really enjoy reading it a second time, when I know the overall ending and can relax, knowing for sure whether to trust or distrust various characters.

I also bought "Ocean's Touch" by Denise Townsend, which I reviewed this afternoon on the blog - if you scroll down on the main page, it's right there. I liked the story, but it didn't quite live up to what I'd hoped it would be.

I thought that was going to be it for the week, but last night Sophia at Fiction Vixen posted a list of ebooks she'd found free on Amazon, and some that sounded fun were free on Amazon UK too, so I grabbed a couple for light reading. They were:

Gifts of the Blood, by Vicki Keire

The Frenchman's Woman, by Taylor Lee

A Hint of Rapture, by Miriam Minger

Catch Me If You Can, by Nina Bruhns

Lucky in Love, by Carolyn Brown

What did you guys get in your mailboxes/postboxes this week? Does anyone have some snow, too? It feels like all of the UK except Scotland does today, and I'm a bit disappointed.

~Ailsa

Review: Ocean's Touch, by Denise Townsend

2012-02-05T08:05:00.000-08:00

Note: This is a review of an explicit adult book: please use your own discretion with reading.

Title: Ocean's Touch

Author: Denise Townsend

Publisher: Samhain Publishing

Release Date: 27th December '11

Source: Bought

Description: A lonely widow and a handsome artist have a chance for happiness…with the help of a sexy selkie, that is.

After the death of Meredith’s husband many years before, she allowed his legacy to take over her life. A shell of a woman, she finds little joy in her day-to-day tasks. Drawn to her pain, the empathic selkie Dylan knows she’s ready to live and love again, and he knows that he’s just the man for the job. As Dylan draws Meredith out of her shell, he realizes that to truly free her, he needs to help her accept her budding love for Alexander, an artist who challenges Meredith on every level: intellectually, emotionally and sexually. To achieve a true happy ending, Dylan must help his chosen humans break down their emotional barriers in order to grab the happiness they so deserve.

My thoughts: The story starts with Dylan, the selkie, watching Meredith one night while she's relaxing on her beach. He's seen her here several times now, and can tell she's grieving over something. Meredith comes down to the beach every night. After her much older husband died from a terminal illness, she inherited his property and his businesses, with strict instructions that he wanted her to run the charity projects, giving it the personal touch that suits just wouldn't bring. While it's an amazing opportunity, it puts a lot of pressure on Meredith, and she's only really doing it for Teddy, not herself. And when you throw in her slightly-crazy mother in law who's never happy with anything, it really isn't the best time for Meredith.

Dylan decides it's time to intervene with Meredith, and shows up on her beach glamoured to look like a normal human. They go swimming, have some steamy sex, and unsurprisingly Meredith freaks out a bit the next morning when she realises what she's done. She heads off to work, where she bumps into local (very wealthy) artist, Alex. There's an obvious heat between them that's been there for some time, but not having had a very physical relationship with her deceased husband, until now she's never realised what it was. The trouble is, Meredith is very much "Teddy's Widow". Alex has quite a scandalous reputation, and Merry worries about what people will think about her just being seen around with him, never mind going to the party he invites her too. When Dylan finds out about her feelings for Alex, he's determined to help out.

I thought this book was quite a sweet, happy story. I was a bit disappointed with the love scenes - Denise Townsend is the erotica pen name of one of my favourite authors, and to be honest I think things are steamier and better written in her other series. Some of the descriptions just didn't feel quite right to me. There was a lot of use of a particular 'c' word that I really don't like, which kept pulling me out of the story, and the word "turgid" comes up a couple of times. I'm sorry, but I just can't take that seriously.

I do quite like the way that Dylan helps bring this couple together. They have both been appreciating the other for a while, but needed a bit of a helping hand to push them together and make them do something about the attraction, and to realise that it's mutual. I like the way it finished, too - not everything is perfectly worked out, and you can see that Alex & Merry are going to have to work a bit to make their relationship work, but the important parts are there.

Overall, it was a nice story for an afternoon read, but I think some bits could have been better written. I'll give it 6 out of 10.

Recommend me a YA book

2012-02-01T15:27:00.000-08:00

Despite the books hiding around my room waiting to be read, I find myself looking for something new... typical!

I would love to read some more Young Adult books, and I'm looking for your recommendations. My only condition is, I don't want anything dystopian. Not a fan. Other than that, I'm open to fantasy elements, high school drama, mystery stories, first in a series or stand alone... anything really!

What young adult book would you recommend for me?

~Ailsa

In My Mailbox 29/1

2012-01-29T01:43:00.000-08:00

Welcome to In My Mailbox! Goodness, that feels like a quick week. That's probably down to my croaky throat from last weekend getting worse, making me take a sick day during the week, but all better now :)

I didn't actually get anything new this week, but there are a few ebooks I got over the Christmas period that I didn't talk about last week, so they get their own post now.

First up is 'Hot As Hades' by Alisha Rae. This is a retelling of the Persephone/Hades myth, with a couple of twists and a lot of sexiness. (I can't find a cover image that would show up small, so... no cover.) It's published by Samhain.

Next, I got 'Captives of the Night' by Loretta Chase.

It's a historical romance, mostly set in London.

Then it's 'No Dress Required' by Cari Quinn:

This one was a fun short romance story that starts on New Years Eve, and ends with an HEA. I'm probably not going to review this one, but I would recommend fans of steamy romance check out Cari Quinn - she writes a good story. This one is published by Entangled.

Finally, I got a fun one for review last week:

I've read it, but it doesn't actually come out until April, so I'll be posting my review nearer to the time. It's from Sourcebooks, and is available for review on NetGalley at the moment.

So, what did you get in your mailboxes this week, people? What book were you most excited about? Let me know in the comments :)

~Ailsa

Review: Hollow Pike, by James Dawson

2012-01-28T06:05:00.000-08:00

Title: Hollow Pike

Author: James Dawson

Publisher: Indigo (New YA imprint from Orion)

Release date: 2 February 2012

Source: ARC from publisher

Description: She thought she'd be safe in the country, but you can't escape your own nightmares, and Lis London dreams repeatedly that someone is trying to kill her.

Lis thinks she's being paranoid - after all who would want to murder her? She doesn't believe in the local legends of witchcraft. She doesn't believe that anything bad will really happen to her. You never do, do you?

Not until you're alone, in the woods, after dark - and a twig snaps...

My thoughts: From the moment I read the description of this book back in November/December, I wanted to read it. I can totally relate to the paranoia here - I come from the middle of nowhere, and when I'm walking the dogs on my own, I always get jumpy. You don't really think someone is there, but if you here a sudden noise, it puts you really on edge. I love how, in the few sentences on the back cover it captures that jumpiness, which is something that runs throughout the book.

Hollow Pike was... not quite what I was expecting, at first. It starts with Lis moving to the village of Hollow Pike to live with her grown-up sister Sarah, to start over at a new school because she was being bullied. Yes, someone starting at a new school is something we've seen before in YA novels (a lot), but I like it. It's a good way for the main character and the reader to learn things at the same time, gradually, without having an info dump to get the reader up to speed.

In many ways, Hollow Pike is a story about bullying. Having come for her fresh start, Lis falls in with the 'popular' crowd, and watches as they bully other people. I hated seeing Lis just standing watching what her new 'friends' were doing. Even though I could sort of see why she didn't want to end up being picked on again, I think if she'd done something when she first saw what kind of people the girls were, and left to find other friends, she would have been fine. However, after an incident where Lis is seen talking to Queen Bee Laura's crush, the posse turn on her, and she finds herself a victim once more. The only good thing about this is that it leads are to some new friends, who actually seem genuine.

Of course the other big part of Hollow Pike is the witchcraft. In the first chapter, before she arrives, Lis dreams about crawling along a stream in the woods, and someone drowning her. It's a nightmare she's had a lot, and when her mum drives through a 'shortcut' in the woods to get to Sarah's house, Lis is shocked to realise that it's the wood from her dream. Witches are tied in to the history of the village - everyone knows it, but no one really believes it. Then a girl is murdered in the woods, and Lis's dreams get worse. Although she keeps telling herself she doesn't believe it, creepy things keep happening. She feels like she's being watched. Birds go quiet when she walks past. A creepy shop owner tells her that her dreams are a warning.

I spent the whole book trying to work out who the bad guy was. I was fairly convinced that there was something witchy going on, but still found myself questioning if that was just because of the stories about witches in Hollow Pike. I kept changing who I thought was behind everything, every time Lis found something new that seemed to point in a different direction. I really didn't guess who it was until it was far too late, just like Lis.

Bullying, in various forms, remains a theme of the book all the way through. I think it's a very good look at how it affects people, why people get caught up in it, and different kinds of bullying and prejudice. Woven through that is the paranoia of the witches, and trying to work out what is going on, if Lis is just imagining things, and if not then who is targeting her and why. It really is an excellent read, one of the best young adult novels I've read in a long time. I can't wait to see what James Dawson comes up with next. Writing this review, I realise just how well certain things were slipped in to the novel to emphasise the themes - I wish I'd had this book when I was trying to write english essays in high school, because there would have been so much to write about!

I could go on, but before you all get bored of reading, I give this book 10 out of 10. A brilliant, gripping story that fans of slightly more realistic young adult books will love.

~Ailsa

Review: The Name Of The Star, by Maureen Johnson

2012-01-26T05:42:00.000-08:00

Title: The Name Of The Star

Author: Maureen Johnson

Publisher: Harper Collins (UK)/Putnam Juvenile (USA)

Release Date: 29th September 2011

Source: Bought in Waterstone's, Glasgow

Notes: Book 1 in Shades of London series

Description: Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux flies to London for the start of a new life at boarding school. But her arrival is overshadowed by a sudden outbreak of brutal murders, gruesome crimes mimicking the horrific work of Jack the Ripper.

'Rippermaina' grabs hold of London, and the police are stumped with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory has seen their prime suspect on the school grounds. But her friend Jazza didn't see anyone.

So why could only Rory see him? And what is he planning to do next?

My thoughts: I tried very hard not to buy The Name Of The Star (I really couldn't afford to at the time), but I'd been interested from the words "Jack the Ripper", and I saw so many glowing reviews, so when I found it reduced in the shop, I ended up taking it home. Over the next three or four nights, I regretted reading it at bedtime, and had to repeatedly check behind my curtains and in the wardrobe for monsters before I could go to sleep. For a YA book, it does a very good job of making you jump at shadows.

For those unfamiliar with who Jack the Ripper was, in London in the 1800s, someone brutally murdered several prostitutes, and was never caught. I knew the story when I was younger, and on a school trip to London when I was 12, we visited the London Dungeon, which has an excellent Ripper exhibit. I was fascinated by the story, this horrible murderer who couldn't be caught, even though there were various theories of who it might be. From some things I've read on twitter, I think Maureen Johnson has some of that same curiosity.

Rory's parents, both university professors, are coming to spend a sabbatical year in England, so Rory has picked a London boarding school to spend her senior year at. The book starts with her first arriving, and goes through her first few weeks at school, with the usual new-school things: making friends, different classes, and people who aren't so nice. There was no clique of mean-girls, which I think made it much more realistic, and thankfully, all of the Britishisms were pulled off well. (It's a pet peeve of mine when authors put in "British slang" and it comes across as forced and awkward.) You can tell that Ms Johnson has spent time in Britain and understands what it's like in school, and how to write Britishisms without it seeming forced. As Rory adjusts, the Ripper story is there in the background, something she hears about on the news. Wexford (her school) is quite close to some of the crimes, and she visits a couple of the scenes with other curious school friends. Even in the little snippets about the Ripper, you quickly see that something is not normal - he seems to be invisible on CCTV, and no one can figure out how he keeps slipping past police. You could feel the menace of the mystery figure, and the tension & nervousness that were starting to grip London as the murders continued and the police didn't catch him.

Part way through, Rory learns something, and the book shifts, and everything steps up a gear. It's a clear before/after point, and I loved it. Yes, I'd guessed before we found out what it was, and I think a lot of people will, but after the revelation, everything gets much more interesting, and there is so much more pressure to figure out what is going on, and why Rory is being caught up in it. I loved trying to piece together the clues in the second half of the story, and despite again having some guesses which turned out to be right before the characters figured it out, it didn't do anything to stop the tension in the book, or make me get bored with it. I really loved this story.

I'm not sure how I feel about the end. All the important story points are tied up nicely, and although you can see as you read that the book could go on as a series, it's not until the last two or three pages that it's clear there's going to be a sequel. Those last few paragraphs leave some big questions, and although it's not what I'd call a cliffhanger, I'm very eager for the next book. I'm looking forward to seeing what direction the Shades Of London series goes in now, as the Ripper angle seems to be done, and that's going to be a hard act to follow.

I really loved The Name Of The Star, so I'm giving it 9 stars.

Has anyone read it? What did you think about it, the ending, and the bits you could guess at? Where do you think Maureen Johnson will go next with the series? Let me know in the comments!

~Ailsa

Matched

2012-01-23T06:15:00.000-08:00

Alas it's been so long, I am ashamed!! I read this book ages ago and am now only getting to review it as I've spent the past week laid up in bed, staring at this book on my book case. So here goes. . .

In a future society, the officials decide everything, from what you eat for breakfast to who you should love. Cassia Reyes, is a normal teenage girl, who through a technical mishap discovers that the officials are not always in control, especially when it comes to who you love.

Matched, similar to the Hunger Games and Delirium, is a break through dystopian young adult series, which has received a huge amount of positive reviews. A well deserved amount in my opinion.

Ally Condie does an exemplar job at building her world - which in some respects has elements of our own. If we use IQ and personality tests to assess people's suitability for certain jobs, who is to say this won't develop further into who we should love (on-line dating sites are prime example). The point being, that like all exemplar writers in this field, Condie builds a world that is not hugely dissimilar to our own, she takes elements of our world and skews them to an extreme and for this reason the story and moral of Matched has more impact. Definitely in my opinion, world-building is one of the strongest features of this book.

Regarding characters, Cassia was an alright character - she has her flaws and good qualities, however to be honest I didn't really engage with her. Not because of how she was written but just the character herself, which is no reflection on Condie's writing. My favourite characters are Grandfather and Bram as both strike me as free spirits in their own way. For instance, Cassia's eyes needed to be opened through the mismatch, her grandfather's words and Ky's lessons while Bram from the get go seems to always be pushing the barriers in his own small ways. I just found him to be delightful and a touching character especially when it comes to the antiques incident.

My feeling is that although this book centres around a match/mismatch, romance is not the main theme, which is refreshing. Now, there obviously is romance in this book, and it's nice to see both male leads on equal footing (smart, handsome, decent), although you do feel sorry for Xander at times. In some ways, regarding Ky too, I find it sad that it took the mismatch for open Cassia's eyes, but I'm glad this is explored in the book - that it is not taken as a given by the character, that Cassia questions herself regarding her feelings.

But my most favourite aspect of this book and the main theme (imo), is the use of poetry, especially one of my all time favourite poems "Do not go gentle into that good night" , as a catalyst for Cassia. It demonstrates that in the void of Cassia's world, where only 100 poems, novels and songs exist, the timeless impact of certain works remain. That, regulation of the arts and elimination of creative self-expression is the beginning of the end - a regulation on the evocation of emotion and the human spirit. Condie does an exemplar job of showing us how these forbidden poems fester in Cassia's mind, riling up her spirit, in a quiet but deep way and provoking her to questions the society and consequently to seek out Ky more and more.

My only detraction from the book, is I felt the ending could have been stronger. Ky's disappearance and then Cassias leaving didn't leave me on the edge of my seat. However the last chapter was touching as she associates each word as bringing her closer to Ky, reiterating the importance of self-expression without restraints/monitoring.

Off topic: Sometimes I wonder about the wisdom of trilogies - whether sometimes an extra-long tightly written book would be better than three?

Back on topic, this is definitely one the better Dystopian YA fictions out there, and I recommend fans of dystopian romance to have a gander. I'm giving this 8 out of 10 stars :)

Toodles for now,

Em.

In My Mailbox 22/1

2012-01-22T04:07:00.000-08:00

Hello! It has been a long time since I did an IMM, so this is a pretty long video!

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.

I didn't realise how dark my camera was going to make the corner seem, and my voice really is pretty croaky from the cold - never mind!

Books mentioned:

Darkness Rising & Darkness Unbound, by Keri Arthur

Planet Cake

Dawn of the Bunny Suicides, by Andy Riley

Eye of the Tempest, by Nicole Peeler

Bloodfever & Faefever, by Karen Marie Moning

Iron Crowned, by Richelle Mead

Mercy Blade, by Faith Hunter

Hollow Pike (ARC), by James Dawson (thank you Indigo publishers!)

City Of Ashes, by Cassandra Clare

A Discovery of Witches, by Deborah Harkness

Thanks for dropping by - what did you get in your mailbox this week? Share your links in the comments!

~Ailsa

Cross My Heart by Katie Klein

2012-01-19T09:41:00.000-08:00

Cross posted from Incandescent.

Jaden McEntyre lives a life that is about as perfectly organized as you can make it. She has everything planned out from her next fundraiser for the children of Bangladesh to the next ten years of her life as she goes from Harvard to med-school and beyond. Her boyfriend Blake is sweet and popular and sends her good morning text messages every day and even if her contractor father hasn't gotten around to fixing her bathroom sink for the past couple years, she still knows her family loves her. Everything is fine until she's late for class one day and is assigned a partner for a group project: Parker Whalen.

Parker moved to town a few months ago and the rumors about his past are as outrageous as the motorcycle he rides to school every day. Jaden isn't sure if she believes even half of them, but she isn't about to let something as ridiculous as rumors keep her from getting an A on this project. She's extremely frustrated when Parker avoids speaking to her at first, but she eventually wears him down. Then it's only everyone else she has to worry about. Her boyfriend is jealous of, her parents are worried about, and her best friend is mystified by the time Jaden is suddenly spending with Parker. But Jaden is finding that the more time she spends with him, the less he seems like the devil-may-care rebel everyone else has him pinned as. When Jaden's plans for her future suddenly fall apart, Parker is there to help her reassemble the pieces, but what will happen when she discovers the secret he's been hiding for the past six months? Will she ever be able to move past it and trust him again or has their love been shattered just like her plans?

This book seems like the normal girl-falls-for-a-boy-from-the-wrong-side-of-the-tracks story, but don't let that fool you. It's not. Klein's characters are interesting and relatable and she knows how to keep your interest right from the start. Jaden has never had anyone question her plans or her need for control, so when Parker starts pushing buttons she didn't know she had everything changes. The dynamic of Jaden's family is an interesting subplot--she's the youngest of three kids with two older brothers and a soon-to-be sister in law still living at home--and it's amazing how something as simple as a broken bathroom sink takes on grand proportions as it pops up again and again through the story. On top of all this, when you get to the twist ending you'll immediately want to go back and reread the whole book looking for the clues Klein leaves along the way like bread crumbs. The building relationship between Parker and Jaden is well developed with just the right amount of tension as both of them fight the pull for their own reasons. I found myself just as curious about and captivated by Parker as Jaden was and I think it would be fascinating to see pieces of the story from his perspective.

Overall, I'd recommend this to anyone looking for a contemporary YA romance with a twist. And also, I plan on rereading it. Just FYI. :)

Sera's Rating: 10/10

Winner Announcement!

2012-01-19T06:51:00.000-08:00

I put the entries for the Evermore/Hush Hush giveaway in to Random.org, and the winner is:

Buddyt, aka Carol!

Carol picked Evermore, so Hush Hush will be back in a future giveaway. Thank you everyone for entering, and keep your eye on the blog for future giveaways, including when we hit 200 followers (less than 30 to go!), and I'll be doing some things for my birthday in early March, too!

~Ailsa

Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler

2012-01-18T08:04:00.000-08:00

Cross posted from Incandescent.

This book is exactly what it says it is: the story of why Min--short for Minerva--and Ed broke up. Told in a letter written from Min to Ed as she returns a box of keepsakes from their relationship, you hear about their first meeting when Ed shows up uninvited to Min's best friend's sixteenth birthday party and everything that follows. Min and Ed struggle to fit each other into their lives, but Min doesn't belong in Ed's athletic, basketball groupie, beer drinking clique and Ed doesn't really mesh with Min's classic movie loving "artsy" friends. But the more people try to tell them this relationship will never work, the more determined they become to see it through. You know--and since she's writing this after the fact, so does Min--that the relationship is doomed before Ed shows up in the first chapter, but the little vignettes and the moments captures by the trinkets and tokens Min has collected draw you along as you find out why.

Not necessarily in plot, but in style this book is a daring departure from the norm in young adult fiction. Why We Broke Up mixes first and second person with the narrative written to "you" (Ed) and since Min's letter is written in a single sitting on a single day, it ends up being almost stream of consciousness as she pours out every moment and every thought and every secret. I loved the originality and the authenticity of Min's voice, but found myself lost sometimes in descriptions that would carry on for so long I forgot what she was describing. Working to concentrate on following her train of thought pulled me out of an otherwise captivating book. I did, however, love the addition of the artwork by Maria Kalman, renderings of the items Min is returning to Ed. Seeing these items described by Min added something unique to this story.

Overall, I believe Handler and Kalman have created something beautiful here. There's a poetry to Min's meandering narrative and this is one of those books that proves the journey is more important than the destination. Knowing where we're headed doesn't take anything away from this novel.

Sera's Rating: 8/10

Last Giveaway Reminder: Evermore & Hush Hush

2012-01-18T02:20:00.000-08:00

Last minute reminder! If you haven't got your own copy of Becca Fitzpatrick's 'Hush Hush' or Alyson Noel's 'Evermore', our international giveaway for the books is still running:

Click here to enter!

The contest closes at midnight GMT tonight, so leave a comment to enter quickly!

Heart on a Chain by Cindy C. Bennett

2012-01-17T06:35:00.000-08:00

Cross posted from Incandescent.

Kate lived a normal live once, but it was so long ago she barely remembers what that was like. After her father lost his job and her mother miscarried, Kate's life was never the same again. Her father started staying out and drinking. When he did come home, it was only to vent his anger on Kate's mother. It didn't take long for Kate's mother to turn her frustrations on the only person left: Kate. Without any friends or anyone she trusts to turn to, Kate is left to suffer in silence as her mother slowly kills her spirit.

Henry Jamison knew Kate when they were little and he thought she was beautiful, kind, vibrant, and smart. But then his family moves just as he and Kate begin to realize how much they care about each other. Six years later Henry moves back and he can't understand what happened to the little girl he once knew. He'd never forgotten her, but now she runs if he even tries to say hello. The other students either ignore or antagonize her and it doesn't seem like he'll ever be able to break through the walls she's erected around herself. Will Kate be able to trust his intentions or will she fail to recognize the first person to see through her protective barriers and care about the person underneath? What happens when an unthinkable tragedy threatens the delicate balance they've found?

This book is beautiful, heartbreaking, and hopeful. Bennett has created characters who live and breathe on the pages--even some of the minor characters--and she sucks you into a world no one wants to live in yet people somehow survive. The tormenting Kate suffers at school may seem overblown, but having seen it in action during my childhood I can say it's not overdramatized by much. The cruelties of children are equalled by their kindnesses. It's a strange phenomenon. This is also true of the families presented in the book. Henry's family is almost too good to be true: loving, warm, generous, accepting and a perfect foil to the cold, angry home Kate has grown up in. Bennett shows readers both extremes of the spectrum and somehow manages to give the book balance, not letting it get too dark or overly fluffy and light.

Henry doesn't ride in to her rescue as much as give her a place to turn when things get bad. In fact, for most of the book he has no idea what's going on. He has suspicions that something isn't right, but coming from his loving household, it's hard for him to conceive of the abuse Kate is suffering. He is steadfast, protective, and sweet and the growing love between the two teens is a major part of what drew me into the story.

One of Kate's strengths is her ability to forgive and let go even when faced with those I don't know if she should forgive. Some people may interpret this as weak--I've seen a couple of reviews who really railed on her for this--but I think it takes a much stronger character to let go of grudges than hold onto them. By doing this Kate is not only helping herself move past this horrible phase in her life, she's (hopefully) helping the others grow and learn from her example. Just by being who she is, Kate changes the lives of the people around her. She never even realizes she's doing it. I think a lot of people underestimate the quieter kinds of power and strength.

A warning to the squeamish. There are a couple of rather brutal physical abuse sequences, so just be aware of that before picking up the book.

Sera's Rating: 10/10

A Call for Comments!

2012-01-13T10:36:00.000-08:00

Photo found here.

Hello, all! Today on Incandescent I posted about doing what scares you. Poetry has scared me for a long time, but it's an integral part of the new novel I'm working on, so I jumped in with both feet. Surprisingly, I'm not drowning yet! I posted one of the poems (which in my book are the lyrics to a song) and would love some feedback. If you're interested, stop by the post and drop me a comment! I'd really appreciate it!

Thanks, everyone!
Sera

Dream Chaser by Angie Stanton

2012-01-10T09:00:00.000-08:00

Cross posted on Incandescent.

Willow has lead her school's cheerleading team to Nationals and is known as the most death-defying flyer on the squad. She's willing to try anything, but one of her flights almost turns fatal during practice one day. Only a quick save by one of her catchers saved her from breaking her neck. Physically, she's fine, but mentally, she knows she can't ever get back in the air. in fact, cheerleading has lost its draw entirely. Her best friend and team member Jilly is not about to let her walk away, though, and Willow knows she needs an air-tight reason she can't come back to the squad. The school's drama production of Dream Chaser might just be the answer.

Before cheer, Willow was a dancer. An amazing dancer who won competitions at all levels and danced with unmatchable passion, but some scared her away from dancing, just like cheer. This something though was over 6 feet and incredibly hot: her co-star Eli McAvoy. Eli and Willow used to dance together and for years they were best friends until Eli wanted more. Willow ran, but now she needs to face the antagonism between her and her on-time best friend and decide where to go from here.

The main concentration is on the show Dream Chaser which involves the best high school performers in the city, no matter what school they attend. Even though she auditioned for the chorus, the director (who also wrote and choreographed the show) casts her as the lead to replace the girl kicked out after two weeks of rehearsals. She's taking over a position no one except the director wants her to have and her co star is none other than her ex-best friend Eli. Can she ignore the taunts and ostracization and work together with Eli or will Willow let Eli down again?

I grew up dancing. It was the only sport I was ever involved in (and, yes, it is a sport) and I love it. I watch So You Think You Can Dance on TV and still choreograph for the students at my old studio. It's awesome. I was never as good as Willow, but I know how much work it takes and I know what she was facing going into this show. The descriptions of the exhaustion and the pain and the determination were spot-on and I loved the heavy involvement in the arts. The main characters were all interesting and I liked watching how the dynamic between the different groups (show cast, director, principle actors, spurned cheerleaders) kept shifting. One thing that bothered me (and bother I think is too strong of a word) were the mentions of Willow's habit of quitting. It seemed like she was an extremely persistent person and determined to succeed in everything, not a quitter. In fact they really only talk about two things she quit: dance and cheer. She had a valid reason for cheer, but a weak one for dance. Still, I don't see how that classifies her as a quitter. Otherwise, I enjoyed this book from start to finish! It began with a bang (as Willow goes splat on the floor) and kept me very interested all the way through. I especially recommend this to anyone interested in performing arts, but honestly anyone who enjoys contemporary YA books will probably like this one.

Sera's Rating: 10/10

Rock and a Hard Place by Angie Stanton

2012-01-09T19:27:00.000-08:00

Cross posted from Incandescent.

Before I start, I have to say that I have absolutely fallen in love with user reviews on Amazon! I am took a writing break last week (with the minor exception of jotting down ideas that pop into my head so I won't forget them) and so I started browsing Amazon. I've shopped on the site before, but I usually I already knew what I wanted. I've never taken full advantage of the user reviews. I have read twenty-two books in the past ten days (no, I'm not joking, though part of me kind of wishes I was... that much reading might be a sign of some kind of illness) and most of them I would rate at least 4 stars. Even the worst of them would get 3. I bought them based on a few factors, but the deciding point was always the user reviews and so far they have not steered me wrong! Okay, I'm done gushing about the opinions of random strangers. Onto the books!

Libby's entire family was in a horrible car accident. Only Libby and her father walked away, but her father walked away broken and reeling from the loss of his wife and second daughter. Lost in depression, he drops Libby off with her mother's sister, a cranky woman known in town for her temper and her eccentricities. Libby longs for her father to return, but it's been a year and she hasn't even had a letter from him. She has no idea where he is or how to track him down, but even if she did how can she start when she has no phone, no computer, no money, and no friends?

Peter Jamison has lead a life a lot of people dream of, especially since the band he and his brothers formed put out a chart-topping rock album. He writes the songs and he loves performing, but what he really wants is someone who sees who he is behind the rock star, someone who doesn't care about the fame and the fortune. One day when his family's tour bus stops in an out of the way park in Alabama, he meets Libby who amazingly has no idea who he is and has never even heard about his band. Instantly captivated by this refreshingly honest girl, Peter convinces his family to return to this spot between shows so he can get to know her better.

Libby is thrilled to have a friend, someone she can talk to, but Peter's family isn't so happy about this country girl who keeps distracting him from his responsibilities in the band. His older brother makes a choice and Peter loses contact with Libby just when she needs him most. Abandoned and alone, Libby is struggling for her very survival while Peter desperately searches for the girl who has stolen his heart.

I LOVED this book. All of the characters, not just Libby and Peter, were well developed and interesting and the dynamics of this dual narrative drew me in instantly. Peter's family is believable and their interactions well written. Certain sections of Libby's story almost made me cry. I liked Libby's quiet strength and her determination to persevere despite all the obstacles life has thrown in her path and Peter's devotion would have outweighed a lot of faults... but he didn't have any. Peter is actually the paragon of rock stars, exactly the way you hope all your idols are in real life, but his family has a lot to do with that, I think. His parents are both painted as loving and supportive, even if they (like everyone) make mistakes along the way.

Without being overly serious and weighed down by the issues present in this book, Rock and a Hard Place manages to remain uplifting. It's a testament to the power of love, hope, determination, and trust and I highly recommend it to anyone who likes contemporary YA.

Sera's Rating: 10/10

Giveaway Reminder: Evermore & Hush Hush

2012-01-06T00:15:00.000-08:00

Remember to enter our giveaway for a copy of Evermore by Alyson Noel & Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick! All you have to do is leave a comment on the original post.

Click here to enter!

So far there's only one entry - I think that's pretty good odds!

~Ailsa

Review: Hold Me If You Can by Stephanie Rowe

2012-01-05T02:21:00.000-08:00

(Remember to enter the giveaway! Click here.)

Title: Hold Me If You Can

Author: Stephanie Rowe

Publisher: Sourcebooks

Release date: 1/1/12

Source: Net Galley

Notes: part of a series; DNF

Description: The third in a paranormal romance series packed with danger, sensuality and clever twists features Nigel Aquarian, a warrior with an artistic bent, and Natalie Fleming, a chocolatier who has a new lease on life. But her freedom comes with a dangerous gift she doesn't want.

Nigel and his fellow warriors have only just escaped imprisonment when an even worse threat emerges. Natalie is the only woman who can help Nigel–but she's also the one most likely to bring him down.

My thoughts: I’m sorry, but this really isn’t a positive review at all.

I really, really tried to give this book a chance. I made myself keep going, telling myself to see how it went as I got further. About 2/3 of the way in, though, I decided there are enough books out there I am desperate to read, so I called it a day with this.

First of all, it’s part of a series, which I didn’t realise from the description, or from being in Natalie's point of view for the first chapter. I think if I had read the earlier books, I would have understood the ‘bad guys’ more, and the threat of some of the creatures that attack our hero.

I did like the idea initially - Natalie runs a chocolate shop, where she can put a little bit of magic into the chocolate, and use it as a potion to help people. Cool idea. But we don’t see it working much, and I was too distracted by thinking “What on earth just happened here?” And I thought that a lot reading this. For a prime example, the hero is hanging out with his buddies early in the story, and they are attacked by fuzzy poodles, if memory serves. At least every few pages, something like that would happen where I had to sit up and think “Hang on, what?”

And the building of the ‘relationship’ between the two characters just felt so awkward that I couldn’t feel comfortable about them getting together. They keep almost killing each other, then they have to make Natalie feel pleasure so she can do something... it just didn't feel right that they should be getting together.

This book just really didn’t work for me in several ways. Did Not Finish, so no star rating.

Sophie & Carter by Chelsea Fine

2012-01-04T08:20:00.000-08:00

Cross-posted from Incandescent.

Sophie and Carter have lived next door to each other for years, ever since Sophie moved into town in elementary school. They're seniors now and best friends, even if they hide their relationship from the rest of the school. It makes things easier this way, for both of them. Easier to pretend they're normal. Easier to pretend their lives outside of school are normal. But they're not.

Sophie's mom is a prostitute and, in recent years, a drug addict. She disappears for months at a time and leaves Sophie in charge of her three younger siblings. Sophie has to be mother, father, taskmaster, rule maker, bill payer, tutor, and sole support when she should be enjoying high school and preparing for the rest of her life. Carter is physically scarred, but the worst damage is on the inside, the secrets no one but Sophie knows. His father was a brutal monster who abused him and his mother for years. Eventually the mental and physical abuse broke his mother and now her only solace is insanity and alcohol. His father is gone and Carter is the only one left to take care of his poor mother.

This story is as heartbreaking as it is uplifting. It touches on subjects too dark to contemplate and shows how hope, love, trust, and beauty can survive even in hellish circumstances. Chelsea Fine's writing is poetic, but always real and her characters are believable and true. I only had one complaint: it was too short! Sophie and Carter are such beautiful characters and beautiful people that I wanted to see every minute of their days and hear more about their lives--both past and present. Still, it was fabulous to watch them both realize what they've known quietly for years: they are absolutely devoted to and hopelessly in love with each other. If more people persevered through adversity like Sophie and Carter do, the world would be a much better place.

Honestly, I can't recommend this book highly enough. It will captivate you from the minute you start reading (I found it on amazon, read the first chapter, immediately downloaded the Kindle edition, and read it in one sitting) and keep you thinking about it well after you put it down. Despite the strong subject matter, the language and situations don't make it unsuitable for younger readers. However, I would still suggest parental guidance as some of the topics mentioned will probably raise questions you may or may not want to answer.

Sera's Rating:10/10

Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally

2012-01-03T13:56:00.000-08:00

This review is also posted on Incandescent.

Jordan Woods is not your average girl and she wouldn't be even if she wasn't the captain and quarterback of one of the best high-school football teams in the state. She's six-feet tall and just happens to be the daughter of NFL Quarterback Donovan Woods. Jordan has always been one of the guys, but even though this is how she wants it, it does have certain drawbacks. Like the fact that she's a senior and hasn't been kissed yet. The arrival of Ty Green changes everything.

Suddenly Ty is challenging not only her position on the team, but her sanity, her friendships, and her self-control. She's never wanted anyone this bad and never knew a crush could cause so many problems. To top it all off, her football-star father won't take the time to attend her games or even support her love of his sport, her best friend Sam Henry is upset and won't tell her why, and Alabama State (her dream school) is offering her a scholarship that will probably mean she won't play a game her entire college career. Will Jordan be able to regain control of her life or will the changes that started with Ty ruin everything?

Despite not liking sports, I love sports movies. When I heard about this book, I thought it sounded like a perfect balance. The characters were likable and entertaining and the dialogue was realistic; several times the exchanges between the characters made me laugh. I especially liked Jordan's relationship with her father and how that progressed through the course of the book. It was believable and touching. I also fell in love with Sam Henry, Jordan's best friend. He made me wish I knew someone like him. Ty was hot and an emotional disaster area for very understandable reasons, but I never really liked him much. Maybe it was because I always felt as though he was hiding something and we didn't get to know him as well. The one thing that disturbed me a little was the flippant attitude toward cheating. I can see how this is probably a realistic perspective from inside the guy's locker room (in theory, not in actuality--Jordan uses the girls locker room), but it seemed like Jordan's friends on the team were never with the same girl. And all the girls seemed to be cheerleaders. Either that cheerleading team was huge, or those cheerleaders were very busy...

The book really focuses on three things: Jordan and football, Jordan and her dad, and Jordan and Sam Henry. It's possible one of the reasons I didn't like Ty much is because it was pretty obvious from the beginning that he was only there as a catalyst to set all the other events in motion. All of the main characters have decent development through the book and that's really what kept me reading. I loved their devotion to the team and to each other and Jordan's willingness to fight for what she wanted, even if she forgot what that was somewhere in the middle of the book. She's a strong female character in a male dominated story and sport, but I think she held her own well. I did, however, appreciate that she eventually found girl friends who made her have some connection with the other side of herself.

Light, enjoyable, and fun, I would recommend this book to anyone looking for an entertaining, romantic read. Although understanding what a flea-flicker is probably won't hurt. :)

Sera's Rating: 8/10 stars

British Books Challenge

2012-01-01T03:12:00.000-08:00

I'm not really one for doing organised reading challenges - it just becomes one more thing to try and keep up with. But, I do like supporting the 'home grown' talent in this country, and I thought last year's 'British Books Challenge' sounded pretty cool. This year it's being hosted by Kirsty at The Overflowing Library. The idea is to read at least 12 books by British authors over the year. One book a month sounds pretty reasonable, right?

If you're interested in the challenge, you can sign up here: British Books Challenge sign-up

As I read and review books for the challenge, I will add the links to this post.

Books I'm hoping to read for the challenge:

Hollow Pike, by James Dawson - this one sounds really good, a dark YA, released early this year

The Iron Witch, by Karen Mahoney - I have started this, but for some reason I didn't finish. Another great YA fantasy novel.

The Shifting Price of Prey, by Suzanne McLeod - Love this series, can't wait till this comes out in June!

~Ailsa

Giveaway: Hush Hush & Evermore

2011-12-31T02:11:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! Whether you celebrate it or not, I hope you have a lovely new year. I know I'm a few hours early, but to get things off to a good start, I'm giving away a book. It will be winner's choice, of either:

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick (Book 1 in the series)

( Julie's review; Emily's review)

Evermore by Alyson Noel (Book 1 in Immortals series)

How to enter:

1) Follow the blog

2) Leave a comment on this post telling me something you are looking forward to this year.

3) 1 extra entry for each link to the giveaway that you share. Sharing links is not a requirement, but please let me know in the comments where you've linked, ie, twitter, blog post, etc.

The rules:

Contest will run from December 31st - ~~January 14th~~ contest extended! January 18th, closing at Midnight GMT.
Open internationally.
Must be a follower.
Winner chooses one book, the remaining one will return for later contests.
Winner will be announced on the blog, and I will either contact you through your profile email, or wait 1 week for you to reply to the winner's post. You DO NOT have to leave your email in a comment.
Winner will be chosen at random.
Winner announced January 19th.

Let me know if you have any questions that I've missed.

And to get started, the first thing I'm looking forward to this year is my university snow sports club trip next week! I can't wait to go skiing again, it's been too long.

~Ailsa

And we're back! (Contest soon)

2011-12-27T08:37:00.000-08:00

Welcome back! I hope everyone had a happy Christmas time, or enjoyed the break if you don't celebrate it. I have several reviews waiting to go in the new year, but I want to save them just a few more days until everyone is done with celebrations, and I'm back in Edinburgh again, with the books I'll be reviewing!

I'm hoping to run more contests this year. We're slowly getting nearer to 200 followers, and we'll definitely have a giveaway when that happens. It's my 21st birthday in March, and again, I've got a few things I'm planing on doing for that ;) But, to kick things off, I'm giving away a copy of either 'Hush, Hush' by Becca Fitzpatrick, or 'Evermore' by Alyson Noel. It'll be winners choice, open internationally, and I'll do a post for it on New Years Day, so don't forget to come back then and enter!

I'm excited for another year of book blogging, and I really do want to make it more regular for me this year - I'm aiming for 2 reviews (or more!) a week, plus In My Mailbox on Sundays. My IMM posts will start again in January.

~Ailsa

A few new things

2011-12-07T04:43:00.001-08:00

I've been playing around with the site a bit, and I just wanted to point out a couple of our new features.

First up, just under our 'guidelines' box on the right, you can share the blog in a variety of ways, eg Facebook, Stumble, or Twitter, just by clicking. I've also tried to turn on the button where that should show up at the bottom of each post, but I don't think it's working properly yet - hopefully that will be there soon, so if you read a post you like, share it!

You can also subscribe to the blog feed, or sign up to get new posts emailed to you - those are both in the same place, just on the right hand side of the blog again. Google have announced plans to stop using the 'google follower count' tool next year, so if you want to keep up with the blog, consider subscribing!

Let us know what you think, and there will be book reviews coming up very soon!

~Ailsa

Events: The Miami International Book Fair

2011-12-02T11:08:00.001-08:00

Clockwise from top: Colleen Houck, Me, Sarah Dessen, Nancy Holder, Debbie Viguie

I meant to post this a while back, but Thanksgiving, NaNoWriMo, and work got in the way. Well, better late than never, right?

The weekend before Thanksgiving Miami Dade College hosted the Miami Book Fair International. This week long event culminated in a three-day street fair and presentations by dozens of authors from all genres and styles. So much happened it's impossible to fit it all into one post, so I wrote up two: one recap of Saturday, and one of Sunday.

For anyone living in South Florida, attend if you can in 2012. For anyone not in the area, check out your local college and see if they host something similar. It might not be on the same scale as this, but I've learned first hand that any contact with writers is worth the trip. :D

Hope you enjoy, guys!
Sera

Weekly Roundup & mini IMM

2011-11-27T04:00:00.000-08:00

Hi Guys!

So, it's been a silent week on the blog. I'm sorry :( I didn't really get much reading done, or at least, I didn't finish reading any books, so I had no reviews to put up for you. I've got both my term essays for uni due in next week, so I've been frantically trying to get the readings done for them, and writing them, and keeping up with everything else that's going on... It's been a bit of a crazy week for me. I'm hoping to get a review of The Name Of The Star by Maureen Johnson up later today, or tomorrow. Please check the box on the right hand side to see what other fun things are coming up :)

I did buy one ebook this week, which I've actually finished reading. It was Captives of the Night, by Loretta Chase. I read an excerpt for her newest book, but it isn't available as an ebook yet, and I wanted to read something light straight away, not wait for it to be delivered. This one was only £2.75 on kindle, so I thought, why not, and it was actually a really good mystery alongside the romance. This one might get a review soon.

What have you guys been up to this week? What did you get in your mailboxes?

Nanowrimo update time

2011-11-21T07:34:00.000-08:00

So, with about ten days to go, depending on what time it is where you are now, and how long you intend to keep writing on the 30th, how is nanowrimo going for you all?

I'm about five days behind where I should be with my word count. I broke through the 25 thousand word barrier yesterday! That means it's all downhill from here - the number of words I still need to write is smaller than the number I've written. Hurray! But the downside is that that took me 20 days. I now only have ten to go. I also have the problem at the moment that my uni essays are due in just under two weeks, and for the last weekend in November, when I could be finishing essays, or catching up with nano, I'm going to be away with friends until bedtime on Sunday.

I don't want to get sucked in to thinking that Nano is like homework - needing to write 1666 words by midnight, OR ELSE. It should still be fun. And much as I'd like to, I don't want to be prioritising nano over that uni work.

So, at the moment I'm trying to write something every day. Let's say at least 1000 words. If I can make the daily word count, or a little bit more, then that's great, but don't berate yourself too much if you can't make it. Writing should be fun. It's not homework.

How are you doing with your word counts, fellow wrimos?

In My Mailbox 20/11

2011-11-19T16:53:00.000-08:00

Welcome to another week of In My Mailbox! Hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren, IMM is a way to show people the books you got this week.

As usual, please check out the other posts we've shared this week - we love to hear your comments!

This is a slightly sleepy IMM, so please forgive the occasional pauses and confused looks. It was a long day.

The Name Of The Star, by Maureen Johnson

Hard Bitten, by Chloe Neill

Thanks to Gollancz for:

Drink Deep, by Chloe Neill,

Wolfsbane and Mistletoe, edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L. P. Kelner

Shakespeare's Landlord, by Charlaine Harris

What did you get in your mailbox this week?

~Ailsa

Series review: The Caldwell Sisters, by Lucienne Rivers

2011-11-19T10:17:00.000-08:00

Title: Hold Me (book 1), Thrill Me (book 2), Entice Me (book 3)

Author: Lucianne Rivers

Release date: August/September/October 2011, each

Publisher: Entangled Publishing

Source: e-book from publisher for review

Description: Meet the Caldwell Sisters.

Reeling from their mother's untimely death, Jane, Allison and Margo Caldwell each go searching for answers... and for their missing father. Treachery, traps and temptation abound in this thrilling contemporary romance trilogy.

My Thoughts: As each of these books is a short novella (around 80-90 pages each), and I don't have overly much to say, I thought I would review the series as a whole in one post. Please let me know if you like this style of review.

At the beginning of Hold Me, Lucianne Rivers gives us the reason for the series: the three sisters are meeting their attorney to hear the reading of their mother's will, and it's revealed that the father they thought was dead is alive somewhere. The recently deceased Candace has left a quarter of the estate to him, and a quarter to each daughter, with their family home going to whoever finds their father first. The sisters hire a private investigator who finds two men who could possibly be Zach Caldwell, and Hold Me follows Jane as she sets off for Guatemala to track down one of them.

The first thing that struck me as we got in to the story was how ridiculously naive Jane is about travelling. I like to travel, I usually travel alone, and as a young solo traveler I think I can relate to some of Jane's feelings and experiences on her trip. But I have to be honest and say that when I was travelling after high school, 18 years old, I had more travel-smarts than Jane does. By a long way. Firstly, she gets off a plane and makes her way to the bus station where she has no idea when the next bus is, or how often they go. She seems to have assumed that she won't have to wait, because she's not expecting to be in town for the night. I could forgive the bus timetable part if it was a last minute trip, but this is two weeks after the reading of the will. Plenty of time for her to plan how to get to her destination. Surely she could have worked out that she would need a room for the night. Enter 'Harrison', who does sound very tasty, and luckily for Jane really is a decent guy coming to her rescue, because she needed a break. The attraction between them is clear almost straight away, but he holds back, worried he's taking advantage of her, and for other reasons. When they both finally do decide to investigate what's between them, I thought it was very sweet. It's been a while for both of them since previous lovers, and they are both very concerned about each other all the time. I liked the way that part of the story turned out. However, Jane's naiveté is shown again and again in the story, and it really annoyed me. She's supposed to be a news reader, she's the one in the family who lives in the city - she should be a lot more sensible than she is, and I couldn't believe some of the situations she walked in to.

In Thrill Me, it's Margo's turn, and she goes to the Virgin Islands, where she quickly meets Adrian. His cousin, laid up in hospital, gets him to take over delivery duties to some of the local islands, and luckily, this is the boat Margo has been recommended to take to see if her father is living on one of those islands.

I think this is my favourite of the three stories. Margo is a police detective, used to being 'one of the guys' at work, and described later by her sister as 'a serial dater'. Adrian makes his living from the tourists with his own boat, and is seriously hot to boot, but has been with his newly-ex girlfriend since they met in college. Things start well on the boat, with their flirting moving quickly to other things, but then it turns out that Adrian's cousin hasn't just been making grocery deliveries with his boat, and Margo and Adrian are in very hot water, very quickly. I liked the speed of this one, and the characters themselves.

Finally, in Entice Me, Allison goes to Afghanistan with private investigator and retired navy SEAL Robert Rivera. Robert knows how dangerous the area they're going to is, and won't let Allison go by herself. Of course, being in a room together for propriety's sake, they end up with more than just the business partnership. I had a few issues with the realism of this story, but I do like how the romance comes out.

I don't really like stories where characters are madly in love after knowing each other for just a couple of days, but I guess it's one of the things that often comes with a novella. Ignoring that, the Caldwell Sisters trilogy is a sweet romantic series that was a nice light read. The action was enough to keep me reading and the pacing is good.

I'll give this series 7 stars.

Coming Soon! Transendent: Tales of the Paranormal

2011-11-17T10:24:00.001-08:00

Some friends of mine will be included in an upcoming YA anthology called Transcendent: Tales of the Paranormal. Their cover was just released, and WOW! What a cover it is! As soon as I have more information, I'll come back and share it, but I've read the stories inside and I can't wait to see them in print! So, without further ado, may I proudly present Transcendent:

River Marked, by Patricia Briggs

2011-11-15T08:16:00.000-08:00

Title: River Marked

Author: Patricia Briggs

Publisher: Orbit (UK)/ Ace (US)

Release Date: Feb '11

Source: library

Notes: book 6 in the 'Mercy Thompson' series - review may contain spoilers for earlier books.

Description: Car mechanic Mercy Thompson has always known she was different, and not just because she can make a VW engine sit up and beg. Marcy is a coyote shapechanger, a talent she inherited from her long-gone father. And she's never known any others of her kind - until now.

As Mercy takes in this new situation, an evil is stirring in the depths of the Columbia River. Something deadly is coming, facts are thin on the ground, and Mercy feels ill at ease. However, her father's people may know more. To have any hope of surviving, Mercy and her mate, the alpha werewolf Adam, will need all the resources the shifters can offer. Or death will be the least of their worries.

My thoughts: This is a series that I've enjoyed a lot so far, and I've been looking forward to reading this book. It's a little bit different from some of the others in that there's a lot of Mercy & Adam on their own, and not so much of the pack, or other groups of people that we've come to know, like the local vampires or fae. I know some people were a bit disappointed by this, but having finished the book now, I'm actually ok with what we do get. The very start of the book sees Mercy arriving at Stefan's house to find out why he hasn't been returning her calls, and to drag him to 'Bad Movie Night'. Stefan is having a hard time from what Marsilia did to him in the previous books, and we only see a little bit of him in this book, but I think it's something that needs a little while to develop - Stefan needs time for things to change, and these books often only last the space of a couple of weeks, so although there isn't much development of 'what's-up-with-Stefan' in this book, I think that's much more realistic.

The movie night gave me just enough of my Kyle & Warren fix to get by - I absolutely love the interactions between those guys, Mercy, and the pack.

Avoiding major spoilers, we get to see some of Jessie's scheming (I love that kid!) before Mercy and Adam head off on their own for the rest of the book, bar a couple of chapters at the end and the occasional phone call. I really liked getting so much of Mercy & Adam together. One of my favourite quote from the book is between them:

"Argued with your back fence neighbour," said Adam, his voice very gentle.

"And watched him when he wasn't looking," I agreed. "Because every once in a while, especially after a full moon hunt, he'd forget that I could see in the dark, and he'd run around naked in the backyard."

He laughed silently. "I never forgot you could see in the dark," he admitted.

This book sees a lot more about the native american side of Mercy's heritage. I felt like the plot was a little bit slow sometimes, but it was very interesting. People keep going missing near the Columbia River, and Uncle Mike wants Mercy & Adam to have a little look, and find out more. I thought it was an interesting 'bad guy', but not as good as ones from previous books.

My overall feeling for this book is that it was really good for showing us more of Mercy and Adam learning to live together as a mated couple, and the challenges that involved. They still have a lot that they need to accept about each other's personalities, and this story gives them a chance to do that to some extent. I wasn't as keen on the mystery side of the plot, but it was still a very good book overall. For the next book, I hope there is more time with the pack, and maybe how it's influencing them to have Mercy there too.

I think I'll give this book 8 stars over all - a bit slow sometimes, but I really liked it!

~Ailsa

GLOW by Amy Kathleen Ryan

2011-11-12T18:42:00.000-08:00

I was lucky enough to receive a copy of this book from the publisher. Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to review it even though my review is a 2 months overdue and this book was released back in September. Oh well, I will still review it.

I've noticed a new trend of young adult novels heading to the regions of space and space travel because the earth has long since died. At first I wasn't too excited about it but after reading a few (2 out of 3 of them I've read, I've liked) and Glow so far is in that "like" category.

Here is the summary from goodreads.com:

What if you were bound for a new world, about to pledge your life to someone you'd been promised to since birth, and one unexpected violent attack made survival—not love—the issue?

Out in the murky nebula lurks an unseen enemy: the New Horizon. On its way to populate a distant planet in the wake of Earth's collapse, the ship's crew has been unable to conceive a generation to continue its mission. They need young girls desperately, or their zealous leader's efforts will fail. Onboard their sister ship, the Empyrean, the unsuspecting families don't know an attack is being mounted that could claim the most important among them...

Fifteen-year-old Waverly is part of the first generation to be successfully conceived in deep space; she was born on the Empyrean, and the large farming vessel is all she knows. Her concerns are those of any teenager—until Kieran Alden proposes to her. The handsome captain-to-be has everything Waverly could ever want in a husband, and with the pressure to start having children, everyone is sure he's the best choice. Except for Waverly, who wants more from life than marriage—and is secretly intrigued by the shy, darkly brilliant Seth.

But when the Empyrean faces sudden attack by their assumed allies, they quickly find out that the enemies aren't all from the outside.

First off, the story line is intriguing. I couldn't stop thinking about it as I read the book. What was going to happen next? How were these characters going to survive all this that they were going through? Basically, as I read it, it is a very much so thrown-into-the-action-coming-of-age-story. The characters: Kieran, Waverly and Seth all have so much that they must do to overcome the obstacles that are thrown at them from the very beginning. From Kieran proposing to Waverly, to Waverly not knowing what she really wants from life aboard the Empryean, to the attack that changes all of their lives for good. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The characters are enjoyable to read. I didn't like so much to read from Kieran's point of view when it came along, I much more enjoyed Waverly's. She is such a down to earth but strong personality young woman that certain parts of her person were relatable. It's also much easier to be able to put yourself in a girl's shoes when reading when you are a girl.

Kieran and Seth were, in my opinion, similar as in they both really wanted to help Waverly, but both opposite ends of the spectrum. Kieran, the captain to be of the Empryean and Seth, the kid who no one really understands. The struggle for power and the resistance to each other throughout the ordeal is really what makes this "love triangle" with Waverly more interesting. I like how the author dealt with Seth as the get things done in order to survive style, even if it means picking on the weak ones to make a point and how Kieran comes to when he is put in charge and even is able to lift that small spark of hope to one that is large and forthcoming.

What was interesting in this book is that it takes place on two identical ships. The Empryean and the New Horizon. Both ships heading to a New Earth because our current earth and its resources were depleted and humanity needed to survive. But the struggle doesn't lie within getting to the new planet. It's within its people and the ranks and sharing survival skills. Survival of the fittest really gets a new meaning in Glow.

I thoroughly enjoyed the story. Each turn took you in a different direction of trust. Who could you trust? When? It's a good story of survival and hope that will keep you guessing to the very end. Even then, you still don't know who to turn to anymore.

In My Mailbox

2011-11-12T15:19:00.000-08:00

Welcome to this week's In My Mailbox! IMM is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.

No vlog again this week, because although I got a couple of ebooks to review, I don't have any pretty paper copies to hold up. I'm expecting a couple of books though, so, fingers crossed, next week will be the interesting week!

I can only apologise again for not posting more reviews. I've just had a really busy week with trying to keep up with my uni work and nanowrimo - being ill for a couple of days this week didn't help either.

OK! On to the books:

The Christmas Cookie Chronicles: Cassia, by Lori Wilde

This one is a romance, I think, set in a small town near Christmas time. Cassie's old flame moves back, but he broke her heart once, so who knows what might happen now he's back? I'm looking forward to reading something sweet. This one comes out on November 15th.

Vamped Up, by Kristin Miller

I'm a little confused of what this one is about, because the blurb didn't really give much information, but it's described as 'paranormal' and there are vampires, so fingers crossed I'll like it! This one is out on the 6th of December.

Thanks to Avon Impulse for both of those!

If you missed it, Jess posted a review of 'Glow' yesterday, and Sera is hosting a givaway of 'Saints Astray', by Jacqueline Carey, on her blog - you can scroll down the main page for both of those.

What did you get in your mailbox this week? I love seeing them, leave your links in the comments!

~Ailsa

Giveaway: One SIGNED Copy of Saints Astray!

2011-11-10T07:50:00.000-08:00

Hello, everyone!

Through a stroke of blind luck, I am currently hosting a giveaway on my blog for one SIGNED copy of Jacqueline Carey's newest book Saints Astray. Jacqueline Carey is the New York Times bestselling author of the Kushiel Saga as well as the Sundering duology. She is phenomenal!

In addition to the book giveaway, I'm also hosting a contest inspired by Thanksgiving and NaNoWriMo. I'm asking everyone to submit a paragraph telling me what they're thankful for and why. The ones that are the most inspiring, funniest, and all-around awesomest will be posted on my blog on Thanksgiving morning.

Anyone who wants to enter, just fill out the form on my blog. And spread the word if you know anyone who might be interested!

Jacqueline Carey Giveaway;
http://www.sera-phyn.com/2011/11/giveaway-jacqueline-careys-saints.html

Thanks, everyone! And good luck!
Sera
<a href="http://www.sera-phyn.com">sera-phyn.com</a>

In My Mailbox

2011-11-06T01:58:00.000-07:00

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren, and is a way to share which books you got this week.

I'm not doing a vlog this week, because I only got one book:

Smokeless Fire, by Samantha Young. I won this from Karen at The Slowest Bookworm. Thanks Karen!

In case you didn't see them yet, I posted a review yesterday of Grave Dance, by Kalayna Price, which I loved, and talked in another post about my Nanowrimo progress so far. Scroll down the main page to find them.

What books did you get this week?

Nanowrimo update the first

2011-11-05T12:01:00.000-07:00

So, we're 5 days in to Nano, and I thought I'd best do an update before my week gets busy again.

I've actually found things to be going well so far, word count wise. There was a little blip on Thursday where I was busy doing other things and sort of forgot to write things until it was past midnight, but I got a little bit caught up on Friday, and then did the rest of my catching up today. I'm currently about 200 words ahead of target, which gives me that tiny bit of wiggle room. I have to say, I think this is the best start I've ever had.

I'm aiming to reach the daily amount of words (1667) each day, and not worrying so much about the overall targets, which is helping me stay motivated when I do get a little bit behind. Rather than having a big scary number of words that I have to do to catch up, I still only have that safe, manageable number. I've got the main introductions out of the way now, and although it's very choppy, I think things are going to get better now. I've reached the point where I can start writing about what I actually wanted to - the 'real' start of the story. Characters have met, first sparks have been felt, and now I can start pushing people together in situations they don't want to be in, and making bad people do suitably bad things. *rubs hands together evilly*

If you're falling behind a bit - don't worry! This is only day five! There is still the rest of the month to catch up! And it's the weekend - this is the traditional catch up time. If there's a local group near you, it can be quite encouraging to sit and write with other people who're taking on the same challenge - I find it's good motivation to keep reaching the daily goal.

How are things going? Do you have any handy tips or tricks for making your word count, catching up, or just staying motivated?

~Ailsa

Grave Dance, by Kalayna Price

2011-11-05T05:30:00.000-07:00

Title: Grave Dance

Author: Kalayna Price

Publisher: Roc

Release date: July 2011

Source: Bought at Transreal Fiction, Edinburgh (local independent book shop)

Notes: Book 2 in the Alex Craft series

Description from back cover: Whoever said dead men tell no tales obviously never met Alex Craft...

After a month spent recovering from a vicious fight with a sorcerer, grave witch Alex Craft is ready to get back to solving murders by raising the dead. With her love life in turmoil, thanks to the disappearance of Fae Investigation Bureau agent Falin Andrews and a shocking "L"-word confession from Death himself, Alex is eager for the distraction of work. But her new case turns out to be a deadly challenge.

The police hire Alex to consult on a particularly strange investigation in the nature preserve south of Nekros City. The strange part: There are no corpses - only fragments of them. A serial killer is potentially on the loose, and Alex has no way to raise a shade without a body, so she'll have to rely on the magic of others to find leads. But as she begins investigating, a creature born of the darkest magic comes after her. Someone very powerful wants to make sure the only thing she finds is a dead end - her own.

My thoughts: I loved the first book in the series, and the second book kept up the high standards.

I really enjoyed getting to learn more about the characters involved, and to watch how Alex changes as she learns more about her power (and where it might have come from). Alex's father is still a bit of a mystery to her after the revelation at the end of book one, and although he only gets a little page time himself in this book, he's there long enough to give Alex just a little more information about himself, and of course raise a whole lot of new questions for her about him. I have a feeling that

Overall, I do think I prefer to 1st book, Grave Witch. There is a little too much build up to pain in this book - one of the situations being built up in this book can not end well for the people involved, and I don't want to see the characters get hurt as it unfolds. I'm looking forward to book 3, but I am a little apprehensive about how much emotional pain might be in store for Alex.

I love the mystery element in this story - they keep finding left feet everywhere, and no bodies or right feet. I won't be able to think of someone dancing 'like they have two left feet' without thinking of this book any more!

I loved Grave Dance - I'll give it 8 stars. Recommended for fans of stories involving fae, mystery solving, and sexy supernatural men ;)

~Ailsa

Nanowrimo time!

2011-11-01T15:31:00.000-07:00

I'm sure most of you have heard of NaNoWriMo, but if not, it's short for National Novel Writing Month, and you can find out more about it here: website.

I'm participating for the 4th or 5th time this year (I can't actually remember when I started), but I'm hoping that this year will be the one where I succeed!

The big reason why I haven't made it to 50k in the past is that I get somewhere where I realise that I have to think about the plot more before I can carry on. And some plot things for me take a while to cook in my head. This year, I'm trying to do two things differently.

First, I've tried plan more before I start - more of the background information that won't necessarily make it on to the page, but nevertheless is important to know about the situations in the world of this story. (Of course, then I had an idea on Saturday about the antagonists that actually fits much better than what I'd originally been thinking, so I've lost a lot of my planning and story arc, but I'm sure I can get it back!)

Secondly, I'm going to try and be a bit more relaxed about putting things in that don't seem strictly necessary - I'm going to try and be flexible about when things happen, and random things popping up. The big one I can think of is flashbacks - a lot of important things for my main characters have happened just before the story starts. If I need to reach my word count one day, I'm thinking of adding in a flashback to certain key points in those events.

Are any of you doing Nano this year? What are your strategies, if you have any? Would you be interested in talking about our progress here on the blog as the month goes on?

If anyone wants to be 'buddies' on the nano site, my username is 'dragon-girl' - a leftover from my 16 year old self thinking it was an excellent and original pseudonym on the internet.

~Ailsa

In My Mailbox

2011-10-29T16:54:00.000-07:00

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.

First up, I'm really sorry about the video quality this week! I used the webcam on my computer, and for most of the video it doesn't match up with the sound. Sorry guys!

Secondly, did you see the series of 5 reviews Sera posted this week? Scroll down our main page to check them out - they are some great YA books.

What did you get this week? Let me know in the comments!

~Ailsa

The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen

2011-10-28T12:00:00.000-07:00

“Life can be long or short, it all depends on how you choose to live it. it's like forever, always changing. for any of us our forever could end in an hour, or a hundred years from now. you can never know for sure, so you'd better make every second count. what you have to decide is how you want your life to be. if your forever was ending tomorrow, is this how you'd want to have spent it?”

Losing someone you love is hard enough without being there to watch them disappear before your eyes. Hard or not, this is exactly what happens to Macy Queen when her father dies of a heart attack as she watches helplessly. Macy’s older sister grieves by bawling her eyes out for days. Macy’s mother avoids her pain by working nearly twenty-four hours a day. Macy copes by falling for the guy who has all the answers, who has somehow managed to become perfect. For over a year she copies her boyfriend Jason’s every move and goal becoming a straight A student, active in extracurricular activities, and a model daughter, but then Jason leaves for the summer to go to Brain Camp. Suddenly, Macy is left to her own devices and filling in for Jason at the library where the other employees (both female versions of Jason) seem to go out of their way to make her miserable. Everything seems to be going as well as can be expected until an email from Jason blows her world to pieces: I think it’s best for us to take a break from our relationship, and each other, until I return at the end of the summer. It will give us both time to think, so that in August we’ll know better whether we want the same things or if it’s best to sever our ties and make this separation permanent. After reading this email a spur of the moment decision and a twist of fate find Macy signing on to join the Wish catering crew, an unlikely group that just happens to include the sawoon-worthy Wes. Macy eventually discovers that Wes is also on a break from his girlfriend and the two develop a strong friendship, bonding over their non-relationship statuses and a seemingly never-ending game of Truth (the only rule, you have to tell the truth). When the end of summer starts looming closer every day, questions start to race around Macy’s head. Should she get back together with Jason? What will happen to her friendship with Wes? Why does it feel like she’s finally alive for the first time in years?

The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen is brilliant. I’ve only ever read one of her other books before (Lock and Key, also highly recommended), but I loved that one too. Sarah has a way of dealing with powerful emotions issues and family crises without making them depressing or overly melodramatic. Her characters are real and relatable and her writing is beautiful. Honestly, authors like Sarah make me wish I was still a “young adult” so that I could have discovered her at a younger age. Her stories make you think about a variety of topics but always seem to leave you with a sense of hope. I loved the subplots in this book, especially; they came together so beautifully by the end. This book will make you take a long look at death, grief, family, love, friendship, truth, flaws, luck, life, choice, infomercials, junkyard art, prison records, and how sometimes finding perfection means accepting that you’ll never have perfection.

Sera’s Rating: 10/10 stars

Pure Red by Danielle Joseph

2011-10-27T12:00:00.000-07:00

“I,Cassia Bernard, do solemnly swear to find pure red—my passion—this summer.Dad's passion is art. When he's painting, no one can reach him, not even me. Mymom's passion was the ocean. She said the ocean allows you to see whatever youwant to see. That was one of the last things she ever said to me...”

Especiallyfor someone who usually feels adrift, meeting someone with a passion—a truepurpose for their life—can be unsettling. Living with someone like that isdownright depressing if, like Cassia Bernard, you can’t seem to find your ownguiding force. Remembering how she used to like playing pickup games ofbasketball, Cassia joins the summer league in hopes of discovering a love forthe game. Not too far into the season, though, she suffers a bad sprain and isforced to sit it out while she recovers. During her recovery, she decides totake a ceramics class and finds something else that may call to her. While allthis is happening, she’s dealing with a best friend in the gushing, obsessivenew-relationship phase, her perpetually clueless father who gets so wrapped upin his art he forgets to come to her games, and Graham—a new boy who worshipsCassia’s father, the famous artist, but doesn’t seem to see Cassia for herself.Will her father ever come out of his own mind long enough to really connectwith her? Will Graham ever be able to see past her father long enough to askher out? Will she ever find her calling?

Like Indigo Blues, Pure Red is more about the characters than the action. Again, I enjoyedDanielle Joseph’s prose and think she has an amazing talent for phrasing. Iespecially enjoyed the constant use of color and the way Cassia interpretedeverything by color—including the opposing teams of the summer league. Thecharacters were interesting and well written and although I would have enjoyedmore doing, that’s not always necessary. I think the main reason this bookcouldn’t get to the four-star mark for me is Cassia’s passion. She statesherself that finding her passion will be her goal. Honestly, the buildup was soheavy through the whole book that I really wanted an epiphany moment. I wantedeverything to come together like puzzle pieces magically flying into place asshe realized, “Oh, goodness! How could I have been so blind!” I didn’t getthat. In fact, less than a week after reading it I had to go back to the bookto make sure she actually had found her passion at all. I remembered the thingsshe had been interested in, but the realization had been so quiet and subtlethat I didn’t feel as though it meant as much to her as it should have. I likedGraham who turned out to be even more interesting at the end of the book than Ithought he’d be, but her father annoyed me. That, however, was probably onlybecause it would have driven me crazy to have my only parent be as disconnectedand scatterbrained as he was. There were a couple of side characters that Ifelt went nowhere, but the ones that stuck through to the end made for a veryinteresting bunch. I recommend the book especially to anyone who likes art orcolor. It’s also always interesting to read something set in my area of theworld (the story takes place in Miami). Overall, a good read, but I expectedmore from it.

Sera’sRating: 5/5

Indigo Blues by Danielle Joseph

2011-10-26T12:00:00.000-07:00

“When I found out that ‘Indigo Blues’ hit number one on the Billboard charts this morning, I ran to the bathroom and threw up. Then the toilet lid smacked down on my nose. Now, at the insistence of my mom, I’m zoning with an ice pack on my face.”

Think about the worst rumor anyone has ever spread about you and then imagine that someone turned that rumor into a song and it became a hit single overnight. This is the stuff nightmares are made of. This is Indigo’s life.

Told from alternating points of view, Indigo Blues shows what happens to both the songwriter and the muse after a breakup inspires a hit single. Adam Spade’s band Blank Stare is the newest craze and all Adam can think about is Indigo. She won’t return his calls or texts, but she never leaves his thoughts. For Indigo, this seems like the peak in her sudden rise to infamy and even though Adam has ruined her life he still won’t stop calling her.

It’s hard to give a better description because, honestly, not much happens. The story centers around Indigo and Adam’s relationship as Adam struggles with newfound fame and attempts to write a song that will live up to the standards ‘Indigo Blues’ has set and Indigo tries and fails to stay out of the limelight. Indigo finally gives in to one of the numerous requests for an interview and agrees to go on TV with Adam to put to rest all of the rumors surrounding the song.

To be honest, I found Indigo annoying. She whines and complains but doesn’t actually do much. And plus, the thing she’s complaining about is something most girls are searching for everyday: a guy who is completely in love with them. She broke up with Adam after they’d been dating a few months not because he was mean, a cheat, or a liar but because he was too devoted. Really? Give me a guy like that any day. I liked Adam better, but could see in his tendency to clinginess an insecurity that would ruin all of his relationships. Still, I thought he grew as a character more than Indigo through the book. I probably could have dealt with all this if there had been more of a conclusion to the story. Did Adam and Indigo find closure or a way back to each other? You could argue it either way.

The prose itself read well and there were some very pretty phrasing, but overall, I liked Shrinking Violet a lot more.

Sera’s Rating: 4/10 stars

Shrinking Violet by Danielle Joseph

2011-10-25T12:00:00.000-07:00

“Might as well admit it—I’m shy. Not the kind where you blush when someone compliments you, but the kind that results in feelings of nausea when meeting new people. When I was little, I thought I was Shy Adams. People would ask my name, and my mother would immediately answer for me, “She’s shy.” She even did it three weeks ago when we met up with some of the radio people at a restaurant.”

Feeling uncomfortable in front of strangers is a feeling I know well, but not even I am paralyzed at the thought of speaking out loud. Teresa (who most people call Tere) Adams’ is. She has one friend but might as well be invisible to the rest of the school. But her silence hides a voice stronger than anyone would suspect and a dream of one day becoming a radio DJ and sharing her love of music with the world. Or at least South Florida. It’s a dream that suddenly looks closer to reality than ever before when one of the DJs at her step-father’s radio station quits. After a fight with her extremely confident, appearance-obsessed mother, Tere surprises even herself by voicing this dream aloud and asking Rob for a chance to host the now vacant show. She starts out helping at the station, interning and observing the afternoon DJ, but eventually she gets a lucky break and is allowed to co-host the evening show. On air, Tere becomes Sweet T, the confident girl with the sexy voice who couldn’t possibly be shy, silent Tere Adams and she makes sure it stays this way by swearing everyone at the station to silence on her identity. Which is why everything at school continues mostly as normal. The one exception is Gavin, Tere’s new crush who just happens to be one of her partners on a project that combines two of her worst nightmares: working in a group and a presentation in front of the class. A long presentation. Gavin is astonishingly understanding, heartbreakingly cute, and a music buff so falling for him is not a shock, but how easy Tere finds it to talk to him is. Entire sentences are uttered in his presence, even after Tere finds out that Gavin listens to her radio show. It’s only when the afternoon DJ comes up with the brilliant idea of auctioning off Sweet T as a prom date to the winner of a songwriting contest that things begin to unravel. Can Tere survive the revelation of her identity? Will she be paralyzed on stage in front of her entire school when she meets the contest winner in person? What if the guy hates her? What if he doesn’t? Should she tell Gavin the truth?

Shrinking Violet was adorable in so many ways. I rooted for Tere every step of the way and the way she talked about the bands she loved made me wish they actually existed so I could look them up. You don’t have to know anything about music to appreciate this story, though. Tere’s struggle to overcome her own shortcomings can translate into anyone’s life. The rest of the characters too—love ‘em or hate ‘em—are unique and well written. Her mother, for example, makes me extraordinarily grateful that my mother is nothing like Tere’s. Their relationship if fraught with difficulties and arguments, mostly from the fact that they exist on completely separate wavelengths. Like Tere herself, though, their relationship grows and changes from beginning to end.

Well written, engaging, and littered with random bursts of incredibly poetic prose, I really enjoyed Shrinking Violet and highly recommend it.

Sera’s Rating: 10/10 stars

Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

2011-10-24T11:32:00.000-07:00

“When someone you love dies, people ask you how you're doing, but they don't really want to know. They seek affirmation that you're okay, that you appreciate their concern, that life goes on and so can they. Secretly they wonder when the statute of limitations on asking expires (its three months, by the way. Written or unwritten, that's about all the time it takes for people to forget the one thing that you never will).”

During the span of the average life, most people will fall in love and everyone will experience loss. Very few people will find love and then lose it almost instantly before the age of sixteen. This, however, is exactly what happens to Anna just after her life-long unrequited crush on her best friend Frankie’s brother Matt suddenly becomes requited. They share one glorious month of stolen kisses, secret glances, and midnight rendezvous and then on the way back from an ice cream run, Matt falls victim to an unknown congenital heart defect. Both Anna and Frankie’s families are devastated by the loss, but since they hadn’t yet revealed their no one knows how hard his death hit Anna. As Frankie’s parents retreat into silence, Anna becomes Frankie’s rock, her comfort, and her caregiver. She makes sure she eats, sleeps, and even tries to protect her from the trouble Frankie seems determined to get into. It isn’t until a little over a year after his death that this strange status quo is finally upset when Frankie’s parents decide to resume their family’s yearly vacation to Zanzibar Bay in California. Frankie unilaterally decides that they will conquer twenty boys in twenty days and that by the end of the trip Anna will have divested herself of the albatross hanging around her neck—her virginity. Anna goes along with this plan in theory, still holding onto the secret of her relationship with Matt and feeling guiltier about that secret every day. Theory clashes with reality when she meets Sam and starts feeling for the first time since Matt’s death. Does this mean she’s forgetting Matt? “What is the statute of limitations on feeling guilty for cheating on a ghost?” she asks herself.

Less about grief and more about coming back to life, Twenty Boy Summer catalogs Anna’s return to life. It covers friendship, trust, truth, death, grief, secrets, forgiveness, family, swimsuits, sunburns, sneaking out, virginity, and the fact that no matter how hard you try you can’t make someone else okay—they have to do that for themselves. Sarah Ockler tackles these questions through Anna’s eyes and you see all of her pain, her guilt, the loyalty she feels toward both Frankie and Matt, the pull of her new feelings for Sam, and the overwhelming pressure all this places on her shoulders. Ockler’s lyrical and at times profound prose guides you through the twenty days Anna and Frankie spend at Zanzibar Bay. Highly quotable, pieces of Twenty Boy Summer can be pulled out of context and applied to so many lives and so many situations. I was highly impressed by the quality of the writing and the beauty of some of Ockler’s phrasing. I felt as though she also did a good job showing how people react differently to loss, how differently people grieve. The only thing I wasn’t a huge fan of was the ending—this, however, is probably a highly subjective point and I can easily see how many people would disagree with me. Overall, Twenty Boy Summer is more than worth the read and Sarah Ockler is an author to keep on your radar for the years to come. I have a feeling her talent with words is only going to get stronger.

Sera's Rating: 8/10 stars

In My Mailbox

2011-10-23T03:03:00.000-07:00

It's Sunday morning, so of course it's time for In My Mailbox! IMM is a meme started by Kristi at the Story Siren, and is a way of sharing which books you received this week.

What did you get this week?

~Ailsa

Hello, Bibliophiles!

2011-10-21T08:15:00.000-07:00

Years ago in a wonderful internet forum, a girl named Sera met a girl named Emily. They became friends, joined by a few common obsessions, and eventually Emily invited Sera to join a blog she'd started called The Book Bundle.

"Sure!" Sera said. But then life got in the way, as life often does, and Sera never actually posted on Em's blog. (Yes, Sera is me. No, I don't know why I started this in the third person... O.o?)

Anywho, it is long overdue, but I am finally, officially joining The Book Bundle team! My entries will be cross posted on my personal blog Incandescent which covers a range of topics revolving around the literary world and little bits of randomness that I throw in just for the entertainment value.

Next week I will be posting my first book reviews, one a day for five days, but for now here's a bit of current news from the young adult fiction world:

Awards: Is It Better To Win Or Be Falsely Nominated?

It's already all over the internet, but more publicity is not a bad thing, especially in this case.

Visit the official site here.

Lauren Myracle was recently honored by the National Book Awards for her novel Shine, a story about a young sleuth who investigates a hate crime. Allowed to bask in the glory for only a few scant days, she was soon told that the announcement had been a mistake. The book they'd actually meant to nominate was Chime by Fanny Billingsley. Blamed on some sort of internal error (rumor has pinned it on either phone static or conspiracy), it still didn't stop the foundation from asking the unbelievable: “I was asked to withdraw by the National Book Foundation to preserve the integrity of the award and the judges’ work,” she explained to the NY Times.

Um... Excuse me?

Talk about adding insult to injury! Is her book really so far below your standards that you can't even leave her as a nominee, National Book Award judges? Yes, I'm talking to you. Do you not realize that this whole mess probably would have blown over and been forgotten if you had simply left Shine as a nominee?

Now, I have not read Shine (in fact, I honestly didn't even know it existed before this), but I've added it to my to be read pile. In fact, I think not winning the award has done Shine more good than winning ever could have done. Not only will the book's readership grow, but the National Book Awards has agreed to donate $5,000 (five times as much as she would have received as a winner) to the Matthew Sheppard Foundation, a not-for-profit aimed at "encouraging respect for human dignity and difference by raising awareness, opening dialogues, and promoting positive change."

The recap? Lauren Myracle walks away from this fiasco with dignity, the respect of the literary world and the media, and $5,000 for a charity that obviously means a lot to her. The National Book Awards judges look like total jackasses, have spent five times the amount they usually do for this single prize, and ruined the "integrity" of their precious award.

Lauren 1 - National Book Award Jerks 0

Want to read more? Here are some blogs and news articles I've found about Shine's withdrawal:
Lauren Myracle tells it like it is on Huffington Post
Libba Bray (Pardon Libba's French ;) )
Julianna Baggott
TIME Entertainment
The Guardian
LA Times
NY Times

Want to donate to the Matthew Sheppard Foundation? Click here.

In My Mailbox

2011-10-16T04:25:00.000-07:00

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.

I only got two books this week, so no video. I've been doing a lot of reading for classes, and haven't been reading so much in the evenings, which is when I normally get caught up in books.

"River Marked" by Patricia Briggs, which is the most recent book in the Mercy Thompson series - I've been wanting to read this for a while now! I'm about half way through, I hope to get a review up of this one early this week.

"Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins - book 2 in the Hunger Games trilogy - I read THG for the first time last week, and had to get book 2 as soon as possible. I've started it, but it had to get bumped down the TBR pile because other things are due back in the library soon *sigh*. I'll get to it as soon as I can. I don't think I'm going to review THG after all, because most people are already very familiar with it, and I don't have that much time for reviewing just now - I need to get myself more organised!

I also got a couple of ebooks for review this week:

"Legacy" by Molly Cochran, which is supposed to be about witches, and sounds pretty cool. It's from Simon & Schuster's 'galley grab' program.

"Hold Me If You Can" by Stephenie Crowe - I've almost finished this, but it doesn't come out for a while, so I'll hold off posting the review until the release date. From Sourcebooks, via NetGalley.

What do you think of any of these books, if you've read them? And what's in your mailbox this week?

~Ailsa

Mini review: Flirt, by Laurell K. Hamilton

2011-10-14T05:05:00.000-07:00

*Sometimes I don't have much to say, but still want to talk about a book, so I'll do a mini review instead*

Title: Flirt

Author: Laurel K. Hamilton

Publisher: Headline (UK)/Berkley (US)

Release date: 2010

Source: library

Notes: book 18 in the Anita Blake series. Novella.

Description from back cover: I am Anita Blake, vampire hunter and necromancer, and when I meet with Tony Bennington, who is desperate to have me reanimate his recently deceased wife, I feel sympathy for his loss. After all, I know something about love, and I know everything there is to know about loss. But I also know that what I can do as a necromancer isn't the miracle Tony thinks he needs. The creature that I could coerce to step out of his late wife's grave would not be the lovely Mrs Bennington. Not really. And not for long.

I have been relaxing just a bit with the men in my private life. The affectionate warmth of being with them seems to bring out something softer in me, a sense of safety I can almost trust. They do love me; that part is for ever and for sure. But flirting with feeling safe is a dangerous thing...

My thoughts: I'll be honest, I didn't really like this book. I think it's because the pacing doesn't quite work for me. At the start of the story, we get to see a bit of a normal day for Anita. She meets an awkward client, then goes out for lunch with Micah, Nathaniel, and Jason, and they flirt a little with one of the waiters. Then she has a second awkward customer in the afternoon. The similarity of these two scenes made the second one a little boring, and while it's kind of interesting to see some of the people Anita meets in her everyday life, I don't think it was really necessary to show both meetings. A couple of weeks pass before the next chapter, and suddenly the action starts, with Anita being kidnapped. I won't spoil who does the kidnapping, but they threaten Anita that if she doesn't cooperate, they will shoot one or several of her men.

I really felt like what happens from that point on in the book happens far too quickly for the length of the story. The consequences are too big for the series - I feel like, if Anita is continuing to add to her 'menagerie' of people to feed from, then it deserves a bigger book, and we should have been able to meet this character a little more before what happened, happened. I guess my overall feeling is, I don't like the outcome at the end because of the speed things happened.

I give this book 4 out of 10

In My Mailbox

2011-10-09T05:38:00.000-07:00

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.

Sorry I only got one review up this week, and a mini one at that! This week coming will be better, I promise!

What did you get in your postbox/mailbox this week?

~Ailsa

Mini review: Rules of Attraction, by Simone Elkeles

2011-10-08T09:30:00.000-07:00

*Sometimes I want to talk about a book, but don't have much to say - at those times I'll do a 'mini review' with just a few thoughts about the book*

Title: Rules of Attraction

Author: Simone Elkeles

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Books

Release Date: October 2010

Source: won from Book Chick City

Description: Carlos Fuentes isn't happy about leaving Mexico to start the "new" life his older brother, Alex, has planned for him. Carlos liked his freedom: living life on the edge and carving out his own path - just like Alex did.

Kiara Westford doesn't talk much; preferring instead to shut the world out. And when Carlos bounds into her life she struggles to understand him and his wild ways. Carlos is sure that Kiara thinks she's too good for him, which is just fine because he's not interested anyway, right? But when they finally open up to each other, the connection they fell shocks them both. Can the overcome their fears and realise that sometimes opposites really do attract?

My Thoughts: I did enjoy Rules of Attraction, possibly more than the first in the series, Perfect Chemistry. It's not really the sort of thing that I would usually pick up, but I was pleasantly surprised by both books.

I thought Carlos was really annoying at the beginning of the book - he's just so rude to Alex & Brittany (Alex's girlfriend), the kind of rudeness that I just don't like in other people. I was so glad when he started to appreciate what people around him were doing to help him, and started being a little nicer.

Kiara on the other hand is someone I could immediately relate to. She is the quiet girl in class who likes to wear baggy t-shirts and go hiking at the weekend. I found her much more likeable than Brittany had been in Perfect Chemistry. She's the sort of person I would have been best-friends with in high school because we're very similar. I was very glad when Carlos started to realise how nice she was, and to notice that she was pretty, too.

A sweet story with interesting characters, Simone Elkeles' "Rules of Attraction" is an enjoyable, quick read, even if the final ending is a little predictable. I give it 5/10 stars.

In My Mailbox

2011-10-01T13:58:00.000-07:00

Welcome back to In My Mailbox! IMM is a weekly meme from Kristi at The Story Siren, where you can show which books you got this week.

I'm sorry about the static sound on this - I really have no idea what that's from.

Please do check out the reviews further down the page as well!

And what did you get in your mailboxes/postboxes this week?

~Ailsa

Darkfever, by Karen Marie Moning

2011-09-29T02:36:00.000-07:00

Title: Darkfever

Author: Karen Marie Moning

Publisher: Gollancz (UK)/ Dell (USA)

Release Date: 8th September (UK)

Source: review copy from Gollancz

Notes: Book 1 in the 'Fever' series

Description from back cover: MacKayla Lane's life is good. She has great friends, a decent job, and a car that breaks down only every other week or so. In other words, she's your perfectly ordinary twenty-first century woman... until something extraordinary happens.

When her sister is murdered, Mac journeys to Ireland in search of answers. The quest to find her sister's killer draws her into a shadowy realm where nothing is as it seems, where good and evil wear the same treacherously seductive mask. She is soon faced with an even greater challenge: staying alive long enough to learn how to handle a power she had no idea she possessed - a gift that allows her to see beyond the world of man, into the dangerous realm of the Fae...

My thoughts: I have heard a lot about the Fever series from book bloggers in the states, so I was interested in finally getting to read it. I love the cover for this book, especially the cobbles! It's very simple, but gives a great feel for the book.

I feel like you get a lot more information about the Fae, and what's going on, in the prologue than you do in the next several chapters of the book. It gives clues to what the book's going to be about (and I hope the series) and I got really excited reading it, but I think there's a lot of things still to come that were hinted at here, then never showed up in the rest of the story.

Chapter One starts 'a year earlier', with Mac sitting by a pool, wondering when she's going to hear from her parents, and generally enjoying summer in Georgia. Then her sister dies, and her lovely happy world breaks apart. When she finds a voicemail message her sister left her the day of the murder, she realises that maybe her sister hadn't really been telling her everything, and, despairing with the Dublin police, she decides to go to Ireland herself. She's very lost and lonely there to start with, which I liked - it seemed much more realistic, and fit with what we have so far of her personality. She hasn't been there long before she starts seeing strange, horrible things, where it seems like no one else can see them, and understandably starts to think she's going crazy.

Then, enter Jericho Barrons. He and Mac are both looking for the same thing, and neither will tell the other what they know. When Mac learns more about what's going on in the city, and why she's seeing the strange things, she goes back to him for help, and they spend a lot of time together in the book - and Mac spends a lot of time wondering whether he's to be trusted. I'll be honest - I don't really know what 'role' he's supposed to play in the book - I've heard other bloggers speak reverently of him, along with the gorgeous heroes in other stories, but although Mac emphasises that he's attractive, I never felt like it was anything more than that. Barrons is more than a little intimidating and creepy, I think - he turns up at the inn where she's staying, in the middle of the night, and threatens her! And then she starts trusting him! Crazy girl, I think.

I feel like, with the way Mac's character was painted at the start, the book played out accordingly - everything fit with her, and the pace of her change towards a more kick-ass heroine was realistic - she doesn't just wake up overnight and lose the, well, bimbo-ness that she seems to have to start with. I enjoyed hearing the ridiculous names for the various nail varnish colours that she would wear, but that's about as far as it went - I'm very glad that by the end of the book she was growing up, and starting to be a bit more like an urban fantasy heroine. I hope there's a little bit of a time-period break between this one and book two, so that she's more mature again, but even so I would definitely read on.

I really enjoyed the plot, and the world that Ms Moning has created here. The writing really pulled me in - I started reading at abot 2:30, and didn't stop until I was finished later that night. I loved the portrayal of Dublin - I've only visited it once, very briefly, but I could relate a lot of the things described in Darkfever to Edinburgh (where I live) - the confusing streets, old buildings, general spookiness at times ;) I am really looking forward to the next book - luckily Bloodfever, book two, comes out in October, so I don't have long to wait!

Overall, I think I'll give this 7 stars.

Thank you Gollancz for the review copy!

One Salt Sea, by Seanan McGuire

2011-09-28T14:00:00.000-07:00

Title: One Salt Sea

Autor: Seanan McGuire

Publisher: DAW

Release date: September 6th - Available now!

Source: Bought in Barnes & Noble, Philadelphia

Warning: This is book 5 in the series, review may contain spoilers for earlier books

Description: October "Toby" Daye is settling into her new role as Countess of Goldengreen. She's actually dating again, and she's taken on Quentin as her squire. So, of course, it's time for things to take a turn for the worse.

Someone has kidnapped the sons of the regent of the Undersea Duchy of Saltmist. To prevent a war between land and sea, Toby must find the missing boys and prove the Queen of the Mists was not behind their abduction. Toby's search will take her from the streets of San Francisco to the lands beneath the waves, and her deadline is firm: she must find the boys in three days' time, or all of the Mists will pay the price. But someone is determined to stop her-and whoever it is isn't playing by Oberon's Laws...

My review: I love these books, so I couldn't wait to see what would happen to Toby in this installment. This has to be one of the most consistent series', for me, in terms of how the characters are treated and how much I like what is going on. I think what I'm trying to get at is that McGuire doesn't mess readers around - horrible things happen to the characters, but someone you think is one thing doesn't suddenly become something totally different. We are 5 books in to the series now, and I've never ended up suddenly hating a character, or throwing a book across the room feeling betrayed betrayed, or wondering if I want to keep reading. I have loved these books since the first one, and I love how each new adventure manages to meet the standards of the previous one, or even improve on it.

In this book, we start with Toby being asked to attend a formal event to help prevent a war. Of course, that doesn't work out, so she enlists her usual allies and starts trying to find out who took the missing boys and where they might be now. You'll have to read the book to find out how successful they are ;) As part of the investigation, she gets to visit a sea kingdom, and learn about some of the cool creatures there, which I enjoyed reading about. I hope we get to see a little more of them in the future.

Something I really liked about this book was that we got a little more time between the things that were happening to see what 'normal' life for Toby and her friends, like May and Quentin, is like. There was still always tension, but it was like being able to surface to grab a mouthful of air before you go back in to the water again. There's also plenty of enigmatic Tybalt to keep me happy, and also a lot more Connor, now he's no longer married to Rayseline. I'm not sure how I feel about the relationship between Connor and Toby - in previous books it always seemed like it was never going to work out between them as well as they'd like, and I can't help feeling that there's still a little of that here. I'll have to read it again for second impressions. Another of my favourite characters, the Luidaeg, answers several reader/Toby question about her but raises some even bigger ones - I feel like this is another character we got to know a lot better in this book.

Although there's some very sad parts towards the end of this book (I cried a lot, I'll admit) I do like the way things finish up at the end of it for Toby. There's a lot of potential for interesting things happening in the future for her, I think. It's going to take a little while for her to be completely back on her feet after this book, just as with any of the others, but I'm looking forward to when it does happen.

I'll give it 9 out of 10

Returning from the summer

2011-09-13T15:36:00.000-07:00

Hi guys!

I'm back to college on Monday, so book reviews from me will be resuming this week! One of my resolutions for the new school year is to be more organised in a lot of ways, so I'm really going to try and get at least one book review a week up on here, hopefully more, and the Sunday 'In My Mailbox' posts will start again too. I'm really looking forward to getting back in to the book blogging community, I've missed it :)

Hopefully my first review will be up early next week, it's going to be the newly released 'One Salt Sea' by Seanan McGuire, which I'm almost finished and really enjoying.

How has everyone's summer gone? Read any good books? ;)

~Ailsa

Wither by Lauren DeStefano

2011-08-25T19:03:00.000-07:00

Summary from Goodreads:

Obviously, something went terribly wrong. Genetic mutations have festered, reducing human longevity to twenty-five, even less for most women. To prevent extinction, young girls are kidnapped, mated in polygamous marriages with men eager to procreate. Sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery, a recent victim of this breeding farm mentality, has vowed to break loose from its fetters; but finding allies and a safe way out is a challenge she can only hope she will survive. A dystopian fantasy series starter with wings. Editor's recommendation.

Wither is the first of The Chemical Garden Trilogy by Lauren DeStefano. And I have to begin by saying if you like Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, I felt like this story went along those lines with Linton and the young Catherine (kind of, not exactly)...it just felt like that.

First thing that caught my attention with Wither is the cover. Isn't it beautiful? The way the girls hands are gripping the skirt of the dress in such a frustrated and almost confined way and how the bird in the cage looks connected with the line and circles to those hands? I love it! It really defines the story as a whole once you've read it.

Rhine is an orphan along with her brother, Rowan and they try to make the best of things in the house their parents left them after they died. They make it look like they are poverty stricken so as to not lure other orphans or anyone else not wanted to their door. They lock away their most precious possessions and items so they aren't stolen. They even take turns keeping watch each night with a gun to protect themselves and what meager things they have for themselves. That is until Rhine goes for a job and gets kidnapped by the Gatherers instead and taken to a large mansion somewhere far away from Manhattan and ends up becoming a sister wife with two other girls who were taken, Jenna and Cecily.

Being married to Linden Ashby couldn't be the worst thing in the world to Jenna and Cecily is in love with it all. Rhine, however, hates everything about the place, especially Housemaster Vaughn who is frantically working on an antidote to keep his son alive past twenty-five and maybe even try to help the girls to live past twenty. There's no way out unless you are escorting your husband to a party in the city and even then the way is blocked. Rhine puts on her facade and grits her teeth through all this living until she can figure out how to get out.

I will say this first, the only bad thing I found is that there is a lot of whining from the all the sister wives. I wanted to smack Cecily across the back of the head and say, "Chill out okay? You don't need to be so stuck up and rude to everyone." To Jenna, "Sorry about your life, but really, quit moping." And to Rhine I'd say, "Do something about it or just quit whining." Other than the whining that takes place, I love the characters.

Rhine is a strong willed heroine that determines after being forced into this marriage to Linden Ashby that she will earn his trust to be able to run away. I love the fact that she can be so determined and it helps her remember everything about her brother and never gives up hope that he may be out looking for her. I love that she is the favorite of the wives among the servants, they will do anything for her, even if it means they may lose their job, or even maybe, their life. Even when she starts to believe in her own facade in certain points and ways, she is able to shake it off and remember what her plan is.

Jenna is a quiet character. At first I thought Jenna was stuck up and didn't care about anyone else, but I loved her later on. She does everything she can to help Rhine leave the mansion and Linden behind without getting caught by their father-in-law, Vaughn. Cecily, yeah, I hated Cecily through the whole story until the last when I felt more sorry for her than anger.

Vaughn reminded me of Heathcliff of Wuthering Heights for parts of the story. The unrelentless, merciless being he is and how he creeps all the sister wives out. I shuddered with every moment Rhine had with Vaughn and even with what he may be hiding in the basement.

Overall, I really liked this story. It has great character development and is a character driven story. The imagery is realistic and Lauren weaved a fine new world for us to see and truly believe it may exist.

The Last Four Things

2011-08-14T09:40:00.000-07:00

Thank you to Wunderkind-PR, for providing me with a copy of this book to review.

UK Cover

The Last Four Things, by Paul Hoffman is the sequel to 'The Left Hand of God' and takes place in a world similar but different to our own historical world, where a powerful religious order 'The Redeemers' wages war against 'The Antagonists' and other 'enemy' nations. The focus of a very brutal kind of affection from Redeemer Bosco, the story continues to focus on Cale - a young man numbed by a brutal childhood, betrayed by his first love and now is a fierce weapon for his mentor Bosco's plans.

To the warrior-monks known as the Redeemers, who rule over massive armies of child slaves, “the last four things” represent the culmination of a faithful life. Death. Judgment. Heaven. Hell. The last four things represent eternal bliss-or endless destruction, permanent chaos, and infinite pain.

Perhaps nowhere are the competing ideas of heaven and hell exhibited more clearly than in the dark and tormented soul of Thomas Cale. Betrayed by his beloved but still marked by a child’s innocence, possessed of a remarkable aptitude for violence but capable of extreme tenderness, Cale will lead the Redeemers into a battle for nothing less than the fate of the human race. And though his broken heart foretells the bloody trail he will leave in pursuit of a personal peace he can never achieve, a glimmer of hope remains. The question even Cale can’t answer: When it comes time to decide the fate of the world, to ensure the extermination of humankind or spare it, what will he choose? To express God’s will on the edge of his sword, or to forgive his fellow man-and himself?

US Cover

The book begins almost immediately after the events of the previous book, but Cale has become an even darker character, changed by betrayed love and alone without his friends, he becomes more susceptible to Bosco's manipulative behaviour and begins to see himself as an Angel of Death. Compared to the first book, The Last Four Things is more slow to begin, but seems to explore the dynamic of Bosco and Cale's relationship and its sudden change from student-mentor to soldiers in a holy war.

We also get to see more of the people of this world through Kleitze experiences and the battles between Redeemers and other nations/people. As before, Hoffman's strength lies in the description and detail of battles. His characterisation of the main characters is excellent and their actions remain true to the characters. My favourite moments of this book have been the interaction between Vague Henri and Cale - which shows a more boyish side to the later. I'm intrigued by the plot twists, characters and the world Hoffman has created and definitely am looking forward to the third book to see how this story develops.

My only fault is regarding female characters - there were a couple of good developed female characters in this book but considering the underlying theme concerning women and how pivotal it seems this is going to be in the future plot - more strong female characters would be nice. That being said, this is a high military fantasy set in a world where women seem to be worthless (and soulless) so it does make sense from character's perspective.

I can't wait for the next book in this series, especially with the cliff-hanger ending so I sincerely recommend reading this series to anyone!

The Left Hand of God

2011-08-08T10:03:00.000-07:00

Wunderkind-Pr was kind enough to give me the second book of the Left Hand of God series, 'The Last Four Things' to review, so obviously I needed to read the first book.

When I say that I read this book and the sequel, 'The Last Four Things' over the space of two days, I think you can get an idea of how good these books are.

The Left Hand of God, follows the story of Thomas Cale, a 14-15 year old boy who has lived a brutalised existence at the hands of The Redeemers, specifically Redeemer Bosco - who takes a special interest in Cale. Following the discovery of a horrible secret, Cale with his two companians (Vague Henri and Kleist) escape the fortress, knowing that if they stay the will become 'An Act of Faith'. However Cale's escape becomes an unlikely catalyst for Redeemer Bosco's carefully laid plans.

From the summary I've given, you could be fooled into believing this is a typical young hero story, but that would be cheapening the complexity of the characters, the plot and of the world Hoffman has built. Cale as a character has no admirable qualities - he's cold, brutal and can kill a man in moments, but Hoffman makes you empathise with this character due to the horrible life he's lived. In the end as the story progresses, you realise that although all three boys have been trained to kill and seem to be mature beyond their years - their emotional maturity is that of a child.

Hoffman development of the characters is excellent - although sometimes the female characters seem to be less developed (which isn't surprising considering the genre). From Bosco to minor characters, each character has been well developed - and given characteristics even when only mentioned in passing. Of all the characters, I believe the most interesting is Vague Henri - while Kleist and Cale seem to be numbed from the beginning (and slowly let others in as the series progresses), Vague Henri (which is such a wonderful name) seems to be the strongest character emotionally. He may not have gotten singled out as Cale was, but still he received the same brutality that Kleist and others received, but still seems to empathise, be loyal and make friends. I think he's an interesting contrast to Cale - and Hoffman has done exemplar job of capturing the complexity of their friendship which allows Vague Henri to almost act as a grounding force for Cale especially as the series progresses.

The world of The Left Hand of God, seems to be a strange alternative reality, where at some point in time - a moment of forgiveness was replaced with a moment of vengence/violence. Therefore, elements of our world like Jesus of Nazareth seems to be pushed to one side for the Hanged Redeemer. Similarly besides the mention of religion, familiar places such as Italy and Switzerland exist and cultures such as the Laconians. Although I found the mentioning of places like Switzerland slightly jarring, I found the whole idea behind the world of the redeemers to be very interesting and realistic.

Beyond the characters and the world building, Hoffman displays his skill as a wonderful story teller of military battles and political intrigue. Honestly, when I read fantasy I usually skip any battle scenes as I find them boring, but I was completely glued to those in this book. And as for political plot, the Redemers would do the Borgias proud with their mix of religious zeal and corruptive power.

To summarise I have given this book 9 stars, as a military and political fantasy it is well written with really good characters and plot, my only fault is concerning the female characters, especially in relation to the main characters. It is a small thing (especially in regards to the genre) but considering how important the relationship between Cale and Arbell and it's repercussions - I felt that there could have been more insight to it. Yes there are moments of 'fade to black' and I don't think there was any problems with the physical relationship but to me the emotional connection (which we're told of) is never shown to the reader. But like I said, this story isn't really about romance etc. so it's a small fault.

So, even if you don't read high fantasy - I would highly recommend The Left Hand of God series but be warned you won't be able to stop reading once you start :)

Review coming soon : The Last Four Things

2011-08-03T16:12:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the wonderful people at wunderkind-pr, I received an advanced copy of Paul Hoffman's second book of the Left Hand of God trilogy, THE LAST FOUR THINGS.

The epic story of Thomas Cale-introduced so memorably in The Left Hand of God--continues as the Redeemers use his prodigious gifts to further their sacred goal: the extinction of humankind and the end of the world.

To the warrior-monks known as the Redeemers, who rule over massive armies of child slaves, "the last four things" represent the culmination of a faithful life. Death. Judgement. Heaven. Hell. The last four things represent eternal bliss-or endless destruction, permanent chaos, and infinite pain.

Perhaps nowhere are the competing ideas of heaven and hell exhibited more clearly than in the dark and tormented soul of Thomas Cale. Betrayed by his beloved but still marked by a child's innocence, possessed of a remarkable aptitude for violence but capable of extreme tenderness, Cale will lead the Redeemers into a battle for nothing less than the fate of the human race. And though his broken heart foretells the bloody trail he will leave in pursuit of a personal peace he can never achieve, a glimmer of hope remains. The question even Cale can't answer: When it comes time to decide the fate of the world, to ensure the extermination of humankind or spare it, what will he choose? To express God's will on the edge of his sword, or to forgive his fellow man-and himself?

Sounds amazing, I hope to review this book soon so stay tuned ;)

In the mean time, the book is being released tomorrow - if the first book is anything to go by, this sequel should be excellent!!

Divergent by Veronica Roth

2011-06-01T20:03:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's been so long since I've done any reviews! I've been terribly busy with it being vacation times and new arrivals in the house.

But today I finished a book. This one, Divergent, by Veronica Roth. Before I get into how cool and how much I loved this story, here's the summary from goodreads.com:

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

Debut author Veronica Roth bursts onto the literary scene with the first book in the Divergent series—dystopian thrillers filled with electrifying decisions, heartbreaking betrayals, stunning consequences, and unexpected romance.

First off, one of my favorite things about this story is that it's set in Chicago and pretty much I have been there enough now to know where most of the locations are in this story so it made it more real to me. The setting is pretty easy to understand even if you haven't been to Chicago.

Next, characters. The development is astonishing! You can tell that Veronica studied creative writing and possibly had mounds of homework to do on character development. I love the development of Beatrice (or as of now I will just say Tris) and even Four. Even the minor characters that you don't see enough like her parents--especially Mom--have great development and it's not to be missed.

Tris is on my top ten list of favorite heroines. She is strong, she is selfless, she is relentless and determined. She doesn't want to let anything get to her. She doesn't want to be seen as weak because of her physical build. But she's not weak. Her personality isn't weak at all. If anything she is a smart, courageous girl that knows what she wants out of what she is doing. Pretty much, I believe, all the characteristics of being Divergent.

The way this dystopian is set up is fantastic with the five factions, Amity, Abnegation, Erudite, Dauntless and Candor. And when you're sixteen you go through the aptitude test--reminds me of how the military works in the US--and get told an option of which faction you would fit best with. While I was reading the story, I kept thinking of which faction I could handle being in if they were about. Even though our heroine was raised Abnegation, I couldn't go there. Being a mother though, I can understand selflessness, but I'm not that selfless--I do have selfish moments. I wouldn't last a day in Candor since pure honesty can get you into trouble sometimes, Dauntless is for the brave but I'm not crazy brave like this faction, Erudite for the smart and knowledgeable which would be one of my choices and Amity--another since it is about peace and tranquility.

At one point though in the story, I kind of got bored reading because it seemed to never end in one section of the book. I then reviewed the story and what I had read to that point in my mind and realized that even if I'm getting remotely bored with a section, it has great set up to understanding mostly the faction that Tris is in and what it has to do with her character development. This is a plot and character driven story that mesh so well together that you can't see the difference.

Give this story a read. Find out what faction you would belong with while you're reading it. Enjoy the adventure and the adrenaline rushes with Tris. But remember that the one choice made is the one that could change the future.

Angel Kiss

2011-05-20T10:52:00.000-07:00

DISCLAIMER: Just to let people know that I do know the author through her wonderful blog: www.laurajanecassidy.com

Angel Kiss tells the story of Jacki King, a not-so-typical teenager who moves with her mum from Dublin (Ireland's capital city) to Avarna - a quaint little village where everyone knows everyone else - including their business. Soon though, Jacki begins to realise, through her new found gift, that Avarna and it's people may not be as innocent as they seem. . .

First, I have to say well done to Cassidy for creating such vivid and living characters. Although sometimes there might be too much detail given concerning Jacki - it does help the reader understand her character. Of all the characters in this story, my personal favourite is Jacki's side kick, Colin - he is such 'craic' and was great at lightening the often tense tone of the book. For me personally, reading about Jacki was often quite eery as elements of her life and even her thoughts seemed to reflect my own.

Second, I enjoyed the mixture of thriller with a dash of the paranormal / supernatural within a young adult book - I don't think this is done often enough. In the YA, there is the trend to jump fully into the PR and leave reality behind, but I think Cassidy kept a nice balance and perhaps created a new genre of Rural Fantasy as opposed to Urban ;)

Third, although (from years of watching criminal minds etc.) I had a good idea of who the murderer was (and who it wasn't) I do think Cassidy did a very good job at throwing lots of twists, turns and red herrings to keep the reader guessing till the end. I did think the resolution of the murder plot was very sudden, as there was a slow burn through out the book and then all is revealed in a matter of a few pages. But I did like the summary of the events that followed which brought closure to this storyline. Similarly I think the 'nick' plot could have been developed more but then again I did enjoy that 'nick' wasn't the centre of the book's universe and that he was secondary to the primary plot - which is refreshing in YA.

Finally, I have to say Cassidy did a wonderful job with prologue and epilogue - the thematic/symbolic importance of the number four is haunting and I really enjoyed how she tied the story from the beginning to the end.

So if you're looking for something a little different in the young adult section (especially if you're non-irish) I would recommend Angel Kiss by Laura Jane Cassidy, as it has a nice mixture of thrills, drama and of course supernatural elements with a different cultural backdrop that will provide a unique read.

Exam time again!

2011-05-04T06:13:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! Posting might get a bit sporadic for the next 3-4 weeks, as it's exam time again, then I'm heading across the pond to America for the summer again! There's several reviews that I'm hoping to post before I leave, but I just don't feel like I can justify writing book reviews before I've done enough revision for the day, and as most people who've had exams to revise for will know, procrastinating is far easier than actually working! So things are slowing down here for a few weeks. Once I get to the states, I'm hoping to be able to post at least once I week, but I know from last summer that I don't have as much time to read as I would like, so we'll see how it goes - I'll give you an update on that closer to the time.

In the mean time, does anyone have book recommendations at the moment? Any genre, really, but I'm particularly interested in shape-shifter related stories. What good books have you read recently?

~Ailsa

Rivers of London, (or Midnight Riot) by Ben Aaronovitch

2011-04-25T01:12:00.000-07:00

Title: Rivers of London (UK) / Midnight Riot (USA)

Author: Ben Aaronovitch

Publisher: Gollancz (UK) / Del Ray (USA)

Release Date: Out Now!

Source: Bought in Waterstones, London

Description from author website: My name is Peter Grant and until January I was just probationary constable in that mighty army for justice known to all right-thinking people as the Metropolitan Police Service (as the Filth to everybody else). My only concerns in life were how to avoid a transfer to the Case Progression Unit – we do paperwork so real coppers don’t have to – and finding a way to climb into the panties of the outrageously perky WPC Leslie May.

Then one night, in pursuance of a murder inquiry, I tried to take a witness statement from someone who was dead but disturbingly voluable, and that brought me to the attention of Inspector Nightingale, the last wizard in England. Now I’m a Detective Constable and a trainee wizard, the first apprentice in fifty years, and my world has become somewhat more complicated: nests of vampires in Purley, negotiating a truce between the warring god and goddess of the Thames, and digging up graves in Covent Garden . . . and there’s something festering at the heart of the city I love, a malicious vengeful spirit that takes ordinary Londoners and twists them into grotesque mannequins to act out its drama of violence and despair. The spirit of riot and rebellion has awakened in the city, and it’s falling to me to bring order out of chaos – or die trying.

I heard a lot about this book when it was first released, but didn't really know what it was about. I was about to get on a train home from London to Edinburgh, and needed something to read, so I decided to check it out. Lo and behold, not only was it a genre I like to read, but it sounded really good. I must have read about half of it on that journey home, and the rest in a second, later sitting. I love it.

When the book starts, Peter Grant is about to be assigned to a branch of the police, and is trying hard not to antagonise his superiors (too much). Along with his friend Lesley, he ends up standing around in the cold in the wee hours of the morning guarding a murder scene. And it's here that he meets the first ghost. He's soon picked up by Inspector Nightingale, and moves in to The Folly, where suddenly he has to learn magic on top of his ordinary police duties. Don't worry - there's no waving magic wands around.

The plot moves between the string murders that Peter knows are linked, even if he can't quite work out how yet, and a territory dispute between two of the river deities in the city - Father Thames, who controls the north, and Mama Thames who controls the south. I loved the interactions with the rivers. Although manifestations of something like a river are things I've come across before in books, I felt like this was fresh in many ways, and the personalities of each of the rivers were very strong. It's a very clever plot, full of twists and turns, and I was constantly wondering what would happen next. I had a wonderful 'oh!' moment mid-book where it 'clicked' and suddenly I could see how things were tied together - but it wasn't like the typical 'oh' moment in a book. Sometimes it clicks, and you can see exactly who the bad guy is, and how the rest of the book will pan out. This wasn't like that. I still had so many questions, and I had no idea how things would work out. I'll say it again - it's a very clever plot. I love it.

My favourite part of the book though, the thing that kept me reading so fast, was the writing. It's suffused with humour, and within the first few pages of the book you get a distinct impression of the main character's voice. I kept stopping to read bits to my dad, or anyone else who was nearby. Aaronovitch brings the city of London to life, whether you're familiar with it or have never been before.

In short, this book is brilliant. I love it. I can't wait to read the sequel - and luckily, it's out now too! So I'll have to find my way to a bookshop soon.

Rivers Of London gets 10 out of 10 from me.

~Ailsa

In My Mailbox

2011-04-24T01:30:00.000-07:00

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren, and is a way to show the books you got this week.

I've had a slow time for books recently, catching up on my 'to read' pile instead, but I did get a couple this week.

First, for review I got an e-ARC of 'Before The Witches' by Karina Cooper.

Karina Cooper is a debut author - according to the description, this book is a novella-length prequel to her series, the first book of which will be released on May 31st. This one comes out on May 17th. I'm really looking forward to reading this, and the series sounds like something I'd like. Thanks Harper Collins for the e-arc!

I bought an ebook for the first time. Whoop! I've read ebooks for a while from net galley for review, but this is the first time I've bought one. I got "Lust, Lace, and Lingerie" by Brandi Evans after reading a review on ParaJunkie's blog. It was really good! I'll try and post a review soon.

And then something completely different - I bought a copy of 'Something Else' by Kathryn Cave and Chris Riddell.

I love Chris's illustrations *happy face* I read this book when I was younger, and it's one that we still refer to in our family. I'm going to work in a summer camp in the USA this summer, like I did last year, and this book has a story that reflects the 'accept people' attitude of the camp, so I wanted to take a copy with me to share it with the kids. (If you're interested, I'm blogging about my summer camp experience here)

So, that's my mailbox! What did you get this week? Feel free to share your links, I love seeing what books people got :)

~Ailsa

CHLOE NEILL: 'HARD BITTEN' blog tour - author interview

2011-04-18T13:21:00.000-07:00

Ladies and gentlemen, today I am honoured to welcome Chloe Neill to the blog!

Chloe is the author of both the YA 'Dark Elite' series, and the 'Chicagoland Vampires' series, and is here today to talk a bit about book 4 in the series, 'Hard Bitten', which is released May 3rd.

So without further ado, let's get started!

Ailsa: Welcome to the blog Chloe! I really love the series, so it's great to have you here. How did you first come up with the idea for Merit & her world? Was it Merit first?

Chloe: Merit was first, but her name was Katie and she was in a band with her best friend, Mallory. She was attacked by a vampire in a club, and saved by Morgan (who owned the club). I thought that was a little silly, so I put the pages aside. And then one day I had a mental image of Ethan, and the rest flowed from there.

Ailsa: It's interesting that Ethan wasn't there straight away. Do the characters ever do things that you aren't expecting, or do you have things pretty tightly planned out?

Chloe: A little of both. I generally know where I want a book to go, but sometimes the characters surprise me. The antagonist in DRINK DEEP, the fifth book (Nov. 2011) was a complete surprise to me!

Ailsa: Ooh, I'm intrigued! And I'm very glad that Drink Deep comes out relatively close to Hard Bitten. So can you tell us a little bit about your journey to publication - did it take you a while, or was it fairly quick?

Chloe: SOME GIRLS BITE was the second manuscript I wrote. I received one rejection for my first manuscript, then sent SOME GIRLS BITE to one publisher--Penguin. My editor bought the first two books, and the rest is history! I consider myself very lucky to have had such a quick route to the shelf.

Ailsa: That does sound very quick! Has your life changed much since the books were published?

Chloe: I have a full-time dayjob, so it's mostly become much busier with writing, editing, marketing, blogging, interviewing, etc. I don't get many days (or hours) off.

Ailsa: Twice Bitten was a bit of a rollercoaster ride for my emotions - can we expect more of the same in Hard Bitten?

Chloe: I hope that readers think all my books include a good emotional rollercoaster and with some resolution at the end!

Ailsa: They do, but I thought it was especially true for Twice Bitten! I can't wait to see what happens next! Finally, I know I'm going to love HARD BITTEN - can you tell us one reason why you think readers will love this one?

I think we see Ethan's and Merit's relationship grow, and we see Merit really dive into her position as Sentinel. I'm very

proud of her!

Thanks for having me today!

Ailsa: You're welcome! I'm so excited to read the book now!

HARD BITTEN comes out on May 3rd in the USA, and 11th May in the UK.

For more information about Chloe Neill and all her books, check out her website or blog.

Island of Icarus, by Christine Danse

2011-04-12T00:04:00.000-07:00

Content warning: This is an adult novel, and may not be suitable for younger readers.

Title: Island of Icarus
Author: Christine Danse
Publisher: Carina Press
Released: out now!
Source: review copy via NetGalley

Description from publisher website:
Field Journal of Jonathan Orms, 1893

En route to polite exile in the Galapagos Islands (field work, to quote the dean of my university), I have found myself marooned on a deserted tropical paradise. Deserted, that is, except for my savior, a mysterious American called Marcus. He is an inventor—and the proof of his greatness is the marvelous new clockwork arm he has created to replace the unsightly one that was ruined in my shipboard mishap.

Marcus has a truly brilliant mind and the gentlest hands, which cause me to quiver in an unfamiliar but rather pleasant way. Surely it is only my craving for human companionship that draws me to this man, nothing more? He says a ship will pass this way in a few months, but I am welcome to stay as long as I like. The thought of leaving Marcus becomes more untenable with each passing day, though staying would be fatal to my career...

My thoughts: I'll be honest - I was disappointed with this story. Two men on a desert island making interesting clockwork things while they fall in love - it sounded interesting. The story starts with Jonathan describing how he was pushed into taking a sabbatical from the university where he was working. Although I liked knowing how he got to the island, I found myself skimming over the first two chapters, until he was shipwrecked.

I feel like the story went too slowly - I was often scanning over pages, waiting for something more interesting to happen. I think some of it might have been the way the story was told - it's all written as Jonathan's diary, and takes place in the 1890s, so is very... staid, in the way Jonathan writes. The time period was something else that bugged me, for different reasons. I'll admit I don't read much historical romance, but I think some points are fairly consistently agreed on, and a couple of the things Jonathan describes as having happened just don't seem likely to have happened.

He also seems to adjust very quickly and easily to the idea of being attracted to a man, and this man being attracted to him. To me, it just didn't feel very realistic, and it was the little things like that that kept pulling me out of the story.

I did like Marcus's inventions - they were very interesting. It wasn't a boring story, or too unbelievable, it just felt very 'meh' to me. I'd love to hear other people's opinions on this book if you have read it - what did you like/dislike? Have you read anything else by Christine Danse? What did you think of that?

Overall, I give Island of Icarus 5 out of 10.

~Ailsa

Exciting Announcements, and a winner!

2011-04-10T23:55:00.000-07:00

There are some very interesting things coming up on The Book Bundle in the next few weeks!

Before we get to them, though, I need to announce the winner of the 'Witch & Wizard' giveaway. I put the number of entries into a random number generator and the winner is: Diana!
Congratulations Diana, I'll get it in the post to you at the end of the week. Keep an eye on the blog for more giveaways and contests soon!

First bit of exciting news: on April 19th, Chloe Neill, author of the Chicagoland Vampire series & the Dark Elite series, will be here for the first day of her blog tour, for the release of Hard Bitten, book 4 in the Chicagoland series! You can find out more about Chloe on her blog, here. Chloe will be doing an interview. I'm very very excited to be participating in the tour - I read the first three books in the series in January, and absolutely loved them.

Secondly, towards the end of the month we will have another author interview, this time with Karen Mahoney, author of The Iron Witch which came out earlier this year. Again, I'm very excited about this, and I hope you will drop by to read and leave comments :)

Finally, if you want a sneak peek at some of the things coming up on the blog, check out the widget on the right hand side of the page where we've got a list of just some of the things coming up in the next few weeks. If you have any questions, suggestions of things you'd like to see on the blog, or just want to chat about books, I'm always happy to hear from you - my e-mail is on the right hand side of the page.

~Ailsa

The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney

2011-04-08T09:00:00.000-07:00

If you need a really good book about standing up for yourself, look no further than Daisy Whitney's, The Mockingbirds.

Summary from goodreads.com:

Some schools have honor codes.
Others have handbooks.
Themis Academy has the Mockingbirds.

Themis Academy is a quiet boarding school with an exceptional student body that the administration trusts to always behave the honorable way--the Themis Way. So when Alex is date raped during her junior year, she has two options: stay silent and hope someone helps her, or enlist the Mockingbirds--a secret society of students dedicated to righting the wrongs of their fellow peers.

In this honest, page-turning account of a teen girl's struggle to stand up for herself, debut author Daisy Whitney reminds readers that if you love something or someone--especially yourself--you fight for it.

If you're thinking "Does this book have anything to do with To Kill a Mockingbird?" The answer is there are elements of the story in this story and it's weaved into it very well.

Alex is our main character who from the very beginning knows she was date raped but has a hard time remembering. All she knows is that she is disgusted with herself and for what happened. The star piano student at Themis, even her music world is tainted with the situation. It's a very sad and gasping moment when she can't play her favorite piece, "Ode to Joy" without wanting to rip the keys off the piano for it being taken away from her. Her safe haven isn't safe anymore and it's a heart wrenching moment for our character and the reader.

Luckily, her friends are there to help her when she tells them about what she thinks happened. Immediately they tell her to tell someone. Unfortunately at Themis, all the faculty thinks that every student is so perfect and that nothing bad happens at their school. But Alex does in fact turn to her friends advice and enlists the help of the vigilanted student justice system known as The Mockingbirds.

I loved how this story weaved through the emotions and Alex coming to her memories of that night when it happened. I loved the fact that her friends stood by her side to help her through an emotional pain that she couldn't face on her own.

Basically, in short terms, I love this book! It's a well woven tale of how to stand up for yourself even in the hardest of times. To get yourself back to you before the you that you used to know was taken away.

It's a strong story that had me cheering at the end and not putting this story down at all. I kept reading and reading past midnight some nights because of how this story kept moving. I had to know what was going to happen next. How the Mockingbirds worked, how the story was going to twist and turn and end.

For me, I love that Alex did take her friends advice to get the help she needed to become herself again and to stand up for it. I was that friend once helping a friend. I'm thankful that I could have been there to help my friend. Not everyone wants help, but they need it when they are the most vulnerable and this story helps us all realize that. If you are the victim or the friend of the victim, stand up for yourself! Stand up to those that would take you away from you.

Daisy Whitney has the second book coming out this year, The Mockingbirds--The Rivals. It sounds just as amazing as this story is. I suggest that every girl ages fourteen and older read this. It may just give you that courage when you need it most.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

2011-03-30T19:10:00.000-07:00

Summary from goodreads.com:

In a single moment, everything changes. Seventeen-year-old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall riding along the snow-wet Oregon road with her family. Then, in a blink, she finds herself watching as her own damaged body is taken from the wreck...

A sophisticated, layered, and heartachingly beautiful story about the power of family and friends, the choices we all make—and the ultimate choice Mia commands.

This is going to be a short but sweet review. Mostly because the book is short but really well written.

I know this book has been out for some time. This is the new cover for it. Goes along with the sequel's cover better I think, than the original cover of this story. Plus, I've heard somewhere they are making a movie of it and Dakota Fanning will be our Mia.

This is such a sweet, heart wrenching story that in 194 pages takes you through memories of Mia's life with her family, her best friend and her loving and devoted boyfriend.

I loved that in just two pages at the beginning, I was in love with Mia and her family. I love that connection they all have to each other. I love the playful banter and the fact that Mia isn't embarrassed to be seen with her family anywhere and how supportive they are of what each other decides to do with their life throughout the story.

I can't pick a favorite character from this story. I love them all. They are all so incredibly developed that you are standing either in or next to Mia the entire time. I felt like I was her friend and confidant and she was telling me all this so that I would understand her feelings for what has happened with her and her family.

There's Mia and her family. Mia, Mom, Dad, and Teddy. There's Kim, Mia's best friend who became such through unconventional means and Adam, Mia's adoring punker boyfriend who loves Mia because she isn't like the other girls he's around all the time with the punk band scenes. No matter where you look, even the nurses in the hospital are so developed in one description, or one thing they say that you want to give them hugs or slap them for their bedside manner.

The story is so heart wrenching I am not going to say anything about it because I loved the concept of it so much that I would cry here and now and possibly have the chance of ruining my keyboard because of all the salty tears that would fall between the keys and make them so wet that you can't type kind of ruin. Let's just say this little bit...go read this if you haven't yet.

One of my most favorite things about how Gayle constructed the story was that from the beginning, Mia's choice all pertains on what has past, what is going on in the present and where she sees herself in the future. Also, this story incorporates a lot of music in it and the music in it helps the story run the way it does. Every song presented, connects everyone together. Every memory Mia has connects her closer to the choice she makes.

The only downside I saw with this story is the language. I recommend a lot of young adult books to my friend's thirteen year old daughter but since she's only thirteen I recommend books that are clean of language and graphics. I really want to recommend this to her, but I'd have to go in and cross out most of the foul language because I don't see it necessary to the story. Maybe the lifestyle that Mia and her family live, and the scenes they put themselves in, but seriously, such a story doesn't need so much language that a thirteen year old can't read it.

Really though, if you don't mind foul language, go read this! This is a fantastic quick read. I read it in four days and loved every second I got to read it. I had to stifle tears when I read it in public but it truly made me cry. I can't wait until I can read Where She Went which is the sequel.

Giveaway Reminder

2011-03-30T07:40:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder guys that the giveaway for 'Witch and Wizard' closes tonight. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment saying what you're reading at the moment! I will draw the winner tomorrow.

Entry is in the post below :-)

~Ailsa

In My Mailbox

2011-03-26T16:46:00.000-07:00

Welcome to another 'In My Mailbox'! As always, it's hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. I highly recommend her blog if you don't already follow it.

I came home yesterday evening, and I'm home now until mid-May, which is nice :) On the book front, I got a couple of late presents:

The Wise Man's Fear, by Patrick Rothfuss - like many people I've been waiting for for a looong time, but I'm sure it'll be worth it!

Late Eclipses, by Seanan McGuire - I've really been looking forward to this one, too, and finding out what's going to happen between Toby and a certain cait-sidhe.

What books did you get this week?

Across the Universe by Beth Revis

2011-03-23T17:29:00.000-07:00

If you thought things could get wrong in life here on Earth, try it out in outer space on a spaceship.

Beth Revis' debut novel, Across the Universe, is a captivating mystery that keeps you guessing until the end.

Summary from Goodreads.com:

A love out of time. A spaceship built of secrets and murder.

Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects to awaken on a new planet, three hundred years in the future. Never could she have known that her frozen slumber would come to an end fifty years too soon and that she would be thrust into the brave new world of a spaceship that lives by its own rules.

Amy quickly realizes that her awakening was no mere computer malfunction. Someone-one of the few thousand inhabitants of the spaceship-tried to kill her. And if Amy doesn't do something soon, her parents will be next.

Now Amy must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets. But out of her list of murder suspects, there's only one who matters: Elder, the future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen coming.

Granted, the summary says there is romance in the story. For me, I saw the tiniest sliver of it. Mostly from the character, Elder.

For this book, I read it because I had heard a lot of good things about it (usually why I read the books I do), but about halfway through the story I really just wanted the story to be finished. I was only intrigued by the mystery side of the story and wanted to see how it all turned out. Luckily for me, it all turned out very different than what I was guessing. Doesn't mean I will tell you how the book ends. That would just be plain mean.

We get the two main character point of views in this story. Amy--the girl who was frozen with her parents and expecting to wake up on a new Earth-like planet, and Elder--the future leader of the ship Godspeed. When Amy wakes up fifty years earlier, that was the first thing that caught my attention. If I was Amy, I'd be angry and upset, as anyone would be. Now she would be older than her parents when they woke up.

Beth is an incredible descriptive setting writer. Every room, every building, every part of the story, including the stars are all beautiful and I feel like I'm on Godspeed walking around. However, there are aspects of the story that I felt were unnecessary to the story, but may be a major player in the next couple stories that come next.

Only one character I found to be enlightening and had any real development throughout the whole story. And that is Elder's best friend on the ship--Harley. He is the one character that the reader can relate to in the entire story. I love Harley and he will be a character that really stands out to me for a long time. Very memorable, very good Harley.

I really can't write much else as a review on this because the only things I like are the descriptions of setting, the mystery and Harley. This story doesn't do much for me as a reader in entertaining me. I had a really hard time and pushed myself to the end but if you like science fiction, try this story. Give it a go. You may like it more than I did.

Giveaway: Witch & Wizard by James Patterson

2011-03-23T06:54:00.000-07:00

*** Edit: CONTEST NOW CLOSED ***

Hi guys! I've been very busy with my coursework for uni, and now I'm packing to go home! This means that I'm going through all the books I've aquired, and I have some that I want to get rid of, which means giveaways!

First up is Witch & Wizard, by James Patterson.

From the back cover:

This is the amazing adventure of Whit and Wisty Allgood, a brother and sister who were torn from their family in the middle of the night, slammed in prison, and accused of being a witch and wizard by the evil regime The New Order. Can they master their newly discovered powers in time to save themselves, their parents - and maybe the world?

It was a promotional copy, so the front cover is slightly different:

How to enter:

Just leave a comment to this post, saying what you're reading at the moment! Giveaway open until March 30th. You don't have to be a follower, although we do appreciate it :-)

Giveaway open internationally!

In My Mailbox

2011-03-12T09:49:00.001-08:00

I know, I'm a day early! But my Sunday's always seem to get busy, and I'm being organised today.

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.

What did you get in your mailboxes this week? I love seeing your videos & reading the posts. :-)

Darkest Mercy

2011-03-11T17:30:00.000-08:00

Last month I was given the chance to read Melissa Marr's latest masterpiece and final book of the Wicked Lovely young adult series, Darkest Mercy. As with all good things, I knew the series was coming to an end. But rather than fill me with sadness and a feeling of loss like so many other conclusions have, this final installment filled me with sweet contentment (which I imagine would be similar to Summer Wine!)

I was utterly elated upon finishing Darkest Mercy. I couldn't think of a more perfect way to end the series. (If you've read the book than you know exactly what I mean!) I went in with exactly zero expectations of what would happen and I was pleased at each turn of every page. Marr doesn't simply wrap up all the loose ends in a nice, neat bow. Rather she takes the beginnings and weaves them into the endings, so that the entire series forms a ~~perfect~~ imperfect circle of beginnings, middles, ends... and new beginnings. Because the story never really ends, does it?

It's always just starting.

It's that line of hope, that light in the distance that keeps many of us going and its that touch of personal insight that makes me love her books so much. She puts so much of herself into her work that its like reading someones diary. Or reading your own diary. She has a gift of being able to connect with her readers through her words and characters that is just baffling to me. Because who hasn't been faced with a tough decision and thought, "Well... what the hell am I supposed to do now?" Marr answers that question again and again in her series.

Do what you can.

Do what you have to do.

Make the choice yours.

Darkest Mercy is right back to where the first book left off. Making choices. The choices are, in some ways, more important than they were in the first book. Though in Darkest Mercy they affect more than just one person. As the characters have all grown, the things they have to deal with must also change. Marr has taken a rather large group of characters and brought all their stories together for a stunning and lift altering conclusion. In Darkest Mercy every character has to make a choice, take a stand and protect what is theirs. Maybe its something larger than yourself or maybe its just one person...

While the other Wicked Lovely books have seemed more centered on choices I feel that Darkest Mercy also centers itself on hope. Not empty hope or false hope, but true hope and the belief that there are better things. That good can conquer evil and love will prevail. Of course it's not all a fairy tale, is it? A lot of things will happen along the way that we don't want to happen. Things that we'll pray were just a dream or a joke or reversible. But its not a joke or a dream. These things are going to happen whether you want them to or not.

This book draws parallels from the world around us as well. Darkest Mercy reminds us that there is real darkness in the world.

But there is also great light in the world, within yourself and others.

If you're not familiar with the series it is something I always recommend to anyone looking for a good read-- especially to young women. Marr has created not one but several strong female heroines in her books that I, even as a grown woman, am proud to call my role models.

And if you're familiar with the series I encourage you to re-read the first book again. You will be shocked at how beautifully Marr weaves in and out of the beginning and end of this series. It's also a special treat to read your favorite characters again as they were in the first book knowing where they end up. ;)

Disclaimer: I was not paid for this or any other reviews on this blog. I was sent an advanced reading copy of the book which I then sent out to another lucky reader for review. (Thanks again to Melissa for giving me the opportunity to read the book!)

Wilder's Mate, by Moira Rogers

2011-03-08T12:43:00.000-08:00

Publisher: Samhain Publishing

Released: 8th March

Source: review copy from author

Description: Wilder Harding is a bloodhound, created by the Guild to hunt down and kill vampires on America's frontier. His enhanced abilities come with a high price: on the full moon, he becomes capable of savagery beyond telling, while the new moon brings a sexual hunger that borders on madness.

Rescuing a weapons inventor from undead kidnappers is just another assignment, though one with an added complication--keeping his hands off the man's pretty young apprentice, who insists on tagging along.

At odds with polite society, Satira's only constant has been the aging weapons inventor who treats her like a daughter. She isn't going to trust Wilder with Nathaniel's life, not when the Guild might decide the old man isn't worth saving. Besides, if there's one thing she's learned, it's that brains are more important than brawn.

As the search stretches far longer than Wilder planned, he finds himself fighting against time. If Satira is still at his side when the new moon comes, nothing will stop him from claiming her. Worse, she seems all too willing. If their passion unlocks the beast inside, no one will be safe. Not even the man they're fighting to save.

Warning: This book contains a crude, gun-slinging, vampire-hunting hero who howls at the full moon and a smart, stubborn heroine who invents mad-scientist weapons. Also included: wild frontier adventures, brothels, danger, betrayal and a good dose of wicked loving in an alternate Wild West.

My thoughts: I haven't read any books by Moira Rogers before, but when I read the description, I knew I would enjoy it, especially with the 'warning' on the end.

We meet Satira first, as she's struggling to get out of some kind of steam-powered lift that her mentor, Nathaniel, has designed. The first couple of pages show a lot about the kind of world that it is, and about Satira herself and her personality. Wilder, the gun-slinging hero mentioned in the blurb, greets her with the question "Why are you dressed like a boy?" and the sparks fly from there. Although there is the tension of rescuing Nathaniel, I think the focus of the story is very much on Wilder and Satira, and the tension between them. I would have liked a little more plot, but in this case, it does work like this.

Before Satira & Wilder leave, we learn that something happens to Hounds at the new moon, making them require sex. Satira's been with hounds before, and is reasonably sure she can handle it, and sees it as a fair price for rescuing her mentor, but her friend Ophelia is more worried, suggesting that maybe there's more to it than Satira understands, that they're different at the new moon than other times.

I love the interactions between the two characters. The attraction and flirting was excellent, and I love how Satira tries not to give Wilder and inch while at the same time is slightly uncertain around him, and occasionally thrown off by something he does because it doesn't fit with her expectations. I love the relationship that develops.

It's quite short, but the length absolutely works for the plot. In the past I've never really thought about buying novellas online, but it's something I'm definitely going to consider now. I am also going to have a look at her other works, as I did really enjoy the story. Something else I liked was the slight steam-punkiness that creeps in - this is the first book in the Bloodhounds series, and I'm looking forward to learning more about this world, and some of the characters that we meet in this one.

I'll give it 7 out of 10.

The Bitter Seed of Magic, by Suzanne McLeod

2011-03-04T08:28:00.000-08:00

Publisher: Gollancz

Released: Feb 11 in the UK - out now! (US fans can order via Book Depository, and I think amazon.com will let you get the UK version, too)

Source: review copy from publisher & author

Book 3 in the series, see my review of book one here.

Warning: Contains spoilers for earlier books

Description from the back cover: Genny's an expert at cracking spells, but when it comes to cracking an 80 year old curse she knows she's in trouble, the sort that could change her life for ever - or end it in an instant.

On the surface Genny's life seems ripple-free. Finn - her boss and... well, Genny's not quite sure what else she wants him to be, but he isn't pushing for a decision on their relationship; the seductive vampire, Malik al-Khan has vanished back into the shadows; and the witches have declared her no longer a threat. But unless she can find a way to break the fertility curse afflicting London's fae, she knows this is just the lull before the magical storm.

Then a faeling - a teenager - is fished out of the River Thames, dead, and bound with magic, and Genny is called in to investigate. But as she digs through the clues, her search takes a sinister and dangerous turn, exposing age-old secrets that might be better left burried. It's not long before another faeling disappears, and Genny finds herself in a race against time to save the faelings and stop the curse from claiming its next victim - herself.

My thoughts: I love this series, and I think this might be my favourite so far! The characters remain just as strong as ever, which I really liked. And, as with the earlier books, the plot is interesting & complex enough that I had to go back and re-read a couple of bits to really fully understand what was going on. It means that the book can be just as enjoyable on a second read.

One of the things that I loved about this book more than the others was that there are a lot of developments in terms of relationships in this book. We learn more about what's been going on between Finn & Helen. (And by the way, I love the nickname Genny gives her - the Witch Bitch - it just made me smile every time I read it.) Genny also makes progress figuring out what she wants to do with Finn. I liked that there is a lot of Genny/Finn time, and also lots of Genny/Malik. Tavish comes in too, although not as much as the others, so whoever your favourite is, you should be happy reading this book. Although I sort of get Finn's reasons, there were parts of the book where I just wanted to shake him for the things he was saying - I think if I were Genny, I wouldn't have kept my temper. My personal favourite is Malik, though, and this book only added to that. I mean, we get to see him shirtless on Genny's bed. What's not to like about that? I understand his reasons for acting the way he does, but there was one particular scene where I was just thinking 'You stupid, idiot vampire!'. I love a book where I care this much about the characters.

Something else we learn a lot more about in this book is the fertility curse that's been hanging over Genny & the London fae in the previous book. It was really interesting to learn more about how that had happened in the first place. I liked meeting more of the fae, and that side of Genny's heritage, even if some of them were a bit strange! You also see the other side of that heritage - the vampire half. I think that's going to play a more important part in the books to come, and I'm looking forward to it.

I feel like Genny grew up a lot in this book, and I can't wait to see what happens in the next book. I've no idea where the series might go, but I'm hoping to see more about the vampires, and the results of the events in this book. It's a long time to wait, but in the meantime, I can always re-read this one again, can't I? In fact, I might just do that now...

If you haven't checked out this book yet, then I would definitely recommend picking it up soon! I give it 9 out of 10, I loved it.

~Ailsa

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

2011-02-22T19:37:00.000-08:00

There's nothing like a really good book that keeps you hanging on every word these days.

Each and every word of Delirium, by Lauren Oliver shows you a knew meaning of the word, love.

Summary from goodreads.com:

Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn’t understand that once love -- the deliria -- blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the governments demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Holoway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy.

But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: She falls in love.

Every part of me is loving this new YA genre of Totalitarianism and Dystopian societies. Throw in some major romance that is the key to beginning to beating the system and you have a magnificent and intriguing story! Lauren Oliver captivates you as you go with Lena through what seems to be the best life that she will lead--a life without love or Amor Deliria Nervosa as they call it in this story until she falls for Alex. Alex, the boy who resists while hiding in plain sight.

Lately, a big part of my writing self is noticing that a lot of stories these days by published authors seemed rushed. They either have a really compelling plot and no character development or they have way too much characterization going on and no plot. It's a difficult task to get the two elements of a story weave so well together that they push each other along. Lauren has achieved this on a phenomenal scale and it is so well written you won't put it down until the end. Even then, you'd want to pick this book up immediately and read it again and again.

The storyline grabs you at the get go. A life without love? Seems like walking zombies to me. Not much emotion since love drives almost every emotion. Love for sports, a love for your family, your spouse, your boyfriend/girlfriend, a love for your pets, etc. If you're team loses, you're angry and upset, but not in Lauren's world. When once you're eighteen, you are "cured". I love at the beginning that Lena is so anxious to get her procedure done and become like her older sister and her aunt and leave that love behind so willingly that the further you go, the more the countdown is dreaded.

These characters in the story at first really didn't grab my attention. There's Lena, our heroine that can't wait to get her procedure done and in fact, isn't scared to get it done. Her fight to love later on through the story and every little thing she does in the name of love makes her grow more and resist harder than ever before. She is our Juliet in this story.

And Hana, Lena's best friend since the second grade. Hana is described as one of the prettiest girls in Portland, Maine, but despite the fact that she shows rebellion, doesn't mean she wants that life. But her undying friendship loyalty and love for Lena shows that even Hana is willing to risk everything for love.

Alex, another cute guy in another novel. Yup, that's him. At first, I hated his character. I hated that he wasn't a nerdy guy or a geek kind of guy. This guy has charisma, and yet, he is also very sensitive and sweet and tender. Here is our Romeo for this story. Only until halfway through the book did I start to like him more. To really appreciate him for who he is as a character. I don't know if it was meant to be written that way or not, but Lauren sure did make it much easier for me to fall for Alex later on.

Gracie. Lena's cousin. Her sweet little cousin who doesn't say much has got to be the strongest character I have every read that has been written. Only five to six years old and doesn't speak but you can see through Lena's eyes that Gracie is absorbing everything around her. And also how much she really looks up to Lena and what Lena means to her. I can't wait to see more of Gracie--or I should say, I hope that we see more of her later on.

Really, this book made me dream about it countless nights in a row. It made me look at love in a new light and to appreciate what I have and who I have to love and even all the emotions that go with love.

So, seriously, I recommend this book to everyone who loved Before I Fall or whoever just loves a really good romance. This is a definite must read. I don't think I can wait until next February for book two to be released!

In My Mailbox

2011-02-14T03:05:00.000-08:00

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. It's a great way to share the books you get each week.

Sorry it's a day late, folks! Things have been busy.

What did you get in your mailbox this week?

Matched by Ally Condie

2011-02-08T15:44:00.000-08:00

If you're into the Dystopian genre with Romance thrown in as a major component, then this is the perfect book to fit for both of those genres.

Here is the summary from goodreads.com:

Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is her ideal mate . . . until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black.

The Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to follow.

Honestly, as soon as I read this summary, I fell in love with the storyline of a society where you are told what you do and who you love and what you learn and what you wear everyday. I also fell in love with the cover. Such a simple, yet compelling idea.

Another truth from me, this book took me a long time to read. It is pretty slow but Ally Condie's voice and word choices are like good poetry. It flows well and smoothly and there is major character development throughout the plot. From everyone, even from the main character's, Cassia, dead grandfather.

Yet again, here is a young adult romance that is destined to have people choosing sides though, Xander or Ky? Don't ask me because both characters are the embodiment of Prince Charming in disguise and there is no way I could choose at all. Like I said earlier, every character, every piece of the world is so well described and so well laid out and so well developed that you are captured in all of the technology, no matter how simple it may be and also just the idea of what a world like this would be like to live in.

With all these futuristic stories coming out with possible things that could happen--such as The Hunger Games and even pieces of The Maze Runner--every one of these authors creates a world which it is so believable and so real while you're reading you can almost believe you have entered into that new way of living and go about trying to wrack your own mind of coming out of it and back to reality that it hurts and you need more. Ally Condie did that with Matched. With all of Matched. Her "Society" is so scary real that I almost believe for sure this is what could possibly happen if a "socialistic" society actually took complete control and power over the world. I came out of reading this story every day I read it and watched the news. I didn't use to mind watching the news, but Matched made me more aware of what is going on with what our possible futures could be like--now the news is scary to me.

I LOVE the characters. Cassia, our lovely "go with the flow" kind of girl who is so excited to be "Matched" to the boy she will marry, and to find out it's her best friend is better for her and then a flash of the face of another boy she knows makes her mind wobble away from the "flow" of her life within the Society. Just her own conflict inside her own being is wonderfully written and told that I wish I could interview her in real life. And since I like to repeat myself, Ky and Xander are both completely different boys in this story but both carry themselves has Prince Charming's in disguise.

The plot was slow in this story, but that always goes along with world building and making sure you are sucked into the Society in this story and part of the people that live amongst it. But it is a strong plot of quiet defiance and of strong wills. It is very compelling and I love it.

While I was reading this book knowing it was a romance written in first person from Cassia's view, I kind of expected to read something along the lines of the romance heat that presents itself in Twilight. This book and story are so completely off the rack of Twilight's version of romance that it made me happy to realize that the author, Ally Condie, could in fact actually help us all believe in chivalry again. You know in the olden days where people were chaperoned while courting? Where a touch of the hand and a brave young man risks everything--including his own life--because of his love for you? Ally Condie has recaptured that chivalry through Ky and Xander both. I have to say thank you to Ally for making this story so innocent in the romance and so compelling in this story that I can't wait to read the next book.

And seriously, I suggest that everyone read this. It's fabulous writing, irresistible characters and thrilling plot of quiet resistance will make you want it the sequel now.

In My Mailbox

2011-02-06T02:10:00.000-08:00

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. You can learn more about it here.

No vlog this week, partly because I only got one 'real' book, and partly because my throat is really sore - I hope I'm not getting another cold!

I got a couple of ebooks for review this week. First was 'Island of Icarus' by Christine Danse from Carina Press on net galley. It's set roughly in Victorian times, and is about a man who gets shipwrecked. I also got an e-arc of Wilder's Mate, by Moira Rogers, which is about a Hound (a bit like a typical werewolf, but not quite) and a girl who go to try and rescue someone, and have to learn to work together on the way. I've read this now and I really enjoyed it, so I'll be posting my review nearer to the release date.

I also got this:

Rivers of London, by Ben Aaronovitch

I've heard lots of good things about this, but I didn't really know what it was about. So when I saw it the other day, I read the blurb, and thought it sounded really cool, but it was hardback, and harbacks are expensive. Then yesterday, I didn't have anything to read on the train home from London, so I gave up and bought it anyway :-) (It's also a signed copy, which helped convince me - I think signed copies are cool.) I'm loving it so far, and I'm sure I'll be posting my review soon.

Round up of the week:

This is something new I want to start doing, just to collect together links for what we've posted this week at The Book Bundle.

So: Emily reviews Hands of Isis

And I reviewed The Fallen Blade

What did you get in your mailboxes this week?

~Ailsa

Hands of Isis

2011-02-02T13:28:00.000-08:00

Set in Ancient Egypt, Hands of Isis, tells the story of Charmian, a handmaiden and sister to Cleopatra from her childhood to her death and beyond.

The story is told from the perspective of Charmian, and although the blurb on the back calls it 'a novel of lovers' the story is more about the sisterly love between Charmian, Cleopatra and Iras. It's an easy read, that was enjoyable. However in my opinion the novel didn't bring anything 'new' to the story of Cleopatra, although it tried.

Similar to Black Ships, Graham brings elements of fantasy/supernatural into her story, trying to bring a new spin to an already well told tale. I thoroughly enjoyed this element in Black Ships but I don't think it translated for Hands of Isis. It felt quite forced and a bit silly, especially in regards to non egyptian characters.

Understandable, one could understand a religious egyptian relating to past lives and egyptian gods, but Julius Caesar and Agrippa? It just pulled me out of the story. I think this extra element was unnecessary, I believe focusing on the sisterly love which is touched on, without the explicit religious overtones would have been much more interesting (and a side of Cleopatra that has never been explored in historical fiction as far as I know).

I'm probably being highly critical, but this was still an enjoyable entertaining book, but due to certain elements which just didn't feel right to me, I'm giving it 6 stars.

The Fallen Blade, Jon Courtenay Grimwood

2011-02-01T02:50:00.000-08:00

Publisher: Orbit

Released: Jan 2011 - out now!

Source: Hatchette Book Group on NetGalley

Description: (From J C-G's website) Venice 1407: The city is at the height of its powers. In theory, Duke Marco commands, but Marco is a simpleton so his aunt and uncle rule in his stead. They seem all powerful, yet live in fear of assassins better than their own

On the night their world changes, Marco's young cousin prays in the family chapel for deliverance from a forced marriage. It is her misfortune to be alone when Mamluk pirates break in to abduct her – an act that will ultimately trigger war.

Elsewhere Atilo, the Duke's chief assassin, cuts a man's throat. Hearing a noise, he turns back to find a boy drinking from the victim's wound. The speed with which the angel-faced boy dodges his dagger and scales a wall stuns Atilo. He knows then he must hunt him. Not to kill him, but because he’s finally found what he thought was impossible – someone fit to be his apprentice.

My Thoughts: Fantasy in Medieval Venice, with vampires and other nasty beasties? What's not to like about that? I was very excited by the premise, so I was eager to read this book.

Overall, I did enjoy this book, but I found it quite hard going in some places. I love stories about Venice, especially Venice in this time period - there's just so many interesting things going on. I found it quite hard to get into the book - it was a bit confusing as to what was happening where, to who, etc. (And I'm sorry to say, I think I wouldn't have been quite so confused if I was holding an actual book and could flick back and forth easily, look at the map quickly, etc - but this isn't the place for a books/ebooks debate.) It wasn't just keeping track of the characters though - I didn't always understand what time events were taking place compared to things that had been in the previous, or even same, chapter.

That said, though, once I got into the book and had got to know the central characters, it was very interesting. I got to that stage of reading where I get caught up in the story, then look up to realise I've gone through over a hundred pages without really noticing how long it was.

Be warned that this is not a happy book. It's very dark and creepy in some places - and there is one particular scene not too far into the book that I wish I'd skipped over more - I partially skimmed it, and I wish I'd just jumped over it altogether, because it was not pleasant to read at all.

It was a very well built world - the supernatural elements were carefully woven into the rest of it. The 'young cousin', Giulietta, was my favourite character. Although she's spoiled and doesn't really think about others much to start with, this is understandable with the way she has been brought up, and I like the way she changes over the story. The other main character, Tycho, was also interesting to follow, and I liked seeing him learn more about the city he finds himself in, and how to survive there, even if his head is quite a dark place to be sometimes!

It was a very gripping story once I got in to it, but it's not a book you can dip in and out of. It's an interesting new world, and I will probably read the sequel, because I want to know where the political machinations end up, but the complexity and creepiness were just too much for me sometimes. I'd recommend this book to fans of fantasy series. I give it 6 out of 10.

~Ailsa

In My Mailbox

2011-01-30T04:12:00.000-08:00

Welcome to In My Mailbox! IMM is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. You can learn more about it here.

Blood and Chocolate, by Annette Curtis Klaus - from the library

Shades of Night, by Jackie Kessler and Caitlin Kittredge - from the library

Twice Bitten, by Chloe Neill - bought from Amazon UK

Branded by Fire, by Nalini Singh - from a local indie bookshop

The Iron Witch, by Karen Mahoney (2nd copy) - from the same bookshop

What did you get in your mailbox this week?

~Ailsa

Second Chances, by Lauren Dane

2011-01-30T01:31:00.000-08:00

Content warning: this book is aimed at over 18s, so there may be things in the review that aren't appropriate for younger readers

Publisher: Carina Press

Released: Available now - ebook

Source: Carina Press on NetGalley

Description: Ten years ago, Rori Simon left town shy, unattractive and with zero self-esteem. Now she's back, older, stronger and finally loving herself-and it shows. Hot men are soon knocking at her door, including Jude Callahan, the bad boy who starred in her teenage daydreams...and her adult fantasies.

Jude can't believe the sexy, confident woman before him is actually Rori! She's gotten under his skin like no other woman has...and she brings out secret desires he can't resist. He wants to dominate Rori with every fiber of his being. Wants to own her and pleasure her. To cherish her as he makes her his.

Rori discovers she likes being controlled. She also knows Jude is not a one-woman man. Everything changes when she meets Zach Helm. Edgy, sensual Zach knows just what she needs, and before long, she's in love. Jude watches them together and wonders if he's lost his chance forever...

My thoughts: I'm not quite sure how I feel about this book. I really liked it at first, but somewhere in the middle... it just didn't do it for me.

The book starts off well - we're introduced to Rori as she arrives back home after a very long time away. I found Rori to be immediately likeable, and her relationship with her sister and sister's family at their reunion was very believable. I think one thing that helped me like Rori is the way that she used to be a very awkward teenager, and then left home, travelled a bit, and gradually developed into her own person - I think probably most people can relate to this, but personally it resonated a lot.

I like Rori's early encounters with the people she used to know in the small town, and their reactions to how much more confident she is now. Again, it's very believable. And I liked reading about the gorgeous Jude, even if the fact that she's hooking up with her brother-in-law's half brother struck me as a tiny bit weird sometimes. The scenes when she's with Jude are very steamy, there is so much emotion and chemistry between them. I really wanted to see how they worked out what they were doing, how they were going to fit together. Then Jude screws up. And this is where it started to go downhill for me. As it says in the blurb, she meets Zach. She meets him the same night she's broken up with Jude, and yes, she won't let herself do anything with Zach at first because of that, but she's so persistent in thinking that everything is over between her and Jude. I can understand that she's cross because she's been badly hurt before, but I really wanted her to let him apologise properly, to give him a second chance.

As the blurb says, Rori falls in love with Zach. And here I really wasn't into the story. They get together, work through a couple of things, and then there is a huge chunk where they, for want of a better phrase, play house for a while. I found myself skimming over a lot of this bit. It just wasn't interesting to me. I'm still not sure how I feel about the end bit of the book. Yes, it was ok, but by that point I wasn't really interested any more. I felt like it had lost the promise that it had at the start.

I've heard a lot of good things about the author, Lauren Dane, so I probably will try and read some of her other books, because the writing was very good for a lot of the story, but unfortunately this one just didn't really do it for me. I'll give it five stars.

Has anyone else read this book? What did you think?

~Ailsa

A Brush Of Darkness, by Allison Pang

2011-01-28T02:43:00.000-08:00

Release: 25 Jan, USA & UK

Publisher: Pocket Books

Source: Galley Grab

Description: The man of her dreams might be the cause of her nightmares.

Six months ago, Abby Sinclair was struggling to pick up the pieces of her shattered life. Now, she has an enchanted iPod, a miniature unicorn living in her underwear drawer, and a magical marketplace to manage. But despite her growing knowledge of the OtherWorld, Abby isn't at all prepared for Brystion, the dark, mysterious, and sexy-as- sin incubus searching for his sister, convinced Abby has the key to the succubus's whereabouts. Abby has enough problems without having this seductive shape-shifter literally invade her dreams to get information. But when her Faery boss and some of her friends vanish, as well, Abby and Brystion must form an uneasy alliance. As she is sucked deeper and deeper into this perilous world of faeries, angels, and daemons, Abby realizes her life is in as much danger as her heart—and there's no one she can trust to save her.

My thoughts:

I hadn't heard of A Brush of Darkness before I got the e-galley, but a quick search of the internet showed me the cover, which sold me almost at once. When I found the description, I knew I had to read it. Luckily, it didn't disappoint.

Abby works in a bookshop during the day (I'm so jealous!) but at night she runs the Midnight Marketplace, where all kind of supernatural creatures come to buy weird & wonderful things. Only she's not supposed to be running it by herself - her boss, the Protectorate Moira, is missing. People come to her with problems, and when they realise that she isn't there, and hasn't been for a while, there are problems. When Abby and her friends start looking for Moira, things get worse, as more people are kidnapped. And tied into the middle of it all, somehow, is Brystion, an incubus who wanders into the bookshop in the first chapter. Abby is attracted to him, and he seems interested in her, but she's never quite sure whether she can trust him, or what his motives are - it feels like he's hiding something.

I liked Abby's character. She's a Touchstone for Moira, which means they have a contract tying them together somehow that allows Moira, a fae, to be in the human world when she wants to be, rather than just at certain times of day. Some things have happened recently in her past that have changed her a lot, but she's trying to move on and make a new life, even if dealing with supernaturals isn't something she ever thought she would do. I liked the relationship between her and Brystion - it has a very central part in the story, and is a bit of a rollercoaster ride of ups and downs.

It gets quite creepy in some places, but there are also some really fun things in the book. And I think Allison Pang has pulled them off as being funny and believable at the same time, which not everyone does. For instance, there's the tiny unicorn who keeps getting into Abby's underwear draw. Or the demon obsessed with world-of-warcraft - I literally laughed for about five minutes over that part.

I like the motives of the bad guys/girls too. Not going to give anything away, but I do think it was believable that they acted the way they did.

So, I really enjoyed reading this book. I had a e-galley, but I'm definitely going to buy a 'real' copy when I find it in the shops - this is a book that I will read again, and I love the cover! I really hope there's a sequel, but I'd read anything else she writes regardless of whether it was set in Abby's world or not. I give it 9 out of 10 stars.

~Ailsa

In My Mailbox

2011-01-23T06:15:00.000-08:00

Hi guys! I meant to get a couple of reviews up between this IMM and the last one, but I've had a really busy week with classes and other things, so I just didn't have time! I think I've adjusted to being back at college again though, so hopefully this week I can get back to a real posting schedule.

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren, with full details on her page.

I actually only got one book this week, so no vlog this time.

I got:

The Iron Witch, by Karen Mahoney.

It just came out this week, and I've been waiting for ages to read this book. I started it last night, and so far so good!

What did you get in your mailboxes this week? Also, what do you think about vlogs vs normal posts? Do you like the vlogs for IMM or do you prefer to have things written down?

~Ailsa

In My Mailbox

2011-01-18T06:03:00.000-08:00

A few days late, but hey! It's here now!

In addition to the books in the vlog below, I've also read 'Second Chances' by Lauren Dane, which I got via NetGalley, and 'A Brush of Darkness' by Allison Pang from Simon&Schuster's galley grab program - I really really enjoyed that one, and I'm aiming to post the review this evening.

(I keep holding the book in front of my face in the video because I wasn't sure how much of me the camera could see.)

What did you get in your mailboxes this week?

~Ailsa

Cryer's Cross, by Lisa McMann

2011-01-15T03:42:00.000-08:00

Released: 8 Feb 2011

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Source: ARC received through S&S galley grab program

Description: The small town of Cryer’s Cross is rocked by tragedy when an unassuming freshman disappears without a trace. Kendall Fletcher wasn’t that friendly with the missing girl, but the angst wreaks havoc on her OCD-addled brain. When a second student goes missing - someone close to Kendall’s heart - the community is in an uproar. Caught in a downward spiral of fear and anxiety, Kendall’s not sure she can hold it together. When she starts hearing the voices of the missing, calling out to her and pleading for help, she fears she’s losing her grip on reality. But when she finds messages scratched in a desk at school - messages that could only be from the missing student who used to sit there - Kendall decides that crazy or not, she’d never forgive herself if she didn’t act on her suspicions.

This isn't the kind of book I normally read, except when I used to do the Carneigie Medal read-along at school, but I actually really enjoyed it.

We are quickly introduced to Kendal, the main character, as she helps the other villagers search for a young girl who has gone missing. The search is unsuccessful, and we jump ahead a couple of months to when Kendal is going back to school. Kendal has OCD, and as the story focusses on her, it plays a big part, which I thought was interesting, as it gives readers an insight into what it’s like for someone with OCD. Kendal lines up the desks in the classroom, getting them just so, and going through other familiar tasks. The two new kids are interesting, even if the boy does seem a little rude and antisocial to Kendal at first.

Then we get to the part where it really grabbed me. Nico (her best friend) starts acting weird, and about a week later, he vanishes. Once again, no one can find any trace of him.

I really liked the story. Although the beginning is slow, it fits the pace of the town, and shows you just how much it rocks the daily lives and relationships of the characters when people start to disappear. I really wanted to know what had been happening to people, and even though I was sad that Nico had gone, I wanted Kendal to open up to Jacián (the new boy), and get closer to him - their relationship was very sweet, in a good way; you could see how much good they were doing each other. And when things start to happen to Kendal and I knew she was going to be the next one to go missing, I really started hoping that her bond with Jacián would be enough to save her, and that someone would stop her before it was too late.

The writing style is interesting. It’s hard to pull off present tense writing, but Lisa McMann does it well. You don’t often see stories in the present tense, and I found that an interesting change. It’s hard to tell when the story is set, because Cryer’s Cross is such a rural town, but I don’t think it really matters to the story. In the end, most questions are answered, although I do still have a couple of small ones, but I think I heard that there’s a sequel, so hopefully we’ll find out more then. Kendal certainly goes through a lot during the story, but I would have liked to see how the village and all the main characters were affected by what happens, after the events at the end of the book. It really was a good read, and I would recommend it to fans of YA and mysteries. 7 out of 10.

On another note, In My Mailbox will be back tomorrow! Yay!

~Ailsa

Nefertiti

2011-01-10T11:14:00.000-08:00

Nefertiti by Michelle Moran, reminds me alot of 'The Other Boleyn Girl' by Philippa Gregory - both books tell the story of two sisters, one sister is beautiful, intelligent and ambitious (Nefertiti; Anne) to become queen and the other young sister is loyal and loving to that sister until she is pushed away by her sister's selfishness (Mutnodjmet; Mary). It's actually scary how both stories run in parallel to each other in regards to both the characters and the plot (apart from the 4,000 years between settings).

Nefertiti tells the story of two sisters, against the backdrop of ancient Egypt. Nefertiti is beautiful, intelligent and cunning and is destined to become chief wife to the next Pharaoh, Tuthmosis . However Fate intervenes, and Tuthmosis, the favoured son dies, leaving the younger son Amenhotep to rise as the next leader. The story at its essence is the story of two sisters and their relationship, but is also about the hubris of Amenhotep IV (aka Akhenaten) and his chief wife Nefertiti.

I absolutely love everything to do with Ancient Egypt and have read about the era of Akhenaten. Obviously with the passing of thousands of years, facts about what really happened are quite limited, but Moran does an excellent job of putting her own spin on events. She has done her research and similar to 'Cleopatra's Daughter' doesn't overburden the reader with too much information. She uses historical information to tell the story, not drown it so you keep turning the pages effortlessly. I read this book in a day, and thoroughly enjoyed it, and am giving it 8 stars.

One of the main reasons I docked a star was because of the romance element concerning Mutnodjmet. It seemed to just happen, there was no build up. Mutnodjmet seemed almost removed from it, I felt I never got to see her actually feelings. It just didn't seem to connect.

Apart from this minor issue (because it's not a romance book), it was a great read, and I'd recommend it to anyone who wanted a historical page turner.