Unspoken

Unspoken

by Sarah Rees Brennan

The Lynburn Legacy, book one

 

Kami Glass is in love with someone she's never met—a boy she's talked to in her head since she was born. This has made her an outsider in the sleepy English town of Sorry-in-the-Vale, but she has learned ways to turn that to her advantage. Her life seems to be in order, until disturbing events begin to occur. There has been screaming in the woods and the manor overlooking the town has lit up for the first time in 10 years. . . . The Lynburn family, who ruled the town a generation ago and who all left without warning, have returned. Now Kami can see that the town she has known and loved all her life is hiding a multitude of secrets—and a murderer. The key to it all just might be the boy in her head. The boy she thought was imaginary is real, and definitely and deliciously dangerous. (description from Amazon.com)

 

This was my very first Sarah Rees Brennan book and I wasn't quite sure what to expect, except that I had heard great things about her earlier series.  Well, if that series compares at all to this book, I will most certainly be going back to read the Demon books.

 

This book sucked me right in. Perhaps it was the smart protagonist. Perhaps it was that she was quirky and had an imaginary friend that she talked to in her head. Perhaps it was her devoted friends and a town full of dark secrets. It was everything.  The atmosphere....the characters...the danger...the tortured romance...

 

I cannot wait to dive back in to Kami's life in book two. It cannot come out fast enough.

 

Full disclosure: eARC provided by NetGalley



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A Fractured Light

A Fractured Light

by Jocelyn Davies

A Beautiful Dark, book two

 

When she wakes up in unfamiliar surroundings, Skye knows something terrible has happened to her. It's not until she hears Asher, the dark, rebellious angel she fell in love with, that the memories come flooding back. She tries to put the past behind her, but she knows she'll be forever haunted by the ruthless betrayal that almost took her life.

Skye returns home, but with the knowledge of who she really is, nothing can ever be the same. As she tests the limits of her newfound powers, Skye discovers that she's capable of far more than anyone could have imagined. Both the Order and the Rebellion want her for their side as war between the factions looms. She can't forget the terrifying truth she now knows about the Order, but something holds her back from embracing the Rebellion. (decription from Amazon.com)


Picking up right where the first book left off, Skye must now deal with the fallout of finding out who she truly is, and being unsure of where she really belongs. With ties to both sides in a holy war, Skye must decide who she feels more beholden to...or does she. What I truly loved about this book was that though Skye falls in love, she does not let that emotion define her (unlike some other paranormal heroines...*cough* *cough* Bella *cough*). Skye chooses to forge her own path, regardless of the consequences. 

With romance, secrets, and a much stronger heroine than might appear on the surface, this trilogy (assuming the last book is as good as the first two) is truly one of my faves in the paranormal field.

Full disclosure: Copy received to review for SLJ


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Girl of Nightmares

Girl of Nightmares

by Kendare Blake

sequel to Anna Dressed in Blood

 

It's been months since the ghost of Anna Korlov opened a door to Hell in her basement and disappeared into it, but ghost-hunter Cas Lowood can't move on.

His friends remind him that Anna sacrificed herself so that Cas could live—not walk around half dead. He knows they're right, but in Cas's eyes, no living girl he meets can compare to the dead girl he fell in love with.

Now he's seeing Anna everywhere: sometimes when he's asleep and sometimes in waking nightmares. But something is very wrong...these aren't just daydreams. Anna seems tortured, torn apart in new and ever more gruesome ways every time she appears.

Cas doesn't know what happened to Anna when she disappeared into Hell, but he knows she doesn't deserve whatever is happening to her now. Anna saved Cas more than once, and it's time for him to return the favor. (description from Amazon.com)

 



These books induce just the right amount of shivers.  Blake has mastered the art of creating a world inhabited by all the things that go bump in the night, but not leaving you afraid to sleep after reading...

The hell that Anna was trapped in was creepy and there were moments when I was truly afraid for Cas...then knowing that what he might be returning to was not really any better? You know those moments when you have to keep reminding yourself that "It'll work out okay...it's so and so and they can't really die"... Yeah, I was doing that a lot.

As good as the first.

Full disclosure: Audio book received to review for AudioFile Magazine

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Liar and Spy

Liar and Spy

by Rebecca Stead

 

Seventh grader Georges moves into a Brooklyn apartment building and meets Safer, a twelve-year-old self-appointed spy. Georges becomes Safer's first spy recruit. His assignment? Tracking the mysterious Mr. X, who lives in the apartment upstairs. But as Safer becomes more demanding, Georges starts to wonder: what is a lie, and what is a game? How far is too far to go for your only friend? (description from Amazon.com)

 

I love Rebecca Stead's books.  Though this one is very different from When You Reach Me, it still has the same ability to slowly unfold a much deeper story than expected. Stead draws readers into a world where a boy is trying to adjust to a new home...but as you read, you realize a LOT more is going on than first showed on the surface. 

 

The layers that slowly peeled away to reveal the underlying issues were masterfully done.  It wasn't until just before Georges would address or discover an issue that I would suspect the very thing about to happen.  Scenes, word choices, character motivations were all carefully written so that none of these things were evident straight on.  Amazing.

 

I also have to mention how wonderful each of the characters in this book are... not just the kids, but also the parents.  They each have little quirks that bring them to life and the way that they interact with one another was wonderful. This is also a great book for modeling families that truly work and support one another.  So nice to see in today's world. 

 

A short, sweet, and satisfying read.

 

Full disclosure: eARC received to review through NetGalley 

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Monday's Movie and TV Talk! (2)

  

Welcome to Monday's Movie and TV Talk! I don't know if I'll do this every Monday, or just sporadically on Mondays, but I LOVE TV and movies, so I figured why not add some of that to the blog for fun?? It'll be especially awesome when I can tie things into the YA book world...

 

So I LOVE the TV show, Game of Thrones.  LOVE. LOVE. LOVE. It is epic in every sense. Beautifully filmed, great casting choices, surprising storylines (based on the books which I am slowly working my way through)...

Sooooooo...I am beyond excited to be able to share the teaser trailer for season 3 of Game of Thrones which will start up again in March!!




I also wanted to mention that I saw the movie Breaking Dawn, Part Two over the holiday weekend.  (I was super stoked, too, when I realized the tickets were only $5!! SWEET!)

 

Happily I went to the movies with another person who loves to lean over and make little comments like I do, so it wasn't a problem when I kept leaning over and saying things like,

Oh my God, fakest looking baby ever!

They're Amazons and vampires, they don't feel the cold...

OMG, so awkward to film that when you're dating in real life, too!

 

LOL.  Don't get me wrong.  There is just something about the train wreck that is each Twilight movie that I absolutely love...but no one will ever argue that they're really GOOD. These are not meant to be award winning movies...they're campy fun vampire romances, come on...

 

I am very glad at this point that I am done with the Twilight franchise.  It's been eons since the first book came out and honestly I am ready to be done with the whole thing...  but I'm not quite done with Stephenie Meyer.

 

I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE THE HOST. LOVE!!

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This Week's Library Loot (2)

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries!

 

My Library Loot:

Rebel Heart

by Moira Young

Dust Lands, book two

 

Sapphire Blue

by Kerstin Gier

Ruby Red Trilogy, book two

 

Merge and Disciple

by Walter Mosley

 

So, that's what I picked up at my Library this week... did you swing by yours?

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Anxiously Awaiting... Premeditated and Under the Light!!

Premeditated

by Josin Mcquein

 

Publication date: October 2013 (such a long time!!)

 

A week ago, Dinah’s cousin Claire cut her wrists.

Five days ago, Dinah found Claire’s diary and discovered why.
Three days ago, Dinah stopped crying and came up with a plan.
Two days ago, she ditched her piercings and bleached the black dye from her hair.
Yesterday, knee socks and uniform plaid became a predator’s camouflage.
Today, she’ll find the boy who broke Claire.
By tomorrow, he’ll wish he were dead.

Ooh. Sounds creepy delicious.  A revenge plot...

Under the Light

by Laura Whitcomb

 

Publication date: May 14, 2013 (only a leetle sooner!)

 

Helen needed a body to be with her beloved and Jenny needed to escape from hers before her spirit was broken. It was wicked, borrowing it, but love drives even the gentlest soul to desperate acts.

When Jenny returns to her body, she finds that someone has been living her life while she was away. She doesn’t remember being Billy’s lover or defying her family. But now she is faced with the consequences. And Helen, who has returned to warn Jenny—to help her—finds herself trapped, haunting the girl she wished to save.

In this captivating companion novel to A Certain Slant of Light, the love story between Jenny and Billy begins out-of-body—where they can fly and move the stars--and continues into the tumultuous realm of the living, where they are torn away from each other even as they slowly remember their spirits falling in love.

A companion to A Certain Slant of Light?!!  Finally! I CANNOT wait for this. :)

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Splintered

Splintered

by A.G. Howard

 

Publication date: January 1, 2013

 

This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence. Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.

When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own. (description from Amazon.com) 

I LOVED this book.  I was simultaneously torn between wanting to desperately tear through it to find out all the crazy/wonderful things that would happen and wanting to put it down periodically so that I could savor that first reading for just a little bit longer. 

Howard wrote some ravishingly dark imagery in her version of Wonderland. Every time you think you recognize something from the original, there is a creepy and distinctive twist.  Even Alyssa turns out to have facets that you would not expect. The characters have motivations that make for a more intriguing and power hungry tale than Carroll's version and ultimately, you as the reader have no idea who may survive this twisted place. 

I'm having trouble even formulating an effective way to describe exactly how much I loved this book. Suffice it to say that even though I received a review copy, I will most definitely be buying my own hardcover copy in January so that I can read it again and ooh and ahh over the gorgeous aesthetic details (the cover, OMG!) inside and out while I do...

For now, let me just say I'm giving it a GOLD STAR and that I demand you all READ IT!!

 

Full disclosure: Review copy received from VOYA

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Struck by Lightning: The Carson Phillips Journal

Struck by Lightning: The Carson Phillips Journal

by Chris Colfer

 

Publication date: November 20, 2012

 

Struck By Lightning: The Carson Phillips Journal follows the story of outcast high school senior Carson Phillips who blackmails the most popular students in his school into contributing to his literary journal to bolster his college application; his goal in life is to get into Northwestern and eventually become the editor of The New Yorker.

At once laugh-out-loud funny, deliciously dark, and remarkably smart, Struck By Lightning unearths the dirt that lies just below the surface of high school. (description from Amazon.com)

Funny. Snarky. Oh, and did I mention that if you get the audio book version Chris Colfer narrates? Yes! You heard me right...four hours of Chris reading a hilarious book to YOU. *sigh* It was great.  I loved this book. It felt very authentic, even in its over-the-top moments.   Even as I was snarfing and trying not to laugh out loud, you had to acknowledge the dark moments...

I would definitely recommend this book for high school students and adults just because of the language, but oh, who are we kidding?  With Chris Colfer's name on it and the movie version coming out in regular theaters in January, soon even middle schoolers will be asking for it, LOL. 

A little gem of a book. :)

Oh, and for fun...here's the movie trailer!

 

Full disclosure: Audio book received to review for AudioFile Magazine

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Monday's Movie and TV Talk!

Okay, this is another new feature that I'm going to try out here... I don't know if I'll do this every Monday, or just sporadically on Mondays, but I LOVE TV and movies, so I figured why not add some of that to the blog for fun?? It'll be especially awesome when I can tie things into the YA book world...

So... today, I want to talk a little bit about the TV show, GRIMM. 

It's my second favorite show right now and it just went into a season break for the Holidays. I can't wait until it returns in January...especially since it ended with the dreaded TO BE CONTINUED...

 

I will, however, forgive GRIMM for this horrible tease because they just keep writing an excellent show that feeds into both my love of gritty fairy tales and cop drama. I love the idea of a homicide detective that can see the creatures that go bump in the night... it makes for some very interesting cases!

 

*Spoiler(s) Alert*

 

Okay. We are currently in season two.  I don't know how many of you are also GRIMM fanatics, but I love how this season has somehow gotten even grittier with Nick tapping more into the power (and the scare tactics it can provide) that he weilds as a Grimm over the Wesen population. 

 

The fact that he now not only has Monroe as a great sidekick, one who can interact more easily with the Wesen population, but now has also revealed everything to Hank (aka sidekick #2!) makes for a very interesting trio of investigators. This last episode also brought Monroe and Nick to a whole new level of "doing whatever it takes" to keep those around them safe...breaking laws, both officially written and those that are unspoken between the Wesen.  :)

 

I am super excited to see what happens in January with the "Battle Royale"... Will Nick discover that not only did the Captain try to inadvertantly steal his woman, but is also the secret Royal in Portland? Will Juliette truly leave Nick?  Will Nick cross all the lines and be unable to come back?  Dun. Dun. Dunnnn! 

*End Spoilers*

Let me know if you're also a GRIMM watcher and what you think may happen... but be kind and prepare people for spoilers in your comments if you're going to make any!!!

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This Week's Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries!

 

So, since I've become involved with the Nutmeg Book Award selection committees in my home state of CT, my blog has had to become a little less of a priority in my life.  There are times when I can tell that I'm blogging a lot less frequently, but I hope that it hasn't been TOO noticeable for all of you.  I've also found that I really can't get to all of the "just for fun" books that I'd like anymore... but I'm actually reading more than ever!

 

So... I decided that I want to try to inject a little more fun into my blog again. Some things that I can do weekly or more frequently...and some things that might be a little less, well purely review-y.  LOL.  So, Library Loot is something I want to try because with my job I most definitely bring books home from the Library every week, so every time I post this there should be at least something for y'all to enjoy. :P

 

My Library Loot:

Tim Gunn's Fashion Bible

by Tim Gunn

 

Island of Thieves

by Josh Lacey

 

The Humming Room

by Ellen Potter

 

So, that's what I picked up at my Library this week... did you swing by yours?

I haven't decided yet if I'll be mentioning books I buy or am given on a regular basis...we'll see. For now, just shoutin' out for my Library use, LOL. :)

 



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Island of Silence

Island of Silence

by Lisa McMann

The Unwanteds, book two



Following the life-altering events at the conclusion of The Unwanteds, the stark world of Quill and the magical haven of Artimé are now home to whoever wants to live there, whether they are Wanteds, Unwanteds, or Necessaries.

In Artimé, Alex Stowe and his friends continue to hone their artistic magical spells while welcoming newcomers, wondering how long this peace between Quill and Artimé will last. Alex is stunned when Mr. Today comes to him with a very special request—one Alex questions his readiness for, until circumstances offer a dramatic answer.

And back in Quill, Aaron Stowe, Alex’s twin, faces a very different path. Devastated by his loss of status after Justine’s defeat and seething with rage toward Alex, Aaron is stealthily planning his revenge and return to power. (Description from Amazon.com)

 

This is a series that I will tell you I unabashedly enjoy. It has a very similar feel to Harry Potter, but takes a very unique spin on the arts. I envy Lisa McMann's imagination when I read about the artistically inspired spells the kids use in Artime.

As in Harry Potter, this second book has taken the series to a slightly darker place. While Artime is still a thriving, beautiful, and creative place, the political repurcussions of opening Artime to everyone are felt throughout the land. While the Artimeans are busy battling the Quillians, they also discover that something sinister may be occuring outside of their land, as well. In fact, even as Alex is trying to wrap his brain around being groomed to lead Artime one day and also deal with his evil twin's sinister plotting (which gave me shivers, btw...kid's got real power issues!), several of Alex's friends go missing and Alex finds himself in charge much earlier than expected.

The only fault I found with this book was that it left off with huge plot cliffhangers!! While a few questions were answered, many more were raised, and I'm going to have a hard time waiting for book three to find out what's really going on at the Island of Silence!!

 

Full disclosure: Audio book received to review for SLJ

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My 1,000th Post!

 

I can't believe that I have written 1,000 posts on this blog! It seems incredible to think that I've had the time and energy to do that, but even on the days when I'd rather not blog for one reason or another, if you asked me I would still say that I love doing this.  I love to talk about books. I love to speculate about what's coming out, if the movies they are making from books will be worthwhile... I love talking to other bloggers and authors. I'm hoping that I can blog for at least another 1,000 posts!!

 

Before I start my next post, I just want to say a special thank you to some of the authors and bloggers that have encouraged me, put up with my online stalking, I mean... LOL, anyway...

 

THANK YOU:

 

Jennifer Rummel - http://yabooknerd.blogspot.com/ - for inspiring me to blog in the first place.

Rebecca Rynecki - http://rebeccaryneckithequestsandperils.blogspot.com/ - for keeping me going and working with me to also become a pulished author...

Gretchen Kolderup - http://www.librarified.net/ and http://www.yalsa.ala.org/thehub/ for getting me much more involved in YALSA and encouraging me to also blog for The HUB!!

Carrie Harris - http://carrieharrisbooks.blogspot.com/ - for being not only a fabulous author but a snarktastic blogger!

Tera Lynn Childs - http://teralynnchilds.com/ - for being one of the first (and still...) authors to continuously take the time to chat with me online! LOVE.

Alex Lidell - http://alexlidell.com/ - for inspiring me again and trusting me to organize an online scavenger hunt on her behalf!

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What's On My Hold List?

Welcome to the November 2012* edition

of

"What's on My Hold List?"

*I just realized I never did an October edition...*face palm* MY BAD!!*

 

One of the most beautiful things about working in a Library is that I have the ability to put lots of things on hold and read them *before* I buy!! These are some of the books that I'm currently waiting for, though I may buy one or two of them after reading, as well.

 

Notorious Nineteen

by Janet Evanovich

Stephanie Plum, book nineteen

 

Rebel Heart

by Moira Young

Dust Lands, book two

 

Sapphire Blue

by Kerstin Gier

Ruby Red Trilogy, book two

 

Tim Gunn's Fashion Bible

by Tim Gunn

 

 

Bad Yeti

by Carrie Harris

Kate Grable novella

 

Breathless

by Sophie Jordan

Firelight novella

 





You can click on each title to go to their Amazon page for a description...

So, these are the books I'm waiting anxiously to get my hands on...what are you waiting for??

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City of Lies

City of Lies

by Lian Tanner

The Keepers Trilogy, book two



Goldie Roth is a trained thief and a skilled liar. Along with her friend Toadspit, she's supposed to be one of the Keepers of the mysterious Museum of Dunt. But although she desperately wants to be a Keeper, she will not leave her sick parents to do so. But when Toadspit's sister Bonnie is stolen, he and Goldie are forced to follow the child-stealers to the neighboring city of Spoke. Along the way, Toadspit too is captured, and Goldie is caught up in the Festival of Lies, where every word she says means something else and no one can be trusted. There, Goldie discovers some dangerous secrets—secrets that the child-stealers will kill to protect. She will need all her skills as a thief and a liar if she is to survive and save her friends. (description from Amazon.com)

 

I have to confess, I did not quite love this book as much as I did the first in the trilogy. There were sections where I found myself just a tad confused. However, I did really enjoy the concept for this book and still found Goldie to be a fantastic main character. I think what I really missed, though, was the darkly captivating Museum of Dunt... it's such a fantastic setting and I cannot wait to follow Goldie's next adventure as she ventures deep inside...

 

This series is a really great dystopian fantasy with interesting characters and political intrigue galore. I HIGHLY recommend the first book, Museum of Thieves, and look forward to finishing the series.

 

Full disclosure: Book purchased for my own collection.

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The Drowned Cities

The Drowned Cities

by Paolo Bacigalupi

 

In a dark future America where violence, terror, and grief touch everyone, young refugees Mahlia and Mouse have managed to leave behind the war-torn lands of the Drowned Cities by escaping into the jungle outskirts. But when they discover a wounded half-man--a bioengineered war beast named Tool--who is being hunted by a vengeful band of soldiers, their fragile existence quickly collapses. One is taken prisoner by merciless soldier boys, and the other is faced with an impossible decision: Risk everything to save a friend, or flee to a place where freedom might finally be possible. (description from Amazon.com)

 

I had heard how great Ship Breaker was...it won awards, even... but I just hadn't had time to read another dystopian book in the last year or so that wasn't already high on my priorities list. Well, I'm gonna have to make time to go back and read it now, because the companion book was stellar.

 

This book is set in a dark, war torn dystopian United States (well, what's left of it, that is...).  It is gritty and violent and compelling.  There is no romance and really little hope. Yet... you read (or listen) continuously searching for the seeds of hope and finding little hints that it may yet be there to find. 

 

Reminiscent of Margaret Atwood's startlingly realistic and raw dystopian novels, Bacigalupi is an author for those readers who do not want their gritty future tied to a cheesy romance... this is for a more hard core, action seeking science fiction reader.

 

Full disclosure: Audio book received to review for SLJ



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