Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly event, originally started by Jill at Breaking the Spine , that highlights upcoming book releases everyone is waiting on...hence the title. This week's pick is Incarnate by Jodi Meadows. Here is the Goodreads description:

NEWSOUL

Ana is new. For thousands of years in Range, a million souls have been reincarnated over and over, keeping their memories and experiences from previous lifetimes. When Ana was born, another soul vanished, and no one knows why.

NOSOUL
Even Ana’s own mother thinks she’s a nosoul, an omen of worse things to come, and has kept her away from society. To escape her seclusion and learn whether she’ll be reincarnated, Ana travels to the city of Heart, but its citizens are suspicious and afraid of what her presence means. When dragons and sylph attack the city, is Ana to blame?

HEART
Sam believes Ana’s new soul is good and worthwhile. When he stands up for her, their relationship blooms. But can he love someone who may live only once, and will Ana’s enemies—human and creature alike—let them be together? Ana needs to uncover the mistake that gave her someone else’s life, but will her quest threaten the peace of Heart and destroy the promise of reincarnation for all?

Jodi Meadows expertly weaves soul-deep romance, fantasy, and danger into an extraordinary tale of new life.

This reminds me a little of Eon Flux and I absolutely love the concept although I do have a few reservations about the dragons! I'll keep an open mind though and wait until I read it. Did I mention how GORGEOUS the cover is? I'd buy it for the cover alone! Incarnate is published on 31st January, 2012.

Hex: A Witch and Angel Tale Review

I read Hex: A Witch and Angel Tale by Ramona Wray a little while ago now as part of a blog tour that I never took part in. The truth is, I felt uneasy about my reaction to the book and didn’t feel that I could be part of the tour. First and foremost, I should warn you that this is a very mixed review and initially the premise sounded interesting. Here’s the synopsis:

“Like most girls at Rosemound High School, seventeen-year-old Lily Crane is acutely aware of Ryder Kingscott. Hands down the cutest guy in school, Ryder is cool, mysterious, and utterly untouchable...especially for Lily. For when she touches someone, Lily instantly learns all about their lives. And while such a skill might seem nifty, in truth it is wrecking Lily's life. So she is shocked when Ryder asks her out - and even more shocked to discover he has a rival. Lucian Bell is the gorgeous new kid who can't take his eyes off of Lily. Being pursued by two hotties should make a girl happy, but Lily is skeptical. The boys act as if they've met before, hating each other with a passion that could only be rooted in a dark, dangerous past. A past full of terrible secrets. The kind of secrets that could get a girl killed.”

Let’s start by talking about the book cover. It is incredibly cute and very “Bewitched” like but in my honest opinion, I don’t think it fits the story. The cover is very girly and fluffy but the story is much darker than that.

Now I’m going to tell you why this book was incredibly frustrating for me. This book was frustrating only because I could see the potential behind it. It read like an unfinished draft that needed a little bit more work on it before releasing it into the wild. There were flashes of brilliance, paragraphs that were perfect but they weren’t consistent. Sure, there were a few spelling and grammar errors but nothing that a good editor couldn’t pick up. They may be little annoyances but I never let things like that detract from the story. Chapters one and two ended with the same line and I’m not sure if this was a mistake or not but for me, it didn’t work. Also, I thought that some of the dialogue in the first half didn’t seem realistic and there were a couple of times in the latter half where I thought “huh?” at some of it. Not because I didn’t understand the situation but I couldn’t understand WHY a particular character would say what they did.

The best part of the book for me was the last 13 chapters. This was the build towards the climax but also the first time we really saw action or indeed a display of the power that Lily allegedly had. You may find this hard to believe but as a character, I really did like her. I thought she had an authentic teenage voice and I enjoyed her humour and perspective on things. I also enjoyed the twists and turns in the tale that I hadn’t seen coming. The added element of a “Halfling” was a very interesting concept which I enjoyed.

Despite my mixed reaction, there was definitely something about the book though as I kept on reading and despite aforementioned nuances, the further I read, the more I wanted to carry on. At the end of the day, there were definitely elements I enjoyed but it frustrated me so because I know it could have been so much better.

Hex: A Witch and an Angel Tale was published in April, 2011. Ramona Wray is an independent author and you can visit her website here.

Of Witches and Warlocks Review

I initially picked up Of Witches and Warlocks for two reasons. Firstly, I enjoy stories about witches and secondly, I kept hearing about the “Vance Mangum Fanclub” and quite frankly, I like a hot guy as much as the next girl so I wanted to know what made this guy so appealing. Vance is of course one of the main characters from the book alongside Portia, a young witch in the making. Here’s the synopsis:

“Portia Mullins had always lived the life of a normal teenager, up until her sixteenth birthday. She is then informed by her grandma that she is actually a witch who is a descendant of a long line of witches and warlocks. After overcoming her disbelief she finds that being a member of the coven comes with one great perk in the form of the school's handsome bad boy, Vance Mangum. Vance and Portia have an immediate connection as a budding romance begins, only to be threatened by turbulent skies on the horizon as Vance's checkered past rears its ugly head to haunt them. Portia is forced to use her untried powers in defense of everything she loves in a desperate attempt to hold on to the one thing that really matters in her life.”

I know a lot of my friends and fellow book bloggers have fallen head over heels for Vance and I am no exception. Vance is the archetypical bad boy with a dark past who also cuts a lonely figure. Whilst he can be a little overbearing at times when it comes to Portia, it’s all so incredibly romantic and I LOVE the telepathy between them. My favourite moment between Vance and Portia was when Vance confessed that he knew about her two year crush all along. That was cute.

As an aside, I had a lot of trouble saying “Vance Mangum” and often ended up saying “Vance MAGNUM” which rolls off the tongue easier and is how he shall be known to me from now on LOL.

With regards to the story, I really like the fact that Portia is a young witch, just discovering her powers. I quite like the fact that she is more powerful than expected and I’m guessing this is setting up some sort of storyline as to either WHY she is powerful or when her amazing powers are needed. Having said all that though, I did have a few issues with the book. Some of the issues were minor like spelling and grammar errors and unnecessary repetition but I was reading an earlier copy of the book and I believe that this has now been rectified in later versions.

My main issue was actually with Portia. The relationship between Vance and Portia is certainly intense and all consuming, even perhaps overbearing at times but I overlooked that because of the magic involved. What I can’t get my head around is that I felt like Portia had no sense of self. We know almost NOTHING about her. I have no idea where her interests lie, even what her hopes and dreams are outside of loving Vance. Besides these new powers and knowledge of witchcraft, he has consumed her and whilst you could argue that’s a realistic perspective for a teenager, it’s not exactly normal. There has to come a point when you need some separation, surely. Again you could argue that this is no normal relationship and magic is involved but I cannot believe she doesn’t have at least ONE freak out moment along the way. Portia is EXTREMELY accepting of EVERYTHING after being lied to for her entire life and I just find it difficult that she hasn’t lost it yet. I’m hoping that it’s simply a case that the freak outs are to come in future books and I look forward to seeing the fallout.

Overall, Of Witches and Warlocks is a book to get lost in. I enjoyed the story, especially the romance and I’m looking forward to seeing what happens in book two.

Of Witches and Warlocks is part of a series and was first published in November, 2009 with the newer versions being published in 2011. The sequel entitled The Demon’s Kiss was published in April, 2010. To find out more about Lacey Weatherford, click here. She is also active on Twitter.

Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly event, originally started by Jill at Breaking the Spine , that highlights upcoming book releases everyone is waiting on...hence the title. This week's pick is Ashfall by Mike Mullin. Here is the Goodreads description:

"Under the bubbling hot springs and geysers of Yellowstone National Park is a supervolcano. Most people don't know it's there. The caldera is so large that it can only be seen from a plane or satellite. It just could be overdue for an eruption, which would change the landscape and climate of our planet.

Ashfall is the story of Alex, a teenage boy left alone for the weekend while his parents visit relatives. When the Yellowstone supervolcano erupts unexpectedly, Alex is determined to reach his parents. He must travel over a hundred miles in a landscape transformed by a foot of ash and the destruction of every modern convenience that he has ever known, and through a new world in which disaster has brought out both the best and worst in people desperate for food, water, and warmth. With a combination of nonstop action, a little romance, and very real science, this is a story that is difficult to stop reading and even more difficult to forget."

So I have to admit that I was struggling over what book to use for Waiting on Wednesday this week until I stumbled across Ashfall. What's scary about this book is that IT COULD HAPPEN. There really is a supervolcano underneath Yellowstone National Park that could one day errupt. I feel like this is a dystopian novel that could happen a lot sooner than we hope and I can't wait to read Alex's story.

Ashfall will be published in the US on 11th October, 2011.

Wither Review

I’m finding it hard to write this review and I think that’s because Wither by Lauren Destefano has left me speechless and completely dumbfounded. I read it rather quickly as I just had to keep on reading and I didn’t like putting it down at various intervals when life got in the way. The premise of Wither is quite original, dealing with an arguably taboo subject in the YA world and that is polygamy. I have never seen another YA book deal with this subject matter and whilst it was this very thing that intrigued me in the first place, it is also the aspect of the book I found most disturbing. Here’s the synopsis:

“What if you knew exactly when you would die?

Thanks to modern science, every human being has become a ticking genetic time bomb — males only live to age twenty-five, and females only live to age twenty. In this bleak landscape, young girls are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages to keep the population from dying out.

When sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery is taken by the Gatherers to become a bride, she enters a world of wealth and privilege. Despite her husband Linden's genuine love for her, and a tenuous trust among her sister wives, Rhine has one purpose: to escape — to find her twin brother and go home.

But Rhine has more to contend with than losing her freedom. Linden's eccentric father is bent on finding an antidote to the genetic virus that is getting closer to taking his son, even if it means collecting corpses in order to test his experiments. With the help of Gabriel, a servant Rhine is growing dangerously attracted to, Rhine attempts to break free, in the limited time she has left."

One of the strongest attributes of Wither is the characters. Rhine is a fantastic protagonist and I admire her strength and courage, and how she is not only strong for herself but also for her sister wives who indeed become like real sisters. Rhine is a spirited young lady but she is smart to keep her true feelings to herself as a way of self preservation. Rhine narrates the audience through the terrifying world in which she lives in but what’s even more terrifying is that on the surface, from a day to day perspective, it actually looks quite nice and comfortable. She lives in luxury and is treated well, Linden is not an ogre and I thought the way Lauren chose to write his character was very clever. You’d think that he would be very dislikeable, after all he has three wives who were kidnapped against their will and forced to marry him, share his bed (separately, I hasten to add)and live like everything is just peachy. But we don’t hate him as we come to realise that he is just as much of a victim in this as everyone else. Arguably, the forced kidnapping and polygamy has become a necessary way to procreate and ensure survival of our species. It all sounds rather mechanical doesn’t it? I mean, what about love? Thankfully, this is also touched upon in the novel as we learn about Rose, Linden’s first wife who sadly died from the disease. Also, Rhine is more and more attracted to Gabriel but is it love? Possibly ;)

Overshadowing it all is Linden’s father who is one of the creepiest characters I’ve read about in a long time. He is a wealthy, intelligent man who no doubt loves his son but takes the idea of doing anything to save him to the extremes.

Wither is not an action packed novel but rather it feels like an eerie period drama set mainly in a sprawling stately home. I would describe it as a strange mix of Victorian grandeur and futuristic dystopia. The world building is enough so that you can see it all playing out like a movie in your mind. Like my good friend and author Zoe Marriott said in her fantastic review, Wither is a book that chips away at you quietly and gets under your skin. You’ll be thinking about it long after you’ve read it.

Wither is the first book in the Chemical Garden trilogy and was published on 22nd March, 2011. The sequel entitled “Fever” will be published in February, 2012. To find out more about Lauren Destefano, click here to visit her website. She is also active on Facebook on Twitter.

Hourglass Review

YA? CHECK. Time travel? CHECK. Romance? CHECK. Ding, ding, ding we have a winner! This is everything I want in a YA novel and I feel like Hourglass by Myra McEntire was written especially for me. I am absolutely fascinated with time travel and ever since I found out that Hourglass was a time slip novel, I knew this was the book for me. It would seem that fate agreed with me on this one as I was lucky enough to win an ARC and let me tell you, I started and finished the book IN A DAY. This is not because it is a quick and easy read, but simply because of how compelling I found the story and I just could not stop until I knew what was going to happen next! Intrigued? Here’s the synopsis:

“For seventeen-year-old Emerson Cole, life is about seeing what isn’t there: swooning Southern Belles; soldiers long forgotten; a haunting jazz trio that vanishes in an instant. Plagued by phantoms since her parents’ death, she just wants the apparitions to stop so she can be normal. She’s tried everything, but the visions keep coming back.

So when her well-meaning brother brings in a consultant from a secretive organization called the Hourglass, Emerson’s willing to try one last cure. But meeting Michael Weaver may not only change her future, it may change her past.

Who is this dark, mysterious, sympathetic guy, barely older than Emerson herself, who seems to believe every crazy word she says? Why does an electric charge seem to run through the room whenever he’s around? And why is he so insistent that he needs her help to prevent a death that never should have happened?

Full of atmosphere, mystery, and romance, Hourglass merges the very best of the paranormal and science-fiction genres in a seductive, remarkable young adult debut”.

I loved this book x a million and have found a new literary boyfriend in Michael *swoon*. He is a perfect Southern gentleman (be still my beating heart) and that’s really all I need to know. You could also apply the description of dreamboat, y’know...if you want ;) I really enjoyed his relationship with Emerson and the perfect balance of lust and sexual tension between them as Michael tries to ignore his growing attraction towards her out of a sense of duty.

And speaking of Emerson, she was a really fun character - she may be short but she’s full of sass! In fact, all words beginning with “s” probably apply – short, sassy, smart, sexy, stubborn, Southern. I loved her attitude and sense of humour, which is obviously quite close to Myra’s ;)

In terms of secondary characters, I’d have to say that I particularly liked Kaleb with Lily being a close second. I get the impression that we haven’t even scratched the surface with these two and I’m really hoping we get to see more of them in future books.

Hourglass made me laugh and cry as I became heavily involved with the characters. There was also one particular aspect I found slightly confusing when I tried to delve into the reasons for a certain person’s actions but c’mon, this is a time travel novel and so of course it’s going to hurt your brain when you try and figure everything out. I thought the plot was very believable and the pacing was perfect. Hourglass makes you think about the consequences of your actions, how we deal with loss and ultimately what we’ll do for love.

Hourglass is a stunning debut novel , full of twists and turns and is one of those rare books that once you’ve finished reading, you want to turn back to the beginning and re-read it all over again. This book truly deserves recognition and also a UK publishing company!!! The cover art is simply beautiful but what’s inside is even better.

Hourglass was published on 14th June, 2011 and I believe a sequel is in the works. To find out more about Myra click here to visit her website. She is also active on Facebook and Twitter.

Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly event, originally started by Jill at Breaking the Spine , that highlights upcoming book releases everyone is waiting on...hence the title. This week's pick is A Long Long Sleep by Anna Sheehan. Here is the blurb:

"Rosalinda Fitzroy had been asleep for 62 years when she was woken by a kiss.

Locked away in the chemically-induced slumber of a stasis tube in a forgotten sub-basement, sixteen-year-old Rose slept straight through the Dark Times that killed millions and utterly changed the world she knew. Now, her parents and her first love are long dead, and Rose - hailed upon her awakening as the long-lost heir to an interplanetary empire - is thrust alone into a future in which she is viewed as either a freak or a threat.

Desperate to put the past behind her and adapt to her new world, Rose finds herself drawn to the boy who kissed her awake, hoping that he can help her to start fresh. But when a deadly danger jeopardizes her fragile new existence, Rose must face the ghosts of her past with open eyes - or be left without any future at all.

A stunning love story, an ultimate betrayal, and a compelling new author."

Oooh, this is like a futuristic retelling of Sleeping Beauty and I think it sounds delicious. I've seen a couple of different covers for this book but I really love the one I've featured and will be seeking out that cover when I buy a copy. A Long Long Sleep is published on 9th August, 2011.

Imaginary Girls Review

I love the title and indeed the cover of Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma which is what first drew me in but I’ll admit that I didn’t know anything about the plot. I’d heard that it was getting some good reviews and it seemed like everyone wanted to get their hands on a copy of the book. A kind friend let me borrow an ARC and I read it on a very long train ride which made for an interesting journey as I got totally lost in the book.

Now let me start by saying that Imaginary Girls is not a romance novel although it is a story about relationships, specifically the bond between two sisters, Ruby and Chloe. Here is the synopsis:

“Chloe's older sister, Ruby, is the girl everyone looks to and longs for, who can't be captured or caged. When a night with Ruby's friends goes horribly wrong and Chloe discovers the dead body of her classmate London Hayes left floating in the reservoir, Chloe is sent away from town and away from Ruby.

But Ruby will do anything to get her sister back, and when Chloe returns to town two years later, deadly surprises await. As Chloe flirts with the truth that Ruby has hidden deeply away, the fragile line between life and death is redrawn by the complex bonds of sisterhood.

With palpable drama and delicious craft, Nova Ren Suma bursts onto the YA scene with the story that everyone will be talking about”.

This was one of the most original books I’ve ever read. With threads of the supernatural woven into the story, it made for a creepy read at times. I think the way Nova described the reservoir, it actually became one of the major characters of the story for me.

Nova’s writing is beautiful and poetic at times. I thought she had an incredible sense of voice, particularly when it came to Chloe. And her characters are so well rounded, Ruby literally jumped off the page at me and I felt like I knew her inside out. But not only did I know her, more importantly I felt like I understood her. And with a complex character like Ruby, this is no mean feat!

I remain intrigued about the title of the book. I did ask Nova a couple of questions about the title and indeed about the book itself but she told me that she wanted to leave everything open to interpretation. Personally, this book threw up all sorts of ideas for me about mental illness. Does Ruby have a mental illness? Does Chloe? Or is there really something supernatural going on? I leave it to you to decide.

Imaginary Girls is a haunting tale of two sisters and a town called Olive. I would recommend it for the writing alone.

To find out more about Nova Ren Suma and her books, click here to visit her website. She is also active on Facebook and Twitter.

Passion Review

I have just raced through reading Passion by Lauren Kate, which is of course the third book in the incredibly popular Fallen series and I have to say that this is my favourite book by far. I really wanted to take my time with it but I just could NOT. STOP. READING and I couldn’t possibly put the book down. I was literally racing through the book as Lucinda was racing through time. I’ve waited for two books worth now to discover the whole story and I’m pleased to say that Lauren Kate finally delivers. I should of course mention at this point that if you have not read Fallen or Torment, then I would recommend you do so before reading the rest of this review.

Passion begins where Torment ended and as you may remember (truly, how could you forget?!) that Luce had finally had enough of everything, climbed into an announcer and disappeared into oblivion. What follows is a journey of discovery through time as Luce revisits her former lives with Daniel to gain a greater understanding about their relationship. Is it true love? Are they really soul mates or is it just the curse that bounds them together? As everything unfurls, the bigger picture comes into focus and we FINALLY understand what’s going on. I cannot emphasise enough how HAPPY I am about this. Both the reader and Luce have been kept in the dark for far too long.

Firstly, what an aptly named book! I definitely felt the passion between Daniel and Luce throughout their various reincarnations. And what stuck with me the most was that whilst Daniel continued to love Luce over the years, with each new life he had to win Luce’s affections all over again. Admittedly this is not a particularly hard job when you’re soul mates and are predestined to be with each other but still!

If I could think of one thing that I’m just a little disappointed in, it’s that we never really found out why Daniel chooses Luce. What is it about her that makes her so appealing? I’m guessing that because Luce and Daniel are soul mates, there doesn’t need to be an answer to this question but it throws up a whole new set of questions, such as do all angels have soul mates? And presumably they can be mortal? Also, I would have loved to have seen the life where Luce and Daniel met for the very first time and am desperately hoping that Lauren is saving this little gem for the final book.

I think Luce’s story is enthralling and I was captivated by her travel through time to visit her past lives. I also found it incredibly romantic that Daniel was chasing her throughout the journey. As an aside, I have to say that since book one, Daniel has always had dark hair for me and Cam was the blonde one. This idea is stuck so firmly in my head that when I read a description of Daniel in Passion, I actually thought it was a mistake. But then his blonde hair was referred to again and I remembered that it was me that had changed this in my head!

I have to say a huge thank you to Lauren Kate for not giving us another horrific cliff hanger at the end of Passion (only horrific in the sense that at the end of Torment, it resulted in me screaming “Nooooo!!!” at the top of my lungs and the wait for the next book has been somewhat painful). The door is definitely left open for “Rapture”, the final book in the series which is released sometime in 2012. One hopes that the title of the book and the year of release does not pre-empt or allude to any sort of apocalyptic activity! I see “Rapture” as being the final climactic scene of the story, the big fight scene if you will. There is definitely a sense of foreboding towards the end of Passion and a strong indication that there is a battle ahead. BRING IT ON!

Thank you to Random House Children's Books for sending me a copy of Passion to read and review. Passion is released on 14th June, 2011 in both the US and UK. Lauren Kate has her own website which you can visit by clicking here . She is also active on facebook and twitter. Fallen also has a UK website (where you can read the first chapter of Passion) which you can access by clicking here and a US website which you can access by clicking here .

Passion Blog Tour - Does anyone know who the good guys are anymore?

So it's not long now until Passion is published (14th June) and I have to tell you that this is my favourite book of the series so far. I'm really pleased to say that Lauren Kate finally clears up some of the burning questions I've had since reading Fallen and for those of you that are interested, my review will go live in the next few days and I hope you'll check it out.

As part of the Passion Blog Tour, I'd been thinking lately that it's not so easy to see who the good guys are and who the bad guys are in the Fallen series and I thought this would make a good discussion! So, without further a do, I give you....

When people talk to me about Fallen, they often ask who the “good guys” are and who the “bad guys” are and whether any of the characters are really just out for themselves. It’s funny, writing a book where so many of the characters are either angels or demons, you’d think the answers to these questions would be fairly black and white.

Instead, it is an all-consuming shade of gray. I’m interested in pre-conceived notions of what makes something “good” and what makes something “evil.” It’s a big part of what drew me to writing about this series. In a lot of theological texts, good is defined as the absence of evil—but that doesn’t really inspire much confidence. There’s got to be something more redeemable than that in a character we think of as an angel.

A character cannot flat line at either good or evil. With every page, with every decision that they face, they must reinforce—or undermine—the identity they’re working toward portraying. In some ways, as the author, I am in control of this, but what I like the most is when my characters surprise me. And in the Fallen series, that happens regularly.

I want my readers to fall in love with the “bad guys” (I did!) just as much as I want them to occasionally question the ethics of my “good guys.” This, I think, is the moment when an archetype jumps off the page and becomes a fully developed character, a real person that we can relate to.

One thing I can say with certainty is that there is not a single character in my books who is purely out for him or herself. These characters have a very long history with one another. They are all aware of the stakes. The implications of their collective narrative reaches far beyond any single character. They may not always get along, but they are as close as a close-knit family and very aware of how interconnect and reliant they are on one another.

Thank you to Lauren and Random House Children's Books for organising the Passion Blog Tour. The tour continues tomorrow at Girls Without A Bookshelf.

Winner of signed Forever ARC

Firstly, let me say a huge thank you to everyone that entered the Forever contest. I'm really glad that lots of you want to read the book! Last night I counted up the entries and used the random generator which picked out number 3 and so I am pleased to announce that the winner is...

RACHEL STAR
(Under a Star Studded Sky)

Congratulations to Rachel who has been contacted and she has 48 hours to claim her prize otherwise I will have to pick another winner. For all of those who didn't win, you don't have much longer to wait now anyway as Forever is released on 12th July, HOORAH!

Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly event, originally started by Jill at Breaking the Spine , that highlights upcoming book releases everyone is waiting on...hence the title. This week's pick is surprisingly, an adult book called Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. Here is the description from Goodreads:

"The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.

True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus per­formers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead."

So I'm not sure if it's because I recently saw Water for Elephants and have become fascinated with the circus (I'm already fascinated with Robert Pattinson....Yum) or whether it's because I loved films like The Prestige and The Illusionist but I'm really interested to read this book! Not only does it sound like a cracking good story, but it has romance too. PERFECT.

Now I'm going to tell you how I supidly let this book slip right through my fingers. As it turns out, advance copies of Night Circus were being given out at BEA and at the time, I had no idea what the book was about. Wary of weight (there's only so many books you can carry onto an airplane) and not wanting to pick up a book I wasn't interested in, therefore leaving it for someone who REALLY wants it, I walked right past it and now I am KICKING MYSELF for not picking up a copy. By the time I realised, thanks to some random guy I met in a queue who told me about it, all copies were gone. I then decided to try my luck at The Strand as they sometimes have books on the shelves earlier than their release date, but no luck. So now I shall just have to wait for release date like the rest of the world, which really isn't a bad thing considering just how many books I DID bring back from BEA to add to my ever growing TBR pile.

Night Circus is released on 13th September, 2011

Breaking Dawn (Part 1) Trailer

It seems really appropriate that I post this on my birthday - the official teaser trailer for Breaking Dawn (part 1) has been released and OMG it is sexy as hell! I can't tell you how much I am looking forward to this movie and I have to say that I'm still Team Switzerland although in this movie, I'm leaning more towards Team Edward (did you SEE those back muscles? *swoon*).

Normally, I embed the youtube video but not this time. I want you to see a good quality video of a decent size so I'm going to direct you towards the official Twilight site here. Click on Breaking dawn, sit back and enjoy ;)

ONLY 5 MONTHS TO GO!!!!!!!!

Win a signed ARC of Forever

Most of you know that I've just got back from BEA (Book Expo America) in New York City and let me tell you, I had a fantastic time! It was tiring, overwhelming, awe inspiring and basically just an amazing experience. I'm planning on writing about my adventures but while you're waiting, how would you like to win one of the most coveted books at the conference - an ARC of Forever by Maggie Stiefvater. I had no idea this book was going to be there until the night before the very first day of BEA then guess where I headed at 9am? Yep, straight to the Scholastic booth and within the first 4 minutes, I had an ARC of Forever AND The Scorpio Races and my day was made :D

A few days later, I went to a Scholastic bloggers event and got ANOTHER copy of Forever which I have brought back to England to give away. Oh and did I mention that it's SIGNED? Yep, Maggie was there and she kindly signed the ARC for me. There are a lot of contests at the moment involving books from BEA (including Forever) and only some of them are international. Well, just for YOU I am making this contest UK ONLY which means that you stand a VERY good chance of winning this as less people will enter. Yes, the postage will be cheaper for me but I'm mainly doing this so that someone from the UK will get it.

So, what do you need to do? As you may know, I like to keep things simple so I'm going to ask you to leave me a comment with your name and your e mail address as well as who your favourite character is from the series. YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE A FOLLOWER and you don't even need to be a book blogger, I just want you to have read the first two books and love them! The deadline to enter is Midnight, Friday 10th June. GOOD LUCK! As an addendum, I will be choosing a winner using some kind of random generator.

Forever is released on 12th July, 2011 so even if you don't win, there isn't long to wait for it :)

Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly event, originally started by Jill at Breaking the Spine , that highlights upcoming book releases everyone is waiting on...hence the title. This week's pick is Darker Still by Leanna Renee Hieber. Here is the description from Goodreads:

"The Picture of Dorian Gray meets Pride and Prejudice, with a dash of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

New York City, 1882. Seventeen-year-old Natalie Stewart's latest obsession is a painting of the handsome British Lord Denbury. Something in his striking blue eyes calls to her. As his incredibly life-like gaze seems to follow her, Natalie gets the uneasy feeling that details of the painting keep changing...

Jonathan Denbury's soul is trapped in the gilded painting by dark magic while his possessed body commits unspeakable crimes in the city slums. He must lure Natalie into the painting, for only together can they reverse the curse and free his damaged soul".

First up, how GORGEOUS is that cover?! And let me tell you that it is even lovelier in real life! I was lucky enough to be at BEA this year and the book was there but unfortunately, I didn't get a copy *sad face* but I'm working on it ;) I did however get to meet the lovely Leanna and let me tell you that for an American, I think she is more British than I am! I call her my "British sister" and as it turns out, we had the exact same business cards which was freaky as hell!

Anyhow, I digress. I love the fact that the book centres around a mysterious painting but you know what REALLY grabs me? I'm a sucker for lost causes and I love the fact that Jonathan needs rescuing. It's also nice to see a guy that needs help rather than the girl that needs saving. This one is DEFINITELY on my wish list and I'm really, really looking forward to it. Darker Still is released on 1st November, 2011.