In My Mailbox

"In My Mailbox" was started by Kristi over at The Story Siren. Every Sunday, I will let you know what books I've picked up in the week! It is currently 4am as I'm posting this so I will ask you to please forgive me for any errors!

First up is a biggie. I was very fortunate (and very, very excited) to receive an exclusive ARC of Torment by Lauren Kate. This is the follow up novel to Fallen. Thank you so much to the girls at Random House who gave this to me. I'm really looking forward to reading this one but I won't be posting a review for a while I'm afraid.






I've just received 13 To Life by the awesome Shannon Delany for review as part of an ARC tour. I'm so grateful for ARC tours, especially as I live in the UK and are somewhat disadvantaged at times for receiving ARC's. As an honourary wolf girl, I've wanted to read this for a long time now so I'm absolutely delighted to have it in my hands at last :)






Mistwood by Leah Cypess is a book I keep hearing great things about and so I had to get this one. As with most books I want, I had to order online and I can tell you that the cover is so much more gorgeous in real life than it is on the screen.







Another book I was interested in reading is Birth Marked by Caragh M O'Brien. I thought the cover and the blurb was really interesting.









I have to confess that I must be the last person in the Western civilized world to read the Wicked Lovely series by Melissa Marr. The funny thing is, I definitely want to and I have all the books. I had to add to the collection and so I bought Radiant Shadows which is her latest book. It was the last one on the shelf and so I knew it had to be mine. Melissa has been working on a more adult book called Graveminder which has me totally intrigued but we don't know a lot about it yet.




I've fallen in love with Jennifer Lauren's books after reading Heavenly and Penitence, so I decided to look at her back catalogue. Falling for Romeo sounded really good so I started looking for it. The 2009 version was really hard to track down but thanks to Jennifer, I got it :)



I think the UK covers for Aprillynne Pyke books are gorgeous. I bought Wings a long time ago and I'm so ashamed to say that I've not yet read it. But I also knew that I had to get Spells and I'm going to make a concerted effort to start reading the books at the beginning of my TBR pile.







I've read another book by Sarah Addison Allen called The Sugar Queen and really enjoyed it so when I found this in a discounted book store, I knew I had to get it. Sarah's writing is more romance and I'd say perhaps even adult so I may not review it but I'll definitely read it for pleasure.







Another confession I'm afraid. I've never read anything by Neil Gaiman (and he is British I believe). I saw Stardust the movie and LOVED it so I have high hopes. Besides, everyone is always talking about how amazing he is so here's hoping he doesn't disappoint.







I just recently gave away a signed copy of The Dead Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan away on the blog because I wanted to get the hardback copy for myself (to go with the hardback of The Forest of Hands and Teeth). I still haven't read either of them but I fancy it soon as a change from other paranormal stories. Again, I've heard good things about the books and I LOVE the UK covers.





I've been wanting to read Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher for a long time now but never seem to pick up the book and take it to the till. Well, now I have and I'm looking forward to reading this one as it's gritty and real.








I keep hearing things about Laurie Halse Anderson's writing but I have not yet experienced it for myself. Speak was recommended to me by Cat Clarke (Entangled, Jan 2011) and so I'm going to give it a whirl and see what I think. Apparently I will not be dissapointed.

I also just found out from another blog that this was made into a movie starring Kristen Stewart. How did I NOT know this?! I'm totally looking this up once I've read and reviewed the book.



I'd looked at Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin a long time ago now but again, never picked it up. Cat recommended this one highly too so I decided to get it.








I've seen Patrick Ness' books on the shelves for a while now and sometimes I've even picked them up to look at the blurb. I was never quite sure if I would like them or not but the ladies at the bloggers meet yesterday told me I HAD to get them as they are amazing and this was a signed copy so how could I not?!






The Ask and The Answer is the sequel to the above mentioned book by Patrick Ness. Again, it was signed so I bought it :)









I'd not heard of Soulless by Christopher Golden before but I read the blurb and was immediately intrigued so I bought it. I'm looking forward to reading this one!








From one Nora Roberts fan to another, this was recommended to me and it's one I haven't read so I ordered it online. I was disappointed not to receive THIS cover though, especially as that was the cover that was advertised. It's not the first time a particular online seller has done this to me and I will be taking it up with them.






Someone told me that Sarah Zarr's writing was amazing and so I needed no other prompt for me to buy this book. I also love the cover and the title. I'm a hopeless romantic, what can I say ;)








I'd heard a little bit about Dido by Adele Geras and when I read the blurb, I was intrigued so I bought a hardback copy of it. I later found a paperback for half the price but I prefer hardback's so I don't mind really.








The Wish List by Gabi Stevens is a book I saw recommended on another blog (sorry, I forget who) and it sounded really good so I thought I would get myself a copy :)








Savour the Moment is part of "The Bride Quartet" - a collection of four books by Nora Roberts. Each book concentrates on one character out of the four women that run a successful wedding planning business. This is an adult book in the romance genre and so whilst I love reading Nora Roberts, I am unlikely to review on here as it doesn't fit in with the blog. This one is for pleasure only (and there's nothing wrong with that) ;)





I've heard a lot of people say that The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson is an amazing book so I had to get this one. I liked the cover on the hardback so that's the one I bought.








Impossible by Nancy Werlin is a book that I received on an ARC tour so this is the book I'll be reading and reviewing next.

SEA BLUE PEOPLE WIN MYSTERY BOOK CONTEST: WEEK #7

It's week 7 so it must be time for another prize from Heidi! This week's contest is "Tenner Week" (nothing to do with Pavarotti or any other opera singers, I promise you). For those of you not in the know, The Tenners are authors releasing their debut novel in 2010 (Heidi is one of them). The Tenners are made up of some extremely awesome people and far too many to list here. Click here to visit The Tenners website which will give you a list of authors.

Basically, we're in for some AWESOME prizes.

All you have to do is click here to visit Heidi's Blog and enter. As always, the contest is international but you'll have to be quick with this one as it ends tomorrow - Friday at midnight (California time). Good luck to everyone!

Waiting on Wednesday (except it's Thursday)

"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 ABSOLUTION by Jennifer Laurens which is book #3 in the Heavenly series. If you haven't read Heavenly or the sequel Penitence, then you are seriously missing out! These are gorgeous books that I'm about to write reviews for (so stay tuned). I absolutely fell in love with these books and am still thinking about them weeks after I finished reading.

There is no actual blurb from Goodreads as of yet BUT I did find a teaser book trailer so sit back, relax and watch...



I get the feeling that I'm going to need a big box of tissues standing by when I read this one and I cannot wait! According to Jennifer, the book is set to release some time in October this year. I cannot recommend this series highly enough people.

Contest to Win Restoring Harmony

Yes that's right, you can win a copy of Restoring Harmony by Joelle Anthony (with a signed bookplate) given away by "Not Enough Bookshelves" (boy can I empathise with THAT statement!). If you don't know a lot about the book, here is the blurb from Goodreads:

"The year is 2041, and sixteen-year-old Molly McClure has lived a relatively quiet life on an isolated farming island in Canada, but when her family fears the worst may have happened to her grandparents in the US, Molly must brave the dangerous, chaotic world left after global economic collapse—one of massive oil shortages, rampant crime, and abandoned cities.

Molly is relieved to find her grandparents alive in their Portland suburb, but they’re financially ruined and practically starving. What should’ve been a quick trip turns into a full-fledged rescue mission. And when Molly witnesses something the local crime bosses wishes she hadn’t, Molly’s only way home may be to beat them at their own game. Luckily, there’s a handsome stranger who’s willing to help.

Restoring Harmony is a riveting, fast-paced dystopian tale complete with adventure and romance that readers will devour."

All you have to do is click here to visit the site and enter. The contest is international and you'll have to be quick with this one as the winner will be picked on 13th May! Good luck to everyone (if you win, can I borrow it? LOL).

Angel Star Contest

After raving about Angel Star by Jennifer Murgia in my recent review, how would you like to win a copy of the book and some swag to go with it? All you have to do is head over to Written Word Review to fill out the form. The contest is international and the deadline is 16th May. Click here to visit the site. Good luck to everyone!

In My Mailbox

"In My Mailbox" was started by Kristi over at The Story Siren. Every Sunday, I will let you know what books I've picked up in the week! I realise I have been severely lacking in these posts lately but I've been trying to limit my book shopping to the bare minimum and so there hasn't been too much to tell you about. However, I have quite a few books to tell you about THIS week...

Sister's Red by Jackson Pearce is officially released on 7th June which is MY BIRTHDAY! The Gods were totally smiling on me this week as I received an ARC of this book. I'm so excited to read and review this one! And just so you know, I'm still asking for a finished copy for my birthday :)



Next up is Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles. I've heard so much about this book that I'm practically frothing at the mouth wanting to read this! I've been warned not to read this book before bed otherwise I won't want to GO to bed and will be up all night reading. This person knows me really well so it's definitely true! I have a couple of other books to read first and then this is definitely my next choice.


Rules of Attraction, also by Simone Elkeles, is the follow up novel to Perfect Chemistry so of course I need to read this. It's a fairly recent release actually and I'm excited to add it to the TBR pile. I'm sure that when I've read Perfect Chemistry, I won't be able to help myself from picking this up next.



I have to confess that I have not read anything by Lisa Shroeder but I Heart You, You Haunt Me intrigues me. I've never read anything that is entirely in prose before and wasn't sure that I would like it. The jury is still out until I have read it but I'm hopeful that I'll like it.



I've heard of Amanda Marrone before and still want to read Uninvited and Devoured. This however, is Revealers. I love the cover and the book is witchy in nature which definitely interests me. I look forward to reading this one and discovering a new author's work in the process.



Another author that is new to me is Laurie Halse Anderson. A friend gave me a copy of Twisted and told me I had to read it. Who am I to argue?! I like the fact that this book is not paranormal in nature as I also like reading things that are "normal" every now and then.



This is the UK cover for Ash by Malinda Lo. I have to admit that I have a hardback version of this and also that I have not read it yet. I plan to move this one up the TBR pile and get it read and reviewed! If nothing else, to get to know Malinda's writing.



Catherine Fisher, author of Incarceron and Sapphique has a new book out called Crown of Acorns. I've heard great things about her as an author and so I'm excited to read this and see if I like it.




Another author I've heard good things about is Sarah Dessen. I've not read any of her books but I was lucky enough to receive Someone Like You which will be my taster book to Sarah's writing. I like the snazzy UK covers too.



Last but by no means least is Last Chance, also by Sarah Dessen. I could repeat what I've said above but I won't.

Look out for reviews of all the above books in the near future.

Linger Trailer

Please join me in bowing down to the wonderful creative talents of Maggie Stiefvater who is basically too awesome for words. This is her book trailer for Linger which is released on July 20th. It is by far, the best book trailer I have ever seen and I hope you love it as much as I do.



If you want to know how she did it, Maggie has just written a series of "The making of" posts on her blog which are absolutely fascinating. Click here to read them. Don't forget to check out my review of Linger right here on the blog.

My Second Ever Contest

OK, so I thought it was about time for another contest, especially as I have over 100 followers now. This is something to celebrate!! First prize is a SIGNED UK copy of the Dead Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan. Second prize will be a copy of Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. Beautiful Creatures is an AMAZING book (check out my review here). I have to admit that I haven't read/reviewed The Dead-Tossed Waves yet but I'm going to as soon as I've finished The Forest of Hands and Teeth which is the first book in the series.

I'm going to make it really easy for people to enter. All you have to do is:

1. Follow this blog
2. Comment on one of my book reviews (it doesn't matter which one)
3. Leave a comment below this post with your name, the country where you live and your e mail address

And that's it! As always, this contest is international and the deadline is 12th May. I'll use random.org to choose the winner. Good luck everyone and spread the word!

Win Mistwood and Brightly Woven

Alexandra Bracken (author of Brightly Woven) and Leah Cypess (author of Mistwood) are co-hosting a contest to win a signed copy of their books, together with bookmarks. It's really easy to enter although it doesn't specify whether the contest is international or not. Deadline is 27th April. Click here to enter. Good luck to everyone!

Upcoming Releases: Cover Art

I've never done this before because I always assume that everyone else finds out things when I do. Well, judging from today's events I now realise that this is not true. Lesson learned, never assume! So, I thought I would share with you some upcoming releases that have some pretty gorgeous cover art.


Crescendo is the sequel to Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick. I have to say that I loved the story of Hush Hush and I thought the cover was amazing! I like this cover too and this is supposed to be Nora on the front. The cover was actually revealed live on 10th April by a chalk artist who brought it to life before our very eyes! If you missed this, click here to see a re-run. Crescendo is released on 14th October, 2010.




Next up we have Torment which is the sequel to Fallen by Lauren Kate and the cover is just as beautiful as the first book in my opinion. I can't believe I still haven't read and reviewed Fallen even though I've wanted to for quite a while now. Look out for this soon folks! I'm sure I will be looking forward to reading this once I've fallen (no pun intended) in love with Fallen. Torment is released on 30th September, 2010.



Linger by Maggie Stiefvater is the sequel to Shiver. I'm sure you've all seen the US cover for Linger (see review here on the blog) but I'm wondering how many of you have seen the UK cover. Well, here it is in all its glory. I know there are some diehard fans of the UK covers and whilst I like it, I'm a colour girl at heart and so the US cover is my favourite. I have to say though I will probably be buying both the US and UK copy for my book collection. Linger is released internationally on 20th July, 2010 however the UK version is released on 5th July, 2010. It makes a nice change for the UK to have the advantage for a change! Go UK!


Last but not least we have Beautiful Darkness which is the sequel to Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. I thought the cover for Beautiful Creatures was stunning and the sequel cover is just as nice in my opinion. I'm really looking forward to this one! Beautiful Darkness is released on 26th October, 2010.

Angel Star Review

I took my review down temporarily as I did not realise that in my description of the book, I had unwittingly posted spoilers. The plot is somewhat complex and I was having trouble coming up with a synopsis. In getting it straight in my own head I posted what I thought the book was about without realising that I was giving almost everything away. I promised from the beginning that I would never intentionally spoil a book for readers and so here is the amended review...

If you know me at all, you will know that I have been absolutely dying (no pun intended) to read this book and thanks to the very lovely Jennifer Murgia, she got me on an ARC tour so I could do just that. I received it and read it the same day. I was not disappointed.

Angel Star tells the story from the eyes of 17 year old Teagan who falls head over heels for the new guy at Carver High, Garreth Adams. After saving her from a near fatal accident, his true identity and purpose for being here is revealed. Several startling discoveries later, Teagan unwittingly becomes the star player in leading a battle to restore balance to heaven and earth.

I instantly loved the premise of this story and I can totally see how easy it would be to fall in love with your guardian angel or vice versa. I mean your guardian angel is supposed to know you inside and out, spend lifetimes with you and love you unconditionally. What better description is there of a soul mate than that?! I really liked the prologue which gave me no clue as to which character was speaking, thus leaving me to come to the inevitable wrong conclusion! Rather than being disappointed by this, I love it when I’m wrong and a book can surprise me.

I’d say this book was plot driven but I found the characters to be enjoyable too. I loved the camaraderie between Teagan and her best friend Claire. I thought the dialogue and interaction between them was very natural and believable. Hadrian is a powerful, alluring and tempting bad boy who reminded me a bit of Damon from the Vampire Diaries. Garreth, what can I say about Garreth? He’s a beautiful angel with a pure soul.

Jennifer has created her own mythology in Angel Star that essentially explains that life is about balance. No yin without yang, no light without dark and no good without evil. It’s an interesting concept although ultimately it means that good cannot triumph over evil and I have a slight problem with that! So, I'm excited to see where Jennifer will go with the story.

Angel star takes you on a journey heavily laden with twists and turns and the ending hints that the story is not over yet. Indeed, Lemniscate (the sequel) is currently in the pipeline.

If I had one criticism about Angel Star, it would be the brief use of text speak within the book. Mostly because I am not a big fan of text speak, I don’t use it and at times I had to guess what it meant! Regardless of this, overall I found the book to be a very enjoyable read and I will be buying my own copy on release day.

Angel Star by Jennifer Murgia is released on 18th May, 2010. Jennifer is active on twitter, facebook and Goodreads. Click here to visit her website.

Linger Review (No Spoilers)

As most of you know, I was EXTREMELY lucky to win an ARC of Linger and I literally jumped up and down screaming when I found out! I got the book and stupidly developed a mental block - I told myself I could not read Linger until I had refreshed my memory and read Shiver again. Thankfully, I have now done this *phew*and have finally written a review for it.

I was scared to read Linger for many reasons – firstly, whilst I had an inkling of where the story might go, I wasn’t sure whether I wanted it to go in that direction, I wasn’t really sure what I was expecting to be honest. Shiver could easily have been a standalone book. I was also scared because Maggie is my favourite YA author and I knew that she would be reading this review. Would I be able to do it justice? Would it match up to Maggie’s writing?

Yes I admit, I was having insecurities about my writing. However, I read a blog post recently about plagiarism (courtesy of Persnickity Snark) and decided that at least my reviews were written from the heart and in my own words. This is MY voice and MY style. I may not use as many fancy big words or literary terms as others but if we all sounded the same, then it would be very boring indeed! So, just like that I got over my fear and I feel tons better for it. Without further ado, here is my review of Linger.

In the words of Jacob from Twilight, “Have you ever had a secret that you couldn’t tell anyone? One that wasn’t yours to share?”. THAT pretty much sums up how I feel about Linger because I desperately want to share it with you guys but I don’t want to spoil it for you either! This makes writing a review very difficult indeed but I’m going to try. Linger follows on from Shiver and we get to see what happens AFTER the happy ending. Sam and Grace continue to develop their relationship and as in any normal relationship, obstacles and challenges come along to test it. Sam and Grace are still fighting to be together but in slightly different ways than in Shiver. Sam is also trying to get used to being in his own skin as a human when ironically Grace never feels more unlike herself.

This time around, we get four protagonists – Grace, Sam, Isabel and Cole. In shiver, we were introduced to several new wolves that were created by Beck (the pack’s leader) to ensure the survival of the wolf pack after Beck leaves humanity behind and changes for the last time. We get to see how they influence the pack through both Sam and Cole’s eyes. Reading from four points of view was admittedly a bit disorientating at first but I soon got used to it and I learnt so much more about the characters by seeing things from their perspective. It definitely gave me a deeper understanding into their psyche.

Another beautifully written book from Maggie, Linger was wonderful. I read it in two sittings as I didn’t want to rush my way through it. Both times it kept me up until 3am though! And yes I did cry at the end (dammit Maggie, you’ve done it again!). The journey was pretty wild and and not quite what I expected. There was lots of tension, lots of drama and all of the romance of the first book. As always, the cover art is gorgeous and definitely fits the spring feel. I'm going to place a bet now on the final cover being gold to represent the feel of Summer and also the Golden Woods which is alluded to in both books.

For all of you people out there who are feeling a bit put out that I got to read it early, know this. I’ve almost done myself a disservice here because now I have to wait that much longer for “FOREVER” which is the final book in the series and is not released until 2011. I can’t wait to read how this is all going to turn out and once you’ve read Linger, you won’t be able to either.

If you are a book blogger and are desperate to read Linger for yourself, please comment on my blog post “Want to read Linger?” so that you have a chance to join my mini ARC tour.

As you know by now, Maggie has her own blog which you can access by clicking here. She is also a prolific internet user and can be found on facebook and Twitter. If you enjoy Maggie's writing, check out the Merry Sister's of Fate which is a group made up of Maggie and her crit partners Tessa Gratton (Blood Magic, 2011) and Brenna Yovanoff (The Replacement, 2010). They publish original short stories every month. Click here to visit the site.

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 twofold to make up for the fact that I missed last week so without further ado I give you "Sisters Red" by the very humourous Jackson Pearce (who incidently when I first heard the name thought she was a he - DOH!) and "Nightshade" AKA the book I'm desperately trying to win, by the very lovely Andrea Cremer. I was supposed to feature Nightshade last week but life got in the way a bit so it's being featured this week instead.

First up, is "Sisters Red" by Jackson Pearce. Here is the description from Goodreads:

"Scarlett March lives to hunt the Fenris-- the werewolves that took her eye when she was defending her sister Rosie from a brutal attack. Armed with a razor-sharp hatchet and blood-red cloak, Scarlett is an expert at luring and slaying the wolves. She's determined to protect other young girls from a grisly death, and her raging heart will not rest until every single wolf is dead.

Rosie March once felt her bond with her sister was unbreakable. Owing Scarlett her life, Rosie hunts fiercely alongside her. Now Rosie dreams of a life beyond the wolves and finds herself drawn to Silas, a young woodsman who is deadly with an ax-- but loving him means betraying her sister and has the potential to destroy all they've worked for.

Twenty-five-year-old Jackson Pearce delivers a dark, taut fairy tale with heart-pounding action, fierce sisterly love, and a romance that will leave readers breathless".

Great description and the cover art is very striking (red is my favourite colour) AND it's released on 7th June, 2010 which is my birthday! Is that fate or what?! I like a bit of romance so I'm looking forward to this book. You can find out more about Jackson Pearce on her website by clicking here.

Next up we have "Nightshade" by Andrea Cremer. Here is the description from Goodreads.

"While other teenage girls daydream about boys, Calla Tor imagines ripping out her enemies’ throats. And she wouldn’t have it any other way. Calla was born a warrior and on her eighteenth-birthday she’ll become the alpha female of the next generation of Guardian wolves. But Calla’s predestined path veers off course the moment she saves the life of a wayward hiker, a boy her own age. This human boy’s secret will turn the young pack's world upside down and forever alter the outcome of the centuries-old Witches' War that surrounds them all".

Now let me tell you, THIS is my kind of book. I am a total wolf girl at heart and love the premise of this. The cover art is also stunning. I'm still trying to win an ARC of this (I've missed out at least twice now but I keep trying). You can find out more about Andrea Cremer on her website by clicking here.

SEA BLUE PEOPLE WIN A BLUE BOOK CONTEST WEEK #4!

OK, so we're up to week 4 now and this week the prize is NOT a mystery - you can win Everlasting by Angie Frazier which isn't released until June. This just so happens to be my birthday month...not that I'm hinting or anything...but I would love to read this book. I contacted Angie a while ago now and there were no more ARC's available. This is your only chance to read it before it is released.

To find out what you have to do, just click here to visit Heidi's site. The contest ends midnight PST on Friday and yup it's international. Good luck everyone!

Shiver Review

I have to admit that I read Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater in the latter part of last year. I was looking for something to read after the Twilight Saga (we’ve all been there, right?!) and I stumbled across Shiver, which was recommended by a few people on the internet.

I read it and instantly fell in love with it. I laughed and cried in all the right places and basically became Maggie’s biggest fan overnight. Back then, I didn’t have a book blogging site and so there was no need to write a review. Now I do have a book blog and I feel somewhat obligated to write about my favourite book. So much so that I felt the need to go back and re-read the book all over again. Especially in light of the fact that Linger (the sequel to Shiver) is now in my possession. As most of you know, I was EXTREMELY lucky to win an ARC of Linger and I literally jumped up and down screaming when I found out! I got the book and stupidly developed a mental block - I told myself I could not read Linger until I had refreshed my memory and read Shiver again. Unfortunately this has taken longer than I expected due to life getting in the way recently. I think also I was scared to read Linger but I will discuss this when I review the book.

Maggie has a distinct style and ability to draw the reader into the story. Although it’s been months since I read Shiver, as soon as I started reading I was instantly right back there in Grace and Sam’s world. It was like meeting up with an old friend. Thinking back, what I really liked about Shiver was the split point of view as the book tells the story from the two main protagonist’s perspectives - Grace and Sam. Believe it or not, the funny thing is that before I read the book I was thinking that I wanted to read a book from two points of view and suddenly, here it was in front of me. I must be finely attuned to Maggie’s writing ;)

Shiver is most definitely a character driven novel although it has a decent enough plot to carry it forward. I recently read an interview with Maggie where she was talking about Shiver and how it was a character driven novel. When talking about plot, she said in true Maggie style “I mean, what happens in Shiver? NOTHING!" It made me laugh quite a lot and I think she was selling the book a bit short in her self-deprecating way. So, in my own words, this is what Shiver is about...

As a child, Grace was attacked and bitten by wolves only to be ultimately saved by one of them. After this traumatic event, Grace develops an unnatural obsession with the wolves who linger by the edge of the woods at the back of her house. Every winter she watches and waits for them – for one wolf in particular. The one that saved her life that fateful day, years earlier. Only one year, it isn’t a wolf she finds on her doorstep but a boy and he shares the same yellow eyes as her wolf. But it couldn’t be, could it? Shiver is not only the story of the relationship between Grace and Sam but also the relationship the whole town has with the wolves that visit every winter.

Grace and Sam are polar opposites in a way. I actually liked the fact that they are so different from each other but share a connection with the wolves which is what brought them together in the first place. Grace is logical, practical, responsible and pragmatic whereas Sam is sensitive, artsy and lyrical. I love the fact that Maggie intersperses the writing with lyrics that Sam composes on the fly.

I also have to mention that I liked the fact that for a YA novel, there was a sex scene. A lot of YA books shy away from sex but I feel that this is not realistic or representative of teenagers. It would be wrong to generalise but some teenagers do have sex. What I like about Shiver is that it does allude to a sex scene however it is very tastefully done and does not go into detail. Grace and Sam are in love, they want to be together and yes they do use protection. I know Maggie struggled over whether to include this in the book but in the end, she said it wouldn’t feel right NOT to include it.

One of the things I love about Shiver is that whilst it is classified as YA fiction, it has a definite crossover appeal to an older audience. Twilight allowed adults to read the book in public without any shame and I believe Shiver should be added to that list. I suspect that list will steadily grow as the YA market is taking off in a big way right now. Did I also mention that Shiver is going to be made into a movie? I have to confess to having mixed feelings about this fact. Of course I would love to see my favourite YA book on the big screen but I’m terrified the director will butcher it. I’m hoping this is a normal reaction to the news.

I thought the final scene was very cleverly written although I don’t want to give anything away to people who haven’t read the book yet. Just make sure you read with a box of tissues at the ready. This is one of my all time favourite books and I hope you love it as much as I do. A beautiful, extremely well written story that is A MUST READ for anyone out there who loves YA fiction. Phew, I feel ready to start reading Linger now. Review coming soon!

Maggie Stiefvater has her own blog which you can access by clicking here. She is also a prolific internet user and can be found on facebook and Twitter. If you enjoy Maggie's writing, check out the Merry Sister's of Fate which is a group made up of Maggie and her crit partners Tessa Gratton (Blood Magic, 2011) and Brenna Yovanoff (The Replacement, 2010). They publish original short stories every month. Click here to visit the site.

Cleverly Inked Birthday Phenomenon Contest

This is by far, the BIGGEST collection of books being offered in a contest that I have seen! Seriously, you are NOT going to want to miss this! Just click here to visit the site and enter the contest. I cannot possibly list all the prizes here because there are far too many of them! Deadline is 13th May and the contest is international.

Life is overwhelming sometimes...

OK, so I know I've been a little quiet of late and that's because work has been manic and life became a bit overwhelming there for a while. I've also been doing a lot of beta reading and am currently re-reading a book I've already read. All that being said, I feel like I'm starting to get back on track now so look out for reviews of Angel Star by Jennifer Murgia, Shiver and Linger by the goddess Maggie Stiefvater, Heavenly by Jennifer Laurens and Forget-Her-Nots by Amy Brecount White - coming soon to a blog near you (i.e. this one).