by Kay | Apr 13, 2011 | Weekly Feature |
“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that are being eagerly anticipated.
A Long, Long Sleep by Anna Sheehan
Goodreads -YA – August 9, 2011 by Candlewick
Rosalinda Fitzroy has been asleep for sixty-two years when she is 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.
I spotted this cover over on Tez Says and was intrigued – and then I read the summary and thought “OMG I MUST READ THAT”. I am not at all a fan of the Disney version of Sleeping Beauty, but this this this…. just sounds fantastic. It’s the friggin’ sci-fi version of the tale! Goodbye castles and kingdoms, hello interplanetary empires. This is Sheehan’s debut novel, and I adore her explanation of the premise:
“I always thought the interesting thing about Sleeping Beauty wasn’t why she was put to sleep, but what she had to come to terms with afterward. Everything would have changed radically – technology and politics as well as social structure. She would have seemed like a foreigner in her own country.”
Apparently, this book is already available on Netgalley… just sayin’.
by Kay | Apr 11, 2011 | Weekly Feature |
It’s Monday! What are you reading this week? is a weekly event hosted by One Persons Journey Through a World Of Books where we discuss our week of reading!
Currently reading:
- Beauty by Robin McKinley – I adore the Beauty and the Beast tale, so I thought this would be a fantastic introduction to Robin McKinley’s books. Only about 20-odd pages in so far, but really enjoying it.
- Lover Revealed by J.R. Ward – Oh dear lord, when will this book end. I am just making myself get through this in order to read the sequels. Geh.
Finished this week:
- Blood Promise by Richelle Mead – Oh. This. Series. I stayed up until about 5am finishing this thing off, and don’t regret a minute of it.
Reviewed this week:
- Hexbound by Chloe Neill – Disappointing but I hold out hope for the rest of the series.
- Soulless by Gail Carriger – This book was like a cotton-candy crumpet. Fabulous, tongue-in-cheek and lovely.
C’est tout!
by Kay | Apr 6, 2011 | Weekly Feature |
“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that are being eagerly anticipated.
All These Things I’ve Done by Gabrielle Zevin
Goodreads – September 27th 2011
From the author of the critically acclaimed Elsewhere comes this brilliant novel about an impossible romance, a family living outside of the law, and the ties that forever bind us.
Chocolate and coffee are illegal, paper is hard to find, water is increasingly scarce, and New York City is rife with crime and poverty. And yet, for Anya Balanchine, the sixteen-year-old daughter of the city’s most notorious (and dead) crime boss, life is fairly routine—going to school, taking care of her siblings and her dying grandmother, trying to avoid falling in love with the new assistant D.A.’s son, and avoiding her loser ex-boyfriend. That is until someone in her inner circle ends up poisoned by the chocolate her family manufactures and the police think she’s to blame. Suddenly, Anya finds herself thrust unwillingly into the spotlight — at school, in the news, and most importantly, within her mafiya family.
Engrossing and suspenseful, All These Things I’ve Done is an utterly unique, unputdownable read that blends both the familiar and fantastic
I’ve been longing for a Mafioso!YA forever. I have always loved stories set in the criminal underworld – The Godfather has been one of my very favourite films since I was a teen. But how do you make something like that work for a YA audience? Well, by having the criminal underground deal coffee instead of cocaine! Absolutely brilliant idea that I really cannot wait to read.
by Kay | Apr 4, 2011 | Weekly Feature |
Currently reading:
- Blood Promise by Richelle Mead – Oh, dearest Vampire Academy. I put this book off for so long because I knew it would friggin’ hurt. Richelle Mead sure knows how to shatter a girl’s heart… it’s fabulous.
- Lover Revealed by J.R. Ward – Good, but not fantastic. There are just too many plot lines going on at once – it seems as though they each need their own separate book!
Finished over the last 3 weeks:
- Enclave by Ann Aguirre – Love Love LOVED this book. Ann Aguirre is a ROCK STAR.
- Hexbound by Chloe Neill – Disappointing sequel to Firespell, but not entirely without merit. Expect a review of this one on Tuesday.
- Soulless by Gail Carriger – This book was like a cotton-candy crumpet. Fabulous, tongue-in-cheek and lovely. So glad I listened to Jenny (Wondrous Reads) and got a copy!
- The Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney – Loved the first 1/3… but it went rather downhill from there. Still, I shall certainly be reading the sequel.
Up next from the TBR pile:
Reviews I need to write!
- Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
- Night Shift by Lilith Saintcrow
- Sea Change by Aimee Friedman
- Wake by Lisa McMann
by Kay | Apr 2, 2011 | Weekly Feature |
On My Wishlist is a fun weekly event hosted by Book Chick City and runs every Saturday. It’s where I list all the books I desperately want but haven’t actually bought yet. They can be old, new or forthcoming.
So this week, I’ve been all about the contemporary YA titles. There are a ton of titles that are getting a whole lot of press on YA blogs – Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares, Anna and the French Kiss, and Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour amoung others – but I’d thought I’d highlight a few that you might not have heard about!
The Vast Fields of Ordinary by Nick Burd
It’s Dade’s last summer at home. He has a crappy job at Food World, a “boyfriend” who won’t publicly acknowledge his existence (maybe because Pablo also has a girlfriend), and parents on the verge of a divorce. College is Dade’s shining beacon of possibility, a horizon to keep him from floating away.
Then he meets the mysterious Alex Kincaid. Falling in real love finally lets Dade come out of the closet—and, ironically, ignites a ruthless passion in Pablo. But just when true happiness has set in, tragedy shatters the dreamy curtain of summer, and Dade will use every ounce of strength he’s gained to break from his past and start fresh with the future.
“Fascinating and dreamy … The Vast Fields of Ordinary reads like the best kind of first novel — it’s packed with insights that might have been carried around for years, just waiting to come out.” – The New York Times Book Review
I’ll be honest, I’ve read some terrible things about this book. But my inner literary snob is just desperate to read a YA book reviewed by the NYT Book Review. Not to mention the fact I’m a bit behind on my wish to read more LGBT YA!
Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols
All Meg has ever wanted is to get away. Away from high school. Away from her backwater town. Away from her parents who seem determined to keep her imprisoned in their dead-end lives. But one crazy evening involving a dare and forbidden railroad tracks, she goes way too far… and almost doesn’t make it back.
John made a choice to stay. To enforce the rules. To serve and protect. He has nothing but contempt for what he sees as childish rebellion, and he wants to teach Meg a lesson she won’t soon forget. But Meg pushes him to the limit by questioning everything he learned at the police academy. And when he pushes back, demanding to know why she won’t be tied down, they will drive each other to the edge – and over…
Oh my, does this book sound fantastic or what? A girl on the edge meets the guy who has to pull her off of it – rather an inverted Rules of Attraction but without the latino flavour. I’ve heard fabulous things about Jennifer Echlos and really really want this one!
Adios to My Old Life by Caridad Ferrer
Does a seventeen-year-old from Miami have what it takes to be the next big Latin superstar? And does she really want it?
As a talented singer-guitarist with a dream of going pro, Alegría Montero is getting fed up with the endless, boring parade of quinceañeras and other family party gigs. She’s longing for something bigger. And Oye Mi Canto — a new reality TV show that’s searching for the next Latin superstar — is definitely that. Ali figures she’ll never make the cut, but auditioning seems like a good way to get her overprotective father to take her ambitions seriously.
To Ali’s complete shock, she passes her audition. Next thing she knows, she’s dealing with wardrobe fittings, cameras, reporters, vocal coaches, and websites designed by lovestruck fanboys. She’s also dealing with jealousy, malice, and sabotage among the contestants, all of which has her wondering: Is it really time to shoot for the stars and try to win the whole competition, or is it time to say “Cut!” and become a normal teenager again?
Speaking of latino flavour, this book has it is spades! First off, didn’t we all dream about becoming a pop superstar as a teen? That one day we’d wake up and be famous? Well, just imagine if that really happened – I don’t think it’d be that much fun turning into Britney Spears!
This was Caridad’s debut novel, published in 2006, and it won the Romance Writers of America’s 2007 RITA® for Best Contemporary Single Title Romance. Doesn’t that sound like a book you should read?
by Kay | Mar 30, 2011 | Weekly Feature |
“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that are being eagerly anticipated.
Rip Tide by Kat FallsGoodreads – YA – August 2nd 2011 by Simon and Schuster Childrens Books (UK)
Return to the subsea frontier with Ty and Gemma, where the mysteries of the deep are deadlier than ever. With time running out for his parents, Ty’s desperation leads the two teenagers to the underwater underworld…and into an alliance with the outlaws of the Seablite Gang. But one mystery soon leads to another. How has an entire township disappeared? Why is the local sea-life suddenly so aggressive? And can the Seablite Gang be trusted…or are Ty and Gemma in deeper water than they realise?
I recently spotted the cover for Rip Tide, the sequel to the amazing Dark Life, over on goodreads and squeed with excitement. I really, really enjoyed Dark Life and felt like nowhere near enough people read it. And you should – it’s got underwater pirates, socially oppressive governments, and that ever-elusive male narrator. I cannot wait to read Rip Tide – my only lament is that it comes out in August. August? That’s forever-and-a-half away! *sighs dramatically*
