by Kay | Mar 16, 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.
Eve (The Eve Trilogy #1) by Anna Carey
Goodreads – October 4th 2011 by HarperTeenThe year is 2032, sixteen years after a deadly virus—and the vaccine intended to protect against it—wiped out most of the earth’s population. Wildlife has grown over once recognizable landmarks, and the New America is ruled by a controlling King who will stop at nothing to rebuild the nation—including enslaving its boys and turning its girls into broodmares.
The Eve Trilogy is a breathlessly told story with an unforgettable heroine. Anna Carey has imagined a remarkable and unique world, and brings a compelling new voice to the dystopian genre. Eve offers a haunting glimpse of the global pandemic some scientists say is inevitable, and a world forever altered by its aftermath. Fans of Twilight and The Hunger Games will revel in this epic story of forbidden love, and an unforgettable heroine’s extraordinary adventure.
Ok, perhaps the references to Twilight and The Hunger Games are a bit much – but this book still looks fantastic. Delirium has wetted my appetite for post-apocalyptic YA… not to mention I also rather like the idea of a world with a few fewer humans on it!
by Kay | Mar 14, 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:
- Wake by Lisa McMann – OMG why did I wait so long to read this series? I am only 50 or so pages in, and am in love. This woman can really, really write. If I order the rest of the series before I finish the first book, would that be considered bad form?
Finished this week:
- Sea Change by Aimee Friedman – Read this in a day and loved it. The deep south setting, the scientist!heroine, and the page-turning mystery have made me want to run out and buy all Friedman’s books!
- Night Shift by Lilith Saintcrow – Jill Kismet is the poster gal for screwed-up UF heroines. Great writing, but not as fantastic as it could have been.
- Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes – Despite the bland romance, this book really turned it up by the end – some fantastic twists which made me not want to put the book down! Not to mention Callum (oh, Callum ♥) stole my heart.
Reviewed this week:
Up next from the TBR pile:
by Kay | Mar 9, 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.
The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab
Goodreads – August 2nd 2011 by Hyperion Books
The Near Witch is only an old story told to frighten children.
If the wind calls at night, you must not listen. The wind is lonely, and always looking for company.
And there are no strangers in the town of Near.
These are the truths that Lexi has heard all her life.
But when an actual stranger—a boy who seems to fade like smoke—appears outside her home on the moor at night, she knows that at least one of these sayings is no longer true.
The next night, the children of Near start disappearing from their beds, and the mysterious boy falls under suspicion. Still, he insists on helping Lexi search for them. Something tells her she can trust him.
As the hunt for the children intensifies, so does Lexi’s need to know—about the witch that just might be more than a bedtime story, about the wind that seems to speak through the walls at night, and about the history of this nameless boy.
Part fairy tale, part love story, Victoria Schwab’s debut novel is entirely original yet achingly familiar: a song you heard long ago, a whisper carried by the wind, and a dream you won’t soon forget.
The Near Witch is another book I discovered through the YA Rebels channel. The Rebels are fab – and I’ve been eagerly awaiting Victoria’s book for, oh, about a year or so. Even though I am totally buying the hardcover, I can’t say I am too in love with the cover image. I’m nervous that people won’t pick it up! *bites nails* But it is going to be fantabulous, so please do!
by Kay | Mar 2, 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.
Possess by Gretchen McNeilGoodreads – YA – August 23rd 2011 by Balzer + Bray
Fifteen-year-old Bridget Liu just wants to be left alone: by her overprotective mom, by the hunky son of the police officer who got her father killed, and by the eerie voices which she can suddenly and inexplicably hear. Turns out the voices are demons–the Biblical kind, not the Buffy kind–and Bridget possesses the rare ability to banish them.
San Francisco’s senior exorcist and his newly assigned partner from the Vatican enlist Bridget’s help with increasingly bizarre and dangerous cases of demonic possession. But when one of Bridget’s oldest friends turns up dead in a ritualistic sacrifice that mirrors her father’s murder, Bridget realizes she can’t trust anyone. An interview with her father’s murderer reveals a link between Bridget and the Emim: a race of part-demons intent on raising their forefathers to the earth in human form. Now Bridget must unlock the secret to the Emim’s plan before someone else close to her winds up dead, or worse–the human vessel for a Demon King.
So, this is one of those books I have had on my wishlist forever. Back in the days when Gretchen was still calling it “Banish” and a cover was no where in sight. Yes, I call the author Gretchen – because after almost a year of watching her on the YA Rebels Channel, I kinda feel like I know her. And you know what? She’s pretty damn awesome – and funny. If the book is just half as entertaining as she is, it is going to be fantabulous. And just to give you a taster…
by Kay | Feb 28, 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!
I am still abroad and have started to miss the book-buying madness of last year. I am actually starting to think that my book buying habits are related to my reading habits – as whenever I am dragged off to a country lacking book stores, I find myself struggling to finish books. That is weird, right?
Currently reading:
- Night Shift by Lilith Saintcrow – I am really starting to love Jill Kismet. If you like your heroines tough and screwed up, she’s the gal for you.
- Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes – I am slowly starting to enjoy this book. Although I find the romance in it rather bland.
- Green-eyed Demon by Jaye Wells – Yet again, I am stunned that I haven’t finished this and completely blame the ebook format.
Finished this week:
- Firmin: Adventures of a Metropolitan Lowlife by Sam Savage – So, I finally managed to get Firmin off my TBR shelf. Sam Savage is a very talented writer, but his book was not at all what I expected. I thought it would be Ratatouille with books, instead Firmin was – quite frankly – the most depressing creature on the planet.
Featured Posts:
Up next from the TBR pile:
by Kay | Feb 24, 2011 | Weekly Feature |
Booking through Thursday: All other things being equal–do you prefer used books? Or new books? (The physical speciman, that is, not the title.) Does your preference differentiate between a standard kind of used book, and a pristine, leather-bound copy?
I have been having a not-so-secret love affair with used books for years. As a child, my mother would take me to a local used bookstore where I would dig out old hardback classics from the turn of the century. I loved finding letters and postcards, reading dedications on the covers, and – in one memorable classic – discovering exotic flowers artistically pressed between the pages. I love books with tangible history, and that’s something easy to see in used books.
Does that count as the physicality of the book? To me, the marks left behind by previous owners make the book that much more special. I felt a wonderful bond with the former owner of my copy of Chocolat by Joanne Harris when I saw chocolate stains on the corners of the pages. Perhaps not the most hygienic of tells to leave behind, but certainly an appropriate one!
Speaking of hygiene, I have seen used books that I wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole. “Used” does not have to mean “disgusting”, but sometimes it really does. So, in that respect, I do prefer pristine new books. They have a wonderful, oh-so-distinguishing smell to them – one whiff and I am in love. And there is nothing better than cracking the spine of a new paperback, leaving behind your own mark on a novel.
But above all, what sets used books apart is the search. There’s nothing better than digging through dusty piles of books to find a copy of a book you’d always meant to read. Or discovering a first edition Tolkien on the bottom shelf of a charity store. The process of purchasing new books is rather like internet dating, while buying a used book feels like fate. Sure, you could find your soulmate through either one, but there will always be something special about the book that found you. ♥
