Hi there! I’m Kay: an opinionated book blogger enamoured with the world of novels. Reader of Speculative Fiction (the posh word for Sci-Fi/Fantasy) and Young Adult novels. Believer in the many uses of the towel, the science of deduction and other fandom in-jokes.

This blog has been closed since early 2016. To the publishers and writers: thanks for all the support over the years. To my readers and fellow bloggers: keep in touch!

 

 

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Recent Reviews

Magic Burns by Ilona AndrewsAurelia by Anne OsterlundUprooted by Naomi NovikShadow Study by Maria V. SnyderThis Shattered World by Amie Kaufman, Meagan SpoonerUnited We Spy by Ally CarterAll Fall Down by Ally CarterEve and Adam by Katherine Applegate, Michael GrantHex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

In My Mailbox (Feb. 7th, 2010)

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren ( inspired by Alea of Pop Culture Junkie) and explores the content of your mailbox.  Or bookbox as they should now be called!

All YA books this week!

I was very picky about the covers I got for these books.  I wanted to avoid the whole race debacle surrounding Magic Under Glass –  so bought the UK cover.  I thought the US version of Knife (which is called Faery Rebels in the US) looked like it was designed for a three-year-old – so, again, bought the UK cover.  And I was annoyed that the UK publisher completely changed the cover and title of Hearts at Stake (called My Love Lies Bleeding in the UK) – so I bought the US cover!  *sighs*

But what was amazing was I was able to pick-and-choose from these covers in London bookstores!  One luxury I think US readers don’t quite have… !

On My Wishlist (Feb. 6th, 2010)

On My Wishlist is a weekly meme hosted by Book Chick City. It allows us to share the books we haven’t bought yet but are waiting to be bought and devoured.  (This post was inspired by the fab In My Mailbox by Kristi at The Story Siren).

Some Girls Bite (Chicagoland Vampires) by Chloe Neill
– This book has been on my wishlist for quite some time, but after reading Neill’s Debut into YA Firespell, it has made its way up to the top of the list!

First in a brand new series about a Chicago graduate student’s introduction into a society of vampires.

Sure, the life of a graduate student wasn’t exactly glamorous, but it was Merit’s. She was doing fine until a rogue vampire attacked her. But he only got a sip before he was scared away by another bloodsucker—and this one decided the best way to save her life was to make her the walking undead.

Turns out her savior was the master vampire of Cadogan House. Now she’s traded sweating over her thesis for learning to fit in at a Hyde Park mansion full of vamps loyal to Ethan “Lord o’ the Manor” Sullivan. Of course, as a tall, green-eyed, four-hundred- year-old vampire, he has centuries’ worth of charm, but unfortunately he expects her gratitude— and servitude. But an inconvenient sunlight allergy and Ethan’s attitude are the least of her concerns. Someone’s still out to get her. Her initiation into Chicago’s nightlife may be the first skirmish in a war—and there will be blood.

Pastworld by Ian Beck
This has been on my wishlist for a while – and I really do want to get my hands on it!  There are so few YA books set in London and it just seems rather wrong that I haven’t read it yet!


What if all of London were really an amusement park—a whole city returned to Victorian times to entertain visitors from the twenty-first century? That’s the wildly original premise of Ian Beck’s Pastworld, a high-stakes mystery set in a simulated past.

Eve is a lifelong resident of Pastworld who doesn’t know she’s living in a theme park until a mysterious threat forces her to leave home. Caleb is a visiting tourist who finds the lawlessness of the past thrilling—until he suddenly becomes a fugitive from an antiquated justice system. And in the midst of it all, in the thick London fog a dark and deadly figure prowls, claiming victim after victim. He’s the Fantom, a creature both of the past and of the present, in whose dark purpose Caleb and Eve will find their destinies combined.

Page-turning, complex, and haunting, Pastworld masterfully exposes the human experience of the past, of violence, of technology, and of entertainment.

Just One of the Guys by Kristan Higgins
This contemporary romance book was just re-released in early January and looks utterly adorable. And not just because of the dog on the cover! … although that always helps!


Being one of the guys isn’t all it’s cracked up to be…

So when journalist Chastity O’Neill returns to her hometown, she decides it’s time to start working on some of those feminine wiles. Two tiny problems: #1—she’s five feet eleven inches of rock-solid girl power, and #2—she’s cursed with four alpha male older brothers.

While doing a story on local heroes, she meets a hunky doctor and things start to look up. Now there’s only one problem: Trevor Meade, her first love and the one man she’s never quite gotten over—although he seems to have gotten over her just fine.

Yet the more time she spends with Dr. Perfect, the better Trevor looks. But even with the in-your-face competition, the irresistible Trevor just can’t seem to see Chastity as anything more than just one of the guys.…

Well, that’s just a short selection from my ever growing wishlist.  Go over to Book Chick City and share what is on yours!

Cover Alert! Burned (HoN Series)

The covers for the seventh (!) House of Night book were released this week, and I just had to share.  Considering how much I disliked both the UK and US covers of Tempted, this makes for a nice change!

Burned by PC and Kristin Cast - UK Burned by PC and Kristin Cast - US
UK / US
Burned: House of Night Series Book 7 by P.C. and Kristin Cast
To be Published: April 27th 2010 by ATOM
Seeing them side by side, I am not sure which I prefer.  Probably the US one… but don’t hold me to that!  Either way, both are much nicer than the previous book!

I am kinda surprised that they set the release date so soon for this book, even though the Casts only finished it on Monday!  Seems a bit presumptuous… but I guess this series is popular enough for them to want to get them on overdrive.

On a personal note, I am kinda surprised that I actually have stuck through with this series – considering how I don’t actually like the writing all that much.  But, well, I just want to find out how everything bloody well ends!

Waiting on Wednesday: and Falling, Fly by Skyler White

“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that are being eagerly anticipated.
and Falling, Fly by Skyler White

and Falling, Fly by Skyler White

Urban Fantasy Debut Author – March 2nd 2010 by Berkley Trade

In a dark and seedy underground of burned-out rock stars and angels-turned-vampires, a revolutionary neuroscientist and a fallen angel must pit medicine against mythology in an attempt to erase their tortured pasts…but at what cost?

Olivia, vampire and fallen angel of desire, is hopeless…and damned. Since the fall from Eden, she has hungered for love, but fed only on desire. Dominic O’Shaughnessy is a neuroscientist plagued by impossible visions. When his research and her despair collide at L’OtelMathillide- a subterranean hell of beauty, demons, and dreams-rationalist and angel unite in a clash of desire and damnation that threatens to destroy them both.

Yep, this is a non-YA Debut author! Seems like a really dark, gorgeous book – kinda like a mythological Anne Rice, only cooler. And I love the artwork – really elegant!

Review: Firespell by Chloe Neill

Review: Firespell by Chloe NeillFirespell by Chloe Neill
Series: Dark Elite #1
Published by Penguin on 2010-01-05
Pages: 256
Genres: Paranormal YA, Young Adult
Add to Goodreads
Rating:
Also in this series: Hexbound

New Girl. New School. Old Evil. From the author of the Chicagoland Vampires novels. A new series about a boarding school filled with something worse than homework. Lily's parents have sent her to a fancy boarding school in Chicago filled with the ultra-rich. If that wasn't bad enough, she's hearing and seeing bizarre things on St. Sophie's creepy campus. Her roommate, Scout, keeps her sane, but keeps disappearing at night. When one day Lily finds Scout running from real-life monsters, she learns the hard way that Scout is involved in a splinter group of rebel teens. They protect Chicago from demons, vamps, and dark magic users. It's too bad Lily doesn't have powers of her own to help. At least, none that she's discovered yet...

Thoughts: Wow!

I picked up Firespell for the Debut YA Author Challenge – and boy am I glad I did! I had heard of Chloe Neill’s Adult Series, but nothing about them seemed to pique my interest. So I thought I’d test out her YA debut before I dove into the Chicagoland books.

Unlike a lot of YA out there right now, Firespell is based more around Lily and her new universe – rather than around her relationship with a boy. Although there is certainly a love interest  (and I think I am right in foreseeing a future love triangle), her relationships with her BFF Scout and her absent parents take center stage.

Although I loved the universe and whatnot, what stole the show for me was Lily.  She is insanely awesome – a sarcastic, sensitive, vegetarian, fashionista. If people call her a weirdo, she’ll just role her eyes and make some fabulously insightful comment. And her banter with Scout made me laugh out loud countless times!

Scout was another great character – a punky, funny, wanna-be-politician.  She talks tough but is an amazing softie. Lily and Scout make the perfect duo.

But gosh, there are so many mysteries left by the end of the book. And although we get a nicely wrapped up ending – no cliffhangers here – there are still so many things I want to know! I cannot wait for the next book… and the book after that…. and the book after that…

Bottom line?  This book is a must for all readers! Especially if you liked Rachel Caine’s Morganville Vampires Series! (BTW, anyone who compares it to the HoN series is out of their mind – completely different!)