Category Archives: Readings

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BREAKABLE Cover Reveal!

Hello gentle reader,

One of my good friends and critique partners Aimee L. Salter has a YA Magical Realism novel debuting on 4th November 2013: BREAKABLE. I’m really excited for her book to be out, and I’m even more excited to reveal her beautiful cover art!

Here’s the book blurb. Scroll down to check out the cover!

When seventeen-year-old Stacy looks in the mirror she can see and talk to her future self. “Older Me” has been Stacy’s secret support through the ongoing battle with their neurotic mother, relentless bullying at school, and dealing with her hopeless love for her best friend, Mark.

Then Stacy discovers Older Me is a liar.

Still reeling from that betrayal, Stacy buries herself in her art. But even that is taken from her when her most persistent tormentor uses her own work to humiliate her – and threaten her last chance with Mark.

Stacy’s reached breaking point.

Literally.

Author Bio

Aimee L. Salter2

Aimee L. Salter is a Pacific North-Westerner who spent much of her young (and not-so-young) life in New Zealand. After picking up a Kiwi husband and son, she’s recently returned to Oregon.

She writes novels for teens and the occasional adult who, like herself, are still in touch with their inner-high schooler.

You can find Aimee on Twitter and Facebook.

The premise of BREAKABLE was inspired by a visit to the website www.dearteenme.com in which authors write letters to their teen selves. This is Aimee’s first book.

And… here is the cover!

BREAKABLE

Isn’t it amazing?!

Don’t forget to add BREAKABLE on Goodreads, and you can also enter a giveaway on Aimee’s blog to win a signed and inscribed paperback, or an e-book of BREAKABLE!

 

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YA New Releases – October Edition

Hello gentle reader,

There are so many great YA books coming out this month! Here are the ones I’m most eagerly anticipating… (blurbs are from Goodreads).

Hideous Love

Hideous Love: The Story of the Girl Who Wrote Frankenstein

by Stephanie Hemphill (Published on 1st October 2013 by Balzer + Bray)

YA Historical Fiction

Hideous Love is the fascinating story of Gothic novelist Mary Shelley, who as a teen girl fled her restrictive home only to find herself in the shadow of a brilliant but moody boyfriend, famed poet Percy Shelley. It is the story of the mastermind behind one of the most iconic figures in all of literature: a monster constructed out of dead bodies and brought to life by the tragic Dr. Frankenstein.

Mary wrote Frankenstein at the age of 19, but inspiration for the monster came from her life-the atmospheric European settings she visited, the dramas swirling around her, and the stimulating philosophical discussions with the greatest minds of the period, like her close friend, Lord Byron.

This luminous verse novel from award-winning author Stephanie Hemphill reveals how Mary Shelley became one of the most celebrated authors in history.

Kingdom Of Little Wounds

The Kingdom of Little Wounds

by Susann Cokal (Published on 8th October 2013 by Candlewick Press)

YA Fantasy

On the eve of Princess Sophia’s wedding, the Scandinavian city of Skyggehavn prepares to fete the occasion with a sumptuous display of riches: brocade and satin and jewels, feasts of sugar fruit and sweet spiced wine. Yet beneath the veneer of celebration, a shiver of darkness creeps through the palace halls. A mysterious illness plagues the royal family, threatening the lives of the throne’s heirs, and a courtier’s wolfish hunger for the king’s favors sets a devious plot in motion.

Here in the palace at Skyggehavn, things are seldom as they seem — and when a single errant prick of a needle sets off a series of events that will alter the course of history, the fates of seamstress Ava Bingen and mute nursemaid Midi Sorte become irrevocably intertwined with that of mad Queen Isabel. As they navigate a tangled web of palace intrigue, power-lust, and deception, Ava and Midi must carve out their own survival any way they can.

Rags-and-Bones

Rags & Bones: New Twists on Timeless Tales

Anthology of short stories published on 22d October 2013 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

YA Fantasy – Retellings

Today’s most acclaimed authors use their own unique styles to rebuild these 12 timeless stories:

Sir Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queene – Saladin Ahmed

W. W. Jacobs’s “The Monkey’s Paw” – Kelley Armstrong

Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu’s “Carmilla” – Holly Black

“Sleeping Beauty” – Neil Gaiman

The Brothers Grimm’s “Rumpelstiltskin” – Kami Garcia

Kate Chopin’s The Awakening – Melissa Marr

Rudyard Kipling’s “The Man Who Would Be King” – Garth Nix

Henry James’s “The Jolly Corner” – Tim Pratt

E. M. Forster’s “The Machine Stops” – Carrie Ryan

Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto – Margaret Stohl

William Seabrook’s “The Caged White Werewolf of the Saraban” – Gene Wolfe

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Birth-Mark” – Rick Yancey

Which books are you looking forward to reading this month? Let me know below!

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Book of the Week – 21

Hello gentle reader,

this week I’m reading Dodger by Terry Pratchett (published in September 2012). It’s a standalone book that doesn’t belong to the Discworld series. Instead it’s a YA Historical Fantasy that just came out in paperback, and I really recommend it!

dodgerterrypratchett

From Goodreads:

A storm. Rain-lashed city streets. A flash of lightning. A scruffy lad sees a girl leap desperately from a horse-drawn carriage in a vain attempt to escape her captors. Can the lad stand by and let her be caught again? Of course not, because he’s…Dodger.

Seventeen-year-old Dodger may be a street urchin, but he gleans a living from London’s sewers, and he knows a jewel when he sees one. He’s not about to let anything happen to the unknown girl–not even if her fate impacts some of the most powerful people in England.

From Dodger’s encounter with the mad barber Sweeney Todd to his meetings with the great writer Charles Dickens and the calculating politician Benjamin Disraeli, history and fantasy intertwine in a breathtaking account of adventure and mystery.

Beloved and bestselling author Sir Terry Pratchett combines high comedy with deep wisdom in this tale of an unexpected coming-of-age and one remarkable boy’s rise in a complex and fascinating world.

This book has everything I love: Victorian London, history mixed with fantasy, a wonderful main character, an incredible supporting cast, and a great mystery. If you like this genre, I recommend it!

What are YOU reading this week? Feel free to let me know in the comment section!

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Waiting On Wednesday – 28

Hello gentle reader,

this week I’m waiting on Erased (Altered #2) by Jennifer Rush (expected publication: 7th January 2014). It is the second book in a sci-fi trilogy. I really liked Altered, and I’m excited to read what happens next to Anna and the boys…

Erased

Since I don’t want to spoil Book 1 for you in case you haven’t read it, I’m not going to post the blurb for Erased here. Instead, I’ll post the blurb for Altered.

Altered

From Goodreads:

Everything about Anna’s life is a secret. Her father works for the Branch at the helm of its latest project: monitoring and administering treatments to the four genetically altered boys in the lab below their farmhouse. There’s Nick, Cas, Trev . . . and Sam, who’s stolen Anna’s heart. When the Branch decides it’s time to take the boys, Sam stages an escape, killing the agents sent to retrieve them.

Anna is torn between following Sam or staying behind in the safety of her everyday life. But her father pushes her to flee, making Sam promise to keep her away from the Branch, at all costs. There’s just one problem. Sam and the boys don’t remember anything before living in the lab—not even their true identities.

Now on the run, Anna soon discovers that she and Sam are connected in more ways than either of them expected. And if they’re both going to survive, they must piece together the clues of their past before the Branch catches up to them and steals it all away.

“Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly event, hosted by book blogger Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

What are you waiting on this week? Is Erased on your TBR list? Have you read Altered?

Feel free to leave me a comment below!

 

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Waiting On Wednesday – 27

Hello gentle reader,

this week I’m waiting on The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski (expected publication: 4th March 2014 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux – BYR). It’s a YA Fantasy novel and the first book in a trilogy.

The Winner's Curse

 

From Goodreads:

Seventeen-year-old Kestrel is an aristocratic citizen of Valoria, a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers. Here, a girl like Kestrel has two choices: join the military or get married. Despite her skills in military strategy, Kestrel’s real passion is music. Which is why she feels compelled to buy Arin, a slave with a talent for singing, at auction. It’s not long before she finds herself falling in love with Arin, and he seems to feel the same for her. But Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for Arin is much higher than she ever could have imagined.

The Winner’s Curse is a story of wicked rumors, dirty secrets, and games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head — or lose your heart. In the tradition of Kristin Cashore and Cassandra Clare comes this brilliant, unputdownable, star-crossed romance about the curse of winning.

Doesn’t this sound awesome?! I really can’t wait for this one…

“Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly event, hosted by book blogger Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

What are you waiting on this week? Is The Winner’s Curse on your TBR list?

Feel free to leave me a comment below!

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Off to Oz Giveaway Hop! (closed)

Hello gentle reader,

today I’m taking part in the Off to Oz Giveaway Hop, hosted by Angela @ Angela’s Anxious Life.

Off To Oz giveaway hop

I am giving away one of my favourite books: a copy of Wicked, The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire (first published in 2000 by HarperCollins).

Wicked

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

In Baum’s land of Oz, animals talk and strive to be treated like first-class citizens, Munchkinlanders seek the comfort of middle-class stability and the Tin Man becomes a victim of domestic violence. Green-skinned Elphaba, future Wicked Witch of the West, is smart, prickly and misunderstood; she challenges our preconceived notions about the nature of good and evil.

Giveaway information:

The giveaway is open until Tuesday 17th September 2013 at midnight (BST time).

To enter please fill in the contact form below with your name and email. If you follow my blog by email or WordPress, if you are a Twitter follower, if you like my page on Facebook, if you follow me on Pinterest or Tumblr, or if you tweet about the giveaway, this will grant you an extra entry. Mention it below.

Entrants must be at least 13 years of age.

This giveaway is open Internationally, as long as The Book Depository ships to your country.

The winner will be chosen randomly, notified by email and will have 72 hours to reply or a new winner will be chosen.

I hold the right to end the giveaway before its original deadline without any prior notice.

I hold the right to disqualify any entry as I see fit.

Privacy information: no information given for this giveaway will be used for other purpose than this giveaway. All information provided (names, emails and mail addresses) will be deleted after the giveaway.

Good luck and feel free to leave me a comment below!

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YA New Releases – September Edition

Hello gentle reader,

There are many books published this month, and I’ve highlighted below the ones I’m most looking forward to reading…

All Our Yesterdays

All Our Yesterdays (Cassandra Chronicles #1) by Cristin Terrill (YA Sci-Fi)

Expected publication: September 3rd 2013 by Disney Hyperion

Why I’m looking forward to it: time travel!

Antigoddess

Antigoddess (The Goddess War #1) by Kendare Blake (YA Myth retelling)

Expected publication: September 10th 2013 by Tor Teen

Why I’m looking forward to it: a retelling of Greek mythology!

ChaosOfStars

The Chaos of Stars by Kiersten White (YA Paranormal)

Expected publication: September 10th 2013 by HarperTeen

Why I’m looking forward to it: Egyptian gods and family issues…

Frozen

Frozen (Heart of Dread #1) by Melissa De La Cruz and Michael Johnston (YA Dystopia)

Expected publication: September 17th 2013 by Putnam Juvenile

Why I’m looking forward to it: snowed in Las Vegas!

What about you? Any books you’re eagerly waiting for this month? Let me know in the comments below!

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YA Sci-Fi

What’s on my bookshelf? 8

Hello gentle reader,

Yesterday my Critique Partner asked on Twitter if people could recommend YA Sci-Fi books to her. I don’t read a lot of Science Fiction, but here are my favourite books in this genre…

Proxy

Proxy by Alex London (published in  June 2013 by Philomel)

My favourite 2013 release so far. It’s action-packed, it’s thought-provoking, it’s clever and gripping. It’s about friendship, social justice, consumerism and technologies. It’s also a dual male POV. What more can you ask for?

Shatter Me

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi (published in November 2011 by Harper)

Original and so well-written, this is the story of a girl whose touch is lethal. What she does with that power in a futuristic dictatorship is up to her.

Altered

Altered by Jennifer Rush (published in January 2013 by Little, Brown Books for Young Reader)

A debut novel pitched as Dollhouse meets Prison Break, with one girl and four genetically altered boys on the run from a mysterious organisation. Don’t mind the eye-catching cover, it’s a thrilling and multi-layered story well worth a read.

That’s it for the YA Sci-Fi books on my bookshelf. I did tell you I don’t read this genre a lot. Any book you’ve loved and would recommend? Feel free to leave me a comment below!

And don’t forget you can still enter my 500 Blog Followers Giveaway here (and win a copy of Shatter Me!).

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500 Blog Followers Giveaway! (closed)

Welcome gentle reader!

My little blog has reached 500 followers and I also have 900 followers on Twitter. Overwhelmed by those whooping numbers, I have decided to thank you all by having a massive giveaway. Hopefully everyone will find something of interest here…

Giveaway 1: For Readers

For those of you interested in winning books, I’m giving away my favourite YA books:

YA books giveaway

The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner (YA High Fantasy)

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater (YA Fantasy)

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin (YA Paranormal Romance)

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi (YA Dystopian)

The giveaway is open until Sunday 25th August 2013 at 9am (BST time). There will be one winner per book (=4 winners). This giveaway is open Internationally, as long as the Book Depository ships to your country.

To enter please fill in the contact form below with your name, email and title of the book you’d like to win. Since this giveaway is to thank my followers, you have to follow my blog via email or WordPress to enter. If you are a Twitter follower, if you like my page on Facebook, if you follow me on Pinterest or Tumblr, or if you tweet about the giveaway, this will grant you an extra entry. Mention it below.

Giveaway 2: For Writers

If you’re a writer, you might be interested in a critique. I’m lucky to have wonderful writerly friends and awesome Critique Partners who have agreed to give away the following critiques:

Juliana Haygert is a NA Author and a co-founder of NA Alley. She writes Contemporary Romance and Fantasy with strong romantic elements. She has published several books, including Destiny Gift and Breaking The Reins. She’s offering a 15-page critique.

Rachel O’Laughlin writes Adult Epic Fantasy and she’s a member of There And Draft Again. Her debut title, Coldness of Marek, just came out this summer. She’s offering to critique your query and first 50 pages of your manuscript.

Jessy Montgomery is a YA writer and a freelance editor. She writes Fantasy and Dark Contemporary novels. She’s also my wonderful CP and a member of There And Draft Again. She’s offering to critique your query and the first 10 pages of your manuscript.

Serena Lawless is a YA writer and a member of The Great Noveling Adventure. She writes Magical Realism. She’s offering to critique the first 20 pages of your manuscript and to interview you on The Great Noveling Adventure blog.

The giveaway is open until Sunday 25th August 2013 at 9am (BST time). There will be one winner per critique (=4 winners). The giveaway is international.

To enter please fill in the contact form below with your name, email and genre of your manuscript. Since this giveaway is to thank my followers, you have to follow my blog via email or WordPress to enter. If you are a Twitter follower, if you like my page on Facebook, if you follow me on Pinterest or Tumblr, or if you tweet about the giveaway, this will grant you an extra entry. Mention it below.

Entrants must be at least 13 years of age.

Winners will be chosen randomly, notified by email and will have 72 hours to reply or a new winner will be chosen.

I hold the right to end the giveaway before its original deadline without any prior notice.

I hold the right to disqualify any entry as I see fit.

Privacy information: no information given for this giveaway will be used for other purpose than this giveaway. All information provided (names, emails and mail addresses) will be deleted after the giveaway.

Good luck everyone, and feel free to leave me a comment below!

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Book of the Week – 20

Hello gentle reader,

My choice for Book of the Week is Coldness of Marek by Rachel O’Laughlin. It’s an Adult Epic Fantasy book and the first book in the Serengard Series. It was released on 6th August 2013 and I received an ARC from the author for review.

ColdnessOfMarek-Cover

I’ll start by saying that I fully enjoyed this book. I love Epic Fantasy and this is a very well written and engrossing read.

The story is divided into two parts: the first part takes place before a political upheaval which is going to overthrow the reigning monarch and introduce a new regime. The second part takes place ten years later and deals with the aftermath of the rebellion.

I loved how effortless the world building was in this story: Serengard and its political, social and geographical features are introduced slowly and smoothly, making it very easy to get immersed  in this world.

The characters are rich and complex, with Trzl at the center of it all. She is a wonderfully multifaceted woman, clever yet passionate, cold yet loving. Around her, a web of men with their own agendas creates a great cast. I only wished there were more female characters.

The plot is well-paced and compelling, although I did enjoy Part II more, because the action and scheming really picked up then and I couldn’t put the book down after hitting the halfway mark.

Although this first book in this series has a satisfying ending, I finished the story longing to dive into Book 2 straight away. But Knights of Rilch will only be released in February 2014…

In the meantime, I recommend Coldness of Marek for lovers of Epic Fantasy!

What are you reading this week?