Book Review: Mesmerize by Artist Arthur

Title: Mesmerize (Mystyx #4)
Author: Artist Arthur
Publisher: Kimani Tru (Harlequin)
ISBN: 0373534647
Release Date: 01/24/2012

Things come to a head in this book for our little Mystyx gang, but I'll warn you: there is still more to come in this series. I'll try to keep the spoilers in this review to a minimum, but some of the stuff that happens here is pretty big.

You can’t move forward until you deal with the past…

Starting over is nothing new to diplomat’s daughter Lindsey Yi. She’s grown up changing schools the way other girls change clothes. Still, moving to Lincoln, Connecticut, is different. Although she’s still reeling from the loss of her parents in an accident, Lindsey is finally in a place that feels like home. Because here, Lindsey’s ability to read other people’s thoughts doesn’t make her weird. It makes her one of the Mystyx.

When Dylan Murphy—hot, popular and a senior—starts to notice her, things get serious, fast. But even as she’s figuring out how she really feels, the Mystyx realize that they’re not the only supernaturals in town. There are other gifted teens who have different motives. And they are hoping to get close enough to the Mystyx to convert them—and the world—to Darkness…

First off, I'll warn people that you might be surprised at some of the events in this book. We do get to see a whole new side of Lindsey, but it comes at a very serious cost for our main characters. I have to admit that I was pretty sad to see certain things in the book happen, but all things considered it made sense that things like this would potentially happen- especially considering all of the pain and loss that everyone has had to go through earlier in the series.

There's a big confrontation in this book and initially I thought that this might have been the end of the series, although there is still another book and enough here is left open to where the series can go into an entirely new direction. I'm kind of digging the way it ended, to be honest. I think it'd be more interesting to see how these new story lines develop.

The only big problem I had with this book is that at times the action scenes felt like they went by a little too quickly. This does help give me the feeling that things are happening fast and furious, but I just wanted a little more detail and explanation in a few places. It just needed a little more time spent on these elements.

Overall this was a good read and one I'd recommend to fans of the series thus far. It's good to get a deeper glimpse into Lindsay's life, although I wish the actions scenes were a little more drawn out. (Especially the final battle of the book.) It's not my absolute favorite of the series, but the last few paragraphs has got me pretty excited for what might happen in the next entry.

3.5 out of 5 stars

(ARC provided by Netgalley)

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Just to let you guys know, you still have plenty of time to win a copy of this book through the contest I'm hosting! This is something that I would recommend as a read, especially a signed copy!

Book Review: Ultraviolet by R.J. Anderson

Title: Ultraviolet
Author: R.J. Anderson
Publisher: Carolrhoda Lab
Release Date: 09/01/2011
ISBN: 0761374086







Before I go on with this review, I just want people to understand that this book was published in the UK & is set in Canada. My reasons for mentioning this are semi-spoilerish, so if you want to read a spoiler-free review then you might want to stop at this paragraph. I'll summarize my review here: I enjoyed this book & would recommend it, but I really felt like the last 1/4th of the book deserved to be stretched out more- it was too good to be as short as it was. Otherwise this was a very good sci-fi/fantasy read.

"Once upon a time there was a girl who was special. This is not her story. Unless you count the part where I killed her."

Sixteen-year-old Alison wakes up in a mental institution. As she pieces her memory back together, she realizes she’s confessed to murdering Tori Beaugrand, the most perfect girl at school. But the case is a mystery. Tori's body has not been found, and Alison can't explain what happened. One minute she was fighting with Tori. The next moment Tori disintegrated—into nothing.

But that's impossible. No one is capable of making someone vanish. Right? Alison must be losing her mind—like her mother always feared she would.

For years Alison has tried to keep her weird sensory abilities a secret. No one ever understood—until a mysterious visiting scientist takes an interest in Alison's case. Suddenly, Alison discovers that the world is wrong about her—and that she’s capable of far more than anyone else would believe.

I'll talk about the good before I start going into the other aspects of the book. First off, I loved that this wasn't your typical YA read. There are a few basic tropes in this book but when you write a story of any sort (YA or otherwise), you're going to have to utilize some of them. Anderson does an excellent job of giving us something new as far as the "teen girl with (maybe) superpowers" genre goes. It was wonderful to see something new in this genre. Maybe it was this uniqueness that made me get so attached to Alison, as I found myself eagerly following along with everything that happened to her. I will admit though, that I found the character of Tori (Alison's rival) far more interesting for what little screen time & mentions she received.

The book does have its imperfections though. I found that even though I liked the slow buildup, there's a lot of time spent on Alison's time in the group home & very little time spent on the actual reveal in the last part of the book. I can't go into this without spoiling it, but I felt that it was incredibly underserved. It's developed enough to where you can read it without being horribly disappointed, but the reveal was so interesting that I really wish that the author had spent a little less time with Alison's time at the asylum & interactions with Faraday (a & more time on this aspect of the book. It was just too cool for how little "screen time" it gets.

This also brings me to the reason why I mentioned that this whole thing takes place in Canada & was published in the UK. This is somewhat spoilerish so if you don't want to read this then just skip over this paragraph. The reason I mention this is because there's a little bit of romance between a 16 year old & a 24 year old, which really sort of bothered me. I know that the age of consent in Canada & the UK is lower than here in the US (although some states do have AOC at 16), but this just sort of creeped me out a little & I know it'll do the same for other readers. My reason for mentioning this isn't to keep people from reading the book but to mention that this age gap is brought up by the older of the two characters & there's no sex. I debated about whether or not to include this in my review at all, but I know that others have mentioned it so I felt like it was worth mentioning.

Overall this really was a good read & if the author puts out another book in this series (preferably surrounding the character of Tori) I'll definitely read it. This author has a great style that I would really love to see more of. Once again Carolrhoda Labs has put out a YA title that refuses to play by the same rules as the other publishers in the field & I love them for it.

4/5 stars

(ARC provided by Netgalley)

Book Review: Red Glove (Curse Workers #2) by Holly Black

Title: Red Glove (Curse Workers #2)
Author: Holly Black
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Release Date: 04/05/2011
ISBN:144240339X







While I wasn't as immediately drawn into Cassel's world in White Cat, I found it one that I'd be more than happy to visit again. It was Black's attention to details such as Cassel implanting amulets under his skin to avoid being worked that kept me reading. This one follows along the same lines as the previous book, being a story that was a little tedious at times but still a fun ride for the most part.

Curses and cons. Magic and the mob. In Cassel Sharpe's world, they go together. Cassel always thought he was an ordinary guy, until he realized his memories were being manipulated by his brothers. Now he knows the truth—he’s the most powerful curse worker around. A touch of his hand can transform anything—or anyone—into something else.

That was how Lila, the girl he loved, became a white cat. Cassel was tricked into thinking he killed her, when actually he tried to save her. Now that she's human again, he should be overjoyed. Trouble is, Lila's been cursed to love him, a little gift from his emotion worker mom. And if Lila's love is as phony as Cassel's made-up memories, then he can't believe anything she says or does.

When Cassel's oldest brother is murdered, the Feds recruit Cassel to help make sense of the only clue—crime-scene images of a woman in red gloves. But the mob is after Cassel too—they know how valuable he could be to them. Cassel is going to have to stay one step ahead of both sides just to survive. But where can he turn when he can't trust anyone—least of all, himself?

Love is a curse and the con is the only answer in a game too dangerous to lose.

I'm never quite sure what to make of these stories. It's a pretty brave move to cast a boy as the main character in a genre that's predominantly oriented towards young girls & women, something that runs the risk of potentially alienating part of the demographic. This actually works here because this means that Black has more freedom to break free of other trends & habits of young adult urban fantasy. As far as this goes, the book is great. It's kind of refreshing to read about someone who isn't a young, spunky, headstrong girl fighting against the system. This is an intriguing world & for the most part Black does a decent job of exploring & explaining it.

Unfortunately there's some parts of it I just didn't get into as much as I would have wanted. The book just seemed to take a pretty long time getting to where it wanted to be & as a result one of the main themes of the book (the whodunit) fell to the back burner. This feels like it happened more as a way to shift gears for the third book in the series, but it still sort of threw me out of the story. There's a LOT going on in this second book & I have the feeling that even more will be happening in the next (& final) book, so I can't help but feel that this series would have been better served if it had an extra volume to help space things out.

Overall this was still a good read & if you liked the first one you're more than likely going to like this one as well. The only thing I'd warn people about is that unlike Black's Modern Fairy Tale series, this book is most decidedly not a standalone. If you haven't read the first book in the series you're pretty much going to be lost as far as plot goes.


Final Diagnosis: Most fans of the previous book & Black's other works will like this but others will find themselves getting a little lost in the book's pacing.

3.9/5

(ARC provided by Simon & Schuster's Galley Grab)

Book Review: The Order of Ethyrea by Danica Fontaine

Title: The Order of Ethyrea: Code of the Bretheren
Author: Danica Fontaine
Publisher: Old Line Publishing, LLC
Release Date: 07/28/2010
ISBN: 0984614311







Have you ever had that book where you liked it, but you felt it fell short of its potential a little? A book that kind of reminded you of the awkward teenager that you knew would grow up to be President? If so, then you'll understand how I felt while I was reading this book.

Outside of the astral planes that parallel fate and the undead, lies a glorious realm known only as Ethyrea. This majestic land is home to a brave and courageous race of mystic elemental warriors known for their unmatched mastery of sorcery and might. Once a world filled with peace and prosperity, Ethyrea is besieged by an evil queen and her army of nightmares. The Royal Houses of the land of Ethyrea will send their finest warriors to undertake a perilous quest that will lead into a long, destroyed realm of horrors. There is an honor amongst these Noble Knights....a code. They are the "Brethren." Sweeping in like a fog that rolls across as myst on the cold, barren moorlands that once thrived with light, they struggle to lead the charge out of the crimson darkness. Destined to overthrow those that threaten their way of life, they must track down the pieces of remembrance and reunite the armor with its lost heir. Ethyrea; a powerful realm that has crossed the plane of the undead and chances across time and space, time and time again. Only the strongest of hearts, and Knights most noble of character dare face the unknown hardships and untold challenges of a world forgotten. Will the Brethren realign fate and reunite the worlds that lay beyond the borders of known existence? Are you of the Brethren?

The plot in this book is interesting & there's a rich world here to be explored. There's a wide cast of characters as well as a slew of powers to be used & revealed. Fontaine does utilize the idea of lovers doomed to be forever without each other (an often used idea), but she manages to put an interesting spin on it that keeps it fresh.

The only difficulty? The book jumps a little too quickly into action & as such, we're left without any really solid definitions of the characters or the world, which is a pity. As said above, there's a rich world here waiting to be explored & we get to glimpse so little of it before the book moves into another action filled scene or another talk that keeps the plot moving at its breakneck pace.

This is definitely a series to watch, but this just needed a little more time to simmer & be fleshed out. I would recommend this as a nice followup to some of the YA fantasy series out there, though. There's so much promise here that I just know this series is going to be big. It needs a little work, but trust me- once you pick up this book you'll see why I think it's got a lot of potential to it.

(Reader Copy provided by author)

Book Review: Need by Carrie Jones

Title: Need (Need #1)
Author: Carrie Jones
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
Release Date: 12/23/2008
ISBN: 1599903385





Before I start this review, I’m going to be honest about one thing: I’m going to be spilling some spoilers about the book. Potentially big ones. I try not to post spoilers but this impacted my decision about the book. If you don’t want to know the spoilers but want to know how I felt about the book overall, I liked it for the most part. There’s just one part to the book that kept me from liking it as much as I would have otherwise.

Zara White suspects there's a freaky guy semi-stalking her. She's also obsessed with phobias. And it's true, she hasn't exactly been herself since her stepfather died. But exiling her to shivery Maine to live with her grandmother? That seems a bit extreme. The move is supposed to help her stay sane...but Zara's pretty sure her mom just can't deal with her right now.She couldn't be more wrong. Turns out the semi-stalker is not a figment of Zara's overactive imagination. In fact, he's still following her, leaving behind an eerie trail of gold dust. There's something not right - not human - in this sleepy Maine town, and all signs point to Zara.

For the most part this is a decent book. Many YA readers will like it, but some will find it a little lacking in comparison to some of the meatier & more complex books out there, such as the ones by Holly Black or Melissa Marr. Jones tries to straddle the fine line between producing something along the lines of Black/Marr & something more family friendly, but doesn’t entirely succeed. Her characters are interesting enough & the growing affections between Zara & Nick are cute. It’s just that the book kind of read like Jones wrote it as she was going along, throwing bits & pieces in as she went along. It’s not a terrible book but it does feel like it could have been a lot better.

Now for the part that really, REALLY irritated me. This is a spoiler. You’ve been warned.

Zara discovers that she’s the daughter of the pixie king & that her mom only slept with him because otherwise it would mean there would be more death and blood draining. Zara assumes that she’s the child of rape, only for her grandmother to say “it wasn’t forced- she consented”. That bothers me because it obviously seemed to be consent under duress. She didn’t want to do it but agreed because she had no other good choice. That still counts as rape & I would have imagined that an EMT (who has undoubtedly seen some horrific things in her time) would have known that. I’m horrified to think that some girls might read this & assume that consent under duress makes it not rape. What if some guy forces himself on a girl & she assumes “I initially said yes”, “I was too drunk to say no”, or “he said he’d kill me or someone else if I didn’t let him” means that it was consensual? I know that Jones didn’t mean for it to come across this way, but she’s got to understand that her phrasing in that scene was horrible & could have been put better. I'm honestly horrified that some readers might come out of this book thinking that consent under duress equates to consensual. I'd go on, but you get where I'm going with this.

Overall though, this book wasn’t bad & while I absolutely HATED that one scene in the book, I’m curious enough to want to read the next one in the series. I just know that for many, that one scene will be enough to put them off of the rest of her books.

Book Review: One Hundred Candles by Mara Purnhagen

Title: One Hundred Candles (Past Midnight #2)

Author: Mara Purnhagen

Publisher: Harlequin

Release Date: 03/01/2011

ISBN: 037321023X

Ever wonder what it might be like to talk to ghosts? How about being part of a family business where the goal is to scientifically disprove the existence of said ghosts? If you’ve ever wondered what it’d be like then this book is for you.

I’ve opened a door that cannot be closed.

It’s taken a long time for me to feel like a normal teenager. But now that I’m settled in a new school, where people know me as more than Charlotte Silver of the infamous Silver family paranormal investigators, it feels like everything is falling into place. And what better way to be normal than to go on a date with a popular football star like Harris Abbott? After all, it’s not as if Noah is anything more than a friend...

But my new life takes a disturbing turn when Harris brings me to a party and we play a game called One Hundred Candles. It seems like harmless, ghostly fun. Until spirits unleashed by the game start showing up at school. Now my friends and family are in very real danger, and the door that I’ve opened into another realm may yield deadly consequences.

While I liked the first volume in this series, I have to admit that Purnhagen definitely kicked it up a notch in this book. Charlotte has a lot to deal with- her crush on Noah seems to be going nowhere & the supernatural event in the previous book is causing lots of problems between her parents. (Her mom is more sympathetic to the supernatural, her father still isn't.) Many books in this vein have the heroine hiding events like this from her family, so when you do get books like this it's interesting to read how it affects a family- especially one that bases their whole career around debunking stuff like this.

The pacing in this book is much better than in the previous book & now that the groundwork has been laid, we get to see much more character development & supernatural spookies. The only downfall is that some readers might be able to guess at what's going to happen about halfway through the book, but odds are that they'll be having so much fun that they really won't care about that.

Readers won't have to have read the previous book in the series to know what is going on in this book, but it'll help. The previous events are summarized briefly in this book, so they won't feel too left out in the dark. This really is forming into a promising series & while it isn't going to knock Soul Screamers out of its spot as my #1 favorite UF teen series, it's up there in my top 5.

(ARC provided by NetGalley)

December Giveaway: Real Live Boyfriends & The Flappers!

Hi all! Time for this month's giveaway!

This month I'm giving away another two books to two lucky people because hey- it's the holiday season & it's the time to be generous!

The first book is called The Flappers: Vixen by Jillian Larkin!

Jazz . . . Booze . . . Boys . . . It’s a dangerous combination. Every girl wants what she can’t have. Seventeen-year-old Gloria Carmody wants the flapper lifestyle—and the bobbed hair, cigarettes, and music-filled nights that go with it. Now that she’s engaged to Sebastian Grey, scion of one of Chicago’s most powerful families, Gloria’s party days are over before they’ve even begun . . . or are they? Clara Knowles, Gloria’s goody-two-shoes cousin, has arrived to make sure the high-society wedding comes off without a hitch—but Clara isn’t as lily-white as she appears. Seems she has some dirty little secrets of her own that she’ll do anything to keep hidden. . . . Lorraine Dyer, Gloria’s social-climbing best friend, is tired of living in Gloria’s shadow. When Lorraine’s envy spills over into desperate spite, no one is safe. And someone’s going to be very sorry. . . . From debut author Jillian Larkin, VIXEN is the first novel in the sexy, dangerous, and ridiculously romantic new series set in the Roaring Twenties . . . when anything goes.

The second book is called Real Live Boyfriends* & is by E. Lockhart!

Ruby Oliver, the neurotic, hyperverbal heroine of the The Boyfriend List, The Boy Book, and The Treasure Map of Boys, is back! Ruby Oliver is in love. Or it would be love, if Noel, her real live boyfriend, would call her back. But Noel seems to have turned into a pod-robot lobotomy patient, and Ruby can’t figure out why.Not only is her romantic life a shambles:Her dad is eating nothing but Cheetos,Her mother’s got a piglet head in the refrigerator,Hutch has gone to Paris to play baguette air guitar,Gideon shows up shirtless,And the pygmy goat Robespierre is no help whatsoever. Will Ruby ever control her panic attacks?Will she ever understand boys?Will she ever stop making lists?(No to that last one.) Roo has lost most of her friends. She’s lost her true love, more than once. She’s lost her grandmother, her job, her reputation, and possibly her mind. But she’s never lost her sense of humor. The Ruby Oliver books are the record of her survival.

Both of these awesome books are ARCs (one of which hasn't come out yet) & you could win one of them!

How do you enter? Well, one of two ways:

1) Follow my blog.
2) Enter via the linky entry below.

I'll be choosing one winner from each entry format!

The contest is going to run from now until December 17th at midnight.

Book Review: Mystify (Mystyx #2) by Artist Author

Title: Mystify (Mystyx #2)
Author: Artist Author
Publisher: Kimani
Release Date: 02/01/2011
ISBN: 0373534310






If you were on the fence about the first book, then rest assured that this entry will put you solidly in the “crazy about Mystyx” camp.

Sometimes being an outsider is the best way to fit in…

Sasha Carrington has grown up feeling like an outsider, and her parents are too concerned with scaling the Lincoln, Connecticut, social ladder to even notice her. They’d be really horrified to know about the supernatural abilities Sasha and her friends Krystal and Jake possess. But as part of the Mystyx, Sasha has found her place.

Now her parents have suddenly taken an interest in everything she does, and their timing couldn’t be worse. Sasha’s father wants her to become BFFs with snooty Alyssa Turner, who hates Krystal for stealing her boyfriend. Then there’s Antoine Watson, the boy Sasha has liked forever, the boy her parents would never approve of. But with the dark side getting more dangerous by the day, and the Mystyx’s own powers growing in unexpected ways, Sasha is facing choices that could affect her friends, her love life—and even her destiny…

I liked the first book in the series, but I have to admit that I enjoyed this book more than the first one. Sasha’s a pretty tough cookie & a little more assertive at times than Krystal was in the first book. (Although I do have to say that Krystal seems to be coming into her own in this book as well.) It also helps that the chemistry between Sasha & her crush Antoine is really well written & comes across nicely. Readers will really find themselves rooting for these two.

The book still has a bit of the growing pains that the first volume did, but Author is getting more comfortable with the characters & the plot, which comes across in her style. You can really tell that she had a lot of fun writing this entry. I just really wish that there were more questions answered in this volume- I found myself really getting frustrated along with the characters that there weren’t any real answers to their questions just yet. Even so, I really do recommend checking this book out- it’s well worth reading.

(ARC provided by NetGalley)

Book Review: My Soul to Steal by Rachel Vincent

Title: My Soul to Steal (SoulScreamers #4)
Author: Rachel Vincent
Publisher: Harlequin
Release Date: 01/01/2011
ISBN:0373210272







Before I start, let me just let you know that if you haven't been following along in the series then this is not a good place to start. There's a lot of back story that needs to be read & the first three books in this series are well worth reading. If you're curious about the series, yet can't get to a bookstore or library right away, you can still read the prequel to the series My Soul To Lose free from Vincent's website.

Trying to work things out with Nash—her maybe boyfriend—is hard enough for Kaylee Cavanaugh. She can't just pretend nothing happened. But "complicated" doesn't even begin to describe their relationship when his ex-girlfriend transfers to their school, determined to take Nash back.

See, Sabine isn't just an ordinary girl. She's a mara, the living personification of a nightmare. She can read people's fears—and craft them into nightmares while her victims sleep. Feeding from human fear is how she survives.

And Sabine isn't above scaring Kaylee and the entire school to death to get whatever—and whoever—she wants.

Following up on the events of the previous book, Vincent strives to give her characters depth as Kaylee not only tries to get over the idea of someone wearing her skin like a glove, but also that Nash is truly sorry for what he did as a result of his addiction. Vincent might not show all of the negatives of getting over an addiction, but that's not the drive of this series.

Along for the ride is the new character of Sabine, a character that will have many readers either squealing with glee at her mean girl personality or huffing in frustration at the things she does to our heroine. No worries about disliking her to the point of disliking the book- there's enough likable details to Sabine to keep her from going too overboard. She definitely gives Sophie a run for her money in the "complete jerk to Kaylee" contest. I won't spoil things for anyone, but some of the nightmares she gives Kaylee are pretty horrible. While the introduction of a rival for Nash's affections is intriguing, there also seems to be a few potential love interests developing for Kaylee as well.

I was honestly intrigued by this book & I can't wait for the next volume to come out. There's a few interesting suggestions brought up in this book (mostly surrounding Kaylee & her love life) that I really would like to see explored more in the next book. As with the previous books, this series is just plain fun to read, whether you're 14 or 40.

(ARC provided by NetGalley)

Book Review: Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

Title: Paranormalcy
Author: Kiersten White
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: 08/31/2010
ISBN: 0061985848








If you love books along the lines of My Soul to Take then odds are that you'll love this new trilogy started by Kiersten White. It's got all of the stuff that UF YA is known for but also manages to give us something rare: an "awkward" pretty main character that is not only likable, but incredibly vulnerable as well.

Evie's always been different. Unlike other girls her age, she's got the power to see through any glamour & uses that skill to her best extent in her job at the International Paranormal Containment Agency (IPCA). Evie helps to trap & contain things that humanity is best not being aware of. The good part is that she gets her own pink sparkly taser. The bad part is that what makes her special also separates her from everyone else in the world. When she captures a strange boy rifling through her boss's office & discovers that something sinister is afoot, can Evie manage to find out what is going on?

I really did enjoy this book. It's a great start to a trilogy & you can tell that White has done some incredible plotting for this series. Evie is someone that just about every reader can relate to & root for. Also interesting is the two main guys in her life- one of which is a fairy intent on making her a possession & a boy that Evie finds herself quickly falling for. While I'm sure that the future books will help elaborate on both characters, it's refreshing to have the dynamics that are in this first book. (I won't spoil it for you, but needless to say there's no flip flopping between the guys in this book.)

The only downfall is that we're given far too little information on certain aspects of Evie's world (her friendships, IPCA, etc) & I can't help but really wish that White had given us a little more to start off with. I'm sure that these things will be elaborated on in the future, but it still doesn't help define IPCA & other aspects of this book.

Overall though this was an enjoyable first book & I'll be keeping my eyes open for the next one in the series.

James Frey & the Young Adult Fiction Factory

Want to get into YA writing? More importantly, do you want to write things that are meaningful for you & possibly the reader? Well, then don't sign up with James Frey or his company Full Fathom Five.

Everyone's heard of James Frey via his now infamous "biography" that never happened. Now Frey is back in the media & just like last time it's not for anything good. Recently Frey has come under fire for hiring hopeful authors in search of a break, then giving them one of the worst gigs ever.

In what is quite possibly his sleaziest move yet, Frey hires these authors (most of whom might be unaware of what they're getting themselves into), pays them a pittance to churn out books- books they don't even have any rights to. I'm not talking about some newbie coming on to help write the new Fear Street book or something along these lines. Nope, this is about some newbie coming on & writing their own original stories & characters, then losing all right to said stories & characters because under the agreement it belongs to James Frey's company.

I'm going to quote NY Magazine on this:

"Veteran publishing attorney Conrad Rippy said he had never seen anything like it:

It’s an agreement that says, “You’re going to write for me. I’m going to own it. I may or may not give you credit. If there is more than one book in the series, you are on the hook to write those too, for the exact same terms, but I don’t have to use you. In exchange for this, I’m going to pay you 40 percent of some amount you can’t verify — there’s no audit provision — and after the deduction of a whole bunch of expenses.”"

I can only hope that no new authors sign onto this company.

First chapters of Melissa Marr's Darkest Mercy!

Hi all! I've been procrastinating in posting this, but if you're a huge fan of Melissa Marr's Wicked Lovely series then you'll be excited to know that she's allowing us to have a sneak peek of the prologue as well as the first few chapters!

If you're longing for an ARC of this book, Marr also has a few options for you on her website as well. I know I've entered to win a copy, so why not you as well?

Chapter 1 of The Lying Game is currently being tweeted!!

I'm so excited! I'm not sure if I can post the tweets here, so I'm including this widget that goes directly to Shepard's twitter account. I'm going to e-mail the company & ask if I can post them here in a non-twitter format. (Better to be safe than sued relentlessly!)

And of course you can always read the prologue here, courtesy of prettylittleliars.com!

All aboard for the first chapter of Sara Shepard's Lying Game

I'm excited to say that soon we'll be seeing the first chapter of Sara Shepard's new book, The Lying Game! She's supposed to be tweeting it on @sarabooks sometime soon. Originally she was supposed to be tweeting it on Sunday 11/7, but there's unfortunately been no tweets so far.

Still, I'll be keeping an eye out for this & hopefully if I have enough time I can put those tweets in one of the blog posts!

Want to read more? Impatient? Well, the prologue is already up at prettylittleliars.com! Discuss it there or go directly to the prologue! No spoilers, but this is definitely going to be a different game from PLL!

Book Review: Savannah Grey by Cliff McNish

Title: Savannah Grey
Author: Cliff McNish
Publisher: Lerner Publishing Group (under the Carolrhoda Lab Imprint)
Release Date: 04/01/2011
ISBN: 9780761370253






This book has been my second foray into Carolrhoda Lab's library & I have to admit that I'm pretty impressed. These guys really do have a great eye for titles that are not only readable, but don't fall into the normal cliches of YA fiction. (As a heavy reader of YA, I can say that there's a lot of titles that tend to follow the same formulas.)

A monster's out there... Only one girl can stop it. But will love get in the way?

It's a difficult time for fifteen-year-old Savannah Grey - she's settled into her latest foster placement, but her body is acting oddly. Then other strange things begin to happen. Birds behave erratically; gusts of wind blow leaves so fiercely they seem to lure people away. And Savannah discovers she has supernatural powers.

Only new boy Reece Gandolfo thinks Savannah's powers are a special gift. No wonder she's attracted to him. But there's another force that wants to lure Savannah from safety into danger...

Readers who are looking for a little something above & beyond the usual "girl with powers" fare will rejoice in this book. Not only does McNish try to build a deliciously slow build up to a huge showdown, but he also gives us great character interactions & a twist that you'll enjoy. Also something to praise is the mixture of science & fantasy/horror- there's definite horror to this, but all of it can be seen through a scientific point of view. It's well mixed in to the point where many readers might not even notice it, which is the sign that it is also done well.

While I loved the slow buildup to the finale, people who are looking for nonstop action & huge fight scenes to be interspersed throughout the entire book might be a little disappointed. This isn't that type of book.

Overall, this is a great book & I'm pretty impressed by McNish's writing style. Want a sneak peek? You can read an excerpt of Savannah Grey at McNish's website!

(ARC provided by Netgalley)

Read this book: The Lying Game by Sara Shepard

Hi all! After mentioning Nickel Plated in one of my other blogs, I figured I'd mention another book you should read.

More than likely you've heard of Pretty Little Liars, an awesome book series turned tv show. It's one of my favorite teen reads, something I've recommended quite often through work. Well, Shepard has a new series coming out that's along the same vein as PTL, called The Lying Game. It comes out in December & I literally can't wait to read it. I pretty much think that this book & the last book in the Wicked Lovely series are the two top books I'm waiting for this year.

Here's the book synopsis:

Sutton Mercer has a life any girl would kill for...and someone did.

Shortlybefore her seventeenth birthday, Emma discovers she has a long-lost twin. She contacts Sutton, who agrees to a rendezvous, but never shows up. Curious at first, Emma slips into Sutton's life, assuming her identity. When it becomes clear that Sutton is not coming back, that someone made sure she never could, Emma plunges in to investigate who could have wanted her sister gone (a fairly long list, she discovers). Unfortunately, taking over Sutton's life means innocent little Emma has inherited all that bad blood-and then some.

I have to say, I wish books like this were out when I was a teenager. While some might balk at some of the mature themes, I absolutely love that authors have been upping the ante in YA in general. (Heck, I always recommend that the parents read the book along with the kids- it'll give them a lot to talk about together!)

Hopefully school will be kind enough in December that I'll be able to read this right away & post a prompt review here on this blog!

Read this book: Nickel Plated by Aric Davis

Hi everyone!

I want to tell all of you about an author that competed in the 2010 Amazon Breakthrough Novelist Awards. His name is Aric Davis & he wrote one of the best excerpts in the forum, but unfortunately he didn't progress in the contest due to a technicality, but thankfully Amazon had the good sense to snap his book up to be released through their AmazonEncore line.

Here's the book synopsis:

Nickel is a survivor. He has to be. For as long as he can remember, his life has hinged on the flip of a coin. Or, rather, the scribble of a social worker’s pen. He’s been through the system, even had a good dad for a few years, until he was gone, too. But Nickel remembers everything he taught him, and since the day he escaped from foster-care hell, he’s put that knowledge to good use. Just twelve years old, he makes a steady living by selling marijuana to high schoolers, blackmailing pedophiles he ferrets out online, and working as a private investigator.

When a beautiful girl named Arrow hires him to find her little sister Shelby, Nickel figures at best the kid’s a runaway; at worst, some perv’s gotten a hold of her. He scours the internet and the streets of Arrow’s suburban neighborhood, and what he finds there is as ugly a truth as he’s ever seen. For beyond the manicured lawns, Nickel discovers children for sale, and adults with souls black as the devil. And people like that aren’t about to let some kid ruin their game. This edgy thriller introduces a canny, precocious anti-hero, the likes of which young-adult readers have never seen.

I'm really excited to see this in print & even more excited to announce this to everyone! If you want to order a copy from amazon, feel free to pre-purchase it here. It doesn't release until March of 2011, but from what I read of it the book is well worth the wait.

If you want to show the author a little love, you can always visit his website & contact him through there! Davis also has another book out that he self-published, which is unfortunately not in print anymore but hopefully now that Nickel Plated has been picked up we'll see that come back into print!

More Twilight coming soon. Sorta.

Want more Twilight? Well, you'll be sort of in luck. Stephenie Meyer is putting out another book. Only this one isn't going to be an actual story- it's an illustrated guide to the series that'll contain information that Twihards will know & some that they won't. (Please for all that's merciful, let Jacob ever get into a sexual relationship with a 6 year old Nessie. That's just squicky, even if she does "look like a fully matured adult".)

I might not be a Twilight fan, but I just have to admire how Meyers is able to overmarket her series, yet still have people begging for more.

Book Review: Haint Misbehavin' by Maureen Hardegree

Title: Haint Misbehavin'
Author: Maureen Hardegree
Publisher: Bell Bridge Books
Release Date: 06/01/2010
ISBN: 1935661930






Tis the season for spooky books!

If you asked Heather, she'd probably tell you that her life sucks. Not only is she super allergic to everything & anything, but she also has a sister that treats her like dirt & parents who completely ignore said sister's actions (unless they can't ignore them). Now on top of all of that she's discovered that she can see ghosts. Well, one ghost in particular, the ghost of a small child who died years ago & is intent on spending the rest of her afterlife haunting Heather.

Hardegree has done a good job mystery & world building for her first full length book, creating a character that many readers will be able to relate to. Not only that, but the book makes for a very easy read & should be a lot of fun for young readers in this spooky Halloween season. Also something to praise is Hardegree's setting up of ghostly rules & future plot points, most specifically those surrounding the character of Xavier, a geek with a crush on our young medium.

However there are a few things about the book that might wear a little thin with some readers. Heather's older sister Audrey is almost completely one-dimensional for a large chunk of the book & many might long for some sort of character depth other than “you embarrass me & I’m going to humiliate you in public”. It’s fine at first but it’s almost completely nonstop, which gets pretty old after a while. Also wearing a little thin is how Heather’s parents are completely oblivious to how she’s treated- while I can understand parents wanting to think the better of their kids, Audrey’s actions are so incredibly noticeable that I really wanted to see more reaction from the parents, even if it was signs that they were actively trying to live in ignorance. (Hey, I’ve had siblings who were just as evil, if not more so than Audrey & when it was as noticeable as this they did actually show that they noticed.) I can see where Hardegree was trying to go with this, but I just wanted to see more depth to the characters. I don’t mind Hardegree making Audrey into a villain & the parents into the type who like keeping their heads in the sand, I just want to see a little more of their reasons for behaving as such. (She does show it towards the end, but it’s a bit too little too late in the book for that.)

Overall though, this is a fun read & I can really see a lot of teens & young adults getting into this book. I just hope that Hardegree manages to balance out everything in the second book.

(ARC provided by NetGalley)

Win a copy of Laurie Halse Anderson's SPEAK!

Greetings, fellow book fans!

In honor of Banned Book Week & especially because there are idiots out there that would ban this book from schools, I'm giving away a free copy of the platinum edition of SPEAK. That's right, you can own a copy of the book that's causing all of this fuss.

Not only that, but I'm also giving out an advance reader's copy of Sarah Mlynowski's Gimme a Call. While this is already available on shelves, the copy I have is a reader copy that was only circulated to bookstores, reviewers, & such.

Already have one or both of these books? That's OK- enter anyway & pass this awesome book along to one of your friends!

To enter the contest, just post to this blog by October 4th (next monday) & give some love to both of these great authors or talk about your feelings about book banning! In about a week I'll choose one of the posters & mail them their free books! If you see your name in next week's blog, just drop me an e-mail at geniebrownhair (at) hotmail.com!