Take Book Chick City's Horror & Urban Fantasy Reading Challenge 2011!

Love reading horror? Urban Fantasy? Both?

Why not try Book Chick City's book reading challenge? All you have to do is try to read 24 books in this genre in 2011! Here's the details: (taken directly from BCC's website)

Challenge Details

Timeline: 01 Jan 2011 - 31 Dec 2011

Rules: To read TWENTY FOUR (24) horror & urban fantasy novels in 2011 (24 is the minimum but you can read more if you wish!)

You don't have to select your books ahead of time, you can just add them as you go. Also if you do list them upfront you can change them, nothing is set in stone! The books you choose can crossover into other challenges you have on the go.

You can join anytime between now and the later part of next year.

At the beginning of Jan 2011, you will find a link to add your reviews.

You don't have to have a blog to join in - for those without a blog just FILL IN THIS FORM and I will add you to the list - just join the discussion in the comments section to let us know when you've read a book and what you thought of it! :)

Book Review: The Maltese Mummy by Trina Robbins

Title: The Maltese Mummy (Chicagoland #2)
Author: Trina Robbins
Artist: Tyler Page
Publisher: Graphic Universe
Release Date: 04/01/2011
ISBN: 9780761346159





A friend has vanished, a mummy's amulet is missing, and there's a weirdo out there looking for human brains and hearts. The Chicagoland Detective Agency—run by Megan, Raf, and his talking dog Bradley—have more than enough cases on their hands (and paws). But Megan's too busy for private-detecting. Her haikus have won her tickets to meet drop-dead gorgeous rock star Sun D'Arc. Raf is sure that Sun is too good not to really be bad. He must be involved in one of their cases. But which one?


While I enjoyed the first volume to this series, I'll admit that it did have its flaws. The only two of note was that the dialogue between our young heroes didn't seem to flow all that well & some of the book's messages were a little awkwardly placed. (I know I wasn't the only one who noticed that.) The Chicagoland team seem to have listened to what the crowd had to say because not only was the interaction better, but the messages in the book was worked in better. (Although in this book the message is more educational than anything else.)

The artwork also seems to have improved, being more playful & confident in this volume. While I was a bit surprised at some of the stuff mentioned by the story's villain later in the book, parents will be able to show this to their kids without having to worry about any truly objectionable material.

Overall this really was a great read & one that I truly think kids will love.

(ARC provided by NetGalley)

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.

Friday Funnies: The Cash4Gold prankster letter!

I know this has absolutely nothing to do with books, but this is quite possibly the funniest thing I've read in a very long time:


Click on the letter to get a better view.

If this is real, this is quite possibly the best trolling attempt ever.

Book Review: The Little Prince, illustrated by Joann Sfar

Title: The Little Prince
Author: Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Illustrator: Joann Sfar
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Release Date: 10/18/2010
ISBN: 0547338023






Joann Sfar (creator of Vampire Loves & The Little Vampire, among others) has given The Little Prince the graphic novel treatment, the first (as far as I know) for this timeless story. Undoubtedly this will be met with mixed initial reactions. Fans of Sfar will love seeing him apply his hand to this story while some others might raise an eyebrow at the idea of this being done.

The story is unchanged from the original book. The tale follows a young boy (the titular Little Prince) as he travels from his home & beloved flower in search of other planets. He finds very little that interests him & it is only when he arrives on Earth that he discovers beings that he can truly interact with.

There's quite a bit to like about this retelling. I'm a fan of Sfar's style, which is instantly recognizable in this book. For the most part his art style works to give the story a dreamy quality, although occasionally it does tend to be a little on the creepy side.


While I'll admit that I haven't read the original story, this rather creepy Prince panel just seemed a little out of place in the script.

Overall though the book is an enjoyable read & apart from one or two panels, Sfar's artwork really does fit the story well. The style is dreamlike & really does carry the emotions of the story quite well, from the initial introduction of the Prince & the Pilot to the "choose what you want to believe" ending.

This might not be for all readers or age groups, but if you're a fan of Sfar or of the original book you'll definitely want to check this out.

(ARC provided by NetGalley)

Book Review: The Vespertine by Saundra Mitchell

Title: The Vespertine
Author: Saundra Mitchell
Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books
Release Date: 03/07/2011
ISBN: 0547482477







Like your supernatural books with a little historical edge to it? Then you'll probably love this book. Want it to progress at a fast rate with lots of shocks & thrills? Then you'll probably be slightly disappointed. While this book is excellent, it isn't one of those types of stories.

It’s the summer of 1889, and Amelia van den Broek is new to Baltimore and eager to take in all the pleasures the city has to offer. But her gaiety is interrupted by disturbing, dreamlike visions she has only at sunset—visions that offer glimpses of the future. Soon, friends and strangers alike call on Amelia to hear her prophecies. However, a forbidden romance with Nathaniel, an artist, threatens the new life Amelia is building in Baltimore. This enigmatic young man is keeping secrets of his own—still, Amelia finds herself irrepressibly drawn to him. When one of her darkest visions comes to pass, Amelia’s world is thrown into chaos. And those around her begin to wonder if she’s not the seer of dark portents, but the cause.

Rather than go quickly to the thrills or chase scenes, Mitchell decides instead to start her story with Amelia after the fact & slowly build up the suspense for what will eventually happen. We're told that something will go wrong, but what exactly it will be is only slightly alluded to in the beginning of the story. It's a smart move, as it gives the otherwise optimistic beginnings of the book a bit of an ominous tone. While there's not a huge amount of detail given to Amelia's heart throb Nathaniel, the richly written atmosphere more than makes up for it.

It's just that the book's description makes this seem like there's more action & supernatural elements to the book than there is & I can't help but feel like this might be a bit misleading for some. The paranormal aspect is interesting but to me it just seemed to be a little underdeveloped at points. I wanted to see more of Amelia's abilities as well as (trying not to be spoilerish) some of the other talents mentioned in the book. The big emphasis is on the social problems rather than the paranormal ones & while I loved that Amelia's abilities played a bit of a backseat for the first part of the book, it just needed a bit more meat to it.

Overall though this is a nice tale & it's sure to find a nice following, especially with the sequel (The Springsweet, only click on this link if you want to be slightly spoiled plot-wise) coming out in spring 2012.

(ARC provided by NetGalley)