Nightshade

Nightshade
Author: Andrea Cremer
Series: Nightshade (#1)
Publisher: Penguin
How Received: ARC at BookExpo America

While other teenage girls daydream about boys, Calla Tor imagines ripping out her enemies’ throats. And she wouldn’t have it any other way. Calla was born a warrior and on her eighteenth-birthday she’ll become the alpha female of the next generation of Guardian wolves. But Calla’s predestined path veers off course the moment she saves the life of a wayward hiker, a boy her own age. This human boy’s secret will turn the young pack's world upside down and forever alter the outcome of the centuries-old Witches' War that surrounds them all.

Side note, before we start the actual review: The first line in the summary? EPIC.

Okay, side note over.

I went into this with VERY high expectations. I expected to be wow-ed, swept off my feet, with what I've read about this and my own judgments. The summary is epic, the cover gorgeous, and I've heard nothing but praise for it.

I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up.

Was it good? Of course. It wouldn't have gotten such high praise had it not been well written, which it is. And I give Andrea Cremer MAD PROPS for how she arranged the wolf packs. I am big on keeping to wolfish instincts, and she got those down pat, right down to how they treated each other, how they fought, their reactions to things - those were perfect.

But I never really connected to the story.

Is Calla interesting? Sure. But she's got a little bit of Bella Swann syndrome. She thinks she's average; other people thinks she's pretty. The new boy and the hot alpha wolf both think she's the best thing since sliced bread; she doesn't understand why, but hey, she likes them both. Does she kick ass? Yes. Does she also say she's a tough warrior who never cries, and then we see her crying in multiple scenes throughout the book? Yes.

(Pardon me; I may be being harsh. I read this right off of reading Crusade, and I figured if I saw another crying scene I was going to start crying.)

The only character I really, truly loved was Ren. Yes, Shay is nice and all; I get that. Bryn is interesting. The Keepers are fun to read about and so on. But Ren is ALL alpha male, and he struggles with that, and I love it.

[SPOILER ALERT] But mad props for bringing in some gay characters, Andrea! Mason, Neville, and Logan - I LOVE seeing gay characters in paranormal, because it's so rare. More mad props. To quote Brent from his blog post on Lambda Literary:

it’s not really a big deal that Mason is gay. Like, oh, there’s a blonde werewolf, a werewolf with blue eyes, and werewolf who’s gay. So, Andrea Cremer definitely hits the fact that sexuality is just like race and gender and eye color. Which I love.

[/SPOILER ALERT]

The plot? Once you ignore the romantic triangle - which had interesting dynamics, but is the same as practically every other paranormal book - I REALLY liked it. I kind of wish Andrea had focused more on the plot and less on the romance, because I think it would have been fantastic. The dynamics between the Searchers and the Keepers and the Guardians and what Haldis was - THAT I loved. But it tied in so much with the romance...

Overall Rating & Final Comments: 7/10. Decent plot outside of the romantic triangle with characters who just barely pull it off. Ren aside, of course.
Cover Notes: I AM GOING TO MARRY THIS COVER. SO. MUCH. COVER. LUST.

Nightshade comes out in nineteen days from now on October 19. You can preorder it online or buy it at your local bookstore.

Low Red Moon - Fan Contest

Bloomsbury sent me this today!

I wanted to give you (and your readers!) a heads up about an exciting contest – The New Moon, New Fans Challenge - that we are running right now on our Bloomsbury Teens Facebook fan page! To celebrate the publication of Ivy Devlin’s Low Red Moon and help spread the word about our new Bloomsbury Teens Facebook page, we are trying to reach a goal of 4,000 fans before the next New Moon. The contest started on the last New Moon (September 8th) and is running through the next New Moon (which is next Thursday, October 7th). Basically, all you have to do is “like” our fan page and then invite your friends to “like” it as well and you will be entered to win! If we hit our goal, we’ll give away an awesome moon necklace to a current fan and a beautiful moon and star bracelet to a new fan as a thank you. Check out our fan page HERE for more contest details, to see pictures of the prizes, and to “like” the page and be entered to win!

Waiting on Wednesday: Empty

Because we all have something we're waiting for.

Empty by Suzanne Weyn
It's the near future - the very near future - and the fossil fuels are running out. No gas. No oil. Which means no driving. No heat. Supermarkets are empty. Malls have shut down. Life has just become more local than we ever knew it could be.

Nobody expected the end to come this fast. And in the small town of Spring Valley, decisions that once seemed easy are quickly becoming matters of life and death. There is hope - there has to be hope - just there are also sacrifices that need to be made, and a whole society that needs to be rethought.

Teens like Nicki, Tom, and Leila may find what they need to survive. But their lives are never going to be the same again.

Series: ---
Publisher: Scholastic
Release Date: October 01 2010

I love dystopian novels. I really do. Besides, it's so REAL.

Giveaway Winner: CSN Giftcard

The winner of the gift card to CSN Stores is Melissa, from the recently started blog Books Like Air.

Congratulations, Melissa! And to everybody else - new giveaways are just around the corner, so keep an eye out!

In My Mailbox (11)

Happy In My Mailbox, guys! Now these just go up whenever I get my books moved from home to the dorm. I actually didn't buy anything so far. *gasp* That will probably have changed by the time this is up - I set this up in advance, but I have a signing to go to on Sunday...

Received:
Minder by Kate Kaynak
Branded by Keary Taylor
Awakened by Ednah Walters
The Julian Game by Adele Griffin
King of Ithaka by Tracy Barrett


[EDIT]
Here's what I got this past weekend that's NOT in the video, thanks to the signing and a trip to the Salvation Army.

Bought:
Not That Kind Of Girl by Siobhan Vivian
The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Received:
Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton

Author Event Recap: YA Extravaganza

Yesterday, my mother - being the LOVELY woman she is - picked me up from college so I could scurry into Rhinebeck at Oblong Books to go to a YA signing!

I got to see Cecil Casteluccia (pink hair and all), Natalie Standiford (who sounds like Quinn Fabray when she talks) and my FAVORITE of the bunch, the amazing Siobhan Vivian! (No offense to the others. I just love Siobhan.)





I arrived a bit early and got to look around Oblong Books before the signing. I have to say - this store is ADORABLE. It's small and filled with books, and there are little hand written recommendations stuck in various sections. I snapped a few photos of the YA section. You can see them on the Facebook page, under "Books in the Wild." But I really do love Oblong - it's so cute!





One of the benefits to arriving early is that you get to hear some great conversations. The authors and the organizer of the event were talking about what would happen if no questions were asked - and it ended up being REALLY funny. Did you know Cecil used to be in a rock band? Siobhan can soft shoe? Natalie can do a cartwheel? (She was afraid of flashing the audience, though. Haha.)

Once the event started, we all sat down, and the authors took turns reading from their newest books. (Natalie, Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters; Cecil, Rose Sees Red; Siobhan, Not That Kind Of Girl.) All of the snippets sounded absolutely fantastic, but I only had money for one book at the end, and I knew going into it that I was choosing Not That Kind Of Girl.





Then the Q&A panel opened, and my mother was actually the first to ask a question - go Mom! It went on for about twenty minutes, and I recorded the entire thing, so I'll post some highlights on my YouTube channel at some point.

And then came the actual signing! I snagged Not That Kind Of Girl and scurried over to the table, introducing myself to all three authors. Siobhan actually recognized me, though, which probably made my day. She was as excited to meet me as I was to meet her! We actually took this picture twice - she wanted one on HER camera, too! Everybody was really nice; it was a fantastic event.





And as a bonus, if we bought a book at the signing, we got to choose from a giant box of ARCs that they had. And guess what was the first book I saw that I just HAD to grab?




Oh, yes, yesterday was a good day for books.

Fan Art

I LOVE fan art. It's one of my favorite things to find on the Interwebz - be it graphics, drawings, cosplay photography. It's all freaking fantastic.

I have a deviantArt account (nickiheart16, if anybody's curious) and used to make fanart graphics, but now I mainly favorite things.

HERE are some of the best of the best.

~Leesa-M>
~Leesa-M is a user on deviantArt who makes graphics for a few different book series, including The Hunger Games, Shiver and Wicked Lovely. She's probably my favorite user on deviantArt at the moment - her work is bloody fantastic!

Here are a few of my favorites of hers. Please, check out her page - she's amazing!





The Hunger Games
There is a LOT of Hunger Games artwork out there right now, and it's hard to weed through the good stuff and the omigod amazing stuff. Here are two of my favorites - just click to go to the page!




~AnaB
~AnaB is a user on deviantArt who makes mock movie posters for her favorite books. They're amazing! My favorites are The Host and The Hunger Games.

More Awards

I was bequeathed the Lovely Blog Award (again!) from Chrystal at Snowdrop Dreams of Books. Thank you, Chrystal!






I also - for the first time! - received the Summer Blogger Award. Summer's nearly - or is it already? - over, but I'm going to award it to the four bloggers who made my blog-summer freaking amazing.

Thank the person who gave it to you with a link back in your post, and send this on to fellow bloggers who rock this summer. List 4 rocking bloggers to share this with, and post a note to them through their comments.

- Melina from Reading Vacation
- Brent from Naughty Book Kittens
- Liz from YA Books Reviewed
- Erica from The Book Cellarx

All four rock - be sure to check 'em out!

A Day In The Life...

Hi guys!

A bunch of you probably remember the post I did on August 19, announcing that I was moving into college. And guess what?

I've survived so far!

So I'm going to catch y'all up on what I've been up to, because you may be interested in some of it.

Classes:
I'm taking a few classes, but the most interesting one is Women in Literature. It's a LOT of fun to analyze all the crap we get to analyze. The only thing is, there's only one guy in the class, and it's hard to get a counter argument in a room full of women.

Clubs:
Dumbledore's Army
I joined the Dumbledore's Army on campus! We're going to be raising money for LGBT rights and holding a book drive - as well as doing screenings of A Very Potter Musical and going to the midnight showing. We're also hosting a Yule Ball.

The Cellar Door
The Cellar Door is the literary magazine on campus! I'll (hopefully) write something to stick in there, and I'm going to help edit as well.

The Historical Film Society
Oh. This is the one I STARTED. Yes, I started a club on campus; we watch historical films like 300 and Pride and Prejudice. Big range, ya?

Operation JANDS Landspeeder:
My friends and I are building a hovercraft.


Yeah, that's really all I do in my spare time now. Build hovercrafts.




And that's it for me! I've made some great friends - you may see some vlogs with them pop up in the future, as well as a few guest reviews from my roommate Julia - and until then...

Final Fridays - Sophie Jordan

Guess who's stopping by today?!

No, not Chuck Norris. Good guess.

We have somebody JUST as awesome, though! Sophie Jordan has stopped by today to answer a few questions about her debut YA, Firelight! I had the opportunity to read it early, and it was faaantastic. It just came out this month - you should really pick it up. Read my review; if that doesn't convince you, just surf around the web. It's gotten fantastic reviews.

Oh, you want to know what it's about?

Marked as special at an early age, Jacinda knows her every move is watched. But she longs for freedom to make her own choices. When she breaks the most sacred tenet among her kind, she nearly pays with her life. Until a beautiful stranger saves her. A stranger who was sent to hunt those like her. For Jacinda is a draki—a descendant of dragons whose greatest defense is her secret ability to shift into human form.

Forced to flee into the mortal world with her family, Jacinda struggles to adapt to her new surroundings. The only bright light is Will. Gorgeous, elusive Will who stirs her inner draki to life. Although she is irresistibly drawn to him, Jacinda knows Will's dark secret: He and his family are hunters. She should avoid him at all costs. But her inner draki is slowly slipping away—if it dies she will be left as a human forever. She'll do anything to prevent that. Even if it means getting closer to her most dangerous enemy.

Mythical powers and breathtaking romance ignite in this story of a girl who defies all expectations and whose love crosses an ancient divide.

So keep reading! If you haven't read Firelight, you'll learn a little more - and if you have, well, you'll get a sneak peek into who we'll be seeing in the sequel!

The Wake of the Lorelei Lee

The Wake of the Lorelei Lee
Author: L.A. Meyer
Series: Bloody Jack (#8)
Publisher: Harcourt
How Received: bought

Jacky Faber, rich from her exploits diving for Spanish gold, has purchased the Lorelei Lee to carry passengers across the Atlantic. Believing she has been absolved of past sins against the Crown, Jacky docks in London to take on her crew, but is instead arrested and sentenced to life in the newly formed penal colony in Australia.

To add insult to injury, the Lorelei Lee is confiscated to carry Jacky and more than 200 female convicts to populate New South Wales. Not one to give in to self pity, Jacky rallies her sisters to "better" their position--resulting in wild escapades, brushes with danger, and much hilarity. Will Jacky find herself a founding mother of New South Wales, Australia? Not if she has anything to do about it!

I'm running out of things to say about this series. It's so bloody fantastic.

Jacky Faber is the Chuck Norris of book characters.

Seriously. She gets thrown every possible obstacle, every possible character, every possible scenario, and at the end of the book, she's overcome them, a better and more interesting Jacky than before.

This is one of these series that, once I start reading one of the books, I can't stop until I've read it all the way through. I squeal when I'm in suspense or when I love something that happens; I groan when another obstacle is thrown in her way; I yell. A lot.

Overall Rating & Final Comments: 10/10. Not the best of the series, but still fantastic. Read this series. Kthxbai.

Giveaway Winner: Low Red Moon

Ashley, from Ashley's Bookshelf, won the copy of Low Red Moon I had up for grabs! Congratulations!

Don't forget to check over at Squeaky Books to see who won the copy of Dust City!

Waiting on Wednesday: Timeless

Because we all have something we're waiting for.

Timeless by Alexander Monir

When her mother is killed in a car accident, Michele Windsor has no choice but to move in with the wealthy grandparents she's never met in New York. Disillusioned by their coldness, Michele retreats into her room, where she discovers her great-great-aunt's journal--and, once she touches its pages, finds herself hurtled back in time.

In the glamorous Gilded Age, Michele learns that a wedding is coming up between the Windsors and another prominent family, the Walkers. But when Michele attends a party, something miraculous happens: while almost no one can see her in this era, one gorgeous young man with sparkling blue eyes can. Drawn together by mutual attraction, the two bond over music and the parents they've recently lost. But when the party is over, Michele learns the truth--the man she just fell for is Phillip Walker. And she, unknowingly, has just inspired him to call off his wedding to her great-great-aunt, prompting a family feud that will last for generations.

As Michele travels back and forth in time, she and Phillip meet over and over, always frustrated by their inability to have more than a few hours together. Michele knows she should try to make a life in the present, but none of the boys at school can hold a candle to Phillip. Finally, Michele tries to end their romance altogether--spurring a tragedy that transcends generations. Has Michele destroyed her chances for happiness? Or is her love for Phillip... timeless?

Series: ---
Publisher: Delacorte Books
Release Date: January 11 2011

I'm not a big fan of time travel books, but I AM interested in seeing how this one plays out. It reminds me a bit of Time Traveler's Wife - but on the other hand, any time traveling romance would.

Guest Post: Steampunk

One of my favorite things in the world right now is steampunk. The fashion, the fiction - I love them both!

And guess what? Today's guest posts talks about it. Without further ado, I present Miss Suzanne Lazear of Steamed!

Suzanne Lazear aka “Lolita Suzanne” is Chief Mayhem Officer of the steampunk group blog, Steamed! She likes steampunk for the shoes and clockhand tiaras. Suzanne also writes steampunk books for teens, with her first releasing in 2012. Sometimes she can be found wearing a bustle, but she has yet to make a ray gun.

Without further ado, I introduce to you: Suzanne Lazear!

------------------------------------------

Steampunk is the intersection of technology and romance. - steampunkworkshop.com

Steampunk is what happens when Goths discover the color brown. - as seen on a t-shirt

Steampunk is Jules Verne on crack. - Suzanne Lazear

Steampunk is taking the world by storm. Steampunk is far more than a literary movement with music, books, art, fashion, and even conventions. But it’s perfectly understandable that this little slice of Victorian-inspired alternate history would become popular. What’s not to love about a rock band singing about airship pirates, books about sassy society ladies who smack Vampires with parasols, or an excuse to wear your corset on the outside of your clothing?

The phrase "steampunk" started out as a bit of a joke, since there’s plenty of steam but not a lot of punk in most steampunk tales. But that phrase stuck and is used to describe alternate histories that explore what it might be like we’d stayed a steam-based society instead of becoming an oil-based one while keeping that Victorian aesthetic and spirit.

What we get is a rich world that crosses genres and art forms. A steampunk story can be a mystery or a romance. Truly, steampunk is genre blending—and bending—at its finest. There is so much to like about steampunk fiction because of the sheer room to create and invent. It could take place it Victorian London or on another planet far in the future. There can be great technology all done in the style of the Victorians. There could be magic or supernaturals or science. It’s a world of air pirate, dirigibles, bustles, mad science, and ray guns.

Leviathan is an alternate take on World War I, In the Parasol Protectorate series Alexia’s Victorian London is like our own only with werewolves and vampires, and The Golden Compass takes place a world parallel to ours. The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker is romantic and filled with magic. The Hunchback Assignments is adventurous.

I adore steampunk fiction - which is full of incredible heroines. Spunky Deryn disguises herself as a boy so she could join the air service in Leviathan. Scrappy Lyra in The Golden Compass has amazing adventures. Percy of The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker talks to ghosts. Octavia’s a secret agent in The Hunchback Assignments. We can’t forget the unflappable Alexia who smacks Vampires with parasols in the Parasol Protectorate series. Some of them were trousers, others corsets and bustles, but all do what they do with a courage and flair all their own.

Even if you’ve never been a fan of Jules Verne or sci-fi, steampunk books can be fun to read. It’s not all about the science--there’s usually plenty of mystery, adventure, and even some romance. Every steampunk world, every steampunk tale, is different. If you don’t like one author’s take, you may like another. Give steampunk a try. If you want to dress up while reading we won’t tell.

Giveaway: CSN Giftcard

This giveaway is over.

COULD IT BE!?

Yes. Yes it is. The CSN giftcard giveaway I mentioned a few days ago.

We have for you today a $75 giftcard for CSN Stores. And yeah, you could use it to buy a platform bed or a chair or something, but who wants to do that? They have BOOKCASES. And some of them are less than $75. So you'd be getting it, essentially, for FREE.

The one I'm digging right now is the ORE 3 Tier Book Shelf. I like it in black, and it also comes in four shelves - but it's pretty, and spacey, and looks like it could handle the books that are currently chilling on my floor.




But you can do what you want with this giftcard! So fill out the form below, and we'll be set.

Quick Glance:
[1] $75 giftcard for CSN Stores
[1] international winner
ends September 27

How To Win:
[mandatory] fill out the form
[+2] friend me on Goodreads

SPEAK up.

Wesley Scroggins published an opinion piece today about Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak. This is what he had to say about it.

In high school English classes, children are required to read and view material that should be classified as soft pornography.

One such book is called "Speak." They also watch the movie. This is a book about a very dysfunctional family. Schoolteachers are losers, adults are losers and the cheerleading squad scores more than the football team. They have sex on Saturday night and then are goddesses at church on Sunday morning. The cheer squad also gets their group-rate abortions at prom time. As the main character in the book is alone with a boy who is touching her female parts, she makes the statement that this is what high school is supposed to feel like. The boy then rapes her on the next page. Actually, the book and movie both contain two rape scenes.[full article]

I attend college. During orientation, we went to a session that talked about the possibility of rape. They counted us off in fours, and asked all the number ones to stand up.

Those who stood up represented those who would be raped or have an attempt to rape made on them.

I have read Speak. Yes, there are two rape scenes. There is nothing in them that is erotic or that would qualify as soft pornography. They are scenes necessary for the novel, to connect to the character and - maybe, hopefully - inspire those who have been through similar situations to stand up, SPEAK up.

It's hard to put my anger to words at hearing this - it's boiling under the surface of my skin, twisting my heart, lashing to get out, to yell at the man who put this up. Is he blind to the rest of the world? Does he live in a happy bubble where nothing goes wrong?

And to say that is must be censored? Nothing, no book, should ever be censored. First of all, takes it from a teenager - we're only going to want to read it more. And secondly, these books help people. Even if you don't like them, or think they're ridiculous, or hurtful - let them be. You don't have to read them. What if somebody you know was raped, and was afraid to SPEAK up, and this would have been the book to help them? Your sister, your best friend, your daughter, even your girlfriend. It can happen.

And if you ban the books that help them, where will they be when they're frightened and need inspiration?

They'll be hiding it.

My heart is sore, twisted, and it literally hurts to breathe because of how upset I am at this. Please, Mr. Scroggins, Springfield, don't harm your children, your friends, your neighbors. It's not worth it. All it does it harm everybody, and make my heart hurt.

Please, don't make my heart hurt.

[EDIT]
And posts like this, from The Last Word, make me even more furious. Or this one. Please, don't ban this book. It's not a matter of religion. It's a matter of heart.


And if my anger isn't enough, try these places:
Laurie Halse Anderson - This guy thinks SPEAK is pornography.
Shannon Hale - Speak Loudly
Late Bloomer Online - We Are Fighting Back
Bloggers [heart] Books - Speak Loudly
Bloggers [heart] Books - Rant: Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson and the Idiot Who Called It Porn
Harmony's Radiant Reads - SPEAK Loudly - it's time to listen.
Sarah's Random Musings - Words Can't Express This
Consumed By Books - Why I Speak Loudly And You Should Too
The Story Siren - Listen Hard
YA Librarian Tales - Speak Loudly
Novel Thoughts - Learning To Speak Loudly
bookmarked - Today, I Am Speaking Up
Princess Reviews - Speak Loudly for Speak
Writer's Chasm - Speak Loudly
Nyxen's Adventure Through Life - Nyxen on Speaking Up, Speaking Out, Speaking Loudly
Veronica Roth - A (Christian) Take On Banning Speak

There's a whole bunch more listed at The Reclusive Bibliophile - I'm adding to this list as I find them.

No happy reading on this post, guys. That article was not a happy read.

Book Trailers

Just wanted to bring to light some shiny book trailers!

Jane by April Lindner
Already read this; it's fantastic!


A Most Improper Magick by Stephanie Burgis
I kind of want to read this!


Random Magic by Sasha Soren
Not sure about the book, but I love that it ties into Alice in Wonderland.


I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore
I'm not sure about this one - I'll probably read it closer to movie release time!

Blameless

Blameless
Author: Gail Carriger
Series: Parasol Protectorate (#3)
Publisher: Orbit
How Received: bought

Quitting her husband's house and moving back in with her horrible family, Lady Maccon becomes the scandal of the London season.

Queen Victoria dismisses her from the Shadow Council, and the only person who can explain anything, Lord Akeldama, unexpectedly leaves town. To top it all off, Alexia is attacked by homicidal mechanical ladybugs, indicating, as only ladybugs can, the fact that all of London's vampires are now very much interested in seeing Alexia quite thoroughly dead.

While Lord Maccon elects to get progressively more inebriated and Professor Lyall desperately tries to hold the Woolsey werewolf pack together, Alexia flees England for Italy in search of the mysterious Templars. Only they know enough about the preternatural to explain her increasingly inconvenient condition, but they may be worse than the vampires -- and they're armed with pesto.

The second two books in the Parasol Protectorate series have yet to live up to the standard set in Soulless. However, they are armed with Gail's fantastic writing style - full of wit, charm, and the ability to make me fangirl.

Did I think the plot improved over Changeless? Oh yes. I wasn't as sure of what was going to come next, and the new characters (Templars, anybody?) introduced were interesting, though not particularly entertaining. I will be happiest if the upcoming Heartless is centered in London, without a roving Alexia.

However, I do love Alexia. You can put her in any situation and it immediately becomes entertaining. And Lord Maccon? Oh, I do adore him. He has his flaws - what man and or wolf doesn't!? - and watching him drunk was absolutely hysterical. Put Maccon and Alexia in the same scene and I can't help but love what I read. I did think Alexia should have stayed angrier at Maccon in the end.

But if Gail rewrote the phone book, I'd read it. I just absolutely adore her writing style, and her quotability factor is through the roof - just ask my family; I kept giggling and reading parts of the book to them as I went through.

Final Comments: Read this series. It's awesome. And Gail is probably one of my favorite writers of all time.

Feature Friday: Bookcases (10)

Who said storage had to be boring?



Do you remember when you were really little, and you had all those Legos? And you could play with them for HOURS, building tiny little towns (and destroying them) and houses for your people (and accidentally breaking them) and color coding them?

That's what this bookcase reminds me of.


Image found from Flickr. Does it belong to you? Email me, and I'll give you credit!

Friday Fronts - The Ivy

While I'm not sure it would catch my eye in a store of a gazillion other covers, I have to give The Ivy MAD PROPS. First off, it sticks with simple, which is commendable in itself - but it does it well. The bold font for the title, the beautiful red background, the catchy slogan at the top, and the excellent placement of the author names - just lovely.

Kristin Chenoweth & The Hunger Games

SHE WANTS TO PLAY EFFIE.

If there is any love left in the world, this will happen.



Anybody can tell you how much I adore Kristin Chenoweth. She is... gah... AMAZING.

Please please please please!?

Link to the article: here

Prisoners in the Palace

Prisoners in the Palace
Author: Michaela MacColl
Series: ---
Publisher: Chronicle Books
How Received: ARC from author

London, 1838. Sixteen-year-old Liza's dreams of her society debut are dashed when her parents are killed in an accident. Penniless, she accepts the position of lady's maid to young Princess Victoria and steps unwittingly into the gossipy intrigue of the servant's world below-stairs as well as the trickery above. Is it possible that her changing circumstances may offer Liza the chance to determine her own fate, find true love, and secure the throne for her future queen?

Prisoners in the Palace is a debut novel from Michaela MacColl that leaves me wanting more books by her.

It's a solid piece of fiction - a main character I liked, a situation that was interesting to read about, and as always, court (ish) dynamics that I loved.

Liza is a very strong main character - the past few books I've read, I've had to put up with a lot of characters that dissolved into tears every few pages for no or little reason. (Crusade, anybody?) But the few times Liza did mention crying were warranted - she was mourning her parents, after all. Besides that, she held her head high and did what she had to do, and I LOVED that.

Not only is there that, but she's fun to read about. I liked the diary entries, where we got to peak more into her head. Little character quirks also make me happy, so the fact that she loved learning new languages, even if it was just flash patter, made me happy.

I'm a big Queen Victoria fan, so the fact that she was portrayed as a self centered girl throughout most of the book annoyed me a little bit - but it did make more sense, as did the rest of the minor character portrayals, as the book moved on. Just like Liza developed, so did they, and MacColl gets mad props from me for that. Sometimes authors forget that the other characters need to develop, too.

And was their romance? Yes. Was it overwhelming and overshadowing the rest of the plot? No! It was there, and it was lovely, and I was rooting for it, but it didn't take away from the main plot of the book - it enhanced it, as romance should do.

Overall Rating & Final Comments: 9/10. It takes a few chapters to get into it, and you may not like Victoria at first, but it's overall fantastically done.
Cover Comments: The title of the book is not on the cover. WTH?