Wolfsbane by Andrea Cremer

Wolfsbane
Nightshade 2
Author: Andrea Cremer
Pages: 400 pgs
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Release Date: July 26th 2011
Review Source: Philomel/PenguinTeen

I would like to thank the Penguin Teen Group for sending me this advanced copy to review. And I know that the covers have changed, but the ARCs still look like this and I love the first cover. Isn't it gorgeous!

Wolfsbane picks up right where Nightshade left off. Calla and Shay are in the heart of the Searchers lair and Calla had to recover from an injury. When she wakes she quickly learns that things aren't always what they seem, and the searchers have a plan of their own for the two of them.

But if Calla thought things were going to be easier, she soon realizes that was a mistake. They're in the middle of a battle and it's only going to get more difficult.

In Nightshade we got a really good look at how close the wolf packs are. Andrea showed us their connection and their lives with the Keepers, building a good base for them so that we could better understand them in Wolfsbane. One of Calla's main priorities in this book was to protect her pack and get them away from the Keepers. Her fear of what might have happened to them after she left one of her strongest motivators.

That's important in understanding her longing to save her pack throughout the book. But, we also get a chance to better understand the Searchers. We're introduced to some new characters and they have a very interesting relationship with each other that takes Calla a little while to get used to. But, I think that helped ease some of the tension that was created in Wolfsbane.

More secrets are uncovered with the help of the Searchers, but by the end you find yourself with even more questions and a cliffhanger even worse than the first one.

I fell in love with Nightsahde because it was a strong story, unique, and a bit mysterious. Well Wolfsbane, in my opinion, just cemented that for me. It was a bit rougher to get through than the first book, but well worth it. Andrea has created an amazing world here and I can't wait for the conclusion of this series. I'll be sad when it's over, but I know it will be just as good as the first two books.

Trailer for Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

Friday Finds and New Reads

Friday Finds and New Reads

This is where I talk about new books that really stand out to me or sound unique, and what new books I have to read or will be getting soon.

 

First this week I'd like to mention Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi:

Summary: Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days. The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old-girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don't fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war- and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she's exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

In this electrifying debut, Tahereh Mafi presents a world as riveting as The Hunger Games and a superhero story as thrilling as The X-Men. Full of pulse-pounding romance, intoxicating villainy, and high-stakes choices, Shatter Me is a fresh and original dystopian novel—with a paranormal twist—that will leave readers anxiously awaiting its sequel.

The cover hasn't been revealed for this, so I'm just posting the description for now. And that alone has me so excited to read this book. It definitely doesn't sound like your typical dystopian story which I think makes it even better, plus there's a paranormal edge it it. I'm sold!


Next is Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake:

Summary: Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead. 

So did his father before him, until he was gruesomely murdered by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father's mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.

When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn't expect anything outside of the ordinary: track, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he's never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, now stained red and dripping with blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.

But she, for whatever reason, spares Cas's life.

This definitely doesn't sound like your typical ghost story and I think that's what's intrigued me. I have a feeling this will have a little humor, a little action, and definitely some mystery wrapped up in this story.

And here's the new read I have for this week:

 

The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab

The Near Witch
Author: Victoria Schwab
Pages: 288 pgs
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Release Date: August 2nd 2011
Review Source: Disney- Hyperion Books

First of all, I would like to thank Disney Hyperion Books for sending me an ARC of this book. Now, The Near Witch is Victoria Schwab's debut novel and she has set the bar.

Lexi lives in the town of Near where everyone knows everyone and visitor's rarely pass through. But late one night, a new guy does come through the moors and then children start disappearing.

While the men try to search for the missing kids, Lexi takes it into her own hands to figure out what's going on. She uses what her father taught her about hunting and the stories he'd told to start piecing some things together. Only Lexi can't do it on her own. Will the help of the stranger get them the answers they need.

From the very first page, I fell in love with Victoria's writing. The prose she wrote in was very beautiful and poetic, almost as smooth as silk, and perfect for the setting she'd created. I hated putting the book down to sleep.

So much took place in this story: a fairytale within a fairytale, romance, and fear. The town of Near had an almost dreamlike quality for me, especially with the moors on the edge, with the descriptions of the area and the wind taking on a life of it's own. It was a character in it's own right.

Victoria took her time developing the characters, adding to the build up of just what was going on. Lexi, the stranger, even the town of Near, all seemed to have a particular part to play and I loved the small things that added to it.

After reading this, I definitely can't wait for more from Victoria Schwab. Her writing is unlike any I've seen in awhile and the way she weaves a story is beautiful. My hands are already itching to get ahold of her next book The Archive.

For the latest updates on the author you can check out her website http://www.victoriaschwab.com/, her blog http://veschwab.wordpress.com/, or follow her on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/veschwab.

Pieces of Us by Hannah Downing

Pieces of Us

Author: Hannah Downing
Pages: 220 pgs
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: April 5th 2011
Review Source: Omnific Publishing

In Hannah's debut novel she deals with a rather controversial subject, adding twists and unexpected situations that leave the reader wondering just what happened. Pieces of Us is a story that I think everyone could relate to.

Charlotte and Cameron fell in love young and seemed to have the perfect marriage. That is until Charlotte found a text message from her supposed best friend. Refusing to hear his excuses, she leaves their home and tries to start over.

But you can't always run from your past. Charlotte returns years later with her fiancee, Owen, to face her past. And though it is a struggle, Charlotte goes face-to-face with things she couldn't handle before. The things she thought were true turned out not to be; the feelings she thought were broken were resurfacing. Just who can't she live without?

One of the things that I really enjoyed about this story was the real emotions that Hannah was able to invoke in her characters. Not only did my heart hurt for Charlotte, but I also found myself crying for Cameron in the beginning as well. At the time you only know what Charlotte is seeing, but as she's struggling you can also figure out that Cameron really wanted to try and fix things between them. I loved that I was able to feel for both of them and not just view one as the victim, you know.

Charlotte's hubby-to-be, Owen, was a wonderful character. He obviously loved her enough to want the best for her and encourage her to do what she could to let go of the past. In most situations like this in a story you just want to be able to hate this kind of character because he isn't who the main girl should be with. But I just couldn't. Owen was a sweetheart and I admittedly wanted a little piece of him for myself.

Hannah did a wonderful job of slowly revealing what had happened that lead to the end of their marriage. She took us on a journey of betrayal and misunderstandings, love and heartache; a story that seemed to end at the beginning, but really had so much more.

To keep up with future works from this author you can check out her website http://www.hannahdowning.com or follow her on Twitter http://twitter.com/HannahDowning.

Friday Finds and New Reads

Friday Finds and New Reads

Where I discuss books that I've found that really stood out to me and what new ones I have to read.

This is a little late, but I figure better late than never right. So this week I want to start with a story by Heather Dixon called Entwined:

Summary: Azalea is trapped. Just when she should feel that everything is before her . . . beautiful gowns, dashing suitors, balls filled with dancing . . . it's taken away. All of it. 

The Keeper understands. He's trapped, too, held for centuries within the walls of the palace. And so he extends an invitation. 

Every night, Azalea and her eleven sisters may step through the enchanted passage in their room to dance in his silver forest. 

But there is a cost. 

The Keeper likes to keep things. 

Azalea may not realize how tangled she is in his web until it is too late. 

From the description this sounds a little fantasy and a little mystery, all rolled into one interesting ride. I can't really explain what it is about this that appeals to me, but from what I can tell it sounds like a pretty fun read.

Next we have Juliet Immortal by Stacy Jay

 Summary: "These violent delights have violent ends

And in their triumph die, like fire and powder,
Which as they kiss consume." 

—Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

The most tragic love story in history . . .

Juliet Capulet didn't take her own life. She was murdered by the person she trusted most, her new husband, Romeo Montague, a sacrifice made to ensure his own immortality. But what Romeo didn't anticipate was that Juliet would be granted eternity, as well, and would become an agent for the Ambassadors of Light. For 700 years, she's fought Romeo for the souls of true lovers, struggling to preserve romantic love and the lives of the innocent. Until the day she meets someone she's forbidden to love, and Romeo, oh Romeo, will do everything in his power to destroy that love.

Romeo and Juliet in and of itself is a tragedy, but with the twist that Stay Jay has put on it in her story I think it will be even more heart breaking. It sounds dark and mystical and I'm quite intrigued to find out just how she went about this. 


And one of the new reads that I have this week is:

I have some new reviews coming soon, including The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab and Pieces of Us by Hannah Downing.

Lost Voices by Sarah Porter

Lost Voices
Lost Voices 1
Author: Sarah Porter
Pages: 304 pgs
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Release Date: July 4th 2011
Review Source: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children's

I was very intrigued by the concept of this story and was very excited when I received an early galley of it. Story's about mermaids aren't ones that I read all that often, but the description of this particular story seemed different an innovative. Sarah Porter didn't hold back and that made this book even better.

Luce is a fourteen year old girl in a pretty dire situation. Her alcoholic uncle tries to do the unthinkable and then leaves her stranded along the cliffs of their Alaskan home. In trying to cope with what happened to her, Luce finds herself thrust into a world she never thought possible.

Mermaids.

Luce has become one of them and at first it seems like the best thing that could have happened to her. But she soon learns that things aren't perfect under the water either, especially when a new girl joins them that begins to shake things up.

One of the things I found interesting about this story was that Sarah used a siren sort of mythology with the mermaids. They would sing to boats to get them to crash, but there was so much more behind it and I loved that. She puts you right in the middle of Luce's moral delima. And Luce eventually learns a secret about herself that she isn't ready to face.

Her writing is very real and almost uncomfortable in certain areas. As  a reader you want to be able to feel like you know the characters and like your experiencing things right along with me, and I think that you get that with the way Sarah writes. It's very honest and true to her characters. She doesn't hold anything back, but leaves you with the hope that things can get better.

You also get a very true reminder of what it's like to be a teenage girl. There are so many emotions and changes that you go through as a teen, but imagine having to go through that as a mermaid.

This book, like most of the ones that I've read lately, is the first of a series and I can definitely say that I'm intrigued to find out where she's planning on taking it. So much happens by the end of Lost Voices and I know that there's even more still to come. So be sure to keep your eyes open for more this author.