In Anticipation of April

I love the turning of the seasons.  Winter has held hard and fast this year and I think we are all ready for Spring to reclaim us.  This month I also have some highly anticipated titles to look forward to.  I narrowed it down to my three top picks.

Dark Triumph is the second in the His Fair Assassin series.  I enjoyed Grave Mercy but wasn't really sold on the main character.  Luckily, one of the characters that stood on the periphery, Sybella, is the lead in this book.  I loved the mystery behind Sybella and she seemed much more kick-ass than Ismae did.  I can't wait to read her story!  Release Date: April 2nd

A Corner of White wasn't actually on my radar until I recieved my latest review package from Scholastic.  Even though the cover looks like a typical contemporary romance, A Corner of White seems to meld genres and looks to involve an interesting breach in the barriers between two worlds.  Can't wait to see how that all plays out.  Release Date: April 1st

 

I LOVE the cover of this one.  The background is just so magical with the smattering of stars and the lights of the circus.  In That Time I Joined the Circus, Lexi Ryan sets to to track down her mother, rumored to be performing in a travelling circus.  She creates a place for herself reading tarot cards (I LOVE books that involve tarot) and finds that love and magic still exist under the dazzling lights.  Release Date: April 1st

Waiting on Wednesday (3)

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is: Night Beach by Kristy Eager which is due to be released on April 26th.

 Imagine there is someone you like so much that just thinking about them leaves you desperate and reckless. You crave them in a way that's not rational, not right, and you're becoming somebody you don't recognise, and certainly don't respect, but you don't even care.

And this person you like is unattainable. Except for one thing...

He lives downstairs.

Abbie has three obsessions. Art. The ocean. And Kane.

But since Kane's been back, he's changed. There's a darkness shadowing him that only Abbie can see. And it wants her in its world.

A gothic story about the very dark things that feed the creative process.

Honestly, I don't like the synopsis on this one.  It sounds like teen angst to the max.  However, it gets special consideration because a) it is being published in Australia and everything YA coming out of Australia lately rocks my stripy socks.  and b) because the Aussie reviewers on Goodreads all have it on their TBR shelf  and, frankly, whether the book is good or bad I need to read it so that I can get in on the conversation!

Early Book Review: Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin

Title: Masque of the Red Death
Author: Bethany Griffin
Publisher: Harper Collins 
Release Date: April 24, 2012

Rating: 4/5

Cover Impressions:  The cover does an excellent job of expressing the dark and foreboding mood of this novel.  I am a fan of the oppressive fog and the red highlights that provide a sense of mystery.  The title font is PERFECT, antique-looking but clearly legible.  

The Gist:  Araby Worth spends her nights chasing oblivion in the Debauchery District.  She seeks solace from the world outside, a world of death, disease and fear.  The plague that decimated the city left her family elevated in society but shattered and haunted.  When a night of revelry brings Araby to the attention of Will, the well-meaning older brother and Elliot, the reckless leader of a rebellion, she must shake off her stupor and finally decide if there are people in this world worth fighting for.

Review: Bethany Griffin is one brave lady.  It takes guts to take on a master like Edgar Allen Poe.  I love using Poe in my grade 7, 8 and 9 English classes, especially around Halloween.  The kids enjoy the foreboding tone and dark imagery.  Griffin manages to elicit the same ominous feel and sense of decrepit grandeur in her book.  There is a beautiful dichotomy between the peasants ravaged by plague and the sheer opulence of Araby's lifestyle.  

As a character, Araby is beautifully flawed.  In the beginning, we see an empty, thoughtless shell of a girl.  One that is guilt-ridden and bent on wasting away slowly and painfully.  She is unable to recognize love and caring in those around her.  Araby is easily led into betraying her father and endangering the entire city.  It is as if she were waiting for someone to ask her to do something, anything, to tilt the precarious balance that the city has reached.  As the story progresses, Araby begins to drop some of her carefully constructed walls and we get the merest glimpse into the strong and selfless individual that she might become.

For most of this novel, the action creeps along with a few tense moments here and there, much like the city, seething slowly but steadily until it erupts into a cacophony of violence that last until the final pages.  There are some dull moments in the middle but if you persist and push through, you will be rewarded. 

Teaching/Parental Notes:

Age: 15 and up
Gender: Female
Sex: None
Violence: Murders, Riots, Beatings, Swordplay, Gunplay.

Inappropriate Language: None
Substance Abuse:  Underage drinking, Use of needle drugs

Waiting on Wednesday (2)

Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is: The Calling by Kelley Armstrong which is due to be released on April 10th

Maya Delaney's paw-print birthmark is the mark of what she truly is—a skin-walker. She can run faster, climb higher, and see better than nearly everyone else. Experiencing intense connections with the animals that roam the woods outside her home, Maya knows it's only a matter of time before she's able to Shift and become one of them. And she believes there may be others in her small town with surprising talents. 

Now Maya and her friends have been forced to flee from their homes during a forest fire they suspect was deliberately set. Then they're kidnapped, and after a chilling helicopter crash, they find themselves in the Vancouver Island wilderness with nothing but their extraordinary abilities to help them get back home. 

In The Calling, the sizzling second book in the Darkness Rising trilogy, New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong pumps up the romance, danger, and suspense that left readers of The Gathering clamoring for more.

At the end of The Gathering Kelley Armstrong left up with one heck of a cliffhanger.  While I have moved away from "Shifter" themed YA, I will be jumping back in to see what happens to these characters.  One of the things that I love about Armstrong's books is the way that the character from different series intertwine and how, with each book, we learn more and more about this grand world that she has built for her characters.  I look forward to the new twists and revelations that The Gathering most certainly has in store.

Early Review: The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

Title: The Immortal Rules 
Author: Julie Kagawa

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Release Date: April 24, 2012

Rating: 4.5/5

Cover Impressions: This cover doesn't do much for me.  Firstly, the main character is Asian, this model is .... not.  I don't like that.  If the person on the cover is meant to represent a character, then make them look like that character.  No white-washing please.  Secondly, the expression on the model's face is bland, I would prefer her to look upset, or angry or determined or ... something.  Thirdly, the tear, while eye catching, seems off somehow.  Perhaps it is because it starts in the very middle of her eye, perhaps it is because it doesn't wash away any of that heavy eye makeup.  I do like the font and am thankful that, although Kagawa is already a successful author, her name doesn't appear bigger than the book title.

The Gist:  In Allison Sekemoto's world vampires rule with an iron fist and humans are treated as no more than cattle.  Here she fights for survival alongside other scavengers, constantly aware of the threat lurking in the shadows.  When her daring leads to a deadly attack, Allison is offered a choice: die on the dusty street or become what she loathes most. 

Review:  The Immortal Rules is one of those rare YA novels which combines an interesting world, and an action packed plot with a strong, capable heroine. Allison is not your average YA female, she pulls her weight and doesn't depend on the men around her to act as her savior.  She never balks at an impossible situation and she doesn't whine.  When she is faced with a task and other issues threaten to steal her attention she says things like "I would sort all this out later" and "though I hated this, I forced myself to concentrate".  Despite her claims to own the keys to lonerville, Allison continually surprises herself, and the readers, by risking herself in order to protect that people that she is supposed to think of as nothing more than food.  

The world that Kagawa has created combines the dystopian elements of a post-plague city ruled by bloodthirsty vampires with the heart-thumping zombie-like "Rabids" who stalk the lands outside.  The rabids are terrifying, difficult to kill and can erupt beneath the very ground you walk on.  Their mindless quest for blood creates exciting battles and heart-thumping moments as we push for human survival.  As Allison travels with a pack of humans, ever conscious of their tempting vulnerability, she struggles with her hunger and fights to pull together the tattered remains of her humanity creating a sense of suspense as we wait for the inevitable.

While the second half of this novel is ruled by action, the first half does contain a certain amount of info-dumping, mostly through Kanin - Allison's maker.  I did not find this too distracting as the world Kagawa has created is a very interesting one, but I do wish that the character of Kanin had been a little more animated in his lessons.  I am very confident that, now that the world building has been established, the other books in this series will scarcely give the readers a moment to breathe.  

Teaching/Parental Notes:

Age: 16 and up
Gender: Either
Sex: None
Violence: Vampirism, swordplay, gunfights, violent attacks by "rabids"

Inappropriate Language: Whore, Bitch, Bastard
Substance Abuse: None

Waiting on Wednesday (1)

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is: Sacre Bleu by Christopher Moore which is due to be released on April 3rd

Absolutely nothing is sacred to Christopher Moore. The phenomenally popular, New York Times bestselling satirist whom the Atlanta Journal-Constitution calls, “Stephen King with a whoopee cushion and a double-espresso imagination” has already lampooned Shakespeare, San Francisco vampires, marine biologists, Death…even Jesus Christ and Santa Claus! Now, in his latest masterpiece, Sacre Bleu, the immortal Moore takes on the Great French Masters. A magnificent “Comedy d’Art” from the author of Lamb, Fool, and Bite Me, Moore’s Sacre Bleu is part mystery, part history (sort of), part love story, and wholly hilarious as it follows a young baker-painter as he joins the dapper Henri Toulouse-Lautrec on a quest to unravel the mystery behind the supposed “suicide” of Vincent van Gogh.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Christopher Moore.  If you haven't read his books, check them out.  Or come over to my house, I own them all!  Whenever I have to explain my love of Moore I usually explain that I brought home A Dirty Job and read the first chapter or so right before bed.  An hour or so later, I turned over in bed and jumped because their was an eerie green light on my nightstand.  THE COVER GLOWED IN THE DARK!  If you are so willing to enter into the realm of absurdity that you create a cover that glows in the dark then you are the literary man for me!

Moore's books make me chuckle, giggle, guffaw and sometimes close my eyes and pound the couch while tears stream down my face.  His characters are incredibly unique and twisted with quirks and flaws that make them all at once completely absurd and oddly relatable (though that may speak to my own special brand of crazy).  If you haven't read any of his books yet, and want to get a head start, try Lamb: the Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal - it takes a particularly disturbed (and fascinating) mind to spoof the life of Jesus and you will not regret exploring Moore's, just be sure to wipe your feet first, brain matter shows every speck of dirt. 

Book Review: Kill Me Softly by Sarah Cross

Title: Kill Me Softly

Author: Sarah Cross

Publisher: Egmont USA

Release Date: April 10, 2012

Rating: 4.5/5

Cover Impressions: The white rose dipped in blood speaks to innocence lost and is an image that stands out among the plethora of girls in pretty dresses that make up a huge chunk of YA novels today.  However, I am not a fan of the title font.  It seems a little too weak against such a stark image.  

The Gist:  Mirabelle has spent her entire life listening to the rules and sanctions set forth by her Godmothers.  Now, as her 16th birthday draws near, she is about to break their biggest one: returning to the place of her birth, Beau Rivage.  Here, Mira encounters a world where fairy tales take a dark turn and everyone has a role to play, whether they wish to or not.

Review:  In Kill Me Softly Sarah Cross creates a fairy tale world that interposes with our own.  It lies, just beneath the surface and can be seen by anyone willing to peer through the veil.  However, these are not your disneyfied princes and princesses fending off colorful dragons and over-the-top Queens (though, don't get me wrong, Maleficent scared the CRAP out of me as a kid) instead, Cross takes inspiration from the original Fairy Tales which feature evil plot twists, casual murders, the hacking off of limbs and buckets of blood. 

Against this backdrop of Happily Ever After gone wrong, Mira meets Blue, a boy who does everything to push her away and his brother, Felix who does everything not to.  As a character, Mira is a little difficult to like.  She is often rude and ungrateful, which seems completely out of character for a person who, up until now, has blindly followed her Godmother's orders.  It feels a little unreal that a character who is so quick to anger, did not question these rules or show any sign of rebellion prior to her slipping away in the middle of the night.  Blue, on the other hand, is a character who does everything possible to make Mira dislike him but she (and the reader) cannot help but root for this wounded hero.  Whenever I hit a section where Mira was spending time falling in love with Felix, I found myself itching to turn each page, hoping that Blue would be waiting on the other side.  The "love" that Mirabelle claims to have for Felix, feels forced and wrong but shows it's importance by the end of the story (much like Romeo's "love" for Rosaline).  

The plot is interesting but more character based than action based.  Because Cross weaves together a number of fairy tales (some of which are less likely to be recognizable to most readers) we have a vague idea of where the story is headed, but are still able to be surprised by plot twists.  I do believe that the novel is a stand-alone and I hope that this is the end of Mirabelle's and Blue's story.  However, I thoroughly enjoyed my walk through Beau Rivage and would very much like to read the tales of some of the other characters.  This world is simply too interesting to let go of so easily.

Teaching/Parental Notes:

Age: 16 and up, this one is NOT for your 12 year old!
Gender: Female, though some males may enjoy the clever re-working of well known fairy tales
Sex: Intimate touching, talk of sex
Violence:  Loss of limbs, murders,

Inappropriate Language:  Bitch, Shit.
Substance Abuse: Underage drinking.  Smoking.

Weekend Reading (March 23-25)

Wow. The weekend creeped up on me FAST. So fast, in fact, that I was browsing at Wal-Mart, gleefully enjoying the approximately 1.5 hours a week that I get to spend away from my son, when my stylist called up and reminded me that I had missed my hair appointment.  Guess my wrecktastic hair is sticking around for a little while longer.  Oh well, ON WITH THE READING! 

First up is Goddess Interrupted by Aimee Carter.  This is the second in her Goddess Test series and is due to be released on March 27th.  I wasn't a huge fan of The Goddess Test, but I am cautiously optimistic about this one. 

Kate Winters has won immortality. But if she wants a life with Henry in the Underworld, she'll have to fight for it.Becoming immortal wasn't supposed to be the easy part. Though Kate is about to be crowned Queen of the Underworld, she's as isolated as ever. And despite her growing love for Henry, ruler of the Underworld, he's becoming ever more distant and secretive. Then, in the midst of Kate's coronation, Henry is abducted by the only being powerful enough to kill him: the King of the Titans.As the other gods prepare for a war that could end them all, it is up to Kate to save Henry from the depths of Tartarus. But in order to navigate the endless caverns of the Underworld, Kate must enlist the help of the one person who is the greatest threat to her future Henry's first wife, Persephone.

Next up is The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa.  This is the first in a new series and is due to be released on April 24th.  But, you might recognize the author from her wildly acclaimed Iron Fey series which has been languishing in my TBR pile for some time. 

Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten.
Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of them. The vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself is attacked—and given the ultimate choice. Die… or become one of the monsters.
Faced with her own mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must learn the rules of being immortal, including the most important: go long enough without human blood, and you will go mad.
Then Allie is forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls. There she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend—a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike.
But it isn't easy to pass for human. Especially not around Zeke, who might see past the monster inside her. And Allie soon must decide what—and who—is worth dying for.

 There you have it folks, these are the books that will take up the hours while my son sleeps, tearing me away from my husband and ensuring that Jersey Shore takes up permanent residence on my DVR.  Happy Reading!

Weekend Reading

On the Agenda this weekend is Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins.

Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire, has survived, even though her home has been destroyed. Gale has escaped. Katniss's family is safe. Peeta has been captured by the Capitol. District 13 really does exist. There are rebels. There are new leaders. A revolution is unfolding.
It is by design that Katniss was rescued from the arena in the cruel and haunting Quarter Quell, and it is by design that she has long been part of the revolution without knowing it. District 13 has come out of the shadows and is plotting to overthrow the Capitol. Everyone, it seems, has had a hand in the carefully laid plains - except Katniss.
The success of the rebellion hinges on Katniss's willingness to be a pawn, to accept responsibility for countless lives, and to change the course of the future of Panem. To do this, she must put aside her feelings of anger and distrust. She must become the rebels' Mockingjay - no matter what the personal cost.

I am really looking forward to finishing my re-read of this series.  While I love it, I am ready to move on to something where I DON'T know how it ends.  

Next up is The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross.

In 1897 England, sixteen-year-old Finley Jayne has no one except the "thing" inside her.
When a young lord tries to take advantage of Finley, she fights back. And wins. But no normal Victorian girl has a darker side that makes her capable of knocking out a full-grown man with one punch...
Only Griffin King sees the magical darkness inside her that says she's special, says she's one of them. The orphaned duke takes her in from the gaslit streets against the wishes of his band of misfits. Emily, who has her own special abilities and an unrequited love for Sam, who is part robot; and Jasper, an American cowboy with a shadowy secret.
Griffin's investigating a criminal called The Machinist, the mastermind behind several recent crimes by automatons. Finley thinks she can help-and finally be a part of something, finally fit in.
But The Machinist wants to tear Griff's little company of strays apart, and it isn't long before trust is tested on all sides. At least Finley knows whose side she's on, even if it seems no one believes her.

This one has been on my TBR list for quite a while.  I haven't yet tried this whole Steampunk trend in YA so I am really looking forward to seeing what it is all about.  Here's hoping that wifehood and motherhood give me a bit of a break and that I manage to get time for both of these books.

Anything special on your weekend reading list?