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Monday, October 31, 2011

Best of the Bunch :: October



Best of the Bunch is hosted by Lyrical over at Lyrical Reviews YA.
This is a monthly meme where, at the end of every month you pick one book that you read that month that's a must-have/must-read. Afterwards, you can add your link to Lyrical's post and see what other bloggers must-reads.


Let's begin! October's must-read is ....  The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson.

The first in Maureen Johnson's Shades of London trilogy, leaves the reader wanting more. I believe this is Maureen's first supernatural, published novel. I thought it was a good start and am curious to see where the second book leads.

Read my review of The Name of the Star here!



The day Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London marks a memorable occasion. For Rory, it’s the start of a new life at a London boarding school. But for many, this will be remembered as the day a series of brutal murders broke out across the city, gruesome crimes mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper events of more than a century ago.

Soon “Rippermania” takes hold of modern-day London, and the police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man police believe to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him. Even her roommate, who was walking with her at the time, didn’t notice the mysterious man. So why can only Rory see him? And more urgently, why has Rory become his next target? In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, full of suspense, humor, and romance, Rory will learn the truth about the secret ghost police of London and discover her own shocking abilities.





Friday, October 28, 2011

Dark Eden Arc and App Giveaway



One of the things I like about Patrick Carman's Dark Eden is that it's more than a book, it's an experience.

Enterdarkeden.com is dedicated to this experience. There are videos, images, even a Fear Test to see what you are afraid of, there is also an app that's free to download and offers the first episode for free, but the rest you have to purchase, either one at a time, or all for $9.99.

Since I find this idea quite fascinating I'm going to be doing a quick little giveaway. I have an ARC of Dark Eden and I'm also throwing in a $15 iTunes gift card so that you can experience the app for yourself.

>> Read my review here
>> Learn more about the app


The Rules: 
  • Ends 11th November at 11:29pm Eastern Time
  • Must be over 13 to enter
  • Unfortunately this is US only. The iTunes card will only work for US accounts. 
  • Winner will be alerted and has 48 hours to answer or another winner will be chosen. 
Sign up below and may the odds be ever in your favor.





Monday, October 24, 2011

Review: The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson



The day Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London marks a memorable occasion. For Rory, it’s the start of a new life at a London boarding school. But for many, this will be remembered as the day a series of brutal murders broke out across the city, gruesome crimes mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper events of more than a century ago.

Soon “Rippermania” takes hold of modern-day London, and the police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man police believe to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him. Even her roommate, who was walking with her at the time, didn’t notice the mysterious man. So why can only Rory see him? And more urgently, why has Rory become his next target? In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, full of suspense, humor, and romance, Rory will learn the truth about the secret ghost police of London and discover her own shocking abilities.

Take an American girl from BĂ©nouville, Louisiana. Relocate her to a boarding school in London. Throw in a couple of ghosts, a dallop of mystery and a dash of romance and you’ve got the page-turning, spine-tingling, keeps-you-up-at-night-to-finish-reading-it novel that is The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson.

Rory, has a witty and spunky voice  - which I found to be similar to Maureen’s Twitter-chatter style. The story opens up with Rory giving the reader a very brief background of her family and home, the reason she decided to go to Wexford, and her arrival at her new school. We meet Claudia, the house mistress, and Charlotte, the head girl - for some reason I blended the two characters in my head and had a bit of trouble sorting them out in the end, however, this isn’t pertinent to the tale. We are introduced to Jazza (Rory’s cautious roommate), and Jerome (Rory’s Ripper-addicted interest, of sorts); both were such fun characters to read that I found myself looking forward to seeing more of them.

The main plot is the ghost story/mystery that is weaved throughout. There is a killer on the loose, one who is copying the Jack the Ripper slayings. Yet, in a city with CCTVs everywhere, the killer seems to be invisible to the police; that is, until Rory thinks she spotted someone out and about, near the site of one of the killings. Once she tells the police her story, the plot picks up pace and takes you on a whirlwind adventure with eccentric roommates, mysterious strangers, and so much Jack the Ripper information that you come away feeling well versed on the topic - and a somewhat creepier for it.

I love reading Maureen’s novels because she is very descriptive about places and situations, so much so that you feel as though you’re walking next to the characters - The Name of the Star is written in this fashion. I also enjoyed the bits of family information that Rory litters throughout her narrative; funny little anecdotes to help describe the way she’s feeling. One thing that I appreciated about the story is that, compared to other protagonists who have supernatural abilities thrusted upon them, Rory reacts in a very normal and completely expected way. She experiences denial and disbelief in a believable way.

The Name of the Star is the first in a trilogy, and while this story ties up a lot of loose-ends, the ending leaves you with a feeling of satisfaction and curiosity as to what will happen next.

I utterly enjoyed reading it, and highly recommend this to anyone who is a mystery fan.

PS - there are no vampires.




Sunday, October 23, 2011

Review: Dark Eden by Patrick Carman




Fifteen-year-old Will Besting is sent by his doctor to Fort Eden, an institution meant to help patients suffering from crippling phobias. Once there, Will and six other teenagers take turns in mysterious fear chambers and confront their worst nightmares—with the help of the group facilitator, Rainsford, an enigmatic guide. When the patients emerge from the chamber, they feel emboldened by the previous night’s experiences. But each person soon discovers strange, unexplained aches and pains… . What is really happening to the seven teens trapped in this dark Eden?

Patrick Carman’s Dark Eden is a provocative exploration of fear, betrayal, memory, and— ultimately—immortality.



Seven teenagers, all with irrational fears, are chosen by their therapist - Dr. Stevens - to take part in an experiment to help them overcome the fears. The chosen seven are taken to Fort Eden - located in a remote area - where they are told they will be cured in a week.

The story is narrated by Will, who, in the opening scene, is at Dr. Stevens’s office, having a conversation with her about the new treatment. Will acquires the files of the other six participants while Dr. Stevens leaves the room to answer a phone call. The mystery of the other six and their fears, the remote site and the treatment slowly unwinds after this, and Will gives the reader bits of information from the files and from what he observers.

Dark Eden had a strong start, so much so that I had very high expectations for the ending - which, I admit, was not very strong at all.

The enigmatic Rainsford, the rooms that each participant disappears into, the creepy caretaker, the mystery of the fears, all come together to produce a page-turning and chill-inducing read. The characters, all described in detail by Will, came alive and I found myself rooting for them - and confused as to whether I wanted them to be cured or not.

I was very thrown in the end, it was not what I was expecting. I’m trying not to spoil it, but either I missed something huge throughout the story or the ending really did come out of the blue. It seemed quite convenient to me, and while it explained things I felt as though it was a quick and inferior explanation. I think many readers will enjoy this book, but, I’m not sure many will find the ending satisfactory.




Bookish Haul (#9)



In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren.
Each post shows a list of books that were bought/borrowed/received for reviews for this week.
It's always fun to see what other people are talking about and what's coming out soon!
I've decided to call my weekly round-up My Book Haul due to the fact that many times these books don't come from my mailbox, but other areas. =)

This week's haul comes from Books of Wonder purchases and my cousin! Check out her blog!



Misfit

Jael has always felt like a freak. She’s never kissed a boy, she never knew her mom, and her dad’s always been superstrict—but that’s probably because her mom was a demon, which makes Jael half demon and most definitely not a normal sophomore girl. On her sixteenth birthday, a mysterious present unlocks her family’s dangerous history and Jael’s untapped potential. What was merely an embarrassing secret before becomes a terrifying reality. Jael must learn to master her demon side in order to take on a vindictive Duke of Hell while also dealing with a twisted priest, best-friend drama, and a spacey blond skater boy who may have hidden depths.
Author Jon Skovron takes on the dark side of human nature with his signature funny, heartfelt prose.

Eon: Dragoneye Reborn

Also Known As: Two Pearls of Wisdom, Eon: Rise of the Dragoneye, and Eon (All the same book just published with different publishers)
Eon has been studying the ancient art of Dragon Magic for four years, hoping he'll be able to apprentice to one of the twelve energy dragons of good fortune. But he also has a dark secret. He is actually Eona, a sixteen-year-old girl who has been living a dangerous lie for the chance to become a Dragon-eye, the human link to an energy dragon's power. It is forbidden for females to practice the Dragon Magic and, if discovered, Eon faces a terrible death. After a dazzling sword ceremony, Eon's affinity with the twelve dragons catapults him into the treacherous world of the Imperial court, where he makes a powerful enemy, Lord Ido. As tension builds and Eon's desperate lie comes to light, readers won't be able to stop turning the pages...

Eona

Eon has been revealed as Eona, the first female Dragoneye in hundreds of years. Along with fellow rebels Ryko and Lady Dela, she is on the run from High Lord Sethon's army. The renegades are on a quest for the black folio, stolen by the drug-riddled Dillon; they must also find Kygo, the young Pearl Emperor, who needs Eona's power and the black folio if he is to wrest back his throne from the selfstyled "Emperor" Sethon. Through it all, Eona must come to terms with her new Dragoneye identity and power-and learn to bear the anguish of the ten dragons whose Dragoneyes were murdered. As they focus their power through her, she becomes a dangerous conduit for their plans. . . .
Eona, with its pulse-pounding drama and romance, its unforgettable fight scenes, and its surprises, is the conclusion to an epic only Alison Goodman could create.

All These Things I've Done (Birthright)
In 2083, chocolate and coffee are illegal, paper is hard to find, water is carefully rationed, and New York City is rife with crime and poverty. And yet, for Anya Balanchine, the sixteen-year-old daughter of the city's most notorious (and dead) crime boss, life is fairly routine. It consists of going to school, taking care of her siblings and her dying grandmother, trying to avoid falling in love with the new assistant D.A.'s son, and avoiding her loser ex-boyfriend. That is until her ex is accidently poisoned by the chocolate her family manufactures and the police think she's to blame. Suddenly, Anya finds herself thrust unwillingly into the spotlight--at school, in the news, and most importantly, within her mafia family.
Goliath
Alek and Deryn are on the last leg of their round-the-world quest to end World War I, reclaim Alek’s throne as prince of Austria, and finally fall in love. The first two objectives are complicated by the fact that their ship, the Leviathan, continues to detour farther away from the heart of the war (and crown). And the love thing would be a lot easier if Alek knew Deryn was a girl. (She has to pose as a boy in order to serve in the British Air Service.) And if they weren’t technically enemies.
The tension thickens as the Leviathan steams toward New York City with a homicidal lunatic on board: secrets suddenly unravel, characters reappear, and nothing is at it seems in this thunderous conclusion to Scott Westerfeld’s brilliant trilogy.
Drink, Slay, Love

Pearl is a sixteen-year-old vampire... fond of blood, allergic to sunlight, and mostly evil... until the night a sparkly unicorn stabs her through the heart with his horn. Oops.
Her family thinks she was attacked by a vampire hunter (because, obviously, unicorns don't exist), and they're shocked she survived. They're even more shocked when Pearl discovers she can now withstand the sun. But they quickly find a way to make use of her new talent. The Vampire King of New England has chosen Pearl's family to host his feast. If Pearl enrolls in high school, she can make lots of human friends and lure them to the King's feast -- as the entrees.
The only problem? Pearl's starting to feel the twinges of a conscience. How can she serve up her new friends—especially the cute guy who makes her fangs ache—to be slaughtered? Then again, she's definitely dead if she lets down her family. What's a sunlight-loving vamp to do?

The Poison Diaries: Nightshade

A dark, gothic tale of romance… and murder.
The latest book in the grippingly dark series, The Poison Diaries.
Our heroine, Jessamine, has lost her faith in the men she loved, and her innocence as well. She turns to the dark side and plots to kill her father, using his own poisons, before becoming an assassin, a poisoner for hire. Can she recover from her heartache and reunite with her true love, Weed? Find out in this thrilling story where poisons, darkness and horror are a part of everyday life, and love is the only cure.

The Eleventh Plague

The wars that followed The Collapse nearly destroyed civilization. Now, twenty years later, the world is faced with a choice—rebuild what was or make something new.
Stephen Quinn, a quiet and dutiful fifteen-year-old scavenger, travels Post-Collapse America with his Dad and stern ex-Marine Grandfather. They travel light. They keep to themselves. Nothing ever changes. But when his Grandfather passes suddenly and Stephen and his Dad decide to risk it all to save the lives of two strangers, Stephen's life is turned upside down. With his father terribly injured, Stephen is left alone to make his own choices for the first time.
Stephen’s choices lead him to Settler's Landing, a lost slice of the Pre-Collapse world where he encounters a seemingly benign world of barbecues, baseball games and days spent in a one-room schoolhouse. Distrustful of such tranquility, Stephen quickly falls in with Jenny Tan, the beautiful town outcast. As his relationship with Jenny grows it brings him into violent conflict with the leaders of Settler's Landing who are determined to remake the world they grew up in, no matter what the cost.

Dearly, Departed

Love conquers all, so they say. But can Cupid’s arrow pierce the hearts of the living and the dead—or rather, the undead? Can a proper young Victorian lady find true love in the arms of a dashing zombie?
The year is 2195. The place is New Victoria—a high-tech nation modeled on the manners, mores, and fashions of an antique era. A teenager in high society, Nora Dearly is far more interested in military history and her country’s political unrest than in tea parties and debutante balls. But after her beloved parents die, Nora is left at the mercy of her domineering aunt, a social-climbing spendthrift who has squandered the family fortune and now plans to marry her niece off for money. For Nora, no fate could be more horrible—until she’s nearly kidnapped by an army of walking corpses.
But fate is just getting started with Nora. Catapulted from her world of drawing-room civility, she’s suddenly gunning down ravenous zombies alongside mysterious black-clad commandos and confronting “The Laz,” a fatal virus that raises the dead—and hell along with them. Hardly ideal circumstances. Then Nora meets Bram Griswold, a young soldier who is brave, handsome, noble . . . and dead. But as is the case with the rest of his special undead unit, luck and modern science have enabled Bram to hold on to his mind, his manners, and his body parts. And when his bond of trust with Nora turns to tenderness, there’s no turning back. Eventually, they know, the disease will win, separating the star-crossed lovers forever. But until then, beating or not, their hearts will have what they desire.
In Dearly, Departed, romance meets walking-dead thriller, spawning a madly imaginative novel of rip-roaring adventure, spine-tingling suspense, and macabre comedy that forever redefines the concept of undying love.





Wednesday, October 19, 2011

TWITTER Haiku Contest



I'm going to Books of Wonder this weekend for their Fantastic Fiction event. I thought I'd share the event with anyone who can't make it by giving them a chance to win a signed, personalized book. See all the details below!




The Contest: 
  1. Write a haiku. Your topics are narrowed to the authors who are attending the event and their books. Or, your love for books in general. 
  2. Tweet it! This step is important. No tweet, no entry!
The Prize(s): 
  1. One copy of a book of your choice - that's being promoted - signed with your name.
    Note: two winners will be chosen.  
The Rules: 
  1. Tweet your haiku at any time from now until the contest ends. 
  2. Contest ends at 9:59 a.m. EDT on Saturday, 22nd October
  3. Tweet your haiku to @shanellareads 
  4. Include the hashtag #fanhai
  5. Haiku needs to be in 5-7-5 format
  6. Haiku is limited to 117 characters or less (in order to allow for rules 2&3
  7. Tweet as often as you want. 
  8. Yes, this is international. 
  9. Must be 13-years or older.
    Haiku Example: It is doable // making a haiku that fits // these requirements // @shanellareads #fanhai
The Winners: 
  1. I will be choosing two winners. Winners are chosen based on how amused/impressed/etc I am with their haiku. 
  2. You will know you are in the selection for winners if I re-tweet your haiku.
  3. Winners will be DMed* at 10:15 a.m. EDT on Saturday, 22nd. 
  4. If selected, you will have until 11:30 a.m. EDT to respond, otherwise, a new winner will be selected. 
  5. Winners will be announced at 12 p.m.
* You will have to follow @shanellareads in order to be DMed (at least until the contest is over)
Ask any questions in the comments below!


Sunday, October 16, 2011

Bookish Haul (#8)



In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren.
Each post shows a list of books that were bought/borrowed/received for reviews for this week.
It's always fun to see what other people are talking about and what's coming out soon!
I've decided to call my weekly round-up My Book Haul due to the fact that many times these books don't come from my mailbox, but other areas. =)

This week's haul comes from "the box" and RAK! Thanks to Amber and Jenna for the random acts of kindness.



Graveminder
Three sips to mind the dead . . .


Rebekkah Barrow never forgot the attention her grandmother Maylene bestowed upon the dead of Claysville, the small town where Bek spent her adolescence. There wasn't a funeral that Maylene didn't attend, and at each one Rebekkah watched as Maylene performed the same unusual ritual: She took three sips from a silver flask and spoke the words "Sleep well, and stay where I put you."


Now Maylene is dead, and Bek must go back to the place she left a decade earlier. She soon discovers that Claysville is not just the sleepy town she remembers, and that Maylene had good reason for her odd traditions. It turns out that in Claysville the worlds of the living and the dead are dangerously connected; beneath the town lies a shadowy, lawless land ruled by the enigmatic Charles, aka Mr. D. If the dead are not properly cared for, they will come back to satiate themselves with food, drink, and stories from the land of the living. Only the Graveminder, by tradition a Barrow woman, and her Undertaker—in this case Byron Montgomery, with whom Bek shares a complicated past—can set things right once the dead begin to walk.


Although she is still grieving for Maylene, Rebekkah will soon find that she has more than a funeral to attend to in Claysville, and that what awaits her may be far worse. 

Divergent
One choice can transform you. Pass initiation. Do not fail! Thrilling urban dystopian fiction debut from exciting young author. In sixteen-year-old Beatrice Prior's world, society is divided into five factions -- Abnegation (the selfless), Candor (the honest), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent) -- each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue, in the attempt to form a "perfect society." At the age of sixteen, teens must choose the faction to which they will devote their lives. On her Choosing Day, Beatrice renames herself Tris, rejects her family's group, and chooses another faction. After surviving a brutal initiation, Tris finds romance with a super-hot boy, but also discovers unrest and growing conflict in their seemingly "perfect society." To survive and save those they love, they must use their strengths to uncover the truths about their identities, their families, and the order of their society itself.

Cinderella in Cleats

It started just like any other Saturday: Whitney, her best friend, Jason, and their fathers tossed an old football around in the park. But when her dad dies of a heart attack, Whitney doesn't realize her passion for the sport and her friendship with Jason will never be the same. 


Two years later, Whitney's ready to begin the long journey of re-discovering her love for football, encountering a sexist coach, an unethical but irresistible opponent, a mustard yellow T-shirt, and Jason along the way.


How many boys, romance, and hits on the field can Whitney handle before it becomes too much and she's forced to throw in the towel on her dreams?

Hex Hall

Three years ago, Sophie Mercer discovered that she was a witch. It’s gotten her into a few scrapes. Her non-gifted mother has been as supportive as possible, consulting Sophie’s estranged father—an elusive European warlock—only when necessary. But when Sophie attracts too much human attention for a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, it’s her dad who decides her punishment: exile to Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries, and shapeshifters.


By the end of her first day among fellow freak-teens, Sophie has quite a scorecard: three powerful enemies who look like supermodels, a futile crush on a gorgeous warlock, a creepy tagalong ghost, and a new roommate who happens to be the most hated person and only vampire on campus. Worse, Sophie soon learns that a mysterious predator has been attacking students, and her only friend is the number-one suspect.


As a series of blood-curdling mysteries starts to converge, Sophie prepares for the biggest threat of all: an ancient secret society determined to destroy all Prodigium, especially her.