Book Trailers for 'Hereafter' by Tara Hudson

I loved this book- read my review of it here

The Time Will Come #19

The Time Will Come is a weekly meme hosted by Jodie at Books For Company where we can spotlight books that we've had for ages and really want to read but never get round to, as newer books get read first.

I bought The Replacement when it first came out back in January and I was really excited to read it back then. Since then other books keep jumping the queue, and it has since got put back to the back of the shelf. I really like the look of this book about faeries and a changeling child, but I have so many books now, I have no idea when I will get a chance to read it.

Synopsis from Goodreads:
Though he lives in the small town of Gentry, Mackie comes from a world of tunnels and black, murky water, a world of living dead girls ruled by a little tattoed princess. He is a replacement - left in the crib of a human baby sixteen years ago when it was stolen away by the fey. Now, because of fatal allergies to iron, blood and consecrated ground, Mackie is slowly dying in the human world. Mackie would give anything just to be normal, to live quietly amongst humans, practice his bass guitar and spend time with his crush, Tate. But when Tate's baby sister goes missing, Mackie is drawn irrevocably into the underworld of Gentry, known as Mayhem, where he must face down the dark creatures and find his rightful place - in our world, or theirs.

Review: Wake by Lisa McMann

Wake by Lisa McMann


My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Book 1 in the Dream Catcher series


This book is based around the idea that main character Janie accidentally falls in and out of people's dreams whenever she is close by someone sleeping. This is a huge problem for her when other students fall asleep at school or snooze on the bus, or when the residents at the care home for the elderly where she works suffer with particularly bad nightmares. While she is witnessing a dream her body appears to be having a seizure, and she can suddenly find herself blind and unable to move. Nobody knows what she can do, and Janie struggles to keep it that way. She has seen it all- the falling dreams, the standing-in-class-naked dreams, people's secret desires and fears.


Each chapter starts off with a date and time of day, and as the story also keeps jumping backward and forward in time, I had to keep checking back to check the dates to see at what stage in Janie's life I was reading about. The first couple of chapters are filled with falling in and out of different dreams, which at first felt a little confusing and repetitive. Yet despite this, once this story got going I really enjoyed this.


The writing is very stilted, almost like reading a screenplay. For example:

"August 30, 2004


It is the first day of school. Janie and Carrie are juniors. They wait for the bus on the corner of their street. A handful of other high school kids stand with them. Some are anxious. Some are terribly short. Janie and Carrie ignore the freshmen. The bus is late. Luckily for Cabel Strumheller, the bus is later than he is. "

This detached style of writing actually suits the story though, because Janie herself is very detached from everything and everyone, putting up with an alcoholic mother that doesn't notice if Janie is there or not, and not having any real friends. She is very isolated. Her only real goal is to just keep going, avoid being noticed, and to work every spare minute she can so that she can get into college. Once I got used to this different writing style, and the actual events of the story started to take off I started to get really into it, and to really root for Janie.


The main character Janie is so strong-willed and does not let anything get to her. She is determined to just get through the problems in her life without being thought of as a freak. Janie's friend Carrie is too wrapped up in her own life to think that Janie might be suffering. Then there is Cabel, who is sweet, but doesn't really know what to make of Janie at first. Their relationship is slow to build and all their secrets come out gradually. It turns out that Cabel doesn't have a great home life either, and they seem to understand each other and support each other without really doing anything. Their frustrations with each other build up in tension and despite the third person narrative were actually really sexy! My favourite part of the book was near the beginning when Cabel notices Janie walking home late at night without her shoes. He offers to give her a ride home on his skateboard to save her feet. Both are them are really awkward and neither of them say anything or mention the incident again for months afterward, but I think it sets the tone as to the kind of thoughtful guy Cabel is.


Overall, this is a short read (I read it easily in less than 24 hours), that is very different, with an unusual premise, and an introverted but ultimately likeable main character who grows in confidence and attitude through the course of the book. Despite thinking of herself as a freak, and unlovable, Janie does find a connection in the mysterious Cabel- who it turns out is hiding some secrets of his own. I want to read the next book now, to find out what will happen to them next!




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In My Mailbox 12th June 2011

In My Mailbox is a weekly event hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren, where book bloggers can talk about the books they've gotten the past week- whether bought, borrowed, swapped or given for review. This feature was started to increase interaction between bloggers and increase our awareness of all the new books coming out.

Wow- I got so many great books this week. I'm so excited about all of them and I honestly don't know which one to read first!

Bought:

• Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles. I still haven't got round to reading the first book Perfect Chemistry yet, but I have a feeling that I'm going to love it, so when I saw this on offer I couldn't resist.
• Blood Red Road by Moira Young. I have read so many good reviews on this book that it kind of skipped the queue on my wishlist! This is about a girl and her family living in a barren desert. The girl leaves on a mission to rescue her kidnapped brother, and falls in love. This is the US hardback of the book. I thought the UK cover was really ugly (and I'm picky!)
• Queen of the Dead by Stacey Kade. I've had this on pre-order for ages- since I first heard that there was going to be a sequel! I loved the first book The Ghost and the Goth and I've heard that this is just as funny and touching, so I can't wait to read it.

From the Library:

• Divergent by Veronica Roth. Again, I've heard so many great things about this book, and I never would've looked at it twice without so many awesome reviews from bloggers. I can't wait to read it now! This is set in a dystopian society.
• Unearthly by Cynthia Hand. I've wanted to read this since it first came out- now I have it! This is a supernatural story about angels.
• Wild by Aprilynne Pike. Book 3 in the 'Wings' series (this was published under the title Illusions in the US and other parts of the world). Continuation of the story of Laurel, David and Tamani. I know it's controversial but I am Team David on this one! This book is very VERY pink- seriously, the picture does not do it justice!
• Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion. A zombie romance- seriously! Yep, zombies taking a break from eating brains to fall in love. I want to read this! I heard rumours of a film of this in the pipeline (is this true, can anyone verify?) and I've wanted to read this for a long time, but when I heard said rumour, I had to reserve it. I need to read it before the film comes out!

For Review:

• She Smells the Dead by E.J Stevens. This looks like a spooky supernatural read about a girl whose "psychic awareness of ghostly spirits is threatening to ruin her life" (Goodreads)
• Spirit Storm by E.J Stevens. Sequel to She Smells the Dead. Both these books received with thanks from the author.

Those were the books I got this week. What did you get?
Happy reading!

Review: Low Red Moon by Ivy Devlin

Low Red Moon by Ivy Devlin


My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Low Red Moon is a fast easy read. The action happens really fast, Avery falls desperately in love with Ben really fast, and reconciles with her estranged Grandmother really fast. This is a new(ish) take on werewolf fiction, mixed in with the mystery of the death of Avery's parents, kind of mixed in with a re-telling of the fairytale Little Red Riding Hood.


Avery Hood has always lived in the forest with her parents, a bit of an outsider. The setting of the book is perfect- this small out-of-the-way town in the middle of the woods with all these eerie myths and legends about the wolves in the deeper forest. Avery knows the woods and has always felt safe in them in the past. The book is told from Avery's point of view, plunging straight in with the drama, describing in the first line of the book how she she was found with her murdered parents, covered in their blood, and with no memory of what happened. She has to go and live with her Grandmother, who she hasn't really spoken to much since there was an argument with Avery's father. There is a mystery surrounding the deaths of Avery's parents, and her memories only come back to her very gradually. She starts to remember seeing a flash of silver, and then piece by piece other things start coming back to her.


Then she meets Ben, the hot new boy in town. Ben and Avery eye-hump each other for about 10 seconds before they both decide that they both desperately want each other and will love each other forever. Ben's eyes flash silver when he is feeling a strong emotion, and he can't remember anything about the night Avery's parents died either. There follows the inevitable "I love Ben", "Do I trust Ben?", "I love Ben", "I hate Ben" struggle before the truth is finally revealed in a dramatic finale.


Good Points:

*The characters are good- I like Avery who tries so hard to fit in, and I like her grandmother, who obviously cares about Avery a lot and has been hurt by the rift in their families.
*The setting. The woods, the small close-knit town with it's own stories and superstitions.
*It's well written and the story flows well, keeps your interest and makes sense.
*The werewolf mythology. It's there and explained well.
*The book itself is very pretty

Bad Points:

*The speed of Ben and Avery's 'relationship'.
*The motivation of the town serial killer. Really?!


This is recommended if you run out of any other supernatural YA teen fiction to read first. It's okay.




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