In My Mailbox 132

This meme was started by Kristi of The Story Siren who was inspired by Alea from Pop Culture Junkie. Check out their blogs for more information. All summaries are from the book jackets unless otherwise stated.

For review:

Dance of Shadows – Yelena Black (ARC)

Vanessa Adler attends an elite ballet school – the same one her older sister, Margaret, attended before she disappeared. Vanessa feels she can never live up to her sister’s shining reputation. But Vanessa, with her glorious red hair and fair skin, has a kind of power when she dances – she loses herself in the music, breathes different air, and the world around her turns to flames. Soon she attracts the attention of three men: gorgeous Zep, mysterious Josh, and the great, enigmatic choreographer Josef Zhalkovsky. When Josef asks Vanessa to dance the lead in the Firebird, she has little idea of the danger that lies ahead – and the burning forces about to be unleashed.

I can’t wait to get to stuck in to this! Thanks, Bloomsbury!

Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares – Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

I’ve left some clues for you.

If you want them, turn the page.

If you don’t, put the book back on the shelf, please.

At the urge of her lucky-in-live brother, sixteen-year-old Lily has left a red notebook on her favourite bookshop shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept.

Curious, snarky Dash isn’t one to back down from a challenge – and the Book of Dares is the perfect thing to keep him occupied this Christmas.

As they send each other on a snowbound scavenger hunt across Manhattan, they’re falling for each other on paper. But finding out if their real selves share their on-page chemistry could be their biggest dare yet.

YAY! So excited to finally read this! Thanks Mira Ink!

Devil’s Bargain – Rachel Caine

Playing by the psychic underworld’s rules has a cost.

Jazz Callender’s whole life just got turned upside down. Her friend Ben’s been convicted of a crime he didn’t commit and Jazz is determined to clear his name, even if it means enlisting the help of dark forces.

Enter James, a stranger with a mysterious offer. If Jazz pledges to work for The Cross Society, a shadowy, secret organisation, he’ll help her save Ben.

But as she’s thrust into a world of psychic powers and dangerous magic, Jazz isn’t just bargaining for her firend’s freedm. She’s bargaining for her soul too.

And how high a price is she willing to pay?

Woop, Rachel Caine! Thanks again Mira!

Sophie

Third Year: Here I Come!

Hello my lovely readers,

As some of you may know, my university term starts next Monday for my final year at Bath Spa. Which is actually terrifying and horrible and I'm not ready to think about what comes next yet (can you tell I'm in denial about being a proper grown-up soon?). 

I've just finished writing the dates of all my assignments in to my diary and it turns out that I have a crapload of reading and writing to do this year so I'm afraid that the blog will have to take a back seat. I promise I'll still be around, commenting on your posts and procrastinating on Twitter, but as my reading will have to focus on all of the interesting (and intimidating) texts for my modules, reading for fun will likely slow down quite a lot. 

I'm going to do my best to still get a review out a week, but I can't promise anything - I'm doing an entire module on Virginia Woolf and I suspect that'll take some serious brain power... And then I actually have to do a dissertation and three other modules. If you're at all curious, my dissertation will be 10,000 words of a young adult contemporary novel. I'm excited and scared and totally ready for it!

I'll still be around, so please don't hesitate to say hi if you're missing me (I hope you are...) and I will still be checking the blog obsessively for comments and views so I hope you'll all stick around!

Sophie xx

Sweet Venom - Tera Lynn Childs

Sweet Venom – Tera Lynn Childs

Pages: 360

Publisher: Templar

Release Date: 4^th September 2012

Edition: UK paperback, review copy

Other Titles by this Author: Oh.My.Gods., Goddess Boot Camp, Forgive My Fins, Fins are Forever

GRACE is new in town. It’s scary, starting over, but it gets scarier when she runs into a minotaur. And scarier still when a girl who looks just like her rocks up to fight it.

GRETCHEN is fed up of fighting monsters, especially on school nights. Getting rid of a minotaur is easy, but she never expected to run into her double in the process.

GREER is perfection personified. But her world is knocked off its immaculate axis when two identical girls appear on her doorstep and claim they’re all demon-hunting sisters.

Meet Grace, Gretchen and Greer- three teenage descendents of Medusa must embrace their fates in a world where mythological monsters hide in plain sight.

I enjoyed Tera Lynn Childs’ previous books which had a basing in Greek mythology so I was expecting to love Sweet Venom, but unfortunately fell a little short for me.

Sweet Venom began well with a dual narration split between Gretchen and Grace who couldn’t be more different. Greer doesn’t come into the story until about three quarters of the way through the novel and I couldn’t help but feel that it would have been so much better if her existence wasn’t mentioned in the blurb of the book. It could have been a fantastic plot twist, but instead I was waiting for her to appear.

I did find all three of the sisters to be fairly stereotypical, however. They were each so different that they fell into types of people that wouldn’t get along in a high school setting. I guess it just felt a little done before. That said, I did really love Grace – she was the first of the three characters that felt real to me. Saying that, Gretchen, Grace and Greer all had distinct and clear voices that were easily distinguishable. There were some very intriguing secondary characters as well: Milo, Nick, Thane and Ms West to name but a few...

I’ve been a fan of Greek mythology since being introduced to it in year five so I’m always up for a re-telling and Medusa is one that I haven’t come across very often. I loved Tera Lynn Childs’ take on Medusa’s story and her legacy and I hope that there will be a lot more about it in subsequent books.

Sadly, I did feel rather pressured to read Sweet Venom so I didn’t enjoy it as much as I may have under my own steam. I was intrigued by the mythology, however, so I may still read the rest of the series.

Thank you to Templar for sending me a copy for review.

Sophie 

The Diviners - Libba Bray

The Diviners – Libba Bray

Pages: 578

Publisher: Atom (Little, Brown)

Release Date: 18^th September 2012

Edition: UK hardback, review copy

Other Titles b this Author: A Great and Terrible Beauty, Rebel Angels, The Sweet Far Thing, Going Bovine, Beauty Queens

Evie O’Neill has been exiled from her boring old hometown and shipped off to the bustle of New York City – and she is pos-i-tute-ly ecstatic. It’s 1926, and New York is filled with speakeasies, Ziegfield girls and rakish pickpockets. The only catch is that she has to live with her uncle Will – and his unhealthy obsession with the occult.

Evie worries he’ll discover her darkest secret: a supernatural power that has only brought her trouble so far. But when the police find a murdered girl branded with a cryptic symbol and Will is called to the scene, Evie realises her gift could help catch a serial killer.

As Evie jumps headlong into a dance with a murderer, other stories unfold in the city that never sleeps. A young man named Memphis is caught between two worlds. A chorus named Theta is running from her past. A student named Jericho hides behind a shocking secret.

And unknown to all, something dark and evil has awakened...

The Diviners was everything I hoped it would be: creepy, atmospheric, vivid and involving. If you want to jump into the heart of 1920s New York City, this is your book.

Libba Bray has a way with words. There’s no doubt about it. From the very beginning of The Diviners, Evie’s world is created with an atmospheric and sumptuous prose that curls itself around your brain and hangs on so you can slip straight back in again. There’s the hint of threat and danger and the creep-factor only gets stronger and stronger as the novel progresses. Even though at nearly 600 pages, it’s a pretty daunting book, once you’ve read the first few chapters and become immersed in Libba Bray’s flawless writing, you’ll glide through it and never want it to end.

Probably my favourite element of The Diviners is how thoroughly evoked 1920s New York is. Place is very important to me.  Like a novel to be grounded in its setting and it to be almost a character in itself. Libba Bray knocks this out of the park. Evie and her friends speak with perfectly nuanced 20s slang and use terms that I’ve never even heard of, but they made the novel and Evie herself feel so, so authentic and genuine.

As well as the slang and expected visits to speakeasies, remnants of the Great War and a general disregard for the Prohibition, The Diviners also includes lots of pop culture references from 1926. There was death of Rudolph Valentino, sex symbol and actor, that traumatised many teenage girls and mentions of his films, the poetry of Langston Hughes and brief references to F Scott Fitzgerald and his boozy lifestyle. In doing this, Libba Bray doesn’t only tell a story, she really brings it to life and thoroughly involves you in it.

The occult and the supernatural is a big part of the novel. I loved how Evie didn’t just discover it after moving to New York and becoming embroiled in the murders, but had experience in it from her special gift. Her gift was pretty cool as well. I really liked that it was subtle and unexpected; it’s an unusual, but extremely cool power. Evie obviously comes under the header of a group called the Diviners, but there was also a plethora of obscure cult and occult mythology and belief that has flooded the US from all of the emigration of different cultures. That was very clever – I loved it.

As the final epic action sequence of The Diviners beckons, the second book in the series is immediately begun to be set up. When Evie finally comes face to face with Naughty John, a new threat is promised and so many questions pop up. What really happened to James? What’s Project Buffalo? And just what is good ole’ Uncle Will hiding...?

With some serious foreshadowing and tantalising questions, Libba Bray left me aching for the next instalment of The Diviners series.

For my 2012 YA Historical Fiction Challenge

Thank you to Atom for providing me with a review copy.

Sophie 

In My Mailbox 131

This meme was started by Kristi of The Story Siren who was inspired by Alea from Pop Culture Junkie. Check out their blogs for more information. All summaries are from the book jackets unless otherwise stated.

For review:

Mystic City – Theo Lawrence

Manhattan lies underwater.

The corrupt rulers of this new city live high above the flood and survive by channelling the energy of the mystics – a magic-wielding underclass who are forced to live amongst the poor in the squalor of the Depths.

High in the Aeries, Aria Rose’s fiancé has promised that their marriage will unite two of the city’s ruling dynasties. But the gap’s in Aria’s memory tell her that this romance isn’t all it seems – and the appearance of Hunter, a gorgeous rebel mystic and passionate revolutionary, is about to change the course of her life forever.

I’m really loving the sound of this one. Thanks Random House!

A Reckless Magick – Stephanie Burgis

Kat’s back for her third adventure, and as usual, social disaster is following in her wake...

When the Stephenson family travel to a grand country house in Devon for her sister Angeline’s wedding, Kat is stalked by a dangeorus magical enemy and finds everything she thought she knew about her late mother called into question.

With smugglers, sabotage, tangled romance and plenty of magical activity at work, it’s down to Kat to protect her family and her country from impending ruin.

I love this series so I can’t wait to get stuck in to this! Thanks, Templar!

Sophie

How to Save a Life - Sara Zarr

How to Save a Life – Sara Zarr

Pages: 411

Publisher: Osborne

Release Date: 1^st September

Edition: UK proof, review copy

Other Titles by this Author: Story of a Girl, Sweethearts, Once Was Lost

Everyone knows how to live...be who they are...find their place. But I’m still waiting.

Jill’s life lost all meaning when her dad died. Friends, boyfriend, college – nothing matters any more. Then her mom drops a bombshell. She’s going to adopt a baby.

Mandy is desperate for her life to change. Seventeen, pregnant and leaving home, she is sure of only one thing – her baby must never have a life like hers, whatever it takes.

Heart-achingly beautiful, How to Save a Life is about finding love, truth and your place in the world...all where you least expect it.

I adored Sara’s debut Story of a Girl, but I wasn’t as taken with Sweethearts, so I really didn't know how I’d feel about How to Save a Life but decided to give a go nonetheless. Boy, am I glad I did!

Sara Zarr gives us both sides of the story with a narrative split between Mandy and Jill. I immediately took to angry, bitter and heavily grieving Jill, but it took me a while to warm to the innocent and slightly odd Mandy. There was something about her that I didn't trust; sometimes her narration even felt unreliable in that she’d perhaps deluded herself into believing certain things. There wasn’t a trace of that mistrust with Jill although she too, of course, deluded herself frequently. Mandy struck me as slightly creepy at first, but as I learnt more about her background and her internal journey, I grew from wariness to sympathy to wanting to look after her much in the same way as Jill did.

In the way of action and plot, not a lot happened in How to Save a Life. After reading so many dystopias and plot-driven novels this year, this book was a complete treat. I love character orientated novels when they are done well which this most definitely was! As cheesy as it is, Jill and Mandy grew and developed so much over the course of the novel. With the help of a few characters, they grew to accept that they could change their situations and opened up to new lives. It was rather heart-warming. Mandy had Robin and eventually Jill, and Jill, well, I’m not going to ruin that for you!

How to Save a Life developed in a way that I was really not expecting. It was a turn around on the options for the ending that was presented throughout the novel and I was surprised. But in reflection, I don't think it could have ended any other way with the themes that were present in How to Save a Life and the relationships and attachments that formed. It was the perfect, and only, ending.

I loved How to Save a Life and I hope that the rest of Sara Zarr’s novels will be published over here so lots more readers are introduced to such awesome contemporary YA.

For my 2012 Contemporary YA Challenge

Thank you to Osborne for providing me with a review copy.

Sophie 

The Iron Legends - Julie Kagawa

The Iron Legends - Julie Kagawa

Pages: 283

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Release Date: 28^th August 2012

Edition: US paperback, purchased copy

Other Titles by this Author: The Iron King, The Iron Daughter, The Iron Queen, The Iron Knight, The Immortal Rules

If you haven’t read all four books in the series, I wouldn’t recommend reading this review as it’s full of spoilers. The same goes for the anthology itself, actually!

Enter the world of the internationally best-selling Iron Fey series.

Dangerous faeries. Heart-breaking romance. Thrilling action and limitless adventure. The world of the fey has never been so powerful. This collection included three novellas set in the world of the Iron Fey plus The Guide to the to the Iron Fey with exclusive information about Julie Kagawa’s unforgettable world of Faery.

WINTER’S PASSAGE

Never make a promise to a faery. They always come to collect. Now Meghan Chase must fulfil her promise to Prince Ash of the Winter Court and embark upon a dangerous journey into the heart of enemy territory – while being pursued by a relentless new foe and guarding her own foolish heart.

SUMMER’S CROSSING

What can turn enemies into reluctant allies? A call from the Exile Queen, Leanansidhe, ties legendary prankster to his arch enemy, Prince Ash, on a journey that made end in betrayal and will set them both on an irreversible path.

IRON PROPHECY

Before she even knew what she would become, Iron Queen Meghan Chase was warned by the oracle that her firstborn child would bring nothing but grief. And even as Meghan and Ash celebrate their long-awaited reunion, the prophecy stirs...

The Iron Fey series is one of my favourites so I knew I had to have this anthology the second I heard about it.

Winter’s Passage comes after the first book in the series and lets us know what sort of mischief and danger Meghan and Ash got into on their way to the Winter Court to fulfil Meghan’s end of the bargain. It was almost odd to be back so early on in Ash and Meghan’s relationship where they were both still unsure of each other and trying to deny their connection. It made me smile when I thought of what was to come for them. The foe that is chasing them in Winter’s Passage is also a familiar face, surprisingly so, as he doesn’t turn up in the main series until The Iron Knight, but it was good to see him again.

The second story, Summer’s Passage, takes place after The Iron Queen, just before Ash and Puck embark on their quest to get Ash a soul so he can be reunited with Meghan in the Iron Realm where she is now the Iron Queen. This story is narrated by Puck and so it was by far the funniest story out of the three and had the most brilliant Shakespearian chapter-headings. I love the dynamic between these two: they just have too much history to completely leave their friendship behind. As well as moments of comedy gold, I also got a glimpse of Puck as a centuries-old and very clever faery you isn’t always above his own nature...

Iron’s Prophecy is the final story in the anthology and took place after the final book in the series. Ash and Meghan are happily ensconced in their life together in the Iron Realm and about to journey to the Winter Court for Meghan’s first Elysium as Queen. Everything doesn’t quite go to plan and Ash, Meghan, Puck and Grim end up on a quest to make Meghan’s most difficult decision yet. I think that this was my favourite story of the three as the gang were back together for the first time in all three stories and I loved seeing more of Ash with a soul. He really is amazing; I want one. Iron’s Prophecy also sets up The Lost Prince perfectly, but I think that the actual novel will come at it from a different angle and may not arise for a while. Alternatively, there’s some serious scope for a trilogy set years in Meghan and Ash’s future after The Call of the Forgotten trilogy...

With the addition of an all-encompassing guide to everything you could possibly want to know about Julie Kagawa’s world of Faery, The Iron Legends is a must read for all fans of this fantastic series. There are also the added bonuses of drawings by Julie Kagawa herself of Grim, Ash and Puck which were absolutely adorable and each story managed to remind me subtly of what had happened prior so that I knew exactly where I was in Meghan’s story.

I relished being back in one of my favourite fictional worlds and I’m now more than ready for The Lost Prince to be released.

I bought my copy of this book from The Book Depository.

Sophie

Unspoken - Sarah Rees Brennan

Unspoken – Sarah Rees Brennan

Pages: 370

Publisher: Simon Pulse (Simon and Schuster)

Release Date: 13^th September 2012

Edition: UK paperback, review copy

Other Titles by this Author: The Demon’s Lexicon, The Demon’s Covenant, The Demon’s Surrender

Kami Glass loves someone she’s never met...a boy she’s talked to in her head ever since she was born. Having an imaginary friend has made fitting in hard – but that’s never bothered Kami. She has a best friend, runs the school newspaper, and is only occasionally caught talking to herself. Her life is just the way she likes it.

But all that changes when the mysterious Lynburn family return to Kami’s village, along with teenagers, Jared and Ash, one of whom is eerily familiar to Kami...

As life as she knows it begins to unravel, Kami is determined to get to the bottom of every mystery. Who is responsible for the bloody deeds in the depths of the woods? What is her own mother hiding? And now that her imaginary friend has become a real boy, is she still in love with him?

And can she trust him?

I read Sarah Rees Brennan’s debut The Demon’s Lexicon when it was released in 2009 but lost track of her until Unspoken. What the hell was I doing with my life?! I loved this book so much!

The first thing about Unspoken that I need to declare my love for is Kami. She is one of my favourite protagonists in the books I’ve read so far this year. Kami has a brilliant sense of humour, a sharp wit and is endlessly curious which gets her into quite a bit of trouble throughout the novel. I know that the ‘quirky’ heroine can be a bit if an annoyance, but Sarah Rees Brennan pulled it off with aplomb. It was also nice to have a POC main character that was represented as so on the cover – well done, S&S!

The connection between Kami and Jared was fascinating. The connection that have through their odd mind-speaking is so lovely in the way that support and care for each other even though they know more about each other than two people should. But when they met, the dynamic changed. It would have been so unrealistic if it didn’t. They suddenly became aware that the other was real and this part of themselves they’ve kept secret from the rest of the world is currently standing next to them! Their discomfort and uncertainty was brilliant and I really sympathised with them, especially when Kami felt that she couldn’t discern her thoughts and feelings from Jared’s.

Speaking of what I felt while reading Unspoken, Sarah Rees Brennan created the perfect atmosphere for the quiet, magical English town of Sorry-in-the-Vale. There was so much mystery and intrigue! The Lynburn’s are a formidable and important family, but why? What is going on in the woods? Will anything happen between Kami and Jared? What is Kami’s mum hiding? Thankfully, all of these questions and more were answered by the end of the novel, which incidentally contains a very significant and emotional ending. It gave me all the feels and I kind of wanted to throw the book across the room actually.

Above all of the general awesomeness I’ve already mentioned, I think that Unspoken shone with the little things. The sparky, grating competition between Jared and Ash and Kami’s fiery best friend Angela are excellent companions to our brilliant heroine. There’s a mention of a certain Jocelyn Fairchild, a nod to Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments maybe, as that is the name of Clary’s mum and Cassie and Sarah are friends in real life... I have to admit that that seriously made me squeal when I read it! I also loved that there was none of the mysteriously absent parents malarkey. Kami’s parents go crazy with worry when she gets herself in a mess and when she wanders off for long periods of time without telling them. Sarah Rees Brennan also does something weirdly unusual in Unspoken, she creates a clear personality link between Kami and her dad. You’d know from the way they interact and speak – they definitely share some genes!

I adored Unspoken and it’s made me eager to go back and finish The Demon’s Lexicon trilogy while I wait in agony for the second Lynburn Legacy book.

Thank you to S&S for sending me a copy for review.

Sophie 

In My Mailbox 130

This meme was started by Kristi of The Story Siren who was inspired by Alea from Pop Culture Junkie. Check out their blogs for more information. All summaries are from the book jackets unless otherwise stated.

For review:

Tiger’s Destiny – Colleen Houck

With three of the goddess Durga’s quests behind them, only one prophecy now stands in the way of Kelsey, Ren, and Kishan breaking the tiger’s curse. But the trio’s greatest challenge awaits them; a life-endangering pursuit in search of Durga’s final gift, the Rope of Fire, on the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal.

It’s a race against time – and the evil sorcorer Lokesh – in this eagerly anticipated fourth volume in the bestselling Tiger’s Curse series, which pits good against evil, tests the bounds of love and loyalty, and finally reveals the tigers’ true destinies once and for all.

I haven’t read any of this series, but thanks Hodder. I'm passing this on to Anya from An Awful Lot of Reading. 

Heart-Shaped Bruise – Tanya Byrne

When Archway Young Offenders Institution is closed down a notebook is found in one of the rooms.

I have to start by saying that this isn’t an apology. I’m not sorry. I’m not.

This is that notebook.

They say I’m evil and everyone believes it.

Including you.

But you don't know.

It’s pages reveal the dark and troubled mind of Emily Knoll, Archway’s most notorious inmate.

Sometimes I wonder if I’ll ever shake off my mistakes or if I’ll just carry them around with me forever like a bunch of red balloons.

The gorgeous papaerback of this seriously amazing book. Thank you, Headline!

What’s Left of Me – Kat Zhang 

This is a love story.

But this is not a romance.

Imagine that you have two minds, sharing one body. You and other self are closer than twins, better than friends. You have known each other forever.

Then imagine that people like you are hated and feared. That the government want to hunt you down and tear out your second soul, separating you from the person you love most in the world.

Now meet Ava and Addie.

They don’t have to imagine.

How I Live Now twins with His Dark Materials in this stunningly written and intensely moving debut.

Thank you, HarperCollins! I’ve heard so many good things about this.

Liar & Spy – Rebecca Stead

Georges (the S is silent)has a lot going on.

He’s having trouble with some boys at school, and his dad has lost his job so his mum is working all the time – and they’ve had to sell their house and move into an apartment.

But moving into the apartment block does bring one good thing – Safer, an unusual boy who lives on the top floor. He runs a spy club, and is determined to teach Georges everything he knows.

Their current cause is to spy on the mysterious Mr X in the apartment above Georges. But as Georges and Safer go deeper into their Mr X plan, the line between games, lies and reality starts to blur...

Thanks, Andersen Press. Really looking forward to this one.

Blink Once – Cylin Busby

‘I’m your neighbourm Olivia. Don't bother trying to talk...Just blink once for yes and twice for no.’

Lying in a hospitak bed, unable to move, West meets the girl of his dreams. She is beautiful and mysterious, and she likes him too.

But if no one else sees their love, is it real? West has to find the truth, for her sake. Even if she’s never coming back.

Thanks to Bloomsbury for this, but I’m not entirely convinced by this one...

Unwholly – Neal Shusterman

Unwinding – the process by which a child is both terminated and kept alive.

In a society where unwanted and troublesome teens are salvaged for their body parts, Connor, Risa, and Lev continue to fight against the system that would ‘unwind’ them. But unwinding has become big business and there are powerful people, including the illegal ‘Parts Pirates’ who want it to continue no matter what.

Connor, Risa and Lev each struggle to rescue as many AWOL teens as possible, but life at the Graveyard is hard and rivalries bubble under the surface... One of them will be betrayed. One of them will go on the run. And one of them will cross paths with Can, a rewound teen who doesn’t exist, and make a startling discovery about the truth behind unwinding.

I loved the fist book, Unwind, but it was so long ago I’m not sure I remember it! Thanks, S&S!

Posion Princess – Kresley Cole

She could save the world – or destroy it.

Sixteen-year-old Evangeline ‘Evie’ Greene thought her horrifying hallucinations were a sign that she was slowly losing her mind. But when an apocalyptic event decimates her Louisiana hometown, killing everyone she lvoes, Evie realises that her hallucinations are actually visions of the future – and they’re still happening.

Fighting for her life and desperate for answers, Evie turns to wrong-side-of-the-bayou classmate, the gorgeous and dangerous Jackson Deveaux, for help. With his bad attitude and wicked grin, Jack is like no boy Evie has ever known. She knows she can’t totally trust him, but if he ever casts that sexy grin her way, can she possibly resist him?

As Jackson and Evie race to find the source of her visions, they meet others who have got the same call and discover that Evie is not the only one with special powers. An ancient prophecy is being played out, and as the battle between good and evil intensifies, it is not always clear who is on which side...

In her first YA novel, New Yor Times bestselling author Kresley Cole introduces a dark nd intriguing world of unspeakable danger and irresistable romance.

Ooh, this looks interesting! Thanks, S&S! 

Bought:

Carnival of Souls – Melissa Marr

Enter the carnival

The carnival pulsed in the centre of The City  - a swirl of masked decadence and danger. Music played constantly as the dancers demonstrated their flexibility. At times it was a glamorous cacophony. Jugglers and fire-twirlers showed their skills in time to the music. In this carnival, both pleasure and murder are going up for sale...

Once in a generation, the carnival hosts a deadly competition that allows every daimon a chance to join the ruling elite. Without the competition, Aya and Kaleb would both face bleak futures – if for different reasons. For each of them, fighting to the death is the only way to live.

From the author of the million-copy selling Wicked Lovely series comes this sinister tale of lush secrets, dark love, and the struggle to forge one’s own destiny.

My pre-order came through and it’s gorgeous!

Sophie