Blue Moon: The Immortals - Alyson Noel

Blue Moon: The Immortals - Alyson Noël

Pages: 284
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Release Date: 7th July 2009

Other Titles in the Series: Evermore (my review), Shadowland (17/11/09)

Just as Ever is learning everything she can about her new abilities as an immortal, initiated into the dark, seductive world by her beloved Damen, something terrible is happening to him. As Ever’s powers increase, Damen’s begin to fade after he is stricken by a mysterious illness that threatens his memory, his identity, his life.

Desperate to save him, Ever travels to the mystical dimension of Summerland, where she uncovers not only the secrets of Damen’s past - the brutal, tortured history he hoped to keep hidden - but also an ancient text revealing the workings of time. With the approaching blue moon heralding her only window for travel, Ever is forced to decide between turning back the clock and saving her family from the accident that claimed them - or staying in the present and saving Damen, who grows weaker by the day…

Blue Moon is the explosive sequel to Evermore. I loved it, much more than I did Evermore.

Ever’s developing psychic powers were really explored in Blue Moon. I was completely absorbed by her powers and I was eager to know what she could do with them. I also kept wondering what it would be like to have them myself…

We also saw a lot more of Summerland this time. A magical realm that holds a lot more than it first seems. I love that you can manifest anything, including people; I could have hours of fun with that! But as I learned more about Summerland I began to feel that it had quite a few similarities to the Realms of Libba Bray’s Gemma Doyle trilogy.

I think that one of the reasons that I liked Blue Moon a lot more than Evermore was the utterly unpredictable plot. My mouth was often left gaping in shock and I even gasped a once or twice. I didn’t even bother guessing what would happen next; I knew I’d get it wrong anyway! There was also a new character introduced in Blue Moon, and I didn’t like him one little bit. I think he’ll be popping up in Shadowland quite a lot, though.

I loved Blue Moon and after it’s ending, I can’t wait for Shadowland.

Sophie

Incarceron - Catherine Fisher

Incarceron - Catherine Fisher

Pages: 458
Publisher: Hodder
Release Date: 3rd May 2007

Other Titles in the Series: Sapphique

Imagine a prison so vast that it contains cells and corridors, forests, cities and seas. Imagine a prisoner with no memory, sure he came from Outside - though the prison has been sealed for centuries and only one man has ever escaped.

Imagine a girl in a manor house, in a society where time in forbidden, held in a 17th-century world run by computers, doomed to an arranged marriage, tangled in an assassination plots she dreads and desires.

One inside, one outside.

But both imprisoned.

Imagine Incarceron.

I was really disappointed with Inacrceron. I wanted it to be much better than it was.

I have to admit that I had to force myself to read Incarceron, and I gave up after 220 pages. This is the first time for a seriously long time that I haven’t been able to finish a book. I suppose I should give it some credit for that!

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what made me dislike it. I guess it’s a mixture of these things: I didn’t really feel a connection with either Claudia or Finn, the Era set as the 1600s in a world of amazingly advanced technology that was very strange and I really just didn’t get it. I mean, I’m usually good with weird, but this, it just didn’t make sense to me!

Although I didn’t like Incarceron, I think that lots of you will and I’m curious as to what you’ll think of it.

Sophie

In My Mailbox 34

This was started by the fabulous Kristi who was inspired by Alea. If you want more information check out their blogs. All summaries are from the book jackets.

Paper Towns - John Green

Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs back into his life - dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge - he follows.

After their all-nighter ends and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues - and they’re for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer he gets, the less Q sees the girl he thought he knew.

Printz-medalist John Green returns with the brilliant wit and searing emotional honesty that have inspired a new generation of readers.

I was going to wait for this in paperback, but I decided that I like hardbacks more!

Shiver - Maggie Stiefvater

The pack circled around me, tongues and teeth and growls.

When a local boy is killed by wolves, Grace’s small town becomes a place of fear and suspicion. But Grace can’t help being fascinated by the pack, and by one yellow-eyed wolf in particular. There’s something about him - something almost human.

Then she meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away…

A chilling love story that will have you hooked from the very first page.

I waited for the UK version of this because I LOVE the cover and it’s even more gorgeous in person.

Sophie

Featured on Friday: Becca Fitzpatrick

Becca Fitzpatrick has a degree in health which she then abandoned for writing. Becca grew up reading Nancy Drew and Trixie Beldon. Hush, Hush is her first novel.

1. Is there a specific time or place that you do your best writing in?
Most of my writing happens at night, after my kids go to bed, but my son recently started preschool, which gives me an extra five hours during the week...and in the morning! I love it! I feel like my brain is a little sharper at 10am compared to 8pm.

2. Who were your favourite authors as a teenager? Are they different to your current favourites?

Early in my teens, I read a ton of R.L. Stine and Christopher Pike. Back then, the YA section was filled with horror paperbacks. I was also a big Sweet Valley High junkie. By the time I hit sixteen, I was reading classics. I fell hard for Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights and Gilbert Blythe in Anne of Green Gables. As an older teen, I read John Grisham. My favourite authors today are Jane Austen, Diana Gabaldon, Emily Bronte, Sandra Brown, L.M. Montgomery, and J.K. Rowling, so yes – I'd definitely say some of my favourite authors as a teen are still favourites today.

3. If you were only allowed to take three books to a desert island, what would they be?
Trick question – one of my three has to be Wilderness Survival, right? Okay, I'm going to pretend Wilderness Survival comes with the whole deserted-island-package, and say, The Complete Works of Jane Austen (technically it is one book), The Phantom of the Opera, and my own journal.

4. What inspired you to write Hush, Hush?
The very first inspiration for the story came from an experience in my own tenth-grade biology class. We must have been studying human reproduction, because my teacher asked me, in front of the whole class, to name characteristics I would be attracted to in a mate (I know!!) I sat next to a really cute boy, and the thought of naming characteristics I might look for in a mate was a humiliation I was not about to subject myself to. I basically said “pass” and my teacher moved on to someone else. The experience always stuck with me, and when I sat down to write Hush, Hush, that little piece of my history evolved into an early scene in the book.

5. How does it feel for Hush, Hush to be one of the most anticipated books of the year?
Oh man, I don't even know what to say! I never could have anticipated all the support behind Hush, Hush – my publisher has been amazing, my friends and neighbours are spreading the word, and so many book bloggers have done incredible things to get the word out. I feel overwhelmingly grateful. And excited! Oh, and nervous too :). But whatever happens, I'll always be appreciative to the people who've helped me make it this far. Thank you!

6. I thought that the setting of Maine really enhanced the dark and creepy atmosphere of Hush, Hush. Was this your intention when picking the setting?
When I was in third grade, I wanted to grow up to be a writer. By the time I was in high school, I was pretty sure I would grow up to be a marine biologist. I had posters of whales and dolphins pinned up all over my bedroom, I had a huge collection of whale/dolphin T-shirts, my Christmas present from my parents in 9th grade was a whale-watching vacation to California, and my aunt and uncle adopted a humpback whale for me named Tanith. Every so often, the whale adoption agency would send me photos of Tanith in the wild, and once I even got a humpback whale calendar. As I was flipping through the photos in the calendar, I came across this amazing photo of a breaching whale, and in the background was the Maine coast, dense with evergreens. I hung on to that picture for years, and it was my dream to someday move to Maine. Eventually I forgot about that dream, but when I started writing Hush, Hush I found myself writing about a girl growing up in a small, atmospheric Maine town without even realizing that of course I'd picked Maine as the setting because of my childhood dream. It's funny how something so seemingly small as a photograph I first saw when I was fourteen years old could have such a big impact on Hush, Hush, but there you have it.

7. How did you develop the myth surrounding fallen angels and the Nephilim?
I relied on Judeo-Christian mythology for the basic idea, then spread my wings a little, to make the mythology in Hush, Hush a little more fantastical. Like The Da Vinci Code, Hush, Hush has roots in the Bible, but I like to think I took it a few steps further, which was a lot of fun!

8. Are you working on anything at the moment? Can you tell us anything about it?
I'm editing the sequel to Hush, Hush, currently titled Crescendo. In Crescendo, readers will find out what really happened the night Nora's dad was murdered. Expect more twists and turns...and lots more Patch!

Thank you very much, Becca! You can visit Becca at her website here and read my review of Hush, Hush here.

Sophie

The Cinderella Society - Kay Cassidy

The Cinderella Society - Kay Cassidy

Pages: 303
Publisher: Egmont
Release Date: 13th April 2010

What’s a girl to do when the glass slipper fits, but she doesn’t want to wear it anymore?

Sixteen-year-old Jess Parker survives by staying invisible. Then she gets the chance of a lifetime: an invitation to join the Cinderella Society, a secret club of some of the most popular girls in school, where makeovers are the first order of official business. Catching the eye of her popular crush, and with a chance to finally fit in, Jess feels like she’s found her fairy tale.

Until the Wickeds - led by Jess’s archenemy - begin targeting innocent girls, and Jess learns that there’s more to being a Cindy than reinventing yourself from the outside. She’s become part of a battle for good vs. evil, and now the Cindys need Jess on special assignment. Is honouring her new sisterhood worth destroying her dream life?

The Cinderella Society is a chick-lit novel with a twist, introducing a secret, prestigious society that teens will love to read about.

Kay Cassidy’s debut novel, The Cinderella Society, is a brand new take on high school cliques and is pure girl power.

Throughout the book, Kay emphasises, through Jess, how awesome us girls are. The focus on strength, confidence and friendships gives every girl a chance to come out on top without using anyone else to do it, like the Wickeds do. She’s all about girl power by encouraging girls to embrace all of their good points. However, I didn’t like the focus on Jess’s makeover so much - the guy didn’t take a serious interest until she had a fab new haircut, new wardrobe etc. That annoyed me a little.

Up until Jess became a Cindy, I really identified with Jess, well apart from the whole new kid thing. All of the things that she felt and wanted were things that I do or have felt or wanted at some point. She changed a lot when she became a Cindy and I didn’t like it at first, but as I read on, I realised why, it no longer bothered me and she went back to being a great heroine.

The high school battle of good and evil that seems to be present in most teen movies and lots of books was taken to a whole new level in The Cinderella Society. It’s not really like that at my college and wasn’t really at my high school either so I have no first hand experience, but Kay seemed to capture the hierarchy perfectly. Although, nice cheerleaders are a little different to the norm! I loved how deeply the Society ran and I had a little shock every now and then at just how big it really was.

I enjoyed The Cinderella Society and hopefully some of the secrets will be revealed in the sequel.

Sophie