Wondrous Strange

author: Lesley Livingston

published: December 23rd 2008

series: Wondrous Strange, Book 1 of 3

publisher: HarperTeen

format: hardcover

pages: 327

The following synopsis comes from Goodreads.com

Since the dawn of time, the Faerie have taken. . . .

For seventeen-year-old actress Kelley Winslow, faeries are just something from childhood stories. Then she meets Sonny Flannery, whose steel-gray eyes mask an equally steely determination to protect her.

Sonny guards the Samhain Gate, which connects the mortal realm with the Faerie's enchanted, dangerous Otherworld. Usually kept shut by order of icy King Auberon, the Gate stands open but once a year.

This year, as the time approaches when the Samhain Gate will swing wide and nightmarish Fae will fight their way into an unsuspecting human world, something different is happening . . . something wondrous and strange. And Kelley's eyes are opening not just to the Faerie that surround her but to the heritage that awaits her.

Now Kelley must navigate deadly Faerie treachery—and her growing feelings for Sonny—in this dazzling page-turner filled with luminous romance.

My Thoughts:

The Cover:

I think it's a lovely cover. I absolutely love the font of the title and its placement. It really draws the eye; and with a title like Wondrous Strange it is not likely to be forgotten. It's also a shiny light blue :) The girl on the cover is a good depiction of Kelley. In my head she looks much like this girl. (Probably because I saw the cover :P) It's not the most memorable cover I've ever seen, or my favorite, but I think it looks really good and fits the story.

The Book:

Kelley is a great character. She's living on her own, which is sort of new for me to read about in a YA book. Kelley has an aunt, but she's living elsewhere while Kelley is in New York City. This was a great change for me. It was definitely better that Kelley was alone in NYC. (Well, she has a roommate)

Kelley's reaction to the character Sonny was very realistic to me. Now, I know everyone is different, but she reacted in a way I would expect most people to react. This made it much easier to relate to her and get into the story.

When I started reading it, it was a solid three out of five for me. I liked it, but I wasn't loving it. Once the plot really got started, I got into it and it became a solid 4. Maybe 4.5. It's a great take on faerie lore in the modern day.

I have to admit, I took a break near the beginning to read The Iron Daughter. I wasn't expect it, and I wasn't going to wait. Let's face it, I was waiting for it since I read The Iron King back in February! And Wondrous Strange hadn't really sucked me in yet.

For faerie lovers, this book will definitely be a fun ride. It's similar and different to the other books I've read. (Imagine that...) the differences really make this book a wondrous and strange journey into faerie lands.

Needless to say, I'm going to be reading the sequel, Darklight next. I may even start it right now.

Entice Cover?

I was surprised when I got on Goodreads today and looked at the third novel in the Need series by Carrie Jones, Entice. THERE'S A COVER! So, I went back to Carrie's blog to see if I missed it, but there was no post. So I'm thinking it could be a non-official-early draft. But it looks SO good! Here it is for your viewing pleasure. It looks really great next to the other two covers.

The Iron Daughter

author: Julie Kagawa

published: August (or maybe July 27th)

series: The Iron Fey, book 2 of 3

publisher: Harlequin Teen

format: paperback

pages: 359

The following synopsis comes from Julie Kagawa's website.

Half Summer faery princess, half human, Meghan has never fit in anywhere. Deserted by the Winter prince she thought loved her, she is prisoner to the Winter faery queen. As war looms between Summer and Winter, Meghan knows that the real danger comes from the Iron Fey, iron-bound faeries that only she and her absent prince have seen. But no one believes her. Worse, Meghan's own fey powers have been cut off. She's alone in Faery with only her wits for help. Trusting anyone would be foolish. Trusting a seeming traitor could be deadly. But even as she grows a backbone of iron, Meghan can't help but hear the whispers of longing in her all-too-human heart.

My Thoughts:

The Cover:

The cover looks even better in person! I was at my Borders store looking for a book to buy when The Iron Daughter caught my eye. It was sitting there, facing me. It wasn't supposed to be out yet! So, naturally, I immediately grabbed a copy, snapped a picture, and bought it. The cover is really beautiful and I like it more than The Iron King cover. This cover is quite purple and it looks great. Among the thorny borders there are little butterflies! They're too cute! I love this cover.

The Book:

First, I want to recommend that before reading The Iron Daughter and after reading The Iron King that you read the free (until July 31st) novella, Winter's Passage. (Which is quite great! It ended in a way that made me super eager for The Iron Daughter.)

Now. In this sequel, Meghan is stuck in the Winter Court. The poor girl! She has no friends. She can't trust anyone. Ash is acting as though he hates her, and maybe he does. The Iron Daughter takes this series to a new level for me. There are a few new characters and some that were only mentioned before like Ash's family: Queen Mab, and his brothers, Sage and Rowan. And of course, Meghan, Ash, Puck, and Grimalkin! Grim is still Grim. And he's still my favorite. I love that cat. Puck is still sick and in the tree as he was at the end of The Iron King and Meghan has no way to contact him or even find out if he's awakened while she's in the Winter Court. She is worried about him and, poor thing, can't even find out what's happening with him. It could be centuries before he wakes up. Meghan's journey and mission, if you will, in this story tests her in new ways and she even discovers a few things about herself that she didn't know before. It's a great growing experience for her and it's clear throughout that this entire journey will change her forever. It's awesome!

I highly recommend The Iron Fey, especially to fans of faeries. It's a great series and I can't wait for the final installment, The Iron Queen. I can't help but hope that there will be another novella in between!

Linger

author: Maggie Stiefvater

published: July 13th 2010

series: The Wolves of Mercy Falls

place in series: number 2 of 3

publisher: Scholastic

format: hardcover

pages: 362

The following synopsis comes from Maggie's Mercy Falls website.

In Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other. Now, in Linger, they must fight to be together. For Grace, this means defying her parents and keeping a very dangerous secret about her own well-being. For Sam, this means grappling with his werewolf past . . . and figuring out a way to survive into the future. Add into the mix a new wolf named Cole, whose own past has the potential to destroy the whole pack. And Isabel, who already lost her brother to the wolves . . . and is nonetheless drawn to Cole.

My Thoughts:

The Cover: This cover is love. It goes with the Shiver cover completely, but it is its own. This cover shows the promise of the springtime which is quickly upon those of Mercy Falls, while the Shiver cover was more wintery which was a huge part of that novel. This cover is beautiful. I love it, and I can't wait to see the cover of Forever. Perhaps it'll be red, or purple. Who knows?!

The Story: I absolutely LOVED Shiver. So, needless to say, my expectations of Linger were high. They did not go wanting. Linger was most definitely its own novel. Sometimes, sequels are very much like its predecessor and it's only a variation of the unresolved problems in the first novel. But, with Linger it was so much more. There was a new character: Cole. And two new narrators: Cole and Isabel. Linger is told from four points of view. You might think that it gets confusing. Well, it doesn't. They all have distinct voices so it's hardly a problem keeping them straight.

Another big thing I noticed about Linger (and Shiver) is that Grace is NOT annoying. In Linger, Grace is keeping a secret; a rather big, important, LIFE CHANGING secret. In other books I've read, when the heroine is keeping a secret like this, it's almost annoying. With Linger, Grace just isn't talking about it and for reasons that are justifiable.

She just isn't annoying, okay? Take my word for it. I really like Grace. She is still the same person she was in Shiver, except this time she's becoming more of the girl she always has been.

Then, there's Sam. Oh, Sam. Compassionate, caring Sam. He is a great character and I wish he was a real person; he's someone I want to be friends with. He is coming to terms with what happened in the end of Shiver. He's trying to live his life and it's all very realistic.

Isabel and Cole are great additions to the story. And I think I'll leave it at that. You just have to read it.

Linger definitely lives up to the standards of Shiver. When I wasn't reading, I was thinking about it and I dreamt about it as well. I'm addicted to The Wolves of Mercy Falls.

Linger gets five stars from me.

Exciting Giveaway!

Over one WOWIO, they are giving away a FREE ebook! It's the novel The Choir Boats by Daniel A. Rabuzzi. This novel is a critically aclaimed novel and they are giving away the special edition by way of an ebook. This is rather exciting to me.

So head on over HERE to download the FREE ebook version of The Choir Boats. It's only available for the month of July!

Here's the synopsis, straight from Goodreads.com

London, 1812 | Yount, Year of the Owl

What would you give to make good on the sins of your past? For merchant Barnabas McDoon, the answer is: everything.

When emissaries from a world called Yount offer Barnabas a chance to redeem himself, he accepts their price—to voyage to Yount with the key that only he can use to unlock the door to their prison. But bleak forces seek to stop him: Yount's jailer, a once-human wizard who craves his own salvation, kidnaps Barnabas's nephew. A fallen angel—a monstrous owl with eyes of fire—will unleash Hell if Yount is freed. And, meanwhile, Barnabas's niece, Sally, and a mysterious pauper named Maggie seek with dream-songs to wake the sleeping goddess who may be the only hope for Yount and Earth alike.

Night Star Cover!

Night Star is the fifth book in The Immortals Series by Alyson Noel. I recently finished reading Dark Flame. (I haven't written a review, but the book was awesome! Definitely better than Blue Moon and Shadowland, naturally not as good as Evermore - rarely is a sequel better than the first. But it was close! I LOVED it!)

Anyway, Night Star is set to hit stores November 16th! Alyson recently posted the cover for the novel on her blog here.

I like it! As expected, it fits with the previous four covers and its main color appears to be red! I just have to say that it looks awkward. I mean, she's "holding it out" but looking not at it. It almost looks like she is. But, whatever that awesome looking object is, she is looking behind it. And her arm looks awkward. I noticed this pretty quickly. Who knows, maybe she's not even supposed to be looking at it. But, I don't care! I still love this cover. That object is mesmerizing. Seriously, go back and look at it. Really look at it. It's giving off stars and stuff! Sort of. Anyway. I like this cover.

Thoughts?