I've Moved.

Again. This time it's probably the last.

Chronicles of a Bibliophile

I am really going to try to post reviews somewhat consistently. Also, I hope to improve my reviewing skills.

I didn't realize I still got views here. So, I really hope some of you will follow me on my new blog.

Thanks!

Suite Scarlett

author: Maureen Johnson

series: Scarlett (book #1)

published: May 1st 2008

publisher: Point

format: hardcover

pages: 336

The following synopsis comes from Goodreads.

Scarlett Martin has grown up in a most unusual way. Her family owns the Hopewell, a small Art Deco hotel in the heart of New York City.
When each of the Martins turns fifteen, they are expected to take over the care of a suite. For Scarlett’s fifteenth birthday, she gets both a room called the Empire Suite and a permanent guest named Mrs. Amberson. Scarlett doesn’t quite know what to make of this C-list starlet and world traveler.
And when she meets Eric, an astonishingly gorgeous actor who has just moved to the city, her summer takes a second unexpected turn.
Before the summer is over, Scarlett will have to survive a whirlwind of thievery and romantic missteps. But in the city where anything can happen, she just might be able to pull it off.

My Thoughts:

The Cover: I like this cover. It's not the only one I've seen for the American edition. I like them both a lot, but this one is adorable! I absolutely love the dress on the model. It's an important dress, too. So, I often went back to look at it while reading. I like the red on the bell as well. It looks really nice with the red lipstick and lettering.

The Book: This book has been on my to-read list for a long time and I'm so glad I finally read it! I don't know what took me so long. When I did finally pick it up, I wasn't sure if I'd like it a lot, but I did. Scarlett is fifteen (part of why I really wasn't sure about this book) and is the third of four children. All four children have distinct personalities. I think my favorite sibling is Spencer. He's the oldest and he's so much fun. I really like the fact that the family lives and runs an old hotel. I love the idea of living in a hotel and I've read a few other books about that as well. It's so much fun and so different than just living in a house. Suite Scarlett is a lovely coming of age story. Scarlett has a lot to deal with right now and most of it involves helping her family which is really sweet. She does all that she can do make things right for her family.

I can't wait to read the sequel Scarlett Fever.

What Happened to Goodbye

author: Sarah Dessen

published: May 10th 2011

publisher: Penguin

format: eBook

pages: 267 (Nook)

The following summary is from Goodreads.

In the past two years, Mclean Sweet has moved four times. At each stop, she assumes a new persona, but it never quite works. Whether she's an effervescent cheerleader or an intense drama queen, nothing can permanently dispel the turmoil and rage at her mother since her parents' divorce.

Sarah Dessen's novel about a teenager and her restaurant manager father captures the vulnerability that young people often experience after the dissolution of their family. A compelling story; strong characterization; and with a touch of romance.

Cover:

I love this cover. I think that it really depicts what life is like for Mclean. The overflowing suitcase, which is absolutely adorable, shows how she's always moving around. I get the impression that it's just so constant from this image. I really like it. There was another one where the curtains were much less pink and hardly visible at all. I like this one more. For sure.

Book:

Mclean does what I wished I could do. I've only ever moved once. That was the summer before I started middle school. There were times in high school where I wanted to just move and start over. Be a different girl. The girl I wanted to be, not the girl that I was. I really didn't like high school. I mean, while I was there it was fine, but looking back I see how unhappy I was. Anyway Mclean has a lot to deal with and the best way she knows how is to run away and become someone else. This works for her for a while, but when she gets to Lakeview, somehow she becomes Mclean. Not Liz, Lizbet, or Beth. It's a great coming of age story about a normal girl, whose world gets completely turned upside down. Her parents go through a very public divorce and it really takes its toll on Mclean.

This is one of Sarah's best novels. Definitely a favorite.

I was able to go to one of her book tour stops last week. It was great! Sarah read from the first chapter and answered questions that were insightful and helpful. She did trivia where she gave out these great water bottles. And she signed books. She mentioned how surprised she was at how many people were there. There were a lot. Many waited outside the room because it was so full. I was lucky enough to get a front row seat. It was fun and it was amazing to meet one of my favorite writers. So amazing!

Frustration!

It's been a while. I've been in school.

I just finished reading an amazing book that left me feeling depressed. Not because it was a sad book, but because it was so good. I always feel kind of drained and sad after finishing a particularly good novel. This one is the third in a series of four. Now, I have to wait for the fourth. It probably won't be released until May 2012. AAGHH!

This book was Illusions by Aprilynne Pike.

Now, this isn't really a spoiler, but if you're worried, don't look at the red text.

It ends with a cliff-hanger.

Yeah. And, I may have been slightly hyperventilating near the end of this book. So, there you go. If you didn't want to read it before, I'm sure you want to read it now. But you gotta start with Wings and then proceed to Spells.

I got Wings from a friend for my birthday right after it came out. I am so grateful for that gift. She knew I like books and she read it and liked it. In all honesty I was skeptical. I mean, faeries? That wasn't something I had really read about before then. Now, I'm kind of obesessed with faerie stories. Plus, I had never heard of Wings or Aprilynne Pike. I read it in one day and was hooked.

Anyway, books in general. A really good book leaves me feeling weird inside. This book did that for me. I feel sad and happy and stressed and annoyed all at the same time. Sad it's over, happy it was AMAZING, stressed because it was stressful, and annoyed because I have another year before the ending.

Great songs make me feel drained as well.

Merry Sisters of Fate

Authors Tessa Gratton, Maggie Stiefvater, and Brenna Yovanoff post short stories on a livejournal called Merry Sisters of Fate. And I'm here to tell you about my favorite story; it's for a contest. It's really hard to just choose one, so I decided to pick one that I really loved by each of them. And even that was really difficult.

The Sun in Love by Tessa Gratton

The Deadlier of the Species by Maggie Stiefvater

Glass by Brenna Yovanoff

I love all three of those stories and I definitely couldn't have picked only one. And there a lot of other great stories, so everyone should go check them out!

Glimmerglass

author: Jenna Black

series: Faeriewalker

published: May 25th 2010

publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

format: paperback

pages: 294

The following synopsis comes from Goodreads.

Dana Hathaway doesn’t know it yet, but she’s in big trouble. When her alcoholic mom shows up at her voice recital drunk, again, Dana decides she’s had enough and runs away to find her mysterious father in Avalon: the only place on Earth where the regular, everyday world and the captivating, magical world of Faerie intersect. But from the moment Dana sets foot in Avalon, everything goes wrong, for it turns out she isn't just an ordinary teenage girl—she's a Faeriewalker, a rare individual who can travel between both worlds, and the only person who can bring magic into the human world and technology into Faerie.

Soon, Dana finds herself tangled up in a cutthroat game of Fae politics. Someone's trying to kill her, and everyone seems to want something from her, from her newfound friends and family to Ethan, the hot Fae guy Dana figures she’ll never have a chance with… until she does. Caught between two worlds, Dana isn’t sure where she’ll ever fit in and who can be trusted, not to mention if her world will ever be normal again…

My Thoughts:
The Cover:

My favorite part of the cover of this book is the spine; it's pink and it has silver polka dots along the sides. The cover itself is really cute, too. I like the flowy image that floats on the cover. It looks like magic! I think it looks really nice next to the cover of the sequel, Shadowspell.

The Book:

First, I'd like to point out that Dana knows her Fae heritage. In most (maybe even all) of the other YA faerie books I've read, it's a surprise to the protagonist. I felt like this was a nice change.

The story flowed very nicely and was quick paced. I could not put this book down! At first, I was not thrilled by the fact that Avalon is full of faeries and humans and that people know about the fae. But, I quickly got over that and decided that this fact makes the story different and more exciting.

Glimmerglass is a different type of faerie novel and I truly can't wait until January 4th, when Shadowspell is released.

Fins Are Forever!

The Splash Team for Tera Lynn Childs is posting the COVER for Fins Are Forever today! Tera wanted to make a splash revealing the cover, so those of us Splash Members with blogs are posting today. So, here it is! This is so exciting! It's gorgeous!

Also, you can get the awesome widget countdown for the book HERE!

Fins Are Forever is set for release on June 28th 2011!

Extra, Extra! Read All About It!

I am SO excited!

On Friday, September 24th, bloggers across the internet will be revealing something extra special! Now, I don't know how they're doing it, but I'm not telling you what it is. Yet. But, I will tell you it's really cool! (To me anyway)

So be sure to check back here every once in a while because I might be telling you what it is tomorrow, or maybe next Wednesday, or maybe not.

Weekly Excerpts from Tera Lynn Childs

I felt the need to share this with readers of my blog. Tera Lynn Childs, author of Forgive My Fins, has this awesome new thing going on on her blog. Every Friday she is posting a chapter from a story she wrote that was never published. The current story is called Eye Candy and when there are no chapters left to post, she will release a PDF file of the story and begin posting her other chick lit book, Straight Talk.

You can read about the Weekly posting here.

You can read the first chapter of Eye Candy here. And the second here.

You should also check out her post about artistic license in creating mythology of her book Oh. My. Gods. and its sequel Goddess Boot Camp. It's really interesting and helpful for writers. You can check that out here.

Mockingjay

I can't believe The Hunger Games Trilogy is over. It's all done. Mockingjay was a great ending to a fantastic trilogy. I'm not doing any reviews for a while because of school. But I had to at least say that I loved Mockingjay. And everyone should read The Hunger Games Trilogy. I had been waiting since the first book came out for the final installment. And it was well worth the wait. Wow.

Deathly Hallows Movie Poster

I know that this poster is not new to anyone. But I was just flipping through the new pictures of the film on imdb.com when I saw this poster again. It brought tears to my eyes. This poster makes me feel so sad inside. My heart feels sad.

So I just wanted to share. I think that this poster is a great poster. Mugglenet.com has a great post from a few weeks ago that compares it to a poster for the first film, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I highly recommend comparing the two.

Definitely read that here.

Or you can simply compare them here. Mugglenet was kind enough to set that up!

Why I Prefer A Lot of Short Chapters Over A Few Long Chapters

Yes, it's true; I prefer it when the books I read have a lot of short chapters over a few longer ones. I've read a lot of books, so I've begun to notice when some things work better for me than others. I really like it when my books have short chapters. (Like the Maximum Ride series. Each of those books has well over 100 chapters. Crazy!) So I am compiling a list of why and posting about the awesomeness of really short chapters.

1. It sort of makes you feel like you're making a LOT of progress. Think about it; You're reading a book. You reach chapter 112. WOW! You've read 111 chapters already. SUCH progress! When really, you may only be on page 252 out of 10,000. (Yeah, I know that most YA novels are not 10,000 pages. It's called hyperbole.) Either way, it can help you, a modest reader, feel significantly more accomplished than when you started.
2. I usually read late at night, right before bed. So, when I'm really into, a really great book, I really don't want to put it down. Really. So, when I finish a chapter, but I don't want to stop, but I'm tired and I know I should stop, I check to see how long the next chapter is: if it's pretty short, I'll read it! If it ends up being 25 or 30 pages, I probably won't read it that night. (Unless, I'm only a little bit tired.) So, by reading a book with smaller chapters, I can read "more" than if the chapters were longer.
3. I like to break up my reading at chapters. If I know I have to go do something, like work, I'll try to stop at the end of a chapter. That way, I have a "lean beginning when I'm on break, or when I get home. It's so much easier to do that when the chapters are shorter. If I know I have ten minutes before I have to leave for work, or whatever, and I see that a chapter is two and a half pages, I know I can read that and maybe ANOTHER one! I'm more likely to get an entire chapter (or more) done on my 15 minute break when the chapters are shorter. And when I go back to work I don't feel like I left in the middle of a scene. I may still contemplate the novel and what happens next, but at least I stopped at what the author deemed an acceptable stopping point.
4. Shorter chapters are more likely to have one or two real scenes or ideas. Longer chapters will cover a lot more content and will make it more difficult to go back and find that amazing passage from chapter 7. You'll have to go through more types of scenes. Smaller chapters will, generally, have one scene. Only one place or trip will take place. In longer chaptered novels, there may be several scenes and different things covered. It may even have several "sections" separated by extra spaces to show shifts in time. (Good stopping points when reading longer chaptered books) In my opinion, those can usually become new chapters. But, sometimes they should not. It's a fine line.

And that, my readers, is the compilation of my thoughts on short chapters. Although, I may come up with some more.

Note: There is NOTHING wrong with long chapters. Sometimes they're fun! They have their place in literature; there's no doubt about it. I just, generally, prefer a lot of short chapters. (Check Maximum Ride if you want to see a lot of short chapters.)

Giveaway!

Imagination in Focus is doing an awesome giveaway that ends tomorrow night! So hurry up!

The prize up for grabs is an ARC of The Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller

Here's the information:

You must live in the U.S. and a follower of Imagination in Focus and you MUST enter BEFORE August 9th at 11 central time. Yes, we're all aware how last minute of a post this is. (and how grammatically incorrect that last sentence appears.)

You can earn extra entries by doing cool things. So check it out!

Enter HERE!

Totally Unrelated

On a completely non-YA book note, I just HAD to share the following.

I've been wanting to see the movie Vanity Fair. My library does not have it. Well, guess what! Right now, you can watch it ALL for FREE on hulu.com! I am really excited. I fully plan on watching it tomorrow.

Watch it HERE!

Here's the synopsis straight from Tribute.ca

The daughter of a starving English artist and a French chorus girl, Becky Sharp (Reese Witherspoon) is orphaned at a young age in the early 19th century. Even as a child, she yearns for a more glamorous life than her birthright promises. As she leaves Miss Pinkerton's Academy at Chiswick, Becky resolves to conquer English society by any means possible.

She gains employment as governess to the daughters of eccentric Sir Pitt Crawley (Bob Hoskins) and not only wins over the children, but the family's rich spinster aunt Matilda (Eileen Atkins). The household comes to find her indispensable, and Matilda begins to confide in the bright young woman. But Becky knows she cannot be a true part of English society until she moves to the city.

When Matilda invites her to come live in London, Becky eagerly accepts. There, she is reunited with her best friend Amelia (Romola Garai), who - having grown up comfortably - does not share Becky's more brazen ambitions. A secret marriage, a disowning, a war - Becky continues through it all to realize her dreams, even though the ultimate cost may be too high.

Darklight

author: Lesley Livingston

published: December 22nd 2009

series: Wondrous Strange, Book 2 of 3

publisher: Harper Teen

format: hardcover

pages: 310

The following synopsis comes from Goodreads.com

Much has changed since autumn, when Kelley Winslow learned she was a Faerie princess, fell in love with changeling guard Sonny Flannery, and saved the mortal realm from the ravages of the Wild Hunt.

Now Kelley is stuck in New York City, rehearsing Romeo and Juliet and missing Sonny more with every stage kiss, while Sonny has been forced back to the Otherworld and into a deadly game of cat and mouse with the remaining Hunters and Queen Mabh herself.

When a terrifying encounter sends Kelley tumbling into the Otherworld, her reunion with Sonny is joyful but destined to be cut short. An ancient, hidden magick is stirring, and a dangerous new enemy is willing to risk everything to claim that power.

Caught in a web of Faerie deception and shifting allegiances, Kelley and Sonny must tread carefully, for each next step could topple a kingdom . . . or tear them apart.

My Thoughts:

The Cover: This cover looks really, really good next to Wondrous Strange and Tempestuous (to be released January 7th 2011). I like this cover more than Wondrous Strange's cover. This cover is warmer than the first (which was cold. It was pretty much tinted blue. You can see it here!) It's not that I didn't like the cover of Wondrous Strange, it just didn't STICK out as awesome. This cover looks awesome! I love her dress and she looks so great! It's "theme" is pink! And it's overall beautiful.

The Book: I liked Darklight more than I liked Wondrous Strange. And I really did like Wondrous Strange. You can read about that here!

Darklight picks up, I believe, six months after opening night of A Midsummer Night's Dream where Wondrous Strange left off. Kelley is now working on her role as Juliet in, you guessed it, Romeo & Juliet. Again, I was not entirely enthralled in the story until maybe a third of the way through, but when I did, I couldn't put it down! And I didn't! In this sequel, we see more of Fennrys who is actually, surprisingly and refreshingly comical. Also, Gentleman Jack is back and as sweet as ever! He is quite possibly my favorite "non-main" character and I really hope to see more of him in the third installment. Kelley and Sonny both have to overcome being separate from each other and the doubts that come along with the separation. They also both grow into themselves far more than I expected.

One of the best things about Darklight is that there are unexpected twists that will leave you desperate for more! (You really want to read this now, don't you? ;] )

This book was a great sequel to Wondrous Strange and definitely fulfilled my hopes for this series.

Tempestuous, the final installment of the Wondrous Strange series will be out on January 7th 2011!

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.