Review: Wither - Lauren DeStefano

What if you knew exactly when you would die?
Thanks to modern science, every human being has become a ticking genetic time bomb—males only live to age twenty-five, and females only live to age twenty. In this bleak landscape, young girls are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages to keep the population from dying out.
When sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery is taken by the Gatherers to become a bride, she enters a world of wealth and privilege. Despite her husband Linden's genuine love for her, and a tenuous trust among her sister wives, Rhine has one purpose: to escape—to find her twin brother and go home.
But Rhine has more to contend with than losing her freedom. Linden's eccentric father is bent on finding an antidote to the genetic virus that is getting closer to taking his son, even if it means collecting corpses in order to test his experiments. With the help of Gabriel, a servant Rhine is growing dangerously attracted to, Rhine attempts to break free, in the limited time she has left.


I've seen so many fantastic reviews for this book that last week I just though "What the heck, time to waste the last of my meager wages on this lovely book,". I loved it. What attracted me most, besides the reviews, was the beautiful cover. this has to be the most ebautiful book cover to have ever come out, really. The model looks like Rhine is supposed to, and the bird shows how she feels in the book. The colours really push the dystopian idea, with the murky greens showing this bland world.


I have a thing about dystopian books <3


DeStefano has really given me a dystopian world I can believe. After reading books like The Forest Of Hands and Teeth, and even The Hunger Games felt a little far-fetched (not to say that made me love it any less.) DeStefano's world is beautifully described, making it futuristic but believable. I hope we get more information on the virus though, as the book continues, I really don't want to see Rhine or Gabriel die.


I loved those characters, I hated some characters, I hated to love some others. We have Rhine, our lovely protagonist who, although she isn't a kick-ass protagonist like say... Katniss in The Hunger Games is headstrong and amazing and beautiful. She doesn't moan too much, we know she wants to escape her 'prison' but she deals with it by almost taking it for granted. Gabriel is an attendant at the mansion, he is kind and sweet and lovely and I really liked him! He is the sunshine in a dark novel and I know Whine looked forward to seeing him each day, but so did I!


Rhine's husband, Linden is a character I hated to love. I was Team gabriel all the way through so everytiem he and Rhine kissed or he came to her room I cringed. After learning that he was oblivious to how the wives were chosen, I started to like him, he was kind and nice and I felt a little sorry for him, though I did feel that the 'love' he had for Rhine was a little fake.


Two other lovely chracters are Rhine's sister wives; Jenna and Cecily. Jenna is sullen and moody and wishes to escape from the mansion whereas thirteen year old Cecily throws herself into her marriage with all of her body and soul (no lie). The dynamics between Rhine, Jenna and Cecily were awesome. there was the unity, they each played their roles, but there was jealousy and a little tension there too. I found this a very interesting part of the plot.


I am amazed at the ending, not a cliffhanger, but still left me yearning for more. There were a lot of things going on and in the end I just wanted more! more! more!


The plot developed at the perfect place. never once is it slow, but it doesn't go too fast. DeStefano does cover some pretty mature topics, so I advise this book for older teens. Fourteen upwards. 


A fantastic beginning for what I hope to be a fantastic trilogy!


Overall rating: A+

Stand alone/series: First in a series

Released: March 22nd 2011 (Hardcover)

Publisher: Simon and Schuster Children

Pages: 358

Book obtained via: Bought!

On scary movies and reading books into the night

It is 5am here. I have not slept.

Want to know why?


That movie Paranormal Activity, I have a fear now of going to sleep after 3am, I have to be asleep by 3am or I have to stay up until sunrise. Usually I manage this okay, but this morning I decided I had to start Outside In by Maria V Snyder, then I had to finish it. I finished it at about 2.45am and couldn't sleep.


After 3am, I knew I wasn't going to be able to sleep, so I read Wither by Lauren DeStefano. The sun is rising, I really need the toilet, and I just finished the book.


All I have to say is; Damn you Maria V Snyder, and damn you Paranormal Activity. 


Night folks!


-Jade

Review: Wake (Dream Catchers #1) by Lisa McMann

For seventeen-year-old Janie, getting sucked into other people's dreams is getting old. Especially the falling dreams, the naked-but-nobody-notices dreams, and the sex-crazed dreams. Janie's seen enough fantasy booty to last her a lifetime.
She can't tell anybody about what she does they'd never believe her, or worse, they'd think she's a freak. So Janie lives on the fringe, cursed with an ability she doesn't want and can’t control.
Then she falls into a gruesome nightmare, one that chills her to the bone. For the first time, Janie is more than a witness to someone else's twisted psyche. She is a participant




I was a bit worried about reading this, wasn't sure it was my type. I now know what all the amazing reviews I've read meant. Honestly. This book grabbed me in a way very few books ever have. I adored it.


The plot was amazing, even though there is no massive climax, the plot development throughout the book made up for that, it was amazing, the idea of a girl that gets absorbed into people's dreams is amazing, and the fact that this is a 'curse' that she can use as a 'gift' was also great, I really loved the way McMann developed this plot. Some of the dreams were downright scary for me, they were so realistically written!


I also loved the way it was written, as sort of diary entries, dated. it was fantastic. I really enjoy the way her sentences are short and choppy, somehow it made it easier to read and now my thoughts are short. it. Is Weird.


The characters are fantastic, Janie and Cabel, who are both extremely likeable. both come from broken families and I think that makes them relateable to a wide audience, but as well as this, they were both flawed, in my opinion a flawed character is a good character. Janie and Caleb tended to jump to conclusions easily, they were both very insecure and that really is the way relationships worked. I loved Janie's vulnerability and Cabel's edge (and his name!).


The romance developed nicely, it was there from thes tart and the relationship was like a rollercoaster and while I felt like punching JAnie sometimes, I felt the same about Cabel! It was steady and nice andin the end, i was so happy with them.


This really was an amazing book, and it definitely deserves.


Overall rating: A

Stand alone/series: First in a series

Released: January 6th 2009 (Paperback)

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Pages: 210

Book obtained via: Bought!

Review: Enna Burning by Shannon Hale

Enna and Princess Isi became fast friends in The Goose Girl, but after Isi married Prince Geric, Enna returned to the forest. Enna's simple life changes forever when she learns to wield fire and burn anything at will. Enna is convinced that she can use her ability for good to fight Tira, the kingdom threatening the Bayern borders and goes on secret raids to set fire to the Tiran camps and villages. But as the power of the fire grows stronger, she is less able to control her need to burn. In her recklessness she is captured by the Tiran army and held captive by a handsome, manipulative young captain who drugs her to keep her under his influence. Can Isi and her old friends Finn and Razo rescue her without sacrificing themselves? And with the fire still consuming her, will Enna find a way to manage the gift that threatens to destroy her?


After reading The Goose Girl a couple of years ago (and reviewing it here days ago,) I was really excited to read Enna Burning, the idea of Enna learning the dangerous fire speech mixed with the happiness of being able to read Hale's beautiful writing again really got me going.


I have seen mixed reviews for this book, so In wasn't sure what to expect and when I first started the book, I was not impressed. The book definitely starts off slow, but fortunately it picks up, albeit about half way through.


This is so far my least favorite of Hale's books. The main problem was the fact that the plot itself was weak. It had the potential to be amazing, the idea of this young girl struggling with this fire inside her, but Hale doesn't pull it off well enough. I agree with reviews that say that this book is the darkest of Hale's, it definitely is, in it we see Enna struggle with her fire, we see death and we see her drugged and kidnapped and it creates a darker tone, but it doesn't really help the plot.


I felt that the descriptions of the fire magic were so frequent it got annoying, and I didn't think it was as convincing or natural as Isi's magic in The Goose Girl.


The politics were not really built on that much either, there is a war going on and we are given a very short backstory about it, which annoyed me a little.


Ahhh... Isi, Isi, Isi. There was one fatal problem with this book. I was so looking forward to meeting our lovely Princess Isi again, but instead of the optimistic, chirpy lady we know, we get an angsty almost annoying Princess. maybe Hale did this delibirately to center on Enna, but I found that it detracted from the book as a whole. Also, Enna's character wasn't built up enough either, I didn't empathise with her enough to really care what happened to her, which made the end of the book annoying.


One thing I did love was Finn. i have always loved Finn, even more than Geric in The Goose Girl, but Finn in this was lovely, not too nice, not too nasty. I loved him and I really wish I'd seen some more romance. As well as Finn there is Silaph, a Tiran soldier that kidnaps Enna and pretty much seduces her. From the start I saw what he was, but it didn't stop me gasping and screaming and hating. Finn and Silaph (and most of Silaphs plot) are the best parts of the book.


This book goes to both extremes, at some parts it is amazing but at some parts its lukewarm. For this, I'm giving it 


Overall rating: C-

Stand alone/series: Second in The Books of Bayern series, can be read as a stand alone

Released: November 15th 2004 (Paperback)

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Pages: 336

Book obtained via: Borrowed

Book Blog Hop & Follower Friday (29/04/2011)

Happy Birthday to me...!

It is officially 61 hours until my birthday!

So 61 hours until my INTERNATIONAL giveaway closes

Giveaway here

Book Blogger Hop is a weekly event that gives readers and bloggers the chance to get to know other people who share their passion and interests, as well as to discover blogs. Join the Hop!
This week’s question is:

"Summer is coming quickly - what 2011 summer release are you are most looking forward to?"

Well, it's hard to believe its summer nearly. i'm in my snuggie, freezing! 
Summer 2011 release? Errrrrr, it has to be Karsten Knight's Wildefyre. It looks fantastic!

Q. Keeping with the dystopian and apocalypse theme that seems to be running rampant on parajunkee.com, I have one very hard question for you: If you were stocking your bomb shelter, what books would you HAVE to include if you only had space for ten?

The Hunger Games series (3) - Suzanne Collins

Avalon High - Meg Cabot

The Blue  Sword - Robin McKinley

Graceling - Kristin Cashore

THe Replacement - Brenna Yovanoff

City of Bones - City of Glass - Cassandra Clare

What are yours?

Contest! (And my short story entry at the end)

Contest!

Over at So Many Books, So Little Time, So Here's Mine

There is a fantastic contest running; here are the rules;

The Fun Contest/Challenge
1. In 10 sentences or less write a short story in the genre of choice.
Please include what genre it is.
2. Enter the story in the comments below and please INCLUDE your email address.
3. Like our FB Page So Many Books, So Little Time, So Here’s Mine
4. The more entries we have the more fun it will be so please repost in Twitter, FB or your blog and mention where you did.

Contest Ends
May 7th at 10pm EST

Here is the link

Here is mine

She sat in the corner of the room, looking out of the window into the foggy, frigid world. It had been like this for days now, giving her no chance of escape. Her plan had been well thought out, on the first day of the festival, which had been two days ago, she would have sneaked out of the mansion and joined the revellers. In the midst of the crowd she would catch a boat to her parent’s island, they would be shocked to see her, as they had probably though her dead for the past four years. But no, she had been here in the Lord’s mansion, just another of his play-things.

She heard a noise as the doors opened and looked up as a tall man with a pointed nose and thick eyebrows walked in,

“My dear, I am disappointed in you. I thought you were happy here, I thought you didn’t want to escape, but I hear you telling your plan to one of the maids. Never mind though, I can always find a new toy,” He looked out of the window, contemplating something, “Perfect weather for an execution, don’t you think?”

100 followers! More prizes for the giveaway!

So at some point last night, while I was dreaming of magical buses (no lie, this is what reading has done to me,) I reached 100 followers, that means I get to offer some more prizes to my giveaway, there will also be another winner.

The first winner drawn will get a pick from 20 books,

The second winner will get to choose only from the original 10

The original giveaway post is here

These are the extra choices I have added:

Rachel Vincent - My Soul To Take

Alice Sebold - The Lovely bones

Ice - Sarah Beth Durst

Incarceron -Catherine Fisher

Aurelia - Anne Osterlund

The Lying Game

Stolen

Speak - Laurie Halse Anderson

The Vampire Diaries 1&2 - L.J Smith

Graceling - Kristin Cashore

Have fun and by the way...

4 DAYS!

More prizes for my Big Birthday Giveaway

It's my birthday in 5 days! YAY!

Which means my Birthday Giveaway closes in 5 days. Awww.

So me being the most unorthodox girl ever, I have decided to add some more books to the giveaway!

I have 10 more books that I would like to add to the winners choices for my giveaway!

At the moment I am pushing for 100 followers by the end of the giveaway, I am on 90 now!

So how will this work?

When I reach 100 followers I will update the old post and add a new post mentioning which books will be added to the winners prize pool.

The 1st Place will get a choice from all 20 books

The 2nd place will get a choice from the original 10 books I posted

So for more chance at better books, get me some more followers! I will not post the updated selection until I reach 100 followers!

Chyeahhhh... bribery ;)

-Jade!

Review: Academy 7 - Anne Osterlund

Aerin Renning is a scarred fugitive, Dane Madousin a rebellious son of privilege. On the surface, they have nothing in common. But the two most competitive freshmen at Academy 7 share an undiscovered bond. Both harbor a dangerous secret that threatens their own destruction. And while their safety depends on their staying apart, the two are inexplicably drawn to each other. Even as unknown forces conspire to separate them, their competition turns to friendship, and their friendship to romance. Now not only their lives—but their hearts—are at stake. To survive, the two must unite all their knowledge, skills, and gifts to uncover a secret bigger than either could have imagined. A secret as big as the entire universe..




First off, I will start the book by pointing out to confused readers that despite the absolutely gorgeous cover suggests, this book is not a contemporary/historical novel. On the contrary, it is set very far into the future, though the exact date is never stated. The book also suggests that romance plays a massive part in the novel, an idea I disagree on.


I have a thing about books with spaceships and planets and space and stuff. I really do, I actually originally ordered this book thinking it was historical and didn't realise my mistake until it arrived. Well, not mistake... I loved it! As I neglected reading the blurb when it arrived and just dived right into it, I read a few pages and though- hey... this isn't right! But I carried on reading and after an uncomfortable first chapter, I settled right into this book. One thing I will say is that the first few chapters are a little boring... but after that the story got fantastic.


The characters are one thing I have to comment on. Our two main characters are Aerin and Dane. Aerin is a brilliant fugitive who just tries to stay unnoticed and Dane is the equally rich boy who won't let her do that. Aerin is lovely, she is shy but opinionated, stubborn. She makes the wrong decisions sometimes but not in a stupid way. We all make mistakes, don't we, and it makes her a little more believable. Dane is believable as a bit of a snob to start with, but we see him change and I enjoyed his transition. Sounds like a fuzzy romance story? I think not. There is of course, some romance, but it is very subtle in the way that you know it's there but it is soft and develops slowly and doesn't really fully develop until the last chapter or so. I like that as I have been reading so many books with a fast developing romance I needed this! The romance was written absolutely perfectly, as were the characters.


The plot is great as well, though the book is set far into the future, when humans inhabit faraway planets and skip from one to the next so easily, you can relate the political problems to todays world in a way that makes the reader almost uncomfortable. We see X grade planets being ignored because they aren't important enough, despite the slavery going on in them, and we hear of the brutality first hand from Aerin. I loved the development of the stories, the plot turns and twists until you don't know what will happen, and while there really is no *big* climax, because the novel is soft all the way through (and by soft I don't in any way mean it is an easy read, just the tone and pacing), the fact that no massive event happens doesn't really matter. 
And what can I say for the ending without spoiling it? One of the best endings ever.


My only flaw with this book is the cover. It's misleading! (sadness!)


I adored this book, its quick and paced so well! The characters are perfect, the plot is perfect!

Overall rating: A

Stand alone/series: Stand alone

Released: May 14th 2009 (Paperback)

Publisher: Puffin

Pages: 272

Book obtained via: Borrowed

Review: The Iron Witch - Karen Mahoney

Freak. That's what her classmates call seventeen-year-old Donna Underwood. When she was seven, a horrific fey attack killed her father and drove her mother mad. Donna's own nearly fatal injuries from the assault were fixed by magic—the iron tattoos branding her hands and arms. The child of alchemists, Donna feels cursed by the magical heritage that destroyed her parents and any chance she had for a normal life. The only thing that keeps her sane and grounded is her relationship with her best friend, Navin Sharma.

When the darkest outcasts of Faerie—the vicious wood elves—abduct Navin, Donna finally has to accept her role in the centuries old war between the humans and the fey. Assisted by Xan, a gorgeous half-fey dropout with secrets of his own, Donna races to save her friend—even if it means betraying everything her parents and the alchemist community fought to the death to protect.

Generally these days when I see the word 'Iron' on a book, I assume fae of some sort.
Usually, when this happens, I am right. 


Yep. I was right. This book is another story about a girl trying to get somebody back from another world, with the help of the strange, mysterious boy she fell in love with the second she meets  him, who may/may not have some sort of power.


There was some originality, I won't say it was all bad. I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that alchemy was involved, I enjoyed that side of the story, and I really enjoyed reading about Donna's arms, I even liked reading about Donna's interactions with teens, but the rest was just unoriginal and dull. 


The development of the alchemy plot didn't go as deep as I hoped it would, I hope it is expanded on in the sequel, I really, really wanted to see a little more alchemy, in the book the Order of the Dragon serves more as a background plot device, I wish i could see it involved a little more.


I found that the romance aspect of the book was just horrible. There is Donna, who has these MYTHICAL TATTOOS!!!!!! and Xan, who has these MYTHICAL SCARS!!!!!! and that, apparently makes them THE PERFECT MATCH!!!!!. There was no build up to the romance, it is like BAM! Page 3; Girl meets hot guy, hot guy and hot girl chat, next day "OOOFT YOU'RE HOT! LETS MAKE OUT!" I didn't like that development really.


And the characters. Oh.... the characters. Donna is... okayish, she seems like a nice enough person, but she's a little... double sided? One minutes it is 'Must hide my tattoos, can't stand out!' and the next its, 'Ooooh popular girl , MUST BEAT UP!', I mean, Donna, what happened to turning the other cheek? Xan is your typical book guy. Hot, older and mysterious, which would be good, if he had any original aspects. Sure, he has mythical being roots - been there, done that. I just didn't find myself relating to either of these characters.


Then... theres Navin, who is Donna's best friend and the only character I really liked in the book, he's quirky and funny and while sometimes Mahoney makes him out to be wittier than he is, I liked his character. Only one thing ruined it for me. HE WAS IN LOVE WITH HER?!?! Originality? None here. I mean, I just want either a) a book where the best friend ISN'T in love with the main character or b) a book where the best friend gets the girl? 


This book had okay pacing, it improved through the book. The beginning was slow, I found it hard to get into it, but throughout the book the pacing got better until it was almost perfect at the end.


All in all:


Overall rating: D+

Stand alone/series: First in a series

Released: February 3rd 2011 (Paperback)

Publisher: Corgi Childrens

Pages: 312

Book obtained via: Bought!

Giveaways going on right now

Addicted to novels are running a fantastic giveaway for either 2 prize packs (US) or a book of choice (INT) To celebrate 900 followers
Check it out here




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3LB are giving away some awesome prize packs OR up to $15 book at their blog! They got 400 followers. THAT IS AWESOME!
Giveaway here


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Taschima over at BloodyBookaholic is running a 40 book giveaway!

She is giveing away some FANTASTIC titles that I have at the top of my I wish I owned those books list!

So click HERE to check out the giveaway!

Good luck folks!


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Amber @ Down The Rabbit Hole is celebrating her 1000 followers!
How is she doing this? She is running 2 giveaways!
1 is international and 1 is only!
Check it out here

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Don't forget I am also running a giveaway!

I'm giving away a choice from 10 books to up to four lucky INTERNATIONAL winners! Check it out HERE

Review: The Iron King - Julie Kagawa

Meghan Chase has a secret destiny—one she could never have imagined…

Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school…or at home.

When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change.

But she could never have guessed the truth—that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face…and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.

I’ve seen countless great reviews for this book and decided to pick it up on a local ‘buy one get one half price’ offer.


I read it that evening and was not all that impressed. I often find that books about faerys have the same plot devices and I found that in The Iron King too, I also found a bit of originality. I also found a lot of similarities to Disney movies though. There are characters such as Grim the cait-sith (who strangely reminded me of the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland, with his riddles and disappearing and reappearing) and the Nevernever constantly reading as Neverland in my head.


The book employs characters from ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, which was an interesting development, but I didn’t find it convincing. Oberon was too… well kingly and doesn’t live up to Shakespeare’s epic character, and what was the difference between Mab and Titania? Both were royal cows and I hated them both, yet one was queen of the ‘good’ court and one was queen of the ‘bad’ court, which complicated the matters a little. I loved the character of Puck a lot though, but I found it unrealistic how Meghan went from calling him ‘Robbie’ to ‘Puck’ with no hesitation at all, it seemed un realistic. I loved Puck though, he was the truest to Shakespeare’s original characters, with his wit and fun but also his terrific serious side.


As with many YA books, we had a whiney, moany main character. Kagawa tried to make her seem brave and noble – her sacrificing herself for her little brother, but to be honest I just found her way too annoying a character. And what is it with faerie books and faerie princes? It’s always a faery prince or a faery lord and while Ash had all of the developments of a fantastic character, the lack of originality made me like him that little bit less. I liked him a lot, he was nice, but I am really getting sick of Faerie Princes and their cold attitudes.


The plot was lacklustre as well. How many faerie books have I read with a changeling in it, and the main character going into the faerie world? Her faerie were basically the same as the ones created by Holly Black and Melissa Marr and there was very little change. Though I liked the idea of the Iron Fae, I think it could have been developed a little more, I hope it is in the sequel. The plot was simplistic, a Meghan gets into danger, Puck/Ash saves her, rinse and repeat.


I can’t say I hated this book, the writing was good, and the book kept me interested, but with the similarities to basically every book about faery that I have read, I can’t say it was fantastic. Maybe I just went in with too high expectations. I managed to finish it though, and I really hope the rest of the series adds a little more development.


If you have read Holly black’s Tithe and Melissa Marr’s Wicked Lovely, you won’t find much originality, but if you’re new to Faery, this would be an okay book for you.




Overall rating: C


My dearest mother, however, would like to put her two-pence in and states that while my very critical review may be very true, in her opinion it is a fantastic start to a new series and she was enthralled in it:


Overall rating: B

Stand alone/series: First in the Iron fey series

Released: February 1st 2010 (Paperback)

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Pages: 363

Book obtained via: Bought!

Birthday Giveaway!

It's my birthday in 7 days!

So I should be the one recieving presents really.... but no, as it is my birthday, I'm hosting my first giveaway BUT THERE IS A CATCH:

At the moment. I have 11 followers. While you can enter the giveaway from now, there will be NO winners unless I have reached 50 followers by the end of the giveaway. 

If I have reached 50 followers, There will be ONE winner

If I have reached 100 followers, There will be TWO winners

If I have reached 200 followers, There will be THREE winners

I doubt I will get past 200, but if I do, I will carry on adding more winners.

I'm tight, I earn £3.64 an hour right now, so I can't afford many more than that.

Here are the rules:

• The giveaway will end at Midnight (GMT) on Monday 2nd May (my birthday)
• MUST BE A FOLLOWER
• It is open INTERNATIONALLY as long as The Book Depository ships FREE to your country
• I'm keeping it simple. The only way that you can earn an extra entry is by spreading the word on your blog/facebook/twitter
• To enter, fill out THIS FORM.

So what can you win?

Winners can choose one book from the following selection:

Inside Out - Maria V Snyder

Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins

Little Red Riding Hood - Sarah Blakeley-Cartwright

Siren - Tricia Rayburn

The Declaration - Gemma Malley

Ash - Malinda Lo

The Blue Sword - Robin McKinley

This Lullaby - Sarah Dessen

The Beautiful dead (Arizona) - Eden Maguire

Eternal - Cynthia Leitich Smith

Lament - Maggie Stiefvater

Old Magic - Marrianne Curley

I have read all of these books (except Little Red Riding Hood) and I reccomend every single one of them!

100 follower update (28/04/2011)

So at some point last night, while I was dreaming of magical buses (no lie, this is what reading has done to me,) I reached 100 followers, that means I get to offer some more prizes to my giveaway, there will also be another winner.

The first winner drawn will get a pick from 22 books,

The second winner will get to choose only from the original 12

These are the extra choices I have added:

My Soul To Take - Rachel Vincent

The Lovely Bones- Alice Sebold

Ice - Sarah Beth Durst

Incarceron -Catherine Fisher

Aurelia - Anne Osterlund

The Lying Game - Sara Shepard

Stolen - Lucy Christopher

Speak - Laurie Halse Anderson

The Vampire Diaries 1&2 - L.J Smith

Graceling - Kristin Cashore

Have fun and by the way...

-Jade

Review: Brightly Woven - Alexandra Bracken

When Wayland North brings rain to a region that's been dry for over ten years, he's promised anything he'd like as a reward. He chooses the village elder's daughter, sixteen-year-old Sydelle Mirabel, who is a skilled weaver and has an unusual knack for repairing his magical cloaks. Though Sydelle has dreamt of escaping her home, she's hurt that her parents relinquish her so freely and finds herself awed and afraid of the slightly ragtag wizard who is unlike any of the men of magic in the tales she's heard. Still, she is drawn to this mysterious man who is fiercely protective of her and so reluctant to share his own past.


As Sydelle discovers North's dark secret and the reason for his interest in her and learns to master her own mysterious power, it becomes increasingly clear that the fate of the kingdom rests in her fingertips. She will either be a savior, weaving together the frayed bonds between Saldorra and Auster, or the disastrous force that destroys both kingdoms forever.

I am seriously suffering a book hangover right now. This was one of those books I kept saying "I'll stop at the next chapter..." to. I started it at 11pm and finished it at around 3.30am. Now it's the morning, and I don't regret it.


This book is honestly addictive. An original storyline which sees our protagonist, Sydelle, begin a fantastic journey with a witty, handsome wizard called Wayland North. Not only is it beautifully original and gorgeously written, it is witty and clever and all the right things. Written in quite a simplistic way, but with magical descriptions that make you believe you're in this place, Bracken has got the pacing just right and a climax that is absolutely fantastic. There are some plot twists and surprises in there that had me gasping in shock as well!


The characters were good as well, while Sydelle annoyed me a little, with her 'I can do this on my own attitude!', Bracken tried to create a character that is as strong as those other kick-ass YA girls, unfortunately, the consequences of Sydelle's actions are usually bad, and she usually needs North to come save her anyway, which was a bit annoying, but she didn't whine and for most of the novel, I liked her. North... oh North... I have a new book crush. He reminded me of Howl for Howl's Moving Castle, with all his little witticisms and his cute boyish attitude. North, for the better part of the novel was one of the most believable characters, though at some points I took a step back and though... hey... this 18 year old wizard needs a 16 year old girls map reading skills? He also sometimes speaks like a 40 year old, that was a bit offputting as well, but these flaws are tiny and add to the plot, so I will let them pass.


There was steady romantic development that developed at just the right pace, you could see it developing but as more of a background story, which was cute and nice and I really enjoyed it, it was believable for the most part and I really liked the way they weren't all over each other, it was more a subtle tone. I wish that Bracken had put Henry a little more in the novel though... that would have made for some interesting developments.


All in all, I thouroughly enjoyed this book!


Overall rating: B

Stand alone/series: Stand alone

Released: March 23rd 2010 (Hardcover)

Publisher: EgmontUSA

Pages: 354

Book obtained via: Won