Top Ten Tuesday (18)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by the Broke and the Bookish where a new top ten list is posted each week. This week is a freebie so I've chosen to do Top Ten Minor Characters. It always seems to be the hero and heroine of books that get focused on (and to be fair it is generally their story being told) but the minor characters can often be unfairly overlooked. Where would Harry Potter be without Ron and Hermione or Buffy without Willow or Scooby without all those meddling kids?

1. Cole St. Clair from Linger and Forever by Maggie Stiefvater 
Cole wasn't written to be likeable, heck Maggie Stiefvater herself has said multiple times that Cole is a bad boy and we girls should steer clear. That said, he was a pretty awesome addition to Sam and Grace's world because he has his own demons and actually chose to be a wolf thus showing Sam a whole new side to his wolfish ways.

2. Luna Lovegood from the Harry Potter series
I love Looney Lovegood! She is probably one of my favourite characters from the entire series. She's quirky and confident in her skin which is unusual for a lot of YA books. Luna doesn't let other people's opinions affect her and if she was real I'd love to be her BFF.

3. Emmett Cullen from the Twilight Saga
Emmett is possibly my favourite character from Twilight. I love the fact he is clearly a badass, and I love his sense of humour. The scenes with him and Bella's father in Breaking Dawn had me in hysterics, plus he's seriously hot in the movies.

4. Giguhl from the Sabina Kane books by Jaye Wells
A naked cat demon? A naked cat demon! Giguhl is brilliant. He starts out as a regular demon and (minor spoilers) accidentally gets stuck as a cat. In trying to turn him back he looses his fur. Giguhl has a great sense of humour and actually puts up with wearing little handknit sweaters :)

5. Stefan from the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs
A vampire who drives a replica Mystery Machine - seriously how could he not make it onto my list? Stefan is Mercy's connection to the vampire world, but he's also her friend as well which puts him in more than one akward position.

6. Jenks from The Hollows series by Kim Harrison
Jenks is Rachel Morgan's pixy partner and he has some of the best one liners I've ever read. Every book in the series has had me in hysterics - in part due to Jenks. Here are some of my favourites: "You think my kids just popped out of the ground?" "Tink's a Disney whore!" and "Grab the fish and run like hell."

7. Nick from the Secret Circle by L.J. Smith
Dark, brooding and good with his hands I adore Nick. He's also incredibly loyal and will pretty much do anything for his friends, as long as you can get to be his friend. He's my favourite character from the series and I'm curious to see how he is in the TV show as soon as I get a chance to watch it.

8. Bubba from the Southern Vampire Series by Charlaine Harris
If you haven't read the Southern Vampire books I won't spoil Bubba's true identity for you, so I'll just say I wasn't a fan until I read these books. Bubba is an awesome character and I was horrified when I realised he wasn't going to be included in True Blood.

9. Savitar from the Dark Hunter series by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Savitar will eventually be getting his very own book, but at the moment he's mulling about in the background of the other Dark Hunter novels so I get to put him here. He's a bit of a mysterious character who has some serious powers and does whatever he wants, which seems to mostly be hanging on the beach and surfing.

10. Ari and Janco from the Poison trilogy by Maria V. Snyder
I debated between these two before deciding one without the other is like Ben without Jerry. I love both of these two and loved every scene they were in. If you haven't read the series, I'd recommend it based on these two kick-butt hilarious soldiers alone.

Teaser Tuesdays (18)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers.

My teaser:

"And then they were out in the vestibule, away from the choking smell of flowers and the subtle smell of death, and all Claire could think was, How is that closure?
   But Eve looked better, and that was what mattered."

~ Page 169, Feast of Fools by Rachel Caine

Midnight Alley by Rachel Caine

Title: Midnight Alley
Author: Rachel Caine
Publisher: Allison & Busby
ISBN: 978-0-7490-7922-2
Pages: 365
Series: The Morganville Vampires #3
Type: Young Adult Paranormal
Source: Purchased
Goodreads


When Claire Danvers realised that vampires run her college town, she tried to transfer out. Leaving Morganville is no longer an option for her so she's trying her best to get along. Claire has traded her freedom for protection for herself and her friends from Amelie, the most powerful vampire in town. Amelie sends Claire to take private lessons from the ancient Myrnin, but that isn't the only danger she faces. Girls are turning up dead all over Morganville, killed by a human, and Claire and Eve find themselves being stalked.

This is the third book in the awesome Morganville Vampires series (after Glass Houses and The Dead Girls' Dance) and I was really looking forward to reading it. Things have changed for Claire and her friends. In order to save Shane, Michael had to become a vampire so now there is a source of conflict in the Glass house as everyone adjusts to this newest change. Shane is having the hardest time adjusting to the idea that his best friend is now a vampire and his anti-vamp issues cause a lot of friction, especially in his relationship with Claire.

As usual the plot is really well thought out and the book well written, revealing even more about Morganville and its vampire residents. The introduction of Myrnin as Claire's tutor means that the scientific side of Morganville can be explored and Claire stumbles across some surprising vampire secrets.

As in the previous book it is the humans who behave worse than the vampires, with school bully Monica trying to use Claire to improve her own standing with the vampires and the reappearance of Eve's psychotic serial killing brother Jason. Jason is deeply creepy and the whole storyline with him is rather disturbing, especially his past. The events of the previous books have also not been forgotten and the vampires of the town are still distrustful of Shane.

I was a little disappointed that the end of the book wraps up very quickly with a slight cliffhanger. The cliffhanger I don't mind, but the book built to a great conclusion that never fully played out. Lots of story threads were tied up quickly and without any real emotional resolution. I really hope that these characters have their storylines continued in future books, especially Myrnin as he was a great addition to Morganville.

All in all, this was a great read and I'm looking forward to Feast of Fools.

Plot: 10/10
Characters: 10/10
Ending: 8/10
Enjoyment: 9/10
Cover: 10/10

Overall: 47/50

In My Mailbox (14)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren. Each weekend I'll post about any new books I've gotten either in my mailbox or from a store or library that week. If I haven't gotten any new books, I'll wait until I do.

I've had a manic start to the new year which meant my blog has been a little neglected over the past couple of weeks. These are the books I've acquired since my last mailbox post and are basically the few books from Christmas that hadn't arrived, the books I picked up with my Christmas giftcard and the first few preorders of 2012.

 

 

 

So what's in your mailbox this week?

Shelf Candy Saturday (10)

Shelf Candy Saturday is an awesome weekly meme hosted by Five Alarm Book Reviews where each Saturday bloggers defy the saying "never judge a book by its cover" and showcase one that really catches their eye. Covers play a huge role in the books I choose so it's great to have the opportunity to showcase the pretties :)

My shelf candy for this week is Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice.

In a darkened room the boy sits, waiting for the story to begin. His companion is a young man, cloaked in shadow, his voice low and soft. Only the pure white of his collar is visible in the gloom.

The story of this man's life is about to be told. A story of a vampire facing the dark stretch of eternity, cursed with an exquisite craving for human blood.





Confession time - I've tried Anne Rice's books a couple of times before and I've never really been able to get into them. I've always found them to be overly descriptive and have given up quickly, although weirdly I love the movie of Queen of the Damned.

Over Christmas I picked up a lucky dip of dark fantasy books from WH Smiths and this was one of the books included. I absolutely adore this cover and will definitely be trying to read it again purely based on the cover alone.

At first glance it looks like plain red writing on a black background, but then you notice the background looks like black silk and the writing is scattered with little doodles. It manages to be both incredibly simple and deliciously complex at the same time to stunning effect.

So what's your shelf candy this week?

Back to Normal & Guest Blog (5)

Sorry for disappearing on you guys! I've had some manic family stuff going on at home and I haven't been online or reading much at all. Things are less busy now so things should be returning to normal around here. There will be reviews of the rest of the Morganville series coming soon, as well as my usual memes. I've really missed blogging and I'm so glad to be back! And on that note...

My latest guest blog post has just been published over at the awesome E&K Family Book Review where I reviewed Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella. If you'd like to see what I thought, click here.

Shelf Candy Saturday (9)

Shelf Candy Saturday is an awesome weekly meme hosted by Five Alarm Book Reviews where each Saturday bloggers defy the saying "never judge a book by its cover" and showcase one that really catches their eye. Covers play a huge role in the books I choose so it's great to have the opportunity to showcase the pretties :)

My shelf candy for this week is The Luxe by Anna Godbersen.
 

Imagine, if you will, New York City, 1899...

Society's elite: the glamour, the grandeur, the glittering parties, the most handsome beaux, the most beautiful debutantes...the rich girl, the humble boy, the forbidden love, the stolen glances, the whispers, the scandal, the mystery, the revenge.

You are cordially invited to step into The Luxe where the secrets are dark and the sins are delicious...R.S.V.P.



The Luxe has one of the most gorgeous covers I have seen in a long time, gorgeous enough to get me to pick up a copy. I'm not usually interested in historical books, but the sumptuous cover drew me in long enough to notice the Gossip Girl comparisons and then I was hooked on the idea.

Not only is there a beautiful (if impractical) dress, but the sketchy doodles around the edge of the cover are gorgeous and really give the cover a unique look. The doodles are also raised so the book has a great textured feel.

It isn't just The Luxe that has a gorgeous cover, the other three books in the series have equally beautiful and decadent covers (though I must say I like the Envy dress best):

These do remind me of a vlog that Kristi from The Story Siren did on Youtube a while back on covers with "girl in dress" (you can watch the video here). Girl in a dress seems to be a favoured cover design tool of publishers at the moment, and I think The Luxe series is an outstanding example.

 So what's your shelf candy this week?

The Dead Girls' Dance by Rachel Caine

 Title: The Dead Girls' Dance
Author: Rachel Caine
Publisher: Allison & Busby
ISBN: 978-0-7490-7986-4
Pages: 380
Series: The Morganville Vampires #2
Type: Young Adult Paranormal
Source: Purchased
Goodreads

Claire Danvers has overcome a lot of challenges - like being singled out by the on-campus bully Monica, finding out her college town is run by vampires and then upsetting some of the most powerful bloodsuckers in town. But when her boyfriend's vampire hunting father shows up things become even messier. Claire and her friends have protection from Amelie, the most powerful vampire in town, but when the stakes come out that protection could simply vanish.

I loved the first book in the Morganville Vampires series (Glass Houses) and picked this up straight after finishing that. There was a big cliffhanger at the end of the previous book and this installment picks up exactly where the last one left off. The previous book took a while to really get going whereas this plunges straight into the action and holds to a fast pace throughout.

A large part of the plot of this book revolves not around the vampires but around the humans of Morganville. The world building is deepened and more is revealed about how vampires and humans interact and what the rules of living in a place like Morganville are. It is very clever how the human perspective is shown alongside demonstrations of both human and vampire cruelty, showing that fangs aren't a prerequisite for being a bad person.

Claire really grew as a character during the first book and it was great to see her continue to develop her confidence here. She really stands up to the psychotic bully Monica and her lackies and continues to hold her own throughout without becoming cocky or arrogant. More is revealed about Claire's roommates Eve, Michael and Shane. We get to see some revealing interactions between Shane and his father, and some creepy skeletons come tumbling out of Eve's closet.

I was really pleased to see the extract from Eve's diary included at the end of the book again. I love Eve and reading about the events of the book from her perspective is brilliant. We also get to see some things that Claire wouldn't have experienced which really has me desperate for the next book.

All in all this was another great read and I can't wait for Midnight Alley.

Plot: 10/10
Characters: 9/10
Ending: 9/10
Enjoyment: 10/10
Cover: 10/10

Overall: 48/50

Glass Houses by Rachel Caine

Title: Glass Houses
Author: Rachel Caine
Publisher: Allison & Busby
ISBN: 978-0-7490-7951-2
Pages: 361
Series: The Morganville Vampires #1
Type: Young Adult Paranormal
Source: Purchased
Goodreads


All Claire Danvers wanted was to go off to college like any other teenager. At sixteen she was always going to have a hard time fitting in and her parents insistence she attends the local Texas Prairie University in the small town of Morganville rather than an Ivy League school doesn't help. But when Claire gets on the wrong side of her dorm's Queen Bee she finds herself battered and bruised...and looking for a new place to live. She ends up at the off-campus Glass House and quickly begins to realise that there's a lot more to some of Morganville's residents than meets the eye.

I'm a big fan of Rachel Caine's Weather Warden novels so I was excited to see how she would handle a young adult series and I must say I wasn't disappointed. The plot is clever and well developed, and the world of Morganville is well thought-out. The idea of a town ran by vampires was one of the things that caught my attention about the book and was impressively well done.

The book is a bit slow to start and it took me a while to really get into it, but once the tension starts to build it gradually builds more and more until the heartstopping climax. By the time I got to the end of the book I couldn't read fast enough, and then there's a massive cliffhanger at the end! It isn't a "bad" cliffhanger and the book can be read by itself but it leads directly into the following book so I'd recommend having it accessible if possible.

I was a little worried I wouldn't be able to sympathise with Claire as at sixteen she is a lot younger than me, but I really like her. She's brainy and over the course of the book develops some serious backbone which is not only impressive for a character of that age but also written in a realistic manner. I also really identified with her need to prove her independence no matter what the risk involved.

I also love the supporting characters. Claire moves into the Glass House with the mysterious Michael, cute Shane and goth Eve. All three are really well developed with their own complex backstories, parts of which are revealed here while other parts are only hinted at. I loved Eve's attitude and how she quickly became best friends with Claire. At the end of the book there is also a sneak peek at Eve's journal and I loved seeing some of the events of the book from a new perspective.

All in all, this was a great read and I can't wait for The Dead Girls' Dance.

Plot: 10/10
Characters: 9/10
Ending: 9/10
Enjoyment: 9/10
Cover: 10/10

Overall: 47/50

Ch-ch-changes

About a month ago my blog got an awesome new look courtesy of Lori at Imagination Designs. Since then I've been thinking of changing how I do my posts so they'll fit better with the new layout and my blog will be more helpful. I read a lot of book blogs as well as writing one so I've been looking at what I find helpful on other peoples blogs - links to a books Goodreads page, whether it is an adult or young adult book, genre, series name and position.

As I occasionally include edition specific comments in my reviews I'll also be giving the ISBN of my copy. It is generally minor things (sneak peeks at future books, bonus short stories) but occasionally the edition can make a big difference (like in the case of The Stupidest Angel).

I want to re-label some of my posts as well. Some labels need changing (I'm now using teacups to rate instead of stars) and I also want to be sure that my posts are tagged with the author, series (or just stand alone), genre, adult/young adult, rating and review.

The new look for the top of my review posts is below. All my older reviews will be updated to this format.

Title: The Night Circus
Author: Erin Morgenstern
Publisher: Harvill Secker
ISBN: 978-1-846-55523-7
Pages: 387
Series: N/A
Type: Adult Fantasy
Source: Purchased
Goodreads


Other than that I'll be changing up the pages linked under the header to make it easier to find my past reviews, redoing the content of some and adding some new pages for challenges and giveaways.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on how else I can improve my blog :)

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Title: The Night Circus
Author: Erin Morgenstern
Publisher: Harvill Secker
ISBN: 978-1-846-55523-7
Pages: 387
Series: N/A
Type: Adult Fantasy
Source: Purchased
Goodreads


The circus arrives without warning. No announcements preceed it...it is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Le Cirque des Rêves is only open at night, is construced only in black and white and has been chosen as the setting for a contest between Celia, the enchanter's daughter and Marco, the sorcerer's apprentice. The circus delights all who wander it's circular paths stumbling into tents filled with ice or clouds or silent pools. But this is no ordinary circus and it casts a spell upon all who enter.

As soon as I finished reading I realised this would be a hard review to write. I was expecting a book set in a circus about two duelling magic workers and instead I found a book about a circus that happens to have duelling magic workers. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, just unexpected. The narrative is much like a visit to the Night Circus itself - evocative, dreamlike and slightly confusing. There are multiple storylines told interchangably, all taking place in different places at different times yet interlinking meaning there is no linear timeline here.

I loved the sections that gave views into the circus, as though the reader themself was visiting. It meant certain tents and attractions like the snake charmers or hall of mirrors are able to be explored outside of the main story. The circus itself is beautifully created and feels incredibly realistic. The author has managed to create visceral descriptions of sights and smells that plunge the reader into the heart of the circus.

Celia and Marco's stories are told from when they are small children. The challenge is created in their childhood so their individual development as workers of magic is shown. I've seen this marketed as a romance which isn't the first thing that comes to mind when reading. There are romantic aspects but this is not a romance novel. It is the challenge that echoes throughout Celia and Marco's lives, even when they don't fully understand what the challenge is or what their roles will be.

My favourite story threads were those of the rêveurs and that of a young boy called Bailey who is obsessed with the circus. Excerpts from the writings of the lead rêveur Friedrick Thiessen are scattered throughout the book, along with a storyline from his perspective, and show the circus from an outsider's perspective which creates a delightful contrast from Celia's insider view. Bailey is probably my favourite character of the whole book. He becomes enchanted with the circus at a young age and finds himself drawn into it's story.

All in all this is an enchanting read that I recommend to anyone looking for a touch of magic.

Plot: 8/10
Characters: 9/10
Ending: 9/10
Enjoyment: 8/10
Cover: 10/10

Overall: 44/50

Teaser Tuesdays (17)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers.

My teaser:

"It is black and covered with tiny twinkling lights. The effect is almost identical to the upward view of the night sky from outside."

~ Page 237, The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Top Ten Tuesday (17)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by the Broke and the Bookish where a new top ten list is posted each week. This week is: Top Ten Books I'm Excited To Read in 2012. I'm splitting this week into two Top Fives - one of books that I'm excited to read in 2012 and one of books with a 2012 release date that I'm excited for.

Existing Releases

1. Juliet Immortal by Stacia Jay
I've been hearing awesome things about this for months and despite the fact I've never really been a big Romeo and Juliet fan (seriously they're 13 and it takes place over a week - talk about insta-love!) I'm really looking forward to it. This has been picked as a group read in a Goodreads group I belong to so hopefully I'll get to it this month.

2. Across the Universe by Beth Revis
Other than occasionally glaring at my copy for being the UK paperback not the awesome double-covered US hardback, this is a book I was lusting after for ages before I got a copy. I can't wait to get reading!

3. Glass Houses by Rachel Caine
The Morganville Vampires is one series that I'm freakishly behind on. I have the first 11 books waiting to be read and I have no idea why it's taken me this long. I love the author's writing and have enjoyed all of her other books. I'm about to start a buddy read today so hopefully I'll enjoy it.

4. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
I'm totally psyched that I finally have my own copy of this. So far all I've done is stroke the gorgeous cover and flick through the pages but I love adore how strikethroughs are used in the prose (it had to be done guys lol).

5. Divergent by Veronica Roth
I have only heard awesome things about this book. I haven't managed to read it yet though (no idea why). The Totally Booksessed youtube channel just did Book Oscars and this kept winning them over and over - best debut, best hero, best heroine and best dystopian!

2012 Releases

6. Unbroken by Rachel Caine
This is the final book in the Outcast Season series and I've been waiting for it for what feels like forever. I read the first book as soon as it was released to find the biggest cliffhanger ever (it's like the book just ran out of pages) so I decided to wait until the series was complete before reading further.

7. Fair Game by Patricia Briggs
Patricia Briggs is one of those authors I have loved for years. This is the third and newest release in her Alpha and Omega series which I love. It's a bit more romance focused than her Mercy Thompson series but I fell in love with the characters and love seeing things from Anna's perspective.

8. Fever by Lauren DeStefano
Probably one that is on a lot of lists this week. I adored Wither and that ending? Well lets just say I'm hooked and desperate to know what happens next for Rhine. The whole dystopian world is incredibly well developed and deeply creepy.

9. Thirteen by Kelley Armstrong
The last Otherworld novel *sniff*. Bitten was one of the first urban fantasy books I read and it really hooked me to the genre. I'm waaaay behind on the series but I'll be reading and re-reading them all this year in preparation for this.



10. Hush, Hush book 4 by Becca Fitzpatrick
No title, no picture but one that I can't wait for! I only read the first three Hush, Hush books last year and I loved them. It took me a while to really like Patch though (literally until the third book!) so I'm looking forward to reading about him again. Also you just know the cover is going to be gorgeous!

In My Mailbox (13)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren. Each weekend I'll post about any new books I've gotten either in my mailbox or from a store or library that week. If I haven't gotten any new books, I'll wait until I do.

This weeks haul is a little insane as it actually covers the last two weeks of pre-Christmas bargains, Christmas presents and post-Christmas sales shopping.

So what's in your mailbox this week?