Shelf Candy Saturday (21)

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 Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge.

When orphaned young Maria Merryweather arrives at Moonacre Manor, she feels as if she’s entered Paradise. Her new guardian, her uncle Sir Benjamin, is kind and funny; the Manor itself feels like home right away; and every person and animal she meets is like an old friend. But there is something incredibly sad beneath all of this beauty and comfort—a tragedy that happened years ago, shadowing Moonacre Manor and the town around it—and Maria is determined to learn about it, change it, and give her own life story a happy ending. But what can one solitary girl do?


When I was a kid I found a book in the library that I absolutely adored. Eventually they asked for it back and all I could remember was that it was something to do with Moonacre. It wasn't until years later when I watched the movie The Secret of Moonacre with my grandparents I finally figured out what the actual title of the book was (it was on the back of the DVD case). So after getting a cheap paperback copy and raving hysterically to my Mum about how I'd found it again after all these years, she brought me the collectors edition hardcover which comes with it's own slipcase:

After doing a happy dance I sat down to peruse the awesomeness of this edition, and awesome it is. The internal covers show a map of Moonacre and the village of Silverydew with another map of Moonacre Manor at the back. I'm a sucker for maps in books and the vintage feel of these is gorgeous as is the purple colour scheme that matches the cover.

 

The book is also illustrated throughout with old fashioned line drawings. The book was originally written in 1946 and I believe these are the original illustrations. This one is a sketch of Maria and Loveday at the Parsonage Gate. They really add something special to the book :)



So what's your shelf candy this week?

The Espressologist by Kristina Springer

Title: The Espressologist

Author: Kristina Springer
Publisher: FSG Teen
ISBN: 978-0-374-32228-1
Pages: 184
Series: N/A
Type: Young Adult Contemporary Romance
Source: Purchased
Goodreads


How much can anyone tell about you by your favourite coffehouse drink? Well if you're 17 year old barista Jane Turner then quite a lot. Jane has been making notes on the types of person who order different drinks and calls it Espressology. There are the loyal and trustworthy medium iced vanilla lattes, the smart and simple medium dry cappuccinos and the patriotic straightforward americanos. Now Jane is ready to try matchmaking customers and soon Espressology is the newest holiday marketing technique at Wired Joes, and Jane finds herself getting more attention than she ever expected.

I picked up this book because the premise sounded really fun and unique but not really knowing what to expect. This was my first contemporary YA and being new to the genre meant I was a bit lost at first. The storyline is evenly paced but develops slowly and while I enjoyed the premise and the espressolgy explanations (although the closest to my favourite was not flattering at all!) I did find there was a lack of depth overall. I didn't even realise the book was set in Chicago until about 2/3 in.

Jane never really develops as a character. We learn she works at Wired Joes, goes to college occasionally and has a friend called Em. There is never much to distinguish her at all so she comes across as a plain Jane (if you'll excuse the pun). The lack of development is pretty widespread with boss Derek being the stereotypical overworked grump and frat boy love interest Will who I disliked from his first appearance and couldn't believe how cluless Jane was about him.

The characters I did like are Jane's friends Em and Cam who she decides to match after Em breaks up with her long-term boyfriend. Again Jane was clueless around Cam but he was probably the best developed character in the book. As someone in a similar care situation I was surprised at how realistic his actions were and they fit well with someone in that sort of role.

Wired Joes comes off as a Starbucks clone, which is unsurprising given that the entire book was written in a Starbucks. Even some of the drinks are clearly Starbucks branded ones. This was pretty disappointing as I'm a big fan of Cleo Coyle's coffeehouse mysteries (which start with On What Grounds) and they manage to create a unique but recognisable environment.

All in all this was a fun frothy read ideal if you're looking for something light.

Plot: 7/10
Characters: 6/10
Ending: 7/10
Enjoyment: 8/10
Cover: 9/10

Overall: 37/50

The Canadian Reading Challenge

I've signed up for the Canadian Reading Challenge hosted by Marie @ Ramblings of a Daydreamer and I'm sooo excited for this one. It turns out some of my favourite authors are Canadian: Kelley Armstrong (okay that one I knew), Lynsay Sands, Michelle Rowen and Margaret Atwood. There are also some authors I want to try like Kathy Reichs and Alyxandra Harvey who are also Canadian.

Basically all you have to do is read 3 books that are either by a Canadian author or set in Canada and review them for the first time. I've checked with Marie and it turns out that I can redo a couple of older reviews for this (they are pretty short and not like my blog reviews at all) which is awesome! I will be reading those books again (they're the first three Otherworld books).

I'm really looking forward to getting stuck in and I think for me the challenge won't be in reading 3 books, it'll be in reading anything not Canadian lol :)

Sign-ups are still open here if you'd like to join in!

Teaser Tuesdays (31)

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:

"Melissa Stillwell ruined my entire junior year when she nicknamed me Cousin Dater. I had only just started getting over it this past summer after she graduated and I thought I'd never have to see her again."

~ Page 10, The Espressologist by Kristina Springer

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Title: Insurgent

Author: Veronica Roth
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 978-0-00-744292-8
Pages: 525
Series: Divergent #2
Type: Young Adult Dystopian
Source: Purchased
Goodreads


Tris has survived a horrifying attack against all the odds but her survival has come with a heavy cost. Racked with grief for her losses and guilt for her actions, Tris is desperate to find a peaceful escape. But the factions are failing and society is crumbling and it is not only the truth of the night of the Dauntless initiation that must be revealed. Other secrets, deeper than imagining, have haunted the factions for generations. Is Tris brave enough to reveal the hidden truth?

This is the second book in the Divergent trilogy (after Divergent) and after being disappointed by Divergent I approached Insurgent with trepidation. There is definitely more tension in this installment as the faction system, and by extension the society, is beginning to crumble. Massive betrayals have been made and the shockwaves are rocking the city, both on a large scale and an individual level. The pacing is better in this book, but I figured out a major plot twist very early on which was a huge disappointment.

Tris has been left questioning the cause of the chaos and her role in it so she is now carrying a lot of emotional baggage as the events of the previous book have left her scarred. This means that Insurgent has a much more introspective feel with a lot of actions being preceeded by Tris's internal debate. I liked this aspect, although it did create a lot more difficulties for Tris and Four. Four is his usual strong-yet-caring self but this reveals more about his past and miscommunication abounds.

This installment gives a look into the world of the Factionless which was an element briefly touched on in the previous book that I wanted to know more about. These are individuals who have chosen to leave their faction or who failed initiation and end up being a cross between lower class workers (cleaners, bus drivers etc) and homeless. Now we get to see that just because the factions rejected them, doesn't mean they necessarily reject each other.

The reader also gets to see more about the different factions, especially Amity whose focus on peace becomes a much needed commodity. The other factor I really enjoyed was that the possibility of simulations means that everyone's loyalty is questionable at all times and trust has become a huge risk for anyone.

All in all this was an interesting read and I'm looking forward to the final book.

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

Overall: 41/50

Wicked Wildfire Read-a-Thon Wrap Up (#WWReadathon)

So the readathon has now come to a close *sniff* and I had a lot of fun. I managed to enter most of the challenges and take part in the first twitter party and most importantly I got quite a bit of reading done!

All in all I read 4 full books and 2 partials (one I finished at the start and one I started at the end) for a total of 1623 pages :)

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Title: Divergent

Author: Veronica Roth
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 978-0-00-742041-4
Pages: 487
Series: Divergent #1
Type: Young Adult Dystopian
Source: Purchased
Goodreads


In futuristic Chicago society is divided into five factions: Erudite (the intelligent), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Candor (the honest) and Amity (the peaceful). Upon their sixteenth birthday everyone must choose a faction, either staying in the faction they were born into or breaking from their family and leaving for another. But when Tris makes her choice she cannot begin to fathom the ramifications or how drastically her life or the world around her is about to change.

This is the first book in the Divergent trilogy and is probably one of the most-hyped books I've read in a while. Having now read it, I'd actually say that it is overhyped to the point that I was left feeling let down by the storyline. The sheer level of "oh my gosh this is like the most amazing book ever!" meant that while I enjoyed the book, I was expecting something incredible and this isn't quite at that level. There is a lot of missed potential, particularly in the world building, and the book is overly long for the amount of storyline covered.

It is clear that this is set in a future Chicago which has been devastated but there is no explanation. Each faction has it's own areas of the city, but again these aren't really described. There are a lot of hints to the factions and their purpose but things are kept very vague, most likely to be revealed in future books (which is a plot device I dislike immensely). Even the conflict between the factions of Abnegation and Erudite is kept off the page which means that it only ever seems incidental. The other thing that bothered me was that the pace started off pretty quick and then slowed.

The entire book is basically set around Tris selecting and then joining a faction. While I liked Tris and the way she thought things through, she could be really immature and stupid at times which didn't fit well with the times when she was smarter or braver. As the book went on Tris became more confident and coherent within herself. Four is one of my favourite parts of the book. He challenges Tris, forcing her to become a better person while also being incredibly sweet and supportive.

I liked how the other initiates were shown as joining a faction includes some pretty serious hazing. There was a great spectrum from the horrible Peter to Tris's awesome new best Christina. As Tris is kept with the other faction transfers this does explain a bit more about each faction without info-dumping, and it also means that the concept of bullying can be handled in an innovative way.

All in all, this was a fun read and I'm looking forward to Insurgent.

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

Overall: 43/50

Shelf Candy Saturday (20)

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 Kitchen Witch by Annette Blair.

When Logan Kilgarven offers to help his neighbour Melody Seabright get a job at his TV station in exchange for babysitting his son, the last thing he expects is for Melody to bewitch the manager into giving her a cooking show. Melody is thrilled to have landed such an awesome job, but resisting the temptation of stuffed suit Logan isn't her only problem. The Kitchen Witch is an great idea for a show...as long as Melody can learn to cook.



I absolutely adore this book and it's cover. It fits the storyline incredibly well, especially as Melody has a real focus on fashion and that outfit looks just like something she'd wear. Even the tiny details like the cookbook (perfect for a witch who can't cook) fit well.

I love the simple, almost cartoon-y feel to it, particularly the cat (although honestly there should be two if you go by the book). It looks sketched out and I think it manages to stand out from the other photoshopped covers. This one is a contemporary romance (but is the first in a trilogy that ends up as paranormal romance - go figure) and it has a really unique look to it.

The oven, title, moon and stars are all foiled which adds a little something extra, especially as the other similar coloured parts (i.e. the silvers and reds) are matt so it creates a brilliant contrast. The white background also compliments the shinyness really well.

The one aspect I wish I could share with you is that it's a touchy feely book. Parts of the design are raised (Melody, the cat, the stove, the title and the moon) and you can even feel the individual roses on the dress as well as the pattern on the tights and the waves in her hair. It's the kind of book I could identify blindfolded just by feeling the front cover.

So what's your shelf candy this week?

#WWReadathon - Beach Soiree

Time for another Read-a-Thon challenge! This one is hosted by Kriss @ The Cabin Goddess Reviews and she wants us to describe our ideal beach party including:

* Your perfect beach (from a book, or a place or a cover)
* Your perfect date (provide a link to cover or book)
* in your preferred swimwear (description, or link to image or cover)
* With your first choice of books to read (title with link to book or to cover)

The beach:

 

This gorgeous beach right here is in Bora Bora (a teeny island in French Polynesia) where I would love to go. The beautiful sandy beach, the crystal clear water...and the perfectly placed hammock so I can get stuck into my book with that view whenever I glance up. Paradise!

The date:

The ideal date has gotta be Wren Tigarian from Unleash the Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon. This is the one that really got me hooked on the series. Wren is an amazing guy. He does the sweetest most romantic things, he is incredibly brave and strong, he is absolutely gorgeous AND he has a pet monkey! So very awesome :)

The swimwear:

I'm not exactly the biggest fan of swimwear, so I'm gonna go for a simple yet stylish maxi dress. Perfect for strolling about the beach, and easy enough to lift up to allow mucho paddling time.

As for Wren? Well he can wear (or not) whatever he wants...as long as it isn't too distracting from my book!

First choice of books to read:

As amazing as Wren is and as gorgeous as that view is, at some point all I'm gonna wanna do is curl up in that hammock with my book. And as I shall be reading on a beach, what better choice than a book set on one? I've wanted to read Ocean of Secrets since it was released in the US (as Sea Change) so I'm psyched for the UK edition out in a couple of weeks.

* * * * *

Want to enter the challenge too? Click here for the original post :)

Blue-Blooded Vamp by Jaye Wells

Title: Blue-Blooded Vamp

Author: Jaye Wells
Publisher: Orbit
ISBN: 978-0-356-50075-1
Pages: 456
Series: Sabina Kane #5
Type: Adult Urban Fantasy
Source: Purchased
Goodreads


Sabina Kane is on the hunt. Her prey is Cain, the immortal father of the vampire race, but Cain is also hunting her. So Sabina travels to Italy with her partner Adam Lazurus and demonic familiar Giguhl to track down a mysterious mage known only as Abel. Only he has ever managed to best Cain before, but he may not be willing to help them. Soon it becomes clear that it all comes down to who has the biggest motivation - Sabina and her revenge, or Cain and his domination?

This is the fifth and final book in the Sabina Kane series (after Red-Headed Stepchild, The Mage in Black, Green-Eyed Demon and Silver-Tongued Devil) which is probably one of my favourite urban fantasy series of all time. As much as I've loved Sabina's adventures I have to give kudos to the author for having the confidence to end the series when she intended, rather than let it drag on. As I've mentioned in my previous reviews, this is a series that really should be read in order from the beginning.

The book picks up shortly after the dramatic heart-wrenching end to the previous book which not only left me reeling as a reader, but left all the characters in the same state. Sabina is now on the hunt for Cain and this leads her to Rome, with a brief stopover in New Orleans first. This means that the story manages to give page time to previously featured characters (like Zenobia, Georgia and Brooks) without getting weighed down. The pacing is brisk and the storyline is action-packed and full of twists and turns with tons of long buried secrets being revealed.

Sabina is desperate not only for revenge but also to find a place of peace within herself. Adam and Giguhl accompany her to Italy, but they too are grieving and so there is an almost desperate feel to their quest (as Giguhl calls it). I was happy to see despite the darkness Giguhl managed to keep his sense of humour and there are some genuinely funny scenes that lift the narrative. The search for Abel, and Abel as a character, are fascinating and kept me glued to the page as every twist was revealed.

The storyline works really well to conclude the series, and the epilogue set eight months later (a year after the series started) rounds things out nicely. Some may say it tied things up too well, but I like that it touched on every character I've grown to know and love and gives an idea how they ended up. These aren't perfect Hollywood endings, and I love the touch of reality here.

Sabina's "Things to do:" list makes its final appearance, and is a bit more abrupt than previously although no less teaser-y.
     1. Get to Rome
     2. Find Abel
     3. Kill Cain

All in all this was a fantastic end to an outstanding series.

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

Overall: 48/50

Wicked Wildfire Read-a-Thon - Thursday (#WWReadathon)

My Day

Today was pretty easy as I was at home pretty much all day but I kept getting distracted with blog stuff and knitting stuff so I barely got any reading done. It's just been a kinda weird off day but on the plus side I may have figured out how to rescue a game I thought I'd lost :)

The Books

So I totally finished this one last night. I was just going to read for a little bit before I went to sleep, but then I got so sucked in to what was going on I ended up finishing the whole thing. Seriously awesomely epic!





I also started reading The Espressologist today and I'm not to sure what I think. I love the plot and the idea behind matching people by their favourite drinks, but I'm over halfway through and know barely anything about the main character :(



Challenges

All challenges run for 24 hours this round which is great for me as the times are always in EST, and that's about 5 hours behind me so the new time span gives me a lot of flexibility. Today's challenges were:

There are two challenges up today: Cover Lover from Marie @ Ramblings of a Daydreamer and Wicked Title Trouble from Melissa @ Melissa's Eclectic Bookshelf. I completed the Cover Lover which was super fun and I'm having a ponder over my Wicked Title Trouble entry :)

Silver-Tongued Devil by Jaye Wells

Title: Silver-Tongued Devil

Author: Jaye Wells
Publisher: Orbit
ISBN: 978-0-356-50074-4
Pages: 405
Series: Sabina Kane #4
Type: Adult Urban Fantasy
Source: Purchased
Goodreads


Life seems to be looking up for Sabina Kane. The threat of war is passed, her family is reunited and her romance with sexy hexy Adam Lazarus is going from strength to strength. But Sabina doesn't quite trust that peace is possible so when a series of brutual murders shocks New York, Sabina is the only one not surprised. With the peace talks stalled Sabina and Adam must work quickly to find the killer before everything crumbles around them.

This is the fourth book in the Sabina Kane series (after Red-Headed Stepchild, The Mage in Black and Green-Eyed Demon) and moves the series to a whole new level. Previously Sabina was facing off against people from her past, but now there are gods and immortal bad guys coming out of the woodwork and her battles just got that much harder. Again, if you're new to the series, I'd recommend starting at the beginning.

This installment feels more introspective than the others as Sabina is trying to adapt completely to mage life, living only off bagged blood and not killing anymore. She's ended up a little lost between her vampire and mage instincts, especially when a vamp arrives who is incredibly similar to the old Sabina, and there's a realistic search for identity here that had me rooting for Sabina even more. The pacing is excellent from the dramatic start, through all the twists and turns to the "OMG!" ending which had be reaching for the next book straight away.

It isn't just Sabina who is struggling. Maisie has been left badly scarred by her experiences in New Orleans and is locking herself away in her room, refusing to talk to anyone. PW is still firmly clinging to her feminine identity (and ends up becoming incredibly bitchy) and even Mac and Georgia are having issues. The latter is incredibly heart-wrenching and well written with a bittersweet feel.

The setting returns to New York, which also means returning to Slade's club. Giguhl's beloved demon fight club has been replaced with demonic roller derby, which means he swiftly ends up coaching the Manhattan Marauders leading to some brilliant one liners. The return to New York also means that secrets buried in previous books are revealed with far-reaching results.

Sabina's "Things to-do" list remains and is just as awesome as ever.
     1. Find a murderer
     2. Learn how to be a team player
     3. Save the future of the dark races

All in all this was an excellent read and I can't wait for Blue-Blooded Vamp.

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

Overall: 47/50

Wicked Wildfire Read-a-Thon - Wednesday (#WWReadathon)

My Day

Having taken part in the last two read-a-thons I thought it would be kinda fun to keep track of what I've been up to during the day. That way I can see what I'm reading along with what was going on, which I'd otherwise forget.

I spent most of this morning in a hospital waiting room which gave me some handy reading time. My Mum is undergoing treatment for lymphoedema which means going to the hospital on alternate days for a few weeks for massage and compression bandaging. This meant I had some time to kill so after tracking down the coffee (which required many many directions after repeatedly getting lost) I hung out and got some reading done.

After getting back this afternoon, I just chilled out with my book and entered the challenges as they came up. Basically a pretty awesome start!

The Books

I got started this morning on page 202 and amazed myself by being done by lunchtime! I discovered reading this series in public is a bad idea as random fits of giggles get you some seriously weird looks. But what are you supposed to do when faced with lines like:

"I'm as nervous as a nun at a porn convention."

All in all this was awesome and the ending was just jaw-dropping.




After the OMG! ending to the last book I was really happy I'd waited till this one was released before reading it. I'm about 290-something pages into this at the moment and it's looking to be an epic end to an awesome series. I'm loving every page and I can't wait to see what happens next and how everything ends up. Plus lots of Giguhl!




Challenges

All challenges run for 24 hours this round which is great for me as the times are always in EST, and that's about 5 hours behind me so the new time span gives me a lot of flexibility. Today's challenges were:

Something Wicked This Way Comes hosted by Rebecca @ Kindle Fever

In this awesome challenge Rebecca asked what we'd save if a wildfire was about to hit our house. My entry is here.

Not entered? Click here until 8am EST (1pm BST) Thursday.


Slake Your Thirst hosted by Kimba @ The Caffeinated Book Reviewer

Kimba hosted a recipe book challenge asking for our favourite drink recipes along with our most anticipated summer reads. My not even slightly summery entry is here.

Not entered? Click here until 4pm EST (9pm BST) Thursday.

#WWReadathon - Slake Your Thirst

Time for the second challenge of the Read-a-Thon! This one is hosted by Kimba @ The Caffeinated Book Reviewer and she is collecting recipes!

Share your favorite drink recipe and the cover of your favorite/most anticipated summer read!

Have fun with this, include pictures, the recipe (so we can all try it) and tell us about your book choice. Have you read it? Are you anxiously awaiting its release this summer? Why? 

My favourite drink recipe is about as non-summery as you can get. I'm not the biggest fan of summer and I tend to pretty much just drink water or iced coffee from coffee shops. So I'm sharing my favourite cinnamon hot chocolate recipe which I absolutely adore.

The yummy picture however is borrowed from Nassau Happening as this stuff never lasts long enough for a pic in my house lol :)

Cinnamon Hot Chocolate

Chocolate Oat Milk, to fill your favourite mug

Cinnamon stick

Whipped cream (optional)

Powdered cinnamon (optional)

Place the chocolate oat milk in a saucepan with the cinnamon stick and heat slowly. Don't let it boil - it goes really gross! As soon as it gets nice and hot (I check with my finger) take it off the heat, ditch the cinnamon stick and pour into your favourite mug. Serve with whipped cream and/or sprinkle over some powdered cinnamon to taste.

My summer reading pick: 13 by Kelley Armstrong

This is the last book in Kelley Armstrong's outstanding Otherworld series, aka those books that got me addicted to urban fantasy. I've loved the series since it's beginning (with Bitten) and am kinda sad that it's coming to an end. That said I know it's going to go out with a bang and I can't wait to see what happens. It comes out on July 24 in the UK and I'm planning to read/reread the whole series to celebrate.


Here's the blurb (very vague/minor spoilers follow for books 1-12):

War is coming to the Otherworld. A sinister cult known as The Supernatural Liberation Movement is hell-bent on exposing the truth about supernaturals to the rest of the world. Their violent, ruthless plan has put everyone at risk: from werewolves to vampires, from witches to half-demons.

Savannah Levine - fiery and unpredictable - stands at the heart of the maelstrom. There is a new, dark magic inside her, granting her the power to summon spells of terrifying strength. But whether this magic is a gift or a curse, no one knows.

On the eve of battle, all the major players must come together in a last, desperate fight for survival - Elena and Clay; Adam and Savannah; Paige and Lucas; Jeremy and Jaime; Hope, Eve and more... They are fighting for lives. They are fighting for their loved ones.

They are fighting for the Otherworld.

* * * * *

If you'd like to take part, check out Kimba's original post here.

#WWReadathon - Something Wicked This Way Comes...

Time for the first challenge of the Read-a-Thon! This one is hosted by Rebecca @ Kindle Fever and she asks:

“A wildfire is quickly coming your way! What thing/s do you grab when you only have a few minutes to make it out?”

(I’ve saved any people or pets in there already!)

As I'm the kind of person likely to get distracted grabbing things and end up flambed, I'm going to limit myself to three things:

1. The picture frame my sister made me after my neice was born. It has a birth announcement, a photo and even one of her hospital bands. It's super important to me (cause I was there and got to hold her first!!!) and I'd be crushed if I lost it, to the point where I'd take this over everything else.

2. My phone, not because I'd be lost without it but because it has all my photos on it. Most are backed up in various places, but not all.

3. However many of my "special" books I can carry - the ones I adore (my collectors edition of The Little White Horse), the ones my Mum worked crazy hard to find (my Aussie editions from the Tomorrow series) and my signed copies.

* * * * *

Want to enter the challenge too? Click here for the original post :)

Green-Eyed Demon by Jaye Wells

Title: Green-Eyed Demon

Author: Jaye Wells
Publisher: Orbit
ISBN: 978-1-84149-758-7
Pages: 376
Series: Sabina Kane #3
Type: Adult Urban Fantasy
Source: Purchased
Goodreads


Sabina Kane is racing against the clock. Her sister Maisie has been kidnapped by their sadistic grandmother Lavinia, the dark races are on the brink of war and and the sinister Caste of Nod are manipulating everyone from behind the scenes. Based on information from an unlikely ally Sabina, Adam and Giguhl have travelled to New Orleans and find unusual new allies in a voodoo trained human, a colourful fairy, a renegade mage and a belligerent werewolf. But when they run across magic-wielding vampires the question soon becomes can they survive long enough to rescue Maisie?

This is the third book in the now complete Sabina Kane series (after Red-Headed Stepchild and The Mage in Black) which is has to be one of my favourite urban fantasy series. It is one of those series that really should be read in order, especially given that this installment picks up almost immediately after the conclusion of the last. This time the setting has been changed to New Orleans which is one of my favourite settings for books and this version certainly doesn't disappoint.

Once again the pacing is consistently taught with the manipulative aspects common to this series provided by both Lavinia and the Caste of Nod. A greater purpose has been brought into play which means it is no longer all about Sabina, rather she has become a tool that could be manipulated or strike her manipulators down. The frankly creepy owl Stryx has also returned and is once again following Sabina around.

It seems each book challenges an aspect of Sabina's preconceptions with the first dealing with vampires, the second with mages and this installment forces her to work with a human. While Sabina has shaken free of most of her vampire prejudices she really struggles when faced with a plain old human, albeit one who practises voodoo and is a quarter mage. The request that she abstain from human blood in favour of animal does not go down well either. There is also a focus on the fairy races, with the Queen being presented in an unusual less-than-attractive form.

Sabina and Adam's relationship comes more into play after their literal separation in the previous book. Now thrown together in close quarters, Adam makes his interest clear while Sabina struggles to deal with the possibility of love amongst so much loss. There are some incredibly sweet scenes and Adam is incredibly understanding of why Sabina is resistant.

Giguhl is dealing with a dramatic breakup but quickly blends into life in New Orleans, bonding with their hosts Zenobia and Brooks. Brooks is hilarious and his flirtation with Adam (and Adam's discomfort) add a lightness to an otherwise quite dark book. Brooks also has a unique performance which had me laughing out loud.

Once again Sabina's "Things to do:" checklist has been paperclipped to the back covers. I love the uniqueness of this feature and how it hints to the plot of the book. This one reads:
1. Rescue sister from kidnappers
2. Take on leader of entire vampire race
3. Survive

All in all, this was another great read and I can't wait for Silver-Tongued Devil.

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

Overall: 47/50

Wicked Wildfire Read-a-Thon (#WWReadathon)

The Wicked Wildfire Read-a-Thon starts tomorrow and I can't wait. I've previously participated in the Wonderfully Wicked and Wicked Winter Read-a-Thons and had a huge amount of fun. There are always the coolest challenges and it's amazing how much reading can get done with a little motivation.

I'm really hoping to quite a bit of reading done and the new five day span is awesome as I know I have a couple of wicked busy days coming up (if you'll excuse the pun lol). That said, I probably won't be reviewing my reads as I go for two reasons - firstly review time means non-reading time, and secondly I'm going to be in a bunch of good-for-reading-bad-for-reviewing places.

All in all I'm super excited and can't wait to get stuck in. The official start time is 12:01 EST tonight which is about 5 am here in London so I'll be starting as soon as I wake up. I'll probably be starting at some point in Silver-Tongued Devil by Jaye Wells, depending on how much I read before I fall asleep tonight lol :)


If you'd like to join in (and I really recommend it!) check out the sign-up details here.

Teaser Tuesdays (30)

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:

"I hadn't known cat lips could purse before. But Giguhl rocked the martyr mask like a pro."

~ Page 120, Green-Eyed Demon by Jaye Wells

The Mage in Black by Jaye Wells

Title: The Mage in Black

Author: Jaye Wells
Publisher: Orbit
ISBN: 978-1-84149-757-0
Pages: 326
Series: Sabina Kane #2
Type: Adult Urban Fantasy
Source: Purchased
Goodreads


After turning her back on her vampire upbringing half-blood Sabina Kane finds herself thrust into the mage world in New York. United with the twin sister she never knew she had, Sabina has to deal with her family issues whilst suddenly having to follow mage rules. Faced with a prophecy claiming that she is destined to unite the dark races, Sabina isn't into destiny. But faced with demonic fight club, territorial werewolves and an old flame it looks like the Big Apple may be about to take a bite out of her...

This is the second book in the now complete Sabina Kane series (after Red-Headed Stepchild) which is one of my favourite urban fantasy series. It really needs to be read in order from the beginning due to the character development and world building. The storyline is both well plotted and well paced, and surprised me by the amount of twists, turns and manipulation still echoing throughout Sabina's life. The mysterious Caste of Nod are covered in more detail and are beginning to come out as a key player.

Sabina is really thrown in at the deep end, both with her sister Maisie and with mage culture in general. She has to further remove herself from vampire culture (drinking bagged blood for example) and also needs to learn to harness the innate talents endowed by her mage blood. Not only is she turning her back on her childhood, Sabina really doesn't think she is capable of doing anything but assassinate people and it is her insecurity that makes her accessible.

Maisie is the complete opposite of Sabina. She is a huggy, emotionally open earth mother type who paints her dreams and automatically accepts Sabina with no questions. She even supports Sabina's much-resisted attraction to Adam, who is sadly absent for much of the book. In his place is Sabina's old flame Slade who gives Sabina a chance to access elements of her old life. Adam's absence does means that the overdone love triangle is avoided and allows Sabina the space to make a decision as to which life (and guy) she truly wants.

Slade also opens a door for Giguhl, who is still my favourite character and is just as awesome and hilarious as ever. Slade's club hosts a demon fight club where Giguhl soon finds himself star of the show. The whole idea of the fight club is hilarious and the concept is well handled, managing to be action-packed and entertaining whilst growing Sabina and Giguhl's friendship.

I love that the designers kept Sabina's "Things to do:" checklist that looks paperclipped to the back covers. This installment has:
     1. Survive Magic 101
     2. Bond with long-lost sister
     3. Stay alive

All in all, this was another great read and I can't wait for Green-Eyed Demon.

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

Overall: 48/50