Weekly Releases: September 1-5 (Part 2)

This is the second part to this week's releases. Here's all the releases that are part of a previous series:

September 1

The Dolls #2

More secrets. More power. More trouble.

The secrets swirling around Carrefour are deepening, and the lies are more tangled than ever as Eveny discovers the truth about her past.

It’s only been a couple of months since Eveny Cheval discovered that she’s a powerful queen of zandara, the voodoo-like form of magic that has controlled the town of Carrefour for generations. But she barely has time to consider what this means before she’s attacked by the murderous anti-magic organization Main de Lumière once again.

Alarmed, her powerful father takes her – and her sister zandara queens, Peregrine and Chloe – to his home on mysterious Caouanne Island. But the island holds its own secrets about Eveny’s past – and her future. Now, she’s torn between two magical traditions – and two guys: mysterious Caleb, who’s pushing her away, and charismatic Bram, who seems too good to be true.

With Main de Lumière closing in and Carrefour’s defenses crumbling, Eveny, her sister queens, and the townspeople she’s supposed to protect are in danger. And as the revelations about her past continue pouring in, Eveny begins to realize that she might just be the only one who can save them all. Now, she has to fight for the people and the town she loves – and for her own life.

Welcome to Carrefour, where long-buried secrets simmer like heat over the bayou and whatever you desire most can be yours—for a price. Source
 

Red Queen #0.5

Queen Coriane, first wife of King Tiberias, keeps a secret diary—how else can she ensure that no one at the palace will use her thoughts against her? Coriane recounts her heady courtship with the crown prince, the birth of a new prince, Cal, and the potentially deadly challenges that lay ahead for her in royal life. Source

Scorched #3

Once upon a time the world burned.
Until a girl and her dragon smothered the flame.
But the spark that ignited the apocalypse never went out.
And the Scorch is about to begin.

When Team Dragon rescues Emmy from the government lab, they think the future is finally safe. But they soon discover that Emmy has a secret--a secret so dangerous it could trigger the very apocalypse Connor and Caleb were sent back in time to prevent.

As a dragon hunter, Connor has committed his life to saving the world. There’s nothing he wouldn’t do to complete his mission… even if it meant betraying his brother and losing Trinity’s heart. Even if it meant doing the unthinkable. But a desperate choice meant to prevent The Scorch, may become the spark that sets the world aflame once more. Source

Lorien Legacies #6

The sixth book in the thrilling, action-packed, New York Times bestselling I Am Number Four series! For years the Garde have fought the Mogadorians in secret. Now all of that has changed. The invasion has begun. If the Garde can't find a way to stop the Mogs, humanity will suffer the same fate as the Lorien: annihilation.

There is still hope. When the Elders sent the Garde to Earth, they had a plan—one which the Garde are finally starting to understand. In the climax of The Revenge of Seven, a group of the Garde traveled to an ancient pyramid in Mexico known to their people as the Sanctuary. There they awoke a power that had been hidden within our planet for generations. Now this power can save the world . . . or destroy it. It will all depend on who wields it. Source

Magisterium #2

Callum Hunt’s summer break isn’t like other kids’. His closest companion is a Chaos-ridden wolf, Havoc. His father suspects him of being secretly evil. And, of course, most kids aren’t heading back to the magical world of the Magisterium in the fall.

It’s not easy for Call . . . and it gets even harder after he checks out his basement and discovers that his dad might be trying to destroy both him and Havoc.

Call escapes to the Magisterium -- but things only intensify there. The Alkahest -- a copper gauntlet capable of separating certain magicians from their magic -- has been stolen. And in their search to discover the culprit, Call and his friends Aaron and Tamara awaken the attention of some very dangerous foes -- and get closer to an even more dangerous truth.

As the mysteries of the Magisterium deepen and widen, bestselling authors Holly Black and Cassandra Clare take readers on an extraordinary journey through one boy’s conflict -- and a whole world’s fate.  Source

Guild Hunter #8

Naasir is the most feral of the powerful group of vampires and angels known as the Seven, his loyalty pledged to the Archangel Raphael. When rumors surface of a plot to murder the former Archangel of Persia, now lost in the Sleep of the Ancients, Naasir is dispatched to find him. For only he possesses the tracking skills required—those more common to predatory animals than to man.

Enlisted to accompany Naasir, Andromeda, a young angelic scholar with dangerous secrets, is fascinated by his nature—at once playful and brilliant, sensual and brutal. As they race to find the Sleeping archangel before it’s too late, Naasir will force her to question all she knows...and tempt her to walk into the magnificent, feral darkness of his world. But first they must survive an enemy vicious enough to shatter the greatest taboo of the angelic race and plunge the world into a screaming nightmare… Source

The Worldwalker Trilogy #2

Worlds divide, magic slays, and love lies in the second book of Josephine Angelini’s The Worldwalker Trilogy.

"You think I’m a monster, but my choices, as ruthless as they seem, are justified."

Lily is back in her own universe, and she's ready to start a new life with Rowan by her side. True, she almost died in the Pyre that fueled their escape from New Salem, and must hide her magic for the safety of everyone she cares about, but compared to fighting the Woven, the monstrous creatures inhabiting the alternate Salem, life is looking pretty good.

Unfortunately, Lillian, ruthless ruler of the 13 Cities, is not willing to let Lily go that easily. If she can’t persuade Lily to return to her world, she will force her to come back by doing away with the ones she loves.

Picking up right where Trial By Fire left off, Firewalker is another sexy, fast-paced, heartbreaking thrill ride from internationally bestselling author Josephine Angelini! Source 

The Girl from the Well #2

Over the last year I've gone against faceless women, disfigured spirits, and grotesque revenants. Some people keep dangerous hobbies; skydiving and driving at monster truck rallies and glacier surfing. Me? I cast my soul into the churning waters of potential damnation and wait for a bite.

It’s been two years since Tark Halloway’s nightmare ended. Free from the evil spirit that haunted him all his life, he now aids the ghostly Okiku and avenges the souls of innocent children by hunting down their murderers. But when Okiku becomes responsible for a death at his high school, Tark begins to wonder if they’re no better than the killers they seek out.

When an old friend disappears in Aokigahara, Japan’s infamous ‘suicide forest’, both must resolve their differences and return to that country of secrets to find her.

Because there is a strange village inside Aokigahara, a village people claim does not exist. A village where strange things lie waiting.

A village with old ghosts and an ancient evil – one that may be stronger than even Okiku… Source

Asylum #3

Sometimes the past is better off buried.

Senior year is finally over. After all they’ve been through, Dan, Abby, and Jordan are excited to take one last road trip together, and they’re just not going to think about what will happen when the summer ends. But on their way to visit Jordan’s uncle in New Orleans, the three friends notice that they are apparently being followed.. And Dan starts receiving phone messages from someone he didn’t expect to hear from again—someone who died last Halloween.

As the strange occurrences escalate, Dan is forced to accept that everything that has happened to him in the past year may not be a coincidence, but fate—a fate that ties Dan to a group called the Bone Artists, who have a sinister connection with a notorious killer from the past. Now, Dan’s only hope is that he will make it out of his senior trip alive.

In this finale to the New York Times bestselling Asylum series, found photographs help tell the story of three teens who exist on the line between past and present, genius and insanity. Source

Throne of Glass #4

Everyone Celaena Sardothien loves has been taken from her. But she's at last returned to the empire—for vengeance, to rescue her once-glorious kingdom, and to confront the shadows of her past . . .

She will fight for her cousin, a warrior prepared to die just to see her again. She will fight for her friend, a young man trapped in an unspeakable prison. And she will fight for her people, enslaved to a brutal king and awaiting their lost queen's triumphant return.

Celaena’s epic journey has captured the hearts and imaginations of millions across the globe. This fourth volume will hold readers rapt as Celaena’s story builds to a passionate, agonizing crescendo that might just shatter her world. Source

 





Sweet Daydreams,
Brooke

Weekly Releases: September 1-5 (Part 1)

There are a ton of books coming out the first of September so I've decided to do this in two parts. The first will be the new books coming out this week and the second will be the new books that are part of a series.

September 1

Gramps always said that when the crickets were quiet, something bad was coming. And the crickets have been as silent as the dead. It started with the murdered deer in the playground with the unmistakable purple of a foxglove in its mouth. But in the dying boondock town of Emerald Cove, life goes on.

I work at Gramps's diner, and the cakes―the entitled rich kids who vacation here―make our lives hell. My best friend, Alex Pace, is the one person who gets me. Only Alex has changed. He's almost like a stranger now. I can't figure it out...or why I'm having distinctly more-than-friend feelings for him. Ones I shouldn't be having.

Then one of the cakes disappears.

When she turns up murdered, a foxglove in her mouth, a rumor goes around that Alex was the last person seen with her—and everyone but me believes it. Well, everyone except my worst enemy, Jenika Shaw. When Alex goes missing, it's up to us to prove his innocence and uncover the true killer. But the truth will shatter everything I've ever known about myself — and Alex. Source
 

My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla.

But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He’s tall, lean and wearing all black—black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly.

Maybe we can’t predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It’s almost certainly going to be a disaster. Source

 Zoe, Jake, Mia, Gregor, and Whitney meet at freshman orientation. At the end of that first day, they make a promise to reunite after graduation. So much can happen in those in-between years….

Zoe feels like she will live forever in her famous mother’s shadow. Jake struggles to find the right connections in friendship and in love. Mia keeps trying on new identities, looking for one that actually fits. Gregor thought he wanted to be more than just a band geek. And Whitney seems to have it all, until it’s all falling apart around her.

Echoing aspects of John Hughes’s The Breakfast Club, Carolyn Mackler skillfully brings the stories of these five disparate teens together to create a distinct and cohesive whole—a novel about how we can all affect one another’s lives in the most unexpected and amazing ways. Source

One conversation is all it takes to break a world wide open.

Seventeen-year-old Macy Lyons has been through something no one should ever have to experience. And she’s dealt with it entirely alone.

On the outside, she’s got it pretty good. Her family’s well-off, she’s dating the cute boy next door, she has plenty of friends, and although she long ago wrote her mother off as a superficial gym rat, she’s thankful to have allies in her loving, laid-back dad and her younger brother.

But a conversation with a boy at a party one night shakes Macy out of the carefully maintained complacency that has defined her life so far. The boy is Sebastian Ruiz, a recovering addict who recognizes that Macy is hardened by dark secrets. And as Macy falls for Sebastian, she realizes that, while revealing her secret could ruin her seemingly perfect family, keeping silent might just destroy her.

The Fix follows two good-hearted teenagers coming to terms with the cards they were dealt. It’s also about the fixes we rely on to cope with our most shameful secrets and the hope and fear that comes with meeting someone who challenges us to come clean. Source

Silas Hart has seriously shaken up Westlin Beck's small-town life. Brand new to town, Silas is different than the guys in Green Lake. He's curious, poetic, philosophical, maddening-- and really, really cute. But Silas has a sister-- and she has a secret. And West has a boyfriend. And life in Green Lake is about to change forever. Source

Will Caynes never has been good with girls. At seventeen, he’s still waiting for his first kiss. He’s certainly not expecting it to happen in a drunken make-out session with his best friend, Angus. But it does and now Will’s conflicted—he knows he likes girls, but he didn’t exactly hate kissing a guy.

Then Will meets Brandy, a cute and easy-to-talk-to sophomore. He’s totally into her too—which proves, for sure, that he’s not gay. So why does he keep hooking up with Angus on the sly?

Will knows he can’t keep seeing both of them, but besides his new job in a diner, being with Brandy and Angus are the best parts of his whole messed-up life. His divorced parents just complicate everything. His father, after many half-baked business ventures and endless house renovations, has started drinking again. And his mom is no help—unless loading him up with a bunch of stuff he doesn’t need plus sticking him with his twin half-sisters counts as parenting. He’s been bouncing between both of them for years, and neither one feels like home.

Deciding who to love, who to choose, where to live. Whichever way Will goes, someone will get hurt. Himself, probably the most. Source

Everything about Jonah is unexpected. On the first day of school, he sits next to April, when he could have chosen to sit with the popular girl. He turns down an invitation to join the school team and declares he'd rather paint. He encourages April to develop her musical talent and shrugs off the bullies that torment them.

April isn't surprised to find herself falling for Jonah. The unexpected part is when he falls for her too.

But the giddy happiness of their first romance begins to fade when Jonah's unpredictability begins to take a darker turn. April understands that her boyfriend is haunted by a painful memory, but his sudden mood swings worry her. She can't explain his growing fear of cellphones, electric keyboards, and of sounds that no one else can hear. Still, no matter what happens, April is sure that she'll always stand by him.

Until Jonah finally breaks and is committed to a psychiatric ward.

Until schizophrenia changes everything.

Though everyone urges her to let him go, April stays true to Jonah. But as the boy she adores begins to disappear in front of her, she has to face her worst fear: that her love may not be enough to save him. Source 

Ebenezer Scrooge: Ghost Hunter expands the original text of Charles Dicken’s classic with all-new scenes of malicious ghosts, soul devouring wraiths, deadly doppelgangers and other terrors from the netherworld. Our story opens seven years after Marley’s violent death. Ebenezer Scrooge has given up ghost hunting and embraced an inevitable slow death by alcohol poisoning. When the spectre of his deceased partner appears to him on Christmas Eve, Scrooge learns that he must face three Ghosts – one who will try to help him, one who will try to harm him and one that cannot be killed.

In a story that spans a lifetime of torment, Scrooge must face the demons of his past and his failures in the present in order to prevent the horror that is his future. The stakes for Scrooge’s soul have never been higher than in this wicked retelling of the classic, A Christmas Carol. Source

A girl’s dark destiny could cause the unraveling of the world in this spellbinding novel from the author of A Creature of Moonlight, which Kirkus Reviews called “cumulatively stunning” in a starred review.

Heed this warning, mortal: stay far away from the three sister Fates. For if they come to love you, they might bring about the end of the world…

Chloe is the youngest. Hers are the fingers that choose the wool, that shape the thread, that begin it. The sun smiles upon her. Men love her without knowing who she is. She has lived forever and will live forever more. She and her sisters have been on their isolated Greek island for centuries, longer than any mortal can remember. They spin, measure, and slice the countless golden threads of human life. They are the three Fates, and they have stayed separate for good reason: it is dangerous for them to become involved with the humans whose lives they shape.

So when a beautiful girl named Aglaia shows up on their doorstep, Chloe tries to make sure her sisters don’t become attached. But in seeking to protect them, Chloe discovers the dark power of Aglaia’s destiny. As her path unwinds, the three Fates find themselves pulled inextricably along—toward mortal pain, and mortal love, and a fate that could unravel the world. Source

A meth lab explosion leaves Arlie permanently scarred — both physically and emotionally. Yet, she develops the street smarts and survival skills to keep her addict mother out of the reach of the law and hidden from her stepfather, Lloyd, the man responsible for the explosion that killed three people.
Shortly after Arlie’s 16th birthday, her mother overdoses, forcing an end to their nomadic lives. Social services steps in and rules suddenly exist where none had before. Soon, she’s living in a 31-foot Airstream trailer with an eccentric uncle and attending high school for the first time.
While her facial scar makes it hard to fit in, Arlie begins to think a normal life might be possible – that is, until her stepfather tracks her down and insists she return drug money her mother had stolen. A final confrontation tests Arlie’s idea of right and wrong, and how far she’s willing to go to protect her new life. Source

September 3

How many times can you lose the person you love?

Katherine and Matthew are destined to be born again and again, century after century. Each time, their presence changes history for the better, and each time, they fall hopelessly in love, only to be tragically separated.

Spanning the Crimean War, the Siege of Carlisle and the near-future of 2019 and 2039 they find themselves sacrificing their lives to save the world. But why do they keep coming back? What else must they achieve before they can be left to live and love in peace?

Maybe the next together will be different...

A powerful and epic debut novel for teenagers about time-travel, fate and the timelessness of first love. The Next Together is told through a mixture of regular prose, diary entries, letters, "original" historical documents, news reports and internet articles. Source

Sweet Daydreams,
Brooke

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Title: Scarlet

Author: Marissa Meyer

Series: The Lunar Chronicles #2

Format: Hardcover

Release Date: Feb. 5, 2013

Genre(s): YA, Fantasy, Science Fiction

Rating:      A-

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Summary

Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second thrilling installment of the bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She's trying to break out of prison--even though if she succeeds, she'll be the Commonwealth's most wanted fugitive.

Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit's grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn't know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother's whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner.

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Review

Plot: Following Cinder (the retelling of Cinderella), this book tells the story of Scarlet; better known as Little Red Riding Hood. This story line is a little farther away from the traditional story than the first book. Really the main similarities are the name, the fact that she lives with her grandmother, and that she meets a guy named Wolf. Not much to say without giving away spoilers, but basically Scarlet's grandmother goes missing and she needs Wolf's help to find her. As you probably guess, things don't go quite as she planned. Like I said from Cinder, she does a good job of keeping you on your toes, even though you think you know the story line. Not only that, but she throws in aliens and robots into this fantasy world of Little Red Riding Hood.
 

Characters: In the first book we heard from Cinder and Kai. In this one, the main character is Scarlet. However, we also hear from Cinder, Kai, and Wolf at some points in the story. I talked about Cinder, and how strong and brave she was. Scarlet is also a good leading lady, but she's a little different than Cinder. She's younger, therefore a little less mature. Even though she can handle herself and get the job done, you can catch her whining at times. She isn't as sure of what she needs to do as Cinder is. Honestly, I like that. Cinder is a great female character to look up to, but not always relatable. She's almost too strong sometimes (if that makes sense). But Scarlet is a little scared and unsure, but still sticks with what she knows is important. That's what I admire about her.
 

Cover: I love the scarlet color in the cover. All these books in the series have that color in the cover, but for this book it's just even more perfect. And I love that you can only see a small part of the girl wearing the hood. It gives just a mystical feel to everything. It's such a simple cover! And yet it's so perfect for the books.
 

Closing Thoughts: I loved this book! As far as content goes, I enjoyed it just as much- if not more than- the first in the series. However, I think a big flaw was how many characters she wrote in. It was kind of hard to keep track of them all. One minute you're with Scarlet, trying to learn about her side of the story, and then they jump you back to Cinder, or sometimes even Kai! To be honest, it just seems a little much. It's really interesting having all these points of view, but sometimes I felt like she couldn't focus on what was going on. The author just kept jumping. I thought maybe it was just because of all the characters, but in the third book (reviewing later) she adds even more characters and it actually flows fine. Other than that, I loved this book. It was romantic yet didn't sacrifice any of the plot for romance. You'd think with these books being based around princesses (or similar) that they would be only focused on the love interest. Half the time, the girls don't even care about the guy, but saving a loved one or even the planet. Marissa Meyer has an amazing series going and I can't wait to continue on.
 

Where to find Marissa Meyer:

Website l Twitter l Goodreads l Facebook

Sweet Daydreams,

Brooke

Library Challenge #4: Behind the Curtain

Title: Behind the Curtain

Author: Peter Abrahams

Series: Echo Falls #2

Format: Hardcover

Release Date: April 25, 2006

Genre(s): YA, Mystery

Rating:     F

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Summary

Things are amiss at 99 Maple Lane. Ingrid's dad's job is in jeopardy and her brother, Ty, is getting buff—really buff—but his moodiness is making Ingrid start to wonder . . . Meanwhile, Ingrid's beloved soccer coach is replaced by an icy newcomer who seems a little too savvy to be in it for the postgame pizza. True to her hero, Sherlock Holmes, Ingrid begins fishing around to find out who's really pulling the strings in Echo Falls. But one morning, while en route to the dreaded MathFest, Ingrid is kidnapped and locked in the trunk of a car. Even if she escapes, will anyone believe her story?

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Review

Plot: The plot is a very basic YA mystery. Something doesn't seem right and Ingrid needs to get to the bottom of it. However, for being a detective, it seemed like she wasn't very good at picking up the clues. There were so many times the plot line would just drag on because she couldn't figure something out. The main part of reading mystery is to keep me on my toes and excited about what's going to happen next! That wasn't really the case with this book. The pacing was a bit slow and I didn't really cared about what happened next.

Character: I think part of the reason I disliked this book so much was really just because I couldn't connect to the main character, Ingrid. It could be because of how young she was, but I don't think that's it. I've read many books where the characters were much younger than me and I could still enjoy it. There is a similar mystery series with a girl named Gilda Joyce, and I could still enjoy those books to this day. I think that the age of a character shouldn't make the entire novel impossible to read. I just felt like for someone that's supposed to be the leading detective lady, she wasn't very smart and just annoyed me most of the time.

Cover: Even the cover of the book left me worried. Not much to say, however, it did look like a mystery book from the outside which was kind of cool. I like being able to pick up a book and say the cover looks like the book reads.

Closing Thoughts: I give this book an F and I feel very bad to do so. The problem is it was sooooo boring! And to be fair, the characters are really young and so it was hard to connect to them. But I barely even remember finishing this because this was a book I was solely finishing for the challenge. I didn't care about the characters or the plot and it was just very blah to me. I thought that maybe it was the author, but the next book I read (Bullet Point) was actually pretty good! I don't know if he was directing these two books towards different audiences or he just wrote much better in the later one, but I definitely did not enjoy Behind The Curtain, I'm sorry to say. To be fair, I never read the first in the series because I didn't realize it was part of a series. But I don't think reading the first would have made me enjoy this any more. You could possibly enjoy this if you are a younger reader, but I don't really recommend. 

Where to find Peter Abrahams:

Website l Goodreads l 

Sweet Daydreams,

Brooke

Weekly Book Releases: August 24-31

Here are this week's releases: 

August 25

After a supernatural showdown with a serial killer, Evie O'Neill has outed herself as a Diviner. Now that the world knows of her ability to "read" objects, and therefore, read the past, she has become a media darling, earning the title, "America's Sweetheart Seer." But not everyone is so accepting of the Diviners' abilities...

Meanwhile, mysterious deaths have been turning up in the city, victims of an unknown sleeping sickness. Can the Diviners descend into the dreamworld and catch a killer? Source

To everyone who knows him, West Ashby has always been that guy: the cocky, popular, way-too-handsome-for-his-own-good football god who led Lawton High to the state championships. But while West may be Big Man on Campus on the outside, on the inside he’s battling the grief that comes with watching his father slowly die of cancer.

Two years ago, Maggie Carleton’s life fell apart when her father murdered her mother. And after she told the police what happened, she stopped speaking and hasn’t spoken since. Even the move to Lawton, Alabama, couldn’t draw Maggie back out. So she stayed quiet, keeping her sorrow and her fractured heart hidden away.

As West’s pain becomes too much to handle, he knows he needs to talk to someone about his father—so in the dark shadows of a post-game party, he opens up to the one girl who he knows won’t tell anyone else.

West expected that talking about his dad would bring some relief, or at least a flood of emotions he couldn’t control. But he never expected the quiet new girl to reply, to reveal a pain even deeper than his own—or for them to form a connection so strong that he couldn’t ever let her go… Source

Nicolette’s awful stepsisters call her “Mechanica” to demean her, but the nickname fits: she learned to be an inventor at her mother’s knee. Her mom is gone now, though, and the Steps have turned her into a servant in her own home.

But on her sixteenth birthday, Nicolette discovers a secret workshop in the cellar and begins to dare to imagine a new life for herself. Could the mysterious books and tools hidden there—and the mechanical menagerie, led by a tiny metal horse named Jules—be the key to escaping her dreary existence? With a technological exposition and royal ball on the horizon, the timing might just be perfect for Nicolette to earn her freedom at last.

Gorgeous prose and themes of social justice and family shine in this richly imagined Cinderella retelling about an indomitable inventor who finds her prince . . . but realizes she doesn't want a fairy tale happy ending after all. Source

Lilith Bennette runs at midnight. She scales walls in the dark and climbs without a harness. She hopes that if she follows exactly in the steps of her strong air force pilot mother, she’ll somehow figure out the mystery of her mother’s death—and the reason why her necklace of Greek symbols has been missing ever since.

So when Lil is invited to Crete for a Future Leaders International conference, the same conference her mom attended years ago, she jumps at the chance to find some answers. But things in Melios Manor are not what they seem. Lil finds herself ensnared in an adventure of mythological proportions that leads her and her friends through the very labyrinth in which the real Minotaur was imprisoned. And they’re not in there alone. What secrets does the labyrinth hold, and will they help Lil find the truth about her mother?

This book is perfect for older fans of Percy Jackson and the Olympians and the Heroes of Olympus--and anyone who wants to find out the true story behind the magic of the Greek gods. Source

Sophia Dee, the most unusual spy of Queen Elizabeth’s Maids of Honor, has run out of time for her psychic skills to fully manifest. A terrible new prophecy now haunts Windsor Castle, and the Queen demands answers before the next doomed soul dies.

Thrust into a dangerous and horrifying competition to solve the deadly prediction, Sophia finds herself pitted against the most celebrated mystics of Europe: John Dee, her devious uncle and the Queen’s personal astrologer. . . and Nostradamus, the renowned prophet-seer of France.

In a court where whispers of witchcraft, poisonous plots, and grim assassins threaten her at every turn, Sophia needs answers fast. But does she dare trust Marcus Quinn, her uncle’s striking and over-ambitious assistant? Or, instead, should she turn to the tortured dark angel of the spirit realm, who whispers to her only of sorrow and death?

As new dangers surface and dire prophecy sweeps toward its final victim, the five Maids of Honor prepare to do battle. Only then will the girl who so often sees the future finally discover if she can save the Crown—and herself. Source

When Paige moves from LA to Idaho with her mom and little brother after her parents’ high-profile divorce, she expects to completely hate her new life, and the small town doesn’t disappoint. Worse yet, the drafty old mansion they’ve rented is infested with flies, spiders, and other pests Paige doesn’t want to think about.

She chalks it up to her rural surroundings, but it’s harder to ignore the strange things happening around the house, from one can of ravioli becoming a dozen, to unreadable words appearing in the walls. Soon Paige’s little brother begins roaming the house at all hours of the night, and there’s something not right about the downstairs neighbor, who knows a lot more than he’s letting on.

Things only get creepier when she learns about the sinister cult that conducted experimental rituals in the house almost a hundred years earlier.
The more Paige investigates, and the deeper she digs, the clearer it all becomes: whatever is in the house, whatever is causing all the strange occurrences, has no intention of backing down without a fight.

Found in the aftermath, Diary of a Haunting collects the journal entries, letters, and photographs Paige left behind. Source

It's a fairy-tale nightmare . . .

One girl is kept in a room where every day the only food she's given is a poisoned apple. Another is kept in a room covered in needles -- and if she pricks her finger, she'll die. Then there are the brother and sister kept in a cell that keeps getting hotter and hotter. . .

A sinister kidnapper is on the loose in Kate's world. She's not involved until one day she heads to her grandmother's house in the woods -- and finds her grandmother has also been taken. Already an outcast, Kate can't get any help from the villagers who hate her. Only Jack, another outsider, will listen to what's happened.

Then a princess is taken, and suddenly the king is paying attention -- even though the girl's stepmother would rather he didn't. It's up to Kate and Jack to track down the victims before an ever after arrives that's far from happy. Source 

Delia's new house isn't just a house. It used to be an insane asylum, a place to lock up "troubled" young women long ago. And a restless, wicked spirit is still at play--and it doesn't want defiant girls like Delia to go anywhere.

So the house kills her.

Now Delia is a ghost, trapped in her creepy home forever. As she meets the other ghost girls who haunt the narrow hallways, as well as the handsome ghost boy on the grounds, she learns shocking truths about the house's history. Delia also realizes that her alive and grieving sister might be the house's next target. Can Delia unlock the mystery of the old asylum, save her sister, and free herself? Source

August 27 

A library apprentice, a sorcerer prince, and an unbreakable magic bond...

The Solaris Empire is one conquest away from uniting the continent, and the rare elemental magic sleeping in seventeen-year-old library apprentice Vhalla Yarl could shift the tides of war.

Vhalla has always been taught to fear the Tower of Sorcerers, a mysterious magic society, and has been happy in her quiet world of books. But after she unknowingly saves the life of one of the most powerful sorcerers of them all—the Crown Prince Aldrik—she finds herself enticed into his world. Now she must decide her future: Embrace her sorcery and leave the life she’s known, or eradicate her magic and remain as she’s always been. And with powerful forces lurking in the shadows, Vhalla’s indecision could cost her more than she ever imagined. Source

What if you aren’t the Chosen One?

The one who’s supposed to fight the zombies, or the soul-eating ghosts, or whatever the heck this new thing is, with the blue lights and the death?

What if you’re like Mikey? Who just wants to graduate and go to prom and maybe finally work up the courage to ask Henna out before someone goes and blows up the high school. Again.

Because sometimes there are problems bigger than this week’s end of the world, and sometimes you just have to find the extraordinary in your ordinary life.

Even if your best friend is worshipped by mountain lions. Source

Sweet Daydreams,
Brooke

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Title: Cinder

Author: Marissa Meyer

Series: The Lunar Chronicles

Format: Hardcover

Release Date: Jan. 3, 2012

Genre(s): YA, Fantasy, Science Fiction

Rating:      A

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Summary

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl.

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

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Review

Plot: This book follows the life of Cinder, the cyborg version of Cinderella. She works as a mechanic, and a good one at that! Unfortunately, she works under her step-mother and two step-sisters, who don't even consider her a person. It's a little redundant to explain the plot to you all, seeing as it's basically Cinderella. However, I think it's really cool because unlike all the other Cinderella remakes (ie. A Cinderella Story, Another Cinderella Story, etc) this isn't really the same story. It's filled with a ton of science fiction that makes this a mix of future and past. The basic story line isn't based around Cinder getting with the prince, but to find a cure for the awful disease plaguing the nation. She doesn't go to the ball to find her true love, but to warn him of the evil alien queen that lives on the moon. It's honestly one of my favorite stories! I happen to love all the princesses and fairy tale stories. The fact that this one is just a retelling of a well-known story impresses me even more because it still has twists you don't expect. You think you know what's going to happen, but the author goes and changes it. It's similar enough to make you feel like you know the story, but so very different at the same time.
 

Characters: In the books that follow Cinder, we have to keep track of a lot of the characters. But luckily in the first it's basically just Cinder (and occasionally Prince Kai). If you're look for a strong, independent, female character, Cinder is the girl for you! She has basically spent her whole life being told she is nothing. She doesn't even feel like a person. In the original Cinderella story, she is obviously degraded, but not to the extent that Cinder is. And yet, somehow, Cinder stays strong and determined. She doesn't let other people's opinions of her bring her down. Once she has a plan, she sticks to it and carries it out. Rather than letting a man save her, she pretty much does the saving in this. Throughout all the books in this series, Cinder is pretty much the strongest and most brave character.
 

Cover: I think the main thing that drew me in to these books originally was the covers. I read so many books, I have to judge the books by their cover sometimes. I feel like her covers set the exact tone for the books. It's a princess story, with robots and aliens as well. You see her heeled foot with the pretty font and then hiding beneath it all is her cyborg insides.
 

Closing Thoughts: I give this book an A without a doubt. I stopped reading for a while because life became really busy. Every time I'd open a book, I wouldn't really be able to enjoy it. Not only that, but I took so many English courses, I didn't have time to read "me books." My friend recommended this series to me and so I read it to make her happy. This is really what got me back into reading. I found myself staying up late, unable to put the book down. I could feel myself melding into the story line like I used to when I was younger. I love being able to see the connections to the old fairy tales, while also seeing her new additions. I definitely recommend reading this series and I'll make sure to review the others as well so hurry and read!
 

Where to find Marissa Meyer:

Website l Twitter l Goodreads l Facebook

Sweet Daydreams,

Brooke

School Reading: A Handful of Dust

Title: A Handful of Dust

Author: Evelyn Waugh

Series: N/A

Format: Paperback

Release Date: Nov. 30, 1934

Genre(s): Literature, Fiction, (Dark) Humor

Rating:      B

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Summary

After seven years of marriage, the beautiful Lady Brenda Last has grown bored with life at Hetton Abbey, the Gothic mansion that is the pride and joy of her husband, Tony. She drifts into an affair with the shallow socialite John Beaver and forsakes Tony for the Belgravia set. In a novel that combines tragedy, comedy, and savage irony, Evelyn Waugh indelibly captures the irresponsible mood of the "crazy and sterile generation" between the wars.

 

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Review

Plot: The book follows the lives of many characters. However, it mainly tells the story of the couple, Brenda and Tony Last. The novel starts by showing how the two have drifted apart and it's clear their marriage is not a perfect one. Brenda begins having an affair, and Tony- whether selfish or clueless- doesn't even notice his wife's distance. We see the story progress from the point of view of Brenda, Tony, and even Brenda's lover, John Beaver. The book begins a little slow, and often has random scenes you think don't have any point to the story. In the beginning, one of the characters goes off talking about the importance of yogurt... why I don't know. But as the plot thickens, the story line gets more and more complicated and even a little ridiculous! Basically halfway through the book, the plot changes dramatically and it's almost like you're reading a completely different novel. Another cool feature of the edition I have (not all of them have it) is that the author included an alternate ending. For a book written in the thirties, I thought that was really interesting. Apparently, the public didn't enjoy the ending, so he put in a separate one "by special request."

Characters: The interesting thing about this book is that the author purposely made his characters unlikable. There isn't really a truly good character that you're rooting for. Brenda has an affair and doesn't seem to care for her family. Tony is so self-absorbed that he doesn't even really notice anything aside form his estate. John Beaver simply doesn't care about anyone but himself and is constantly trying to gain status. I want to feel bad for the misfortune that happens to these people, but I can't help but feel like they deserved it.

Cover: Since I read this for a class (British Lit.), I just bought the book from the bookstore at my school. However, something I found interesting was that almost everyone had a different edition and cover. The one I pasted in above was the cover of my book and my personal favorite. It somewhat deceived me to be honest. I looked at the cover and thought it was going to be a boring school book, but it was much funnier and darker than the cover suggests. Also, the title "A Handful of Dust," refers to the poem "The Wasteland," by T. S. Eliot. That poem is fairly dark and is similar in tone to this book.

Closing Thoughts: Overall I gave this book a B. It wasn't my favorite school book of the semester, but I didn't really get bored. It had enough plot twists to keep me on my toes and the humor- though dark- made me giggle a few times. I think the only reason I wouldn't give it an A would be because I read some other really good school books last semester. Not only that, but it is really slow at some points... and I mean really slow. I don't need to hear the benefits of yogurt or gossip that has nothing to do with the story line. Also, because of how long ago it was written, it's a little difficult to understand. Which isn't really the books fault, but it does make it harder for me to enjoy the book.

Where to find the book:

 Goodreads l Amazon

Sweet Daydreams,

Brooke

Weekly Book Releases: August 17-23

Here are this week's releases:

August 17

He's more than she bargained for...

As far as Declan Waterford is concerned, women are off limits-at least until he can earn enough money for his brother's surgery. The dueling piano gig at Vegas's Masquerade hotel barely pays enough...but if Declan can convince his boss to promote him, he'll be set. And the Senior VP of the hotel's gorgeous daughter might just be the "in" Declan needs.

Between drowning in mistakes at her editorial internship and fighting off her father's demands that she relocate to Vegas and join his hotel empire, Melody Sumner doesn't have time for love-or one-night stands with sexy Irish piano players-no matter how appetizing Declan is. But even though she knows he's only interested in her for one reason, the intense chemistry between them has her thinking dangerous thoughts... Source

An escape plan foiled….

A determined woman….

One last tiny sliver of hope….

Jack will find me.

The Fed wants answers. And Caroline is determined not to provide them. They pull out all the stops, testing her sanity, testing her strength, testing her humanity.

Jack will find me.

Subject to cruel and merciless treatment at the hands of a government she once trusted, Caroline clings to her sole lifeline, her only chance at maintaining her tenuous hold on reality: her memories of her husband, Jack, her children, Marguerite and Sophie, and the friends who mean the world to her.

Jack will find me.

But what happens when hope starts to fade? How long until her interrogators cross over into the unspeakable sadism she fears ? How long before she finally breaks apart? Source

 August 18

In this imaginative escape into an enthralling new world, World Fantasy Award finalist Kate Elliott begins a new trilogy with her debut young adult novel, weaving an epic story of a girl struggling to do what she loves in a society suffocated by rules of class and privilege.

Jessamy's life is a balance between acting like an upper class Patron and dreaming of the freedom of the Commoners. But at night she can be whomever she wants when she sneaks out to train for The Fives, an intricate, multi-level athletic competition that offers a chance for glory to the kingdom's best competitors. Then Jes meets Kalliarkos, and an unlikely friendship between a girl of mixed race and a Patron boy causes heads to turn. When a scheming lord tears Jes's family apart, she'll have to test Kal's loyalty and risk the vengeance of a powerful clan to save her mother and sisters from certain death. Source

Surprises abound and sparks ignite in the highly anticipated, utterly romantic companion to My Life Next Door

Tim Mason was The Boy Most Likely To:
- find the liquor cabinet blindfolded
- need a liver transplant
- drive his car into a house

Alice Garrett was The Girl Most Likely To:
- well, not date her little brother’s baggage-burdened best friend, for starters.

For Tim, it wouldn’t be smart to fall for Alice. For Alice, nothing could be scarier than falling for Tim. But Tim has never been known for making the smart choice, and Alice is starting to wonder if the “smart” choice is always the right one. When these two crash into each other, they crash hard.

Then the unexpected consequences of Tim’s wild days come back to shock him. He finds himself in a situation that isn’t all it appears to be, that he never could have predicted . . . but maybe should have.

And Alice is caught in the middle.

Told in Tim’s and Alice’s distinctive, disarming, entirely compelling voices, this return to the world of My Life Next Door is a story about failing first, trying again, and having to decide whether to risk it all once more. Source

A host of the smartest young adult authors come together in this collection of scary stories and psychological thrillers curated by Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea’s April Genevieve Tucholke.

Each story draws from a classic tale or two—sometimes of the horror genre, sometimes not—to inspire something new and fresh and terrifying. There are no superficial scares here; these are stories that will make you think even as they keep you on the edge of your seat. From bloody horror to supernatural creatures to unsettling, all-too-possible realism, this collection has something for any reader looking for a thrill. Source

It's the accident season, the same time every year. Bones break, skin tears, bruises bloom.

The accident season has been part of seventeen-year-old Cara's life for as long as she can remember. Towards the end of October, foreshadowed by the deaths of many relatives before them, Cara's family becomes inexplicably accident-prone. They banish knives to locked drawers, cover sharp table edges with padding, switch off electrical items - but injuries follow wherever they go, and the accident season becomes an ever-growing obsession and fear.

But why are they so cursed? And how can they break free?. Source





Twelve years ago Stella and Jeanie vanished while picking strawberries. Stella returned minutes later, with no memory of what happened. Jeanie was never seen or heard from again.

Now Stella is seventeen, and she's over it. She's the lucky one who survived, and sure, the case is still cloaked in mystery—and it's her small town's ugly legacy—but Stella is focused on the coming summer. She's got a great best friend, a hookup with an irresistibly crooked smile, and two months of beach days stretching out before her.

Then along comes a corpse, a little girl who washes up in an ancient cemetery after a mudslide, and who has red hair just like Jeanie did. Suddenly memories of that haunting day begin to return, and when Stella discovers that other red-headed girls have gone missing as well, she begins to suspect that something sinister is at work.

And before the summer ends, Stella will learn the hard way that if you hunt for monsters, you will find them.  Source 

 Sixteen-year-old Pelly has a master plan. After years of therapy, medication, and even a stint in a mental hospital, she’s finally ready to re-enter the world of the living. Pelly has been suffering from severe panic attacks ever since her best friend, Tara, disappeared from a mall six years ago.

And her plan seems to be working, until an unkempt girl accompanied by an older man walks into the coffee shop where she works. Pelly thinks she’s seen a ghost, until the girl mouths “help me” on the way out, and Pelly knows she’s just seen Tara.

Too shocked to do anything, Pelly helplessly watches Tara slip away again as she steels herself against a renewed spiral of crippling anxiety. But rather than being overcome by anxiety, Pelly feels more energized than she has in years. Determined to track down enough evidence to force the police to reopen Tara’s file, Pelly’s master plan takes a turn for the dangerous.

Pelly decides she cannot be shackled by her past—and the anxiety, fear, and grief that comes with it—any longer if she wants to save Tara. But in seeking answers through whatever means necessary, she’ll come face-to-face with true evil. And not all the shackles are in her head... Source

Marty Sullivan’s life ends, basically, when her parents enroll her in a private high school. A private, Catholic, girls-only high school. Meanwhile, at their local public school, her best friend, Jimmy, comes out of the closet and finds himself a boyfriend and a new group of friends. Marty feels left out and alone, until she gets a part in the school musical, Into the Woods, and Jimmy and his new crew are in it, too! Things start looking even better when Marty falls for foxy fellow cast member Felix Peroni. And Felix seems to like her back. But the drama is just beginning. Can Marty and Jimmy keep up their friendship? And is Marty’s new beau everything he appears to be? Or is Marty too clueless to figure it all out before it’s too late? Source

August 19

Frustrated with her extravagant duties as a Summer fairy, Sidelle Amistad is desperate to prove she can be more than a petty princess. The accidental capture of Winter fairy, Finnegan, looks like the ideal opportunity—until Sidelle and Finnegan fall in love.

Knowing her love for Finnegan is forbidden, a heartbroken Sidelle searches for deeper meaning in her eternal existence. Her pain leads her on a quest to help the humans … in a desperate fight against Hell itself. Source








Sweet Daydreams,
Brooke