Saturday link salad

Well it's the weekend after Easter, the weekend before Mothers day and of course, Royal Wedding Weekend, and like usual there has been no shortage of news!  So grab a coffee and join me in a recap.

First off, the funnies- Libba Bray interviews herself for Amazon's blog Omnivoracious.  It's all about her soon to be released Beauty Queens and it's funny in that signature Libba Bray way. Sigh oh sigh, why won't she be at the BEA or any of the other events that week??!

Libba has also posted one of her rare LJ posts.  She's writing the Diviners now, and it looks like her unhappy writing place has snuck up on her (did you ever see her posts of no hope over the span of writing Beauty Queens?).  Anywho, even when bummed Libba is funny, and its always fun to follow her through the writing of another book.

The Hunger Games movie has cast several more characters, most notably Effie.  If you watch 30 Rock then you know Elizabeth Banks can do crazy and good looking well, and I think she's the first casting choice I've been immediately on board with. Check out Hollywood Crush for the roundup

Speaking of Movie/book news, the internet was ablaze the other day over the release of The Deathly Hollows part 2 trailer.  It's too fantastic to miss out on, so make sure you're not the only kid on the block who hasn't seen it.

Concurrent with the BEA, New York Book Week has been announced.  Oodles of activities at various NYC public libraries, Barnes and Nobles and Symphony Space, Book Week appears to have something
for everyone.

Speaking of the BEA, I spent a good two hours the other night perusing the 750+ authors they have listed as being there, as well as the books being promoted.  There's lots to be excited about!

Rick Riordan announced this week that he and James Patterson are doing a live event on May 25th in New York, with all proceeds going to First Book.  He's promising an inside look at his work, and the talk will be moderated by Al Roker.

In case you missed it, the furry kids and I did a Royal Wedding tribute yesterday you don't want to miss.  Seriously, Cheddar looks so regal you're always going to think of him as a Prince from here on out.  Also I've posted my latest contest for a copy of The Abused Werewolf Rescue Group, make sure to enter!

Finally, this weeks Inkpop writing challenge.  Based on Tara Hudson's book Hereafter, the challenge asks you to:

HEREAFTER looks at how characters must reach across a great divide to communicate with one another. Now it's your turn. Write a story, poem or essay the discusses overcoming great barriers to reach someone. It could be a communication block or trying to overcome social boundaries in order to allow others to understand you. 

Two writing winners will be selected by the author, Tara Hudson, to receive a free copy of HEREAFTER as well as three books of their choice from HarperTeen. 

Happy Saturday!

Feline Fridays go Royal on the BIG DAY!

Well last week I promised something special to make up about forgetting to post last friday.  Inevitably that meant a big royal tribute, cause', come on... what can top the Royal Wedding this weekend??

So without further ado, I give to you the Rhiannon's fuzzy children's Royal Wedding Tribute!

Without a doubt, the biggest moment was the big dress reveal. Hair up? Hair Down? 

Princess Dilly's Reveal:

She opted for hair down

She had two beautiful bridesmaids

Bridesmaid/Flower girl Thurman

Cheddar wasn't sure it was still Thurman under all that frilliness.

Thurman, it turns out, is a bit young to understand the formalities of the occasion

 And Bridesmaid/Flower girl Baxter

who also seemed to struggle with the required daintiness

Then not to be overlooked, the handsome prince of this fairy tale day,

Prince Cheddar

They made a very handsome couple

Happy Friday!!

The Abused Werewolf Rescue Group, By Catherine Jinks- Giveaway!

During Giving me the Creeps October I had the pleasure of reading an Advance copy of The Abused Werewolf Rescue Group, by the talented Catherine Jinks.  You may recall last week during the Easter hop I mentioned a lot of awesome books came out in early April and were overshadowed by the mega-super-fantastical release of the highly anticipated City of Fallen Angels,  The Abused Werewolf Rescue Group, which released on April 4th, is one of those books.

So in my effort to rectify the overshadowing I'm going to continue my fav releases of April Giveaway by handing out a new hardcover of The Abused Werewolf Rescue Group (courtesy of the truly kind Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) to one of you lovely folks.

 It's funny, different, action packed and defiantly not a book you want to let pass you by, check out my review and then make sure to enter on the form below.  Open Internationally, you'll have until May 12th to enter, with bonus entries for passing along the word.

We have a Winner!

Wow! What a turn out for the Easter Hop! I had 268 entries, that became 452 with all the plus ones.  Either the vast majority of you have already rushed out and bought copies of City of Fallen Angels or you're all super excited about Red Glove and Rotters (which, lets face it, you should be!).

Anyhow Congratulations to entrant number 328- Gladys Guelas who's going to be starting the Curse Workers series with White Cat!  I'm a little jealous, I want to read it for the first time all over again.

Thanks to everyone who entered, and if you're one of the 267 people who didn't win this time, make sure to keep checking in.  I have a new contest going up tomorrow and two more before the end of May.

PS- I have no idea why my side bar is being so odd.  It just jumped down there sometime over the course of the night and won't come back!

Twice a Spy, Keith Thomson- Review

I wasn't sure Keith Thomson could wow me as much as he did in his debut Once a Spy, but he me managed to pull out all the stops and impressed me thoroughly with this follow up, Twice a Spy.

Picking up shortly after Once a Spy, we find Charlie and Drummond in Geneva this time   They've successfully evaded all the various agencies after them, and set Drummond up in the Alzheimer's program they were aiming for.  Alice is part of the mix now and the three of them have settled into a comfortable, if cautious, European lifestyle.  Alas, this is a thriller, so you know it can't last.

Delving even deeper into the CIA, and general espionage world than before, Keith Thompson takes you through the convoluted system and intricacies like a practiced pro.  He does it so well, I'm starting to wonder if his being a journalist for The Huffington Post isn't some elaborate cover for his own intelligence background.  Either way, thank god for it because it's this edge that makes the two books both different and appealing from your run of the mill mystery or thriller.

What Dan Brown did for scholarly thrillers, Keith Thomson does for the espionage thriller, putting it into layman's terms, making it exciting and fast paced but not condescending.  You walk away excited, energized and having learned a little something on the side, but all through what would likely be termed a "light read".  Although filled with material, that in someone else's writing style, might be hard slogging, these books are completely accessible and fun to boot, so next time you're looking for some escapism make sure to pick them up.

Twice a Spy, by Keith Thomson
Published by Doubleday, March 2011
Check out Keith Thomson's website
Check out my review of Once a Spy
Buy Twice a Spy on Amazon

Rotters, By Daniel Kraus- Review and Giveaway Reminder!

If one thing, other than the looks, can sell me on a book I've never heard anything about, it's the quotes by authors I like.  So one look at the glowing praise for Rotters and I was sold:


"Grueling, demented, and so crammed with noxious awesomeness that I had to read it twice."
SCOTT WESTERFELD, Leviathan and Uglies


"A strongly written tale of adolescence, grave robbing, and the mysteries of death, ROTTERS is uncompromising, dark, and true."
GUILLERMO DEL TORO, Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth, The Strain
& CHUCK HOGAN, The Town, The Strain


"This is an unforgettable book. An unforgettable character. And an adventure that leads to unforgettable horror. I loved it."
R.L. STINE


"Profoundly affecting and deeply disturbing, ROTTERS kept me reading to the wee hours of the morning. A multi-layered, complex novel that pulls no punches. Terrific!"
RICK YANCEY, The Monstrumologist


Upon the untimely death of his mother, Joey is sent to live with the mysterious father he didn't know existed prior to her demise.  He smells awful, has a dumpy house with no place for Joey to sleep, no food and promptly disappears for three days and leaves him to fend for himself penniless.  More horrors await at his new school where he is immediately picked as the new to-be-bullied candidate by not only the tough kids but by the most god-awful biology teacher ever.  Starving, bullied and desperately close to the edge Joey thinks he's hit rock bottom.  Until he discovers his fathers darkest secrets.  Steeped in history though it might be, grave robbing is not generally considered a rite of passage, but for Joey it will be.


This was truly the best horror novel I've read in a long time. YA or Adult.  It was equal parts enthralling and appalling with lots of truly gross details and unspeakable acts.  Mixed in was the story of a teenager just trying to make it through the almost equally horrific high school, and his relationship with his father who couldn't be more different from him if he'd come from another planet. 


Gruesome but full of historical antidotes and details, I wasn't sure if I was repulsed by the grave robbery or if I was fascinated with it.  The fact that the horror of the story encompassed so much more than just the simple act of grave robbing was what really made this book notable.  Honestly, I was pretty sure I was never going to find a fictional teacher I disliked as much as Umbridge- until I met Joey's Biology teacher.  His appalling abuses of Joey and his more than secure position in the town was an entire Horror story in and of itself. 


Although I have yet to brave The Monstrumologist  and it's sequel The Curse of the Wendigo (the hubby gave me dire warnings of it's uber descriptive goriness, with some of the nastiest bits read to me while I was eating, ugh), I would have to say this book was likely made possible by it's success.  A horror story far surpassing the YA horrors that have come before them, Rick Yancy and Daniel Kraus are embarking on an all new genre of their own, one that doesn't pander to teens by throwing in requisite side love stories, or fluffing past gory subject matter.  These books are that missing stepping stone between YA and Stephen King and other adult horror novelists.  I expect teens everywhere to be joyful about publishers finally deeming them up to the challenge.


Thanks to the Sharp Agency, for my beautiful signed copy.


Rotters, by Daniel Kraus
Published by Delacorte Books for Young Readers, April 2011
Check out Daniel Kraus's website
Buy Rotters on Amazon

Clockwork Prince teaser for May

Earlier today Cassie released her May teaser for Clockwork Prince.  Apparently she won't be around next month, but I'm suspecting she just wanted to give us a little Easter treat.

The door to the training room opened. Tessa and Sophie turned as Gabriel Lightwood strode into the room, followed by a boy she had not met. Where Gabriel was slender and darker-haired, the other boy was muscular, with thick, sandy-blond hair. They were both dressed in gear, with expensive-looking dark gloves studded with metal across the knuckles. Each wore silver bands around each wrist — knife sheaths, Tessa knew — and had the same elaborate, pale white pattern of runes woven into the sleeves of their gear. It was clear not just from the similarity of their clothes but the shape of their faces and the pale, luminous green of their eyes that they were related, so Tessa was not in the least surprised when Gabriel said, in his abrupt manner: 

“Well, we’re here as we said we would be. James, I assume you remember my brother, Gideon. Miss Gray, Miss Collins —”

“Pleased to make your acquaintance,” Gideon muttered, meeting neither of their gazes with his. Bad moods seemed to run in the family, Tessa thought, remembering that Will had said that next to his brother, Gabriel seemed a sweetheart.

Saturday Link Salad

Sooo much news this holiday weekend!  So lets get down to it shall we?

-Right off the top, you may have noticed I missed Feline Fridays.  Yes, well I've had a little mental block  on the days of the week this week due to a little bit of staycation time.  Don't worry, I have something special planned and so it'll only be a little belated!

-Because it's Easter, I've decided to give away one of the three books I most enjoyed this April- City of Fallen Angles, Red Glove and Rotters!  International (wherever the book depository ships), open to everyone (you don't have to be a follower but it does make my day when you become one!).  It's part of the Easter Hop so throw in your name and then spend some time cruising the list for more treats!

-Speaking of Red Glove, just a few days ago Holly Black announced the cover of book three- Black Heart.  Make sure to check out her blog for her tour comments.

- Speaking of City of Fallen Angels, Cassandra Clare has posted her Q & A post about the book, it's good fun as per usual.  See it doesn't have to be over yet!

- On the topic of awesome authors, Lauren Oliver has officially announced her middle grade book that's been popping up on posts from all those folks that were in Texas recently and got their hands on ARC's.  Liesl and Po sounds pretty cool, and Lauren is giving away three ARC's every month until it's release in October!  She's also popped up on the BEA listings, so if your going to be there make sure to check her out on the schedule!

- Speaking of the BEA, more awesome speakers have been announced, including Michael Moore and John Lithgow!

- Kristi, over at the Story Siren, has posted a Q and A about attending the BEA.  It's got some good info in it so if your heading to NYC next month make sure to peruse her tips.

- It would seem the week was full of Hunger Games casting announcements.  Prim, Glimmer, Rue and Katniss's mom were some of the many announced.  Head on over to the Hob, the fan site that seems to always have the latest and greatest news, to catch up.

- Speaking of NEWS! Stephen Kings newest book has had a cover release, and it's pretty awesome looking.  Check out the wide screen look here.

- Finally the latest Inkpop writing challenge is up!  Based on Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini the challenge is:

Using folklore, Greek mythology or some other historical text create a contemporary story or poem. You can turn King Arthur into a modern day football hero or Snow White can now be an independent feminist and seeker of justice. Use your imagination!

Both the challenge and the book sound pretty awesome. Make sure to stop in at Inkpop and get your creative juices flowing.

Red Glove, by Holly Black- Review

April 5th was a huge day for YA releases, and I suspect the majority of people zeroed in on City of Fallen Angels to the detriment of every other book released that fabled Tuesday.  I hope I'm wrong because, although COFA was a fun continuance of an awesome series, some of the other releases on April 5th, like Red Glove were just phenomenal.

Now a year ago, I felt like White Cat got a bad rap.  I was surprised how many reviewers were fairly ambivalent about a story I thought was really unusual and totally captivating.  I suspect people were used to Holly dealing with mythical creatures and were thrown by the gangster world of curse workers she'd created.  I, on the other hand, couldn't get enough of it.

To say I was completely smitten with part 1, White Cat, would be an understatement, so it's hardly surprising I was blown away by Red Glove.  After turning the last page I was so excited I would have moved straight into re-reading White Cat, if it wasn't for the enormous TBR pile I had looming in front of it on the bookshelf.

So for those of you not in the know, Red Glove continues just a few months after the ending of White Cat, picking up with Cassel and his mom in Atlantic city.  His life has been incredibly complicated since his round of discoveries during book 1, and he's just trying to get by.  Unfortunately emotion curses, memory curses, murder and discovering you're the rarest and most sought after type of curse worker, are not things you can hide from.  In no time he's knee deep in FBI, Mafia, and girl issues. Now those are some teen problems I wouldn't want to deal with all at the same time.

Holly once again wound the story thread into so many twists and turns I had no idea where she was going until she tied the very final knot.  A technique she used so well in White Cat, I didn't trust she could pull it off as well a second time.  But she showed me, and boy am I glad she did.  With great characters, a sound plot and her fascinating world I'm not sure she could have gone wrong.

Cassel is one of those wholly sympathetic characters.  A born liar and con artist, he makes every effort to be better then his upbringing, even if only in bits and pieces.  Holly has managed to make him one of those engrossing characters whose skills only underline his faults and although you have complete faith he's the good guy, you're still never quite sure if he'll do the right thing.

This series is well on it's way to being Holly Blacks masterpiece and I can't wait for Black Heart, though at the same time I don't want it to be the last book in this world.  If you haven't given the first two books a chance yet, then make sure you do.  And if you weren't sure about White Cat to begin with I would highly recommend taking a second look at it after reading Red Glove, I'm pretty sure you won't be able to figure out what you didn't like the first time.

Red Glove, By Holly Black
Published by Margaret K. McElderry
Buy Red Glove on Amazon
Check out Holly's website
Check out the Curse Workers website for extras

Hoppy Easter Eggstravaganza Giveaway Hop

Because nothing says Easter quite like a hunt for treats!

That's right folks, me and 250 of my nearest and dearest bloggers have joined Kathy of I'm a Reader Not a Writer and The ladies over at Once Upon a Twilight in an effort to give you a great big easter egg hunt for books!

Open Internationally (to everywhere The Book Depository ships) I'm giving away 1 of the three books published this month that I'm most excited about.

City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare (see my review)

Red Glove by Holly Black (see my review)

or

Rotters by Daniel Kraus (see my review)

Fill out the form telling me which you would prefer (if you haven't read White Cat I can do a swap for that instead of Red Glove), and I'm giving you 1 bonus entry if your choice is one of the two "underdogs" Red Glove or Rotters (because I loved them as much if not more than City of Fallen Angels and don't want them to overlooked in everyones mad haste to get their hands on CoFA).  Now fill out the form and then get hopping to all the other fab blogs participating.
Happy Chocolate eating and egg painting!

Happy 2nd Anniversary to my Super Star Hubby!

Two years ago the hubby and I had a teeny tiny, house party wedding and made our long relationship official. 

Now I don't talk about myself too much on the blog, but the hubby and I are a bit arty-farty.  We met young, got career type jobs, made some good money and promptly got bored.  So we made some non-traditional career changes and both made concerted efforts to delve into the fields we were passionate about.  Of course passion rarely pays very well, so eventually we both started dabbling in relatively boring things on the side to pay the bills.  Our bohemian ways have not made us rich, but they've made us very, very happy.

So keeping with our odd little eccentricities, I've taken the day off so that we can celebrate lazy Sunday style.  We'll sleep in, go for a divine late brunch at our favorite Toronto brunch place, Mitzi's, and then slouch around the house with the fuzzy kids, taking it easy.  Which is pretty much the most blissful way I can think of spending a Tuesday.

In the meantime, I thought I'd celebrate in an equally odd style on the blog, by listing all the crazy celebrity marriages we've now topped with our meager 2nd anniversary.  That's right.  Weird, but funny, like when we were engaged and I referred to my now hubby as my Beyonce instead of my fiance.  I told you we were a bit odd.

So with out further ado, the ridiculous short marriage countdown:

11. Billy Bob Thorton and Angelina Jolie.  They exchanged blood but it only got them to the two year mark before splitting up.  Maybe they should have gone with rings afterall.

10. Julia Roberts and Lyle Lovett.  Remember how weird that was??!! Well they technically got divorced at just under the two year mark, but rumor has it they really parted ways 7 days in.

9.Renee Zelleweger and Kenny Chesney.  They met at a telethon, but apparently shot gun marriages don't have long expiry dates.  They split 7 months in.

8.  Drew Barrymore and Tom Green. This one was only ever beat out in the weirdness category by Lyle Lovett and Julia Roberts.  They lasted only 6 months.

7. Chad Michael Murray and Sophia Bush.  5 months.  Apparently fake TV show romances do not spell real life romance.

6. Pamela Anderson and Kid Rock.  Split at 4 months.  Yeah, I know! I thought it was shorter too!  But I double checked it and they really did hold out an entire 4 months!

5. Jennifer Lopez and Chris Judd.  Back up dancers don't make lasting relationships apparently, they tied with Pam Anderson and Kid Rock at 4 months.

4. Nicky Hilton and Todd Meister.  Remember when Nicky was the sane Hilton?  I think that ended about the same time as her 3 month marriage.

3.Nicholas Cage and Lisa Marie Presley.  It's sad when a marriage is counted down in days.  Isn't the technical term for that a fling?  They made it 107 days.  Apparently his obsession with her dad (shared with her other crazy hubby Michael Jackson) didn't make for the optimal marriage conditions.

2. Carmen Electra and Dennis Rodman. 9 days.  Seriously. That's vacation time length.

1. Britney Spears and Jason Alexander.  The winner is...55 hours! Trust Britney to beat out a list of some of Hollywood's craziest folks.  In elementary school I was more committed to the 72 hour famine then she was to her marriage.  I mean honestly, at 10 I didn't eat for 72 hours!  Maybe she should have tried that first?

So apparently, the hubby and I are non-traditional, but in the successful way. Yay us!
Happy Tuesday April 19th!

The latest Clockwork Prince teaser

Well, because in large, most of us have wrapped up City of Fallen Angels, it now seems time for a good Clockwork Prince teaser.  Mundie Mom's released this tidbit, courtesy of Cassandra Clare, just a few hours ago:

He reached up and unlocked Tessa's hands from around his neck. He drew her gloves off, and they joined her mask and the hairpins on the stone floor of the balcony. He pulled off his own mask next and cast it aside, running his hands through his sweat-dampened hair, pushing it back from his forehead. The lower edge of the mask had left marks across his high cheekbones, like light scars, but when she reached to touch them, he gently caught at her hands and pressed them down

“No,” he said. “Let me touch you first."

Needless to say, Mundie Mom's has dubbed this the "dirty sexy balcony scene", which was good for a Sunday morning giggle for me!

Saturday Link Salad

Because the week is too short to read all the weeks news, as its happening, I present to you the Saturday Link Salad for your pj and coffee catch up.

This week news started to pour in about the Book Expo of America and presenters.  The long awaited announcements of various presenters has started to trickle through the grapevine and I have to say some of the announcements had me squealing like a little kid on Christmas day!

-First up, the Editors and Titles were announced for the Editors Buzz forums.

Described in BEA’s Event Program as BEA’s “original and ultimate taste-making events,” the Buzz Forums are the most notable and significant venues at BEA for launching new books and creating awareness for titles which might not be included in other high profile BEA programming such as the Author Breakfasts.

There are some really exciting books listed, but I was jumping up and down when they mentioned Laini Taylors new book Daughter of Smoke and Bone, due out at the end of September.

-Next up in exciting BEA news was the ABA's announcement (via the bean, the official BEA blog), of their list of programming and, even more exciting, the authors attending it!  The Children's Book and Authors Breakfast, Speed Dating with Children's Authors, and Tea with Children's Authors have some especially exciting attendees.  Laini Taylor  (Daughter of Smoke and Bone), Christopher Paolini (The Inheritances Cycle),  Maggie Stiefvater, and Scott Westerfeld were some of the folks I was desperately excited to see listed.

-Next up, The Story Siren posted about the Teen Author Carnival happening BEA week in NYC.  She was part two on a small blog tour announcing the line up, and the final posting went up today.  The person I most want to meet (despite not reading her books yet?) Gayle Forman. 
 Check out VLC for the first announcement, The Story Siren for the the second panel announcement and Novel Thoughts for the third and final panel announcement.

-And while I'm chatting about New York, I recently got a fun link from Myron Wendall the content manager of onlinecolleges.net- 20 essential Blogs for the NYC bookworm.  There's NYC book bloggers, Q & A for people unfamiliar with the city, book store blogs and more.  A great site to check out while prepping for your NYC bookcation.

-If you can't make it to the BEA this year, and you're dying to meet Rick Riordan then check out his tour schedule, hopefully he'll be making a stop closer to you!  I met Rick last year at a signing and he was delightful, so if he's in your hood make sure to check him out.  Be warned though, he's insanely popular, so expect very long line ups!  


-Finally, INKpop has just put up their latest writing challenge, based on Amy Plum's debut Novel- Die for me.

Die for Me is unlike any other paranormal you have ever read. Instead of a cold and rainy atmosphere, imagine being shipped off to Paris after a tragic accident leaves you orphaned. While there you meet a dark and mysterious guy who, instead of living forever, dies repeatedly. That is just beginning of Die for Me 

So now that you know there are paranormals unlike any you have ever imagined lets reimagine what immortality might do to you. Write a short story, poem or essay that imagines a life that never ends. What does this world look like? Are you happy, sad or weirdly immune to the world around you? Did you give up the hope of death to save someone you love or to be with that person forever? Tell us about it in the Die for Me writing challenge.

I've seen this cover floating around on the web and I have to say I'm pretty intrigued by the concept.  I mean, Paris, come on people!  Check out Amy's blog for a chance to win an ARC of this pretty looking book.  INKpop's Die for me challenge runs until April 21st.

feline fridays

A short time ago I got a fun update from Michelle Lovric about the Doge's cat in Italy.  Remember her fascinating historical feline friday go European back in December?  Well she has fresh news!  Read on for more info on one of the most fascinating feline Fridays I've hosted to-date.

Dear Rhiannon


I thought you might like an update … the latest news on Doge Morosini’s Mummified Cat in Venice


I visited it again today (and its companions, the basilisk made of a parrot covered with sharkskin and a mermaid made of a monkey shoved into a headless fish). Anyway the curators have discovered some new facts about the cat. They believe it was a marmalade. The reason is that the Doge had a red beard, and so he was very fond of what Italians call ‘red’ cats. The mummified cat has no visible colour or fur, of course. It’s a uniform beige. As is the large rat between its paws.


Do you think you might start Chicken Chewsdays? (I wasn't planning on it, but it does sound good!) There’s a wonderful skeleton in the museum of a four-legged chicken, who was the pet of the curator in the 1890s. He found it at Treviso market. He wrote a paper about it, explaining that it walked gracefully, though it never ran, and it didn’t sing either. One morning he found it drowned in its drinking water. Very sad.
Love
Michelle

Michelle Lovric is the author of two fantastic children's novels, The Undrowned Child and it's sequel The Morning Emporium (Two of my favourite Children's books ever).  She's a talented writer based part time in London, England, and part time in Venice, Italy.  Make sure to check out her comprehensive website as well as her posts on the Awfully Big Blog Adventure.

Buy The Undrowned Child on Amazon
Buy The Mourning Emporium on Amazon
Check out my interview with Michelle Lovric

Blood and Flowers, by Penny Blubaugh

Sent out to me by the lovely folks at HarperTeen, Blood and Flowers was one of those books I'd heard a little about and was excited to see for myself.  I love a good surprise read where you don't know much before you get into it.  So I patiently waited for Thurman to read it (I've been waiting to read a lot of my books lately! The hubby's been monopolising The Beyonders, Thurman- Blood and Flowers! yesh!), and then I dug in.

The Outlaws, a mishmash group of outcasts who have become a close knit group of friends through their puppet theater troupe, are in trouble.  Their political commentary puppet shows could well get them thrown in jail from accusations of magic and distributing the dangerous pink drinks.  So as a last resort they disappear to faerie, only to find that their troubles have followed them.  Will they survive the land of Blood and Flowers?

Although a fairly popular area of YA, Penny manages to write a really unusual twist to faeries.  She throws them into our world as a known and feared entity, makes them dangerous outcasts instead of mystical creatures.  The racist undertones and comments, when it comes to them, are an unusual slant and it gave the story a very different feel from the run of the mill Faerie stories. 

The true win of this story for me, is the telling, without question.  Blood and Flowers is enchantingly written as well as being a story told in such an unusual way, it was bordering on Shakespeare quality poetry.  Penny proved herself a story teller worthy of such an exotic tale.

Nicholas was sitting on the thick, concrete steps when I got back, framed by the porch railings and the front door lintel.  Casual as a saturday afternoon, at least at first glance.  At second glance he was more like rush hour on a Monday morning.

This story left me breathless long after I read it, and has left me wanting much more of Penny's work.  The good news is her first book Serendipity Market is now out in paperback.  The bad news is it's her only other work right now.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she's working on something new.  In the meantime, if you haven't added Blood and Flowers to your To-Be-Read pile, make sure to pick it up next time you're in the library or local bookstore.  You won't be disappointed.

Blood and Flowers, by Penny Blubaugh
Published by Harper Teen, March 2011
Buy Blood & Flowers on Amazon
Check out Penny's blog

Accomplice by Valerie Sherrard-Review

Lexie is too young to have a boyfriend who's a heroin addict.  But she does, and it's tearing her life apart.  The question is, will he take her down with him,as he ruins his life?

This was a dark and page turning tale about drug addiction and teenagers.  Granted at any age drug addiction can be baffling, but as Valerie Sherrard so well illustrates, it's a deadly labyrinth for the naive.  Lexie's struggle with her fault in the whole mess, the back story on how Devlin falls into severe heroin addiction and the struggles they both make as he tries to come clean in rehab were enlightening and engrossing.

I would be lying if I claimed I hadn't heard of teens using much harder drugs then ever seemed to surface when I was the same age.  Stories of casual cocaine usage at 15 or 16 makes my blood run cold when I think of the vodka or pot being passed around at the high school parties I attended.  So it wasn't difficult for me to imagine a scenario where an ignorant young 15 year old is offered heroin, and imbibes for the coolness factor, without understanding it's highly addictive nature.

This was not only a well told story, interesting and dark, but obviously a great reminder that not everything handed out by "friends" are harmless.  It's nice to see knowledge bundled up in such an appealing story.

Kindly sent to me by the folks at Dundurn Press, as part of they're Keystone off shoot, meant as high interest stories for reluctant readers.  A highly reccomended read, and Canadian to boot!

Accomplice, by Valerie Sherrard
Published by Dundurn, February 2011
Buy Accomplice
Valerie Sheppards blog

City of Fallen Angels, by Cassandra Clare- Review

So I don't believe there is a single word outside of it's good, it's bad or I've read it that won't cause spoilerage for those of you who haven't read City of Fallen Angels yet.  So if that's you, I suggest reading no further.

After savouring it for four whole days (honestly I don't remember the last time I took that long with a book I loved), I finally finished City of Fallen Angels today.  It was, and wasn't, what I was expecting, but it was a great Cassandra Clare/Shadowhunter story, so despite some of the things I wasn't totally crazy about, I thoroughly enjoyed myself.


I won't bother with the blurb.  We all know what happens now. (except for any of you silly enough to keep reading this post before reading the book.  Last chance before I blow some of the surprise. Get out while you can!).  I have to say, the biggest surprise to me was what a mixed bag of character perspectives, the story was .  Since it was originally a Simon-centric story I thought it would follow him more heavily then it actually did.  Although he has a very big part of the story line, I almost wish you didn't get Clary's perspective in this book, if for no other reason then to mix it up a bit.


That being said I really enjoyed how she delved right into his complicated existence as a Daylighter, not to mention the carrier of the Mark of Cain.  And of course his girlfriend issues are pretty amusing too.  Simon is one of those slightly overlooked characters from the first three books, so I'm glad we finally get to see a bit more of him.


At the risk of encuring the wrath of the Jace/Clary die hards (come on, you know who you are..dirty sexy alley scene. That's all I'm saying), I was a bit disappointed  to see Clary and Jace continue their star crossed lovers story.  Which is not to say I thought they would live happily ever after, just that I thought the drama might not be centred around them and their relationship.  Their back and forth- we love each other endlessly but are constantly being held apart by circumstance in a Romeo and Juliet way, is just the ittiest, bittiest tired.  I mean it did go on for three previous books. And tortured Jace is straight out of City of Ashes and City of Glass,  why don't we torture someone else? 

Of course I did love the symmetry of the whole life for a life story, so I'm not sure she could really do it differently and keep that, but it might have been nice if it came out more from left field, instead of the tortured build up.  I shouldn't even have to tell you how much I love Sebastian coming back, or the deadly awesome cliff hanger ending. 

I was relieved to see Cassandra kept her quippy dialogue, and style, I fell in love with to begin with.  I repeatedly laughed out loud, even late at night while in bed reading.

"You and your name-dropping," he said "'I knew Michael.' 'I knew Sammael.' 'The Angel Gabriel did my hair.' It's like I'm with the Band with biblical figures."

"No?" She looked at him incredulously. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't chop him into worthless-bastard-themed confetti."

And the best Acknowledgement I've read to date- And lastly, my thanks to Linus and Lucy, my cats, who only threw up on my manuscript once.  Oh Cassie, you made me laugh right up until the very last  sentence! (seriously though, cats throw up on everything!  Especially if it's important)


City of Fallen Angels, by Cassandra Clare
Published by Margaret K. McElderry, April 2011
Buy City of Fallen Angels on Amazon
Got questions? Q & A about City of Fallen Angels with Cassie

Link Salad Saturday!

Another week and another bundle of news to catch up on.  No worries though, I've gathered it all together in a deliciously wholesome link salad for you.  Now eat up and enjoy!


-The BEA and BBC in New York are quickly approaching and things are starting to pop up.
There is a small list of authors for the autographing, basically just a teaser with some really great names on it.  I'm most excited about Eoin Colfer so far (Rick Riordan would be right up there but I met him last spring, though that certainly won't stop me from popping in! Theoretically, at this rate I could get all of his Kane Chronicles signed.)


-A pretty comprehensive list of exhibitors is up now too!  Time to start planning all the fun you're going to have, if you're coming.


-Most exciting of all I've run across the first bloggers attempting meet ups!  To me this is one of the biggest perks of the two cons so I made sure to sign up pronto.  Once Upon a Twilight and the girls over at Good Choice Reading are hosting a blogger dinner, open to all and their peripherals and including some authors at a truly experience looking restaurant called Mars 2112.  Should make it fun even for the hubby! Can't wait ladies, thanks for organizing.  Make sure to head over and RSVP.

-Because lately it seems no week is complete with out some cover art or other book announcement, Hellebent's cover art!! Cherie Priests follow up to the very fun (what you haven't read it???! Check out my review and hurry out to buy a copy!) Bloodshot, out July.


-In more exciting book news, Carrie Ryan's short story about Tabitha as a teen, Hare moon, has been re-edited and released on it's own as an ebook.  The most exciting part though?  You can buy it in an ebook elcheapo format.  That's right, 1.99$ at Amazon and Barnes and Nobles!  It'll be a great hold over until I get my hands on the anthology it was originally published in. I can't wait to read more about Tabitha.


-This week everyone was a buzz about the casting of Gale and Peeta.  As predicted they equal part loved and hated choices two and three for the cast of the Hunger Games Movies.  The good news? Especially if you aren't thrilled by the casting to date, Suzanne Collins has been part of the auditions and loves all the choices so far, saying they all hit emotional moments perfectly in her eyes.  Want to read more? Wellllll, The New York Times has published a rare interview with her.  It's pretty interesting so make sure to stop by and read up.


- Finally Inkpop has their latest writing challenge up, based on Kim Harrison's third (and latest) Madison Avery book.  Something Deadly This Way Comes.  You have till April 14th to:

Now it's your turn, write a poem, short story or personal essay about betrayal. What if a person you thought you could trust betrayed you to the core? What did they do? How does it feel and what are consequences? 

Happy Linking!

Feline Fridays- With a Dog and and Elephant

Ok, so it's not a feline.  But trust me, it's so sweet you won't care.





I'll be back to posting tomorrow, I'm sure you've all noticed I've been a bit quiet the past couple of days.  Three words, City of Fallen Angels.
I'm trying to savour, hence, I'm not done yet.  Needless to say it's hard to tear myself away to do anything else!
Hopefully you're enjoying it too!

A Big Release Day, and the latest INKPOP writting challenge!

Today is a HUGE publishing day in YA, and not just because the latest Mortal Instruments book came out.  I know, I know, you have blinders on to any other book.  I hear you.  But while you're ransacking your local book shop, Amazon or The Book Depository, consider adding one of these other books as well.

The obvious release today, and the only one every YA reader on earth likely knows about (unless you've been living Internet-less for the past year)-  City of Fallen Angels, by Cassandra Clare.  Book 4 in the Mortal Instruments series and the first part to the second trilogy, jumps back into Jace, Isabelle, Clary, Simon and Alec Shadowhunting lives.
Highly anticipated, this it the book most of us will be losing sleep over tonight.

Next obvious and, to me at least, equally exciting, Red Glove, by Holly Black.  Part two in her Curse Workers series we get to catch up to Cassel and find out how life is going now that he knows his darkest secret.  Needless to say I'm dying to dig into it as well.

Rotters, by Daniel Kraus, has accolades by some of the coolest folks in writing and sounds like it's going to be amazing. Rick Yancy, Chuck Hogan, Guillermo Del Toro, R.L. Stein and Scott Westerfeld, have all applauded this story.  The best part of the blurb? Outside of the Grave robbing part?

Daniel Kraus's masterful plotting and unforgettable characters make Rotters a moving, terrifying, and unconventional epic about fathers and sons, complex family ties, taboos, and the ever-present specter of mortality

See? you want to read it right?




The Gathering, by Kelley Armstrong, is another big big release for today.  The Gathering is part one of a new trilogy that ties into her previous one The Darkest Powers.  So if you need to know more about those creepily gifted kids make sure to pick it up!


 
 
 
 

 
The Abused Werewolf Rescue Group, by Catherine Jinks came out yesterday.  It's a fun new look at Vampires and Werewolves and is the follow up to The Reformed Vampire Support Group.  Check out my review of The Abused Werewolf Rescue Group, I loved it so much I had to go out and grab her Genius series too.
 

Finally the latest Inkpop writing challenge is super fun! It's based on another highly anticipated book, Aprilynne Pike's third book, Illusions coming out in May. 

Now it's your turn, write a poem, short story or personal essay about helping someone figure out the truth about who they are. What do you have to say to persuade this character? What threat does knowing the truth pose to their lives? And what is the motivation to tell them?

Deadline is the 7th, and you can check it out on Inkpop's forum.

Now go read already!!

Afterlife Winner!

A very big congratulations to Kate Hensel!  Your copy of Afterlife will head out in the mail later this week.
And thanks everyone for entering!

The Dark and Hollow Places, By Carrie Ryan- Review

Although home desperately ill, I managed to send the super-hubby up to grab me a copy of The Dark and Hollow Places on release day.  Unfortunately I was in the middle of something else and had to force myself to hold out until it was completed before I dived in.
Torture.

The final part in the series beginning with The Forest of Hands and Teeth, The Dark and Hollow Places follows Annah, Gabry's twin.  It starts in the fabled Dark City, and like The Forest of Hands and Teeth it delves into the pitfalls of "organised" society and the potential for true evil in humanity to grow.  I won't bother to give a book synopsis, presumably if you're about to take on (or have already) TDHP then you've read the first two books, The Forest of Hands and Teeth and the Dead-Tossed Waves.  So I'm sure your happy to be surprised with the final volume.  For the rest of you, stop waiting! This is a series worth reading, and which I'll go out on a limb, and guarantee you'll enjoy.

Throughout the three novels I've loved Carrie Ryan's epic scope of her world.  Set many generations after the fall, none of her characters know what life was like before, how it disappeared or why, but all of them are driven to explore out of curiosity or necessity.  And what they find manages to astound me, even though I'm quite aware there is an ocean and it's not a myth.  Somehow she's taken our world, post Apocalypse and made it something so different, and yet so plausible that I never for a moment doubt her.  I love how it's both much more naive and insular and yet more aware then we are in our pre-apocalypse world now. 

Between the three books all show different aspects of the culture and life grown up from the seeds of the zombie apocalypse.  Each one is entirely unique and yet the same in some ways, their differences being the fascinating twists in the world and the similarities creating a commentary on humanity, evil and the quest for survival. The Dark City- a decrepit city where the fight for survival is one of the hardest, Vista- the seaside city where the dead don't just push at the fences but are swept in with the tide as well, and the forest village- remote, backwards and unaware of the world around it. Three people, each raised somewhere entirely different, but indelibly interlinked, not only carry you through and teach you about their worlds but cause you to fall in love with them. 

All three books managed to sweep me away into a creepy world that somehow still abounds with hope. They create a perfect arcing trilogy and TDHP wrapped it all up on what felt like  both the most open ended note as well as the ideal place to leave them.  All in all I couldn't ask for a single change in Carrie Ryan's series, I loved every minute of it.  Now I'm dying to see what she has next up her sleeve!

The Dark and Hollow Places, By Carrie Ryan
Published by Random House, March 2011
Buy The Dark and Hollow Places on Amazon
Check out Carrie Ryan's website

Those That Wake, By Jesse Karp- Review

Kindly sent to me by the folks at Houghton Mifflin, Those That Wake was a book I had yet to hear about, which is always fun. I like the clean slate, no expectation reads.  It's promoted as a YA Science Fiction novel, but I'd have to say it seemed more dystopian to me, and one of those odd YA/Adult hybrids that doesn't have a YA feel to it, but has YA characters.


Sign one I had troubles with this book-I'm so flummoxed by this story I can't even give my usual personal abbreviated blurb about it. So for the first time ever I'm falling back on a Goodreads summary:

New York City’s spirit has been crushed. People walk the streets with their heads down, withdrawing from one another and into the cold comfort of technology. Teenagers Mal and Laura have grown up in this reality. They’ve never met. Seemingly, they never will.

But on the same day Mal learns his brother has disappeared, Laura discovers her parents have forgotten her. Both begin a search for their families that leads them to the same truth: someone or something has wiped the teens from the memories of every person they have ever known. Thrown together, Mal and Laura must find common ground as they attempt to reclaim their pasts.

I have to admit, I wanted to play favorites when this arrived in the mail and bump it to the top of my list.  I'm pretty picky about reading things in the order they're given to me when it comes to ARC's, and stack them according to arrival on my TBR shelf.  But it sounded super fantastic and a bit scary/dystopian, and I was excited to dig in, so it was hard to sit on it while I caught up on a few other things.


When it was time to pick Those That Wake up, I was thrilled when the first part of the book did not disappoint. I was intrigued and interested in both Mal and Laura (the YA characters), and I was eager for the story revelations to start.  But then out of nowhere, two new adult characters popped into the mix and the story took a sudden and unexpected turn into way left paranormal/scifi field.  I'm not joking, they literally left the story and were plunked into some other dimension.


The good news is they did emerge, and Jesse Karp did send them on their way back into the story.  The bad news is he'd lost my interest, and confused me with his odd segue, and after that point I didn't enjoy the story as much anymore.  It was almost as if he'd attempted to become more philosophical about their circumstances but instead of working it into the story as a whole, it started a third of the way in.  Whatever he was trying to achieve it ended up being lost on me, and I walked away from the ending feeling a bit mystified by the story as a whole, and just generally confused.  Sort of the way I felt about the big reveal in the final Matrix movie, remember the white room scene with all the TVs and Colonel Sanders explain stuff to Neo?  Yeah, that was the feeling I was left with, the "WHAT??" feeling. 


I did really like some of his dystopian elements though.  I especially found the reliability on technology and how it was wiping out basic human contact  hit on issues I think society is really heading towards today.  And while stopping in a little local coffee shop yesterday, I was forcefully reminded of his Starbucks scene when I looked around and realised the reason the coffee shop was so quiet was there wasn't a single table with more than one person and a laptop at it.  In a full coffee shop.  Not one table of friends chatting over coffee.  Now that's creepy, maybe even more because it's getting so stereotypical.


I largely assume there was a greater, deeper, meaning to the book that was lost on me, and a general search of reviews for this book brings up a big mixed bag of folks who seemed as lost as I was, and others who found it creepy and profound.  Check it out and let me know what you think, because if nothing else a book like this makes for great discussion.


Those That Wake, By Jesse Karp
Published by Houghton Mifflin, March 2011
Buy Those That Wake on Amazon

The last few hours to win a copy of Afterlife by Claudia Gray!

That's right, so if you haven't already done so, then make sure you're entered by midnight tonight Toronto time.  To be fair I won't be up at midnight, well, maybe in bed reading, anywho I won't be online, so you have wiggle room if you don't catch it before midnight on the nose.
Good Luck!

Saturday Link Salad- Because the weekend is the best time to catch up on all the latest news!

Super big week in linkable tidbits! So curl up with a coffee or a glass of wine and catch up on all the news.

-Kelley Armstrongs latest YA book, the follow up to the Darkest Powers series, The Gathering (Darkness Rising part 1) releases tuesday with Red Glove  and City of Fallen Angels.  In anticipation of it's debut the first 90 pages have been released online.  So if you weren't sure if it was making the shopping list for tuesday head on over and give it a try.  For the rest of us it'll just have to tide us over the three remaining days


- If you absolutely can't wait for The Gathering, and you live in Toronto, head on up to Yorkdale mall tomorrow where Indigo is pre-releasing it for Kelley to sign starting at 2pm sharp.


-Speaking of Red Glove, Holly Black has jokingly changed the title to book 3 in the Curse Workers series.  Instead of Black Heart, it's changed to Green Money.  Her April fools gave me pause, I have to admit.  The Cover picture is especially funny, you should check it out on her blog.


-In Anticipation of Lauren Kate's June 14th release of Passion, the third part in the Fallen series, Random House is starting to release a variety of teasers and behind the scenes type stuff.  Keep your eye on Lauren Kate's site for news.  Meanwhile they've sent a bunch of bloggers a excerpt from Daniel's Journal, I got a look at it over on MusingsofaBookshopGirl.com.  You can also vote on where Lauren tours in the US, check her site for details.

-At long long last, the final book in the Inheritance Cycle series has been announced with cover art.  It's aptly named Inheritance, and is due out November 8th.  For all of us who thought book 3 Brisinger was to be the last and were completely flummoxed when we realized it obviously wasn't, this is some stellar news.  Christopher Paolini began the series when he was 15 and the first three books were impressive, hopefully he has an appropriately epic end to round it all off with!


- Cherie Priests next Clockwork Century book, Ganymede, has just had a release of it's official cover art as well as the Jacket flap didi.  Check it out on Cherie's site, it sounds awesome as per all her Clockwork Century books.  I can hardly wait!

-In the uber cool things done with books department, Ryan Novellin- self proclaimed "Boston-based alchemist who spends his free time in search of the extraordinary" has created an evening gown out of Little Golden books.  Being a designer myself, and one who prefers the realm of costume design to every day design, I was thrilled to find not only a very descriptive photo diary of it's creation, but a site filled with awesome stuff.  Check out his details of the project on his online portfolio site.


-In Celebration of an all new absurd number of twitter followers (as if we didn't know this lady was crazy popular?!)  Cassandra Clare has released a great new tidbit.  The Seelie Court scene from Jace's point of view!  It's fun in that Midnight Sun kind of way, so don't let it slip by without checking it out.


- The next Kane Chronicles book, The Throne of Fire, by Rick Riordan has chapter one online right now.  So as you wait for May 3rd to roll around get a head start!


- And finally, Lenore of Presenting Lenore has an amazing opportunity for one blogger who'd love to go to the BBC and BEA this year but who just can't afford it.  She's offering a scholarship worth 620$!  That's right, she paying for your BEA/BBC pass and giving 500$ for expenses.  Head on over to her blog if your interested and check out the details.  I'm personally dying to meet all the bloggers who are coming so make sure to drop me a line if your planning to come or if you win Lenore's scholarship.


Happy Weekend perusing!