Feline Fridays Goes to the Zoo

I have the unique pleasure of living in downtown Toronto, but next to a beautiful park that's almost 400 acres of undeveloped land.  High Park is a destination for people from all over the city, but I get to overlook it from my windows and wander through it any time I want.

One of my absolute favourite areas in the park is the Zoo.  Opened 112 years ago, it has survived two wars and the depression only to find itself on the cutting block of the cities many many budget cuts this year.  All for to save on an annual operating cost of a mere 227,000$.

The zoo is one of those lovely mini-zoos filled with llamas, peacocks, bunnies and an assortment of bigger animals like buffalo and reindeer.  There's even a couple of Capybara!  They all have big, nicely designed spaces and seem very content.  My greatest joy is our spring walks, seeing day by day, all the new babies they're bringing into the world (I told you they were happy, it's one prolific zoo. 5 baby lamas last year!).  If we're lucky we come back mere hours after they're born, which has happened.  The zoo is also home to a group of feral cats who will be without feeders if it closes.

So today I'm going to direct you to the save the zoo website, and hopefully you can see your way clear to dropping ten dollars to help save this lovely little oasis.  Because everyone needs wonderful little places like this to fuel their imagination.

The Hunger Games Trilogy Re-read

Like so many others this past week, I went to the opening of The Hunger Games movie and was blown away.  It was a beautifully transitioned book to movie, possibly because Suzanne Collins background was TV and she helped write the screen play, but regardless it left me as enraptured as the first time I read the books.  All I wanted to do was race home and start re-reading them that night, but I felt like I shouldn't, by book cases are currently groaning under the weight of my growing pile of TBR review books at the moment after all.  But after two days of not being able to stop thinking about them, I gave in and started my re-read.

This was the first time I was able to read all three one after the other, and it was epic.  Also, it broke me a little.  Honestly, I remember being emotionally overwhelmed by Mockingjay but reading all three together in a row sort of undid me.  I finished yesterday morning and I still can't stop thinking about them.

Since my first ever reviews (both posted on the same day, I'm not sure why) were The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, and they were a bit painful to read, I thought it was high time I get in there and update them to a slightly higher caliber.

So if like me you can't get enough Hunger Games right now (honestly a week ago I thought I never wanted to hear another word about it!), then head on over to my revisited reviews.

My review of The Hunger Games revisited
My review of Catching Fire revisited
My review of Mockingjay (still the original, I could say more but I'd likely start blubbering)

Heaven, by Christoph Marzi- Review

From Goodreads:
The night that Heaven lost her heart was cold and moonless. But the blade that sliced it out was warm with her dark blood...

David Pettyfer is taking a shortcut over the dark rooftops of London's brooding houses, when he literally stumbles across Heaven: a strange, beautiful, distraught girl who says that bad men have stolen her heart. Yet she's still alive...

And so begins David and Heaven's wild, exciting and mysterious adventure - to find Heaven's heart, and to discover the incredible truth about her origins.


I wish this photo of the cover did it a bit more justice because it's odd and strangely beautiful, which perfectly sums up the story it enfolds.

Obviously the premise is really unusual, paranormal without any kind of power struggle or super powers per se.  Fantasy, but not really.  Romance, but not in the stereotypical YA way.  Instead this story reads a bit like a modern fairy tale, poetic, both scary and full of unpleasantness but ultimately a beautiful tale that feels like someone is reading it to you, instead of you reading it to you.  It's possible this stems from it being a translation of a German story, giving it a cultural je ne sais quoi about it, a romanticism that's wholly un-North American.  But maybe it's a personal style of the author, either way it's hard to say without being familiar with any German YA or Marzi's other works.

Both Heaven and David are charming characters, but the host of secondary characters in this story are equally lovely, and they left me wishing I could meet some of them for tea and chats about books.  Miss Trodwood and Mr. Merryweather were my especial favourites,  and I can honestly say I would love more stories involving them particularly.

Not your average YA read, I highly recommend picking up Heaven, if only to be swept away somewhere new for awhile.

Heaven, by Christoph Marzi

Published by Orchard Books, February 2nd, 2012

Buy Heaven on Amazon

Winners!

What cheers up a Tuesday? I'll tell you what, winning something!  So hopefully I'll be making three peoples days today, because I have some winners to announce!

The winner of the Loss poster is: Diane Melendez!  She's also going to be entered into Jackie Morse Kessler's other draw for a chance to win a signed set of all three books, or have a character named after her in the final part Breath!

The winner of a copy of Loss is Megan Reti!

and finally the winner of finished copy of The Immortal Rules is: Lexi@BookBug!  Lexi, you're book will ship on release it's release date (end of April) from HarlequinTeen directly.

Thanks to all who entered, both contests had amazing turnouts!

Happy Tuesday!

Illuminate, by Aimee Agresti- Debut Review

From Goodreads:
Haven Terra is a brainy, shy high school outcast. But everything begins to change when she turns sixteen. Along with her best friend Dante and their quiet and brilliant classmate Lance, she is awarded a prestigious internship in the big city— Chicago—and is sent to live and work at a swanky and stylish hotel under the watchful eyes of a group of gorgeous and shockingly young-looking strangers: powerful and alluring hotel owner Aurelia Brown; her second-in-command, the dashing Lucian Grove; and their stunning but aloof staff of glamazons called The Outfit.
As Haven begins falling for Lucian, she discovers that these beautiful people are not quite what they seem. With the help of a mysterious book, she uncovers a network of secret passageways from the hotel’s jazz-age past that leads her to the heart of the evil agenda of Aurelia and company: they’re in the business of buying souls. Will they succeed in wooing Haven to join them in their recruitment efforts, or will she be able to thwart this devilish set’s plans to take the souls of her classmates on prom night at the hotel?

I'm a bit torn by this book.  There were parts I enjoyed, and parts Agresti just couldn't sell to me.  I really wanted to like it, but I felt like she kept throwing in scenes I couldn't believe her characters would go along with.  Since it's her debut effort, a healthy length and part one of a series I'm leaning towards forgiving her this once and seeing what happens in part two.  But another part of me screams "WHAT ABOUT THAT KISS SCENE!!" every time I think I'll give her another chance and it gives me pause.

So lets start with the basics.  Lance, Dante and Haven are supposed to be the three brightest, hardest working students at their high school.  So hard working, in fact, that all three of them have sacrificed all the fun of being a teenager for the rewards of being a super student when it comes to their future dream careers.  Now here's the not so believable part: they're offered a "prestigious" internship at a new hotel, and are pulled from school to go live/work there.  Months of classes missed, that they're presumably exempted from, no assignments or check ins with the high school, because apparently being a glorified hotel worker is a great experience for your college applications? Seriously? These kids are so neurotic everything is a math problem to them, but downloading photos, and delivering chocolates, or organising the library are adequate experiences to impress a college?

As characters I found Lance and Dante appealing, Haven was a bit less so, but I didn't dislike her, I just didn't love her.  Oddly, Lucian is one of my favorites (with Lance a close second), even though he's supposed to be the bad guy for the majority of the book.  I'm not sure I should have liked one of the bad guys more than the main, but alas! 

The next issue for me is the whole book/mentor set up.  It was just a bit too weird to have a book telling Haven what to do, and even weirder when she listens (even if begrudgingly).  I feel like the book should have been a real person, even some random homeless person Haven bumps into on one of her outings, rather than a book with writing that appears only when she needs it, and handily disappears whenever someone shows up at her room.  It felt like a cop-out to me.  Agresti needed a way to direct Haven, and the book really feels like her not being able to come up with a better, more plausible way.  Hey, I'm cool with all sorts of tools when it comes to paranormal or fantasy stories, but they still need to be plausible, and/or believable.

Finally, and I warn you this is ever so slightly spoilery-ish, the @##%%!! kiss scene.  I'd ploughed my way through 511 pages, I'd decided to turn a blind eye to the book/mentor and the total lack of education and just enjoy the ride when Agresti threw the strangest last minute curve ball I've ever read.  In the early days of Lucian's perusal of Haven, there's a kiss.  It's a momentous scene,  in the dark, and really the big impassioned moment of the book.  Except for one small comment about how a later kiss from Lucian isn't as earth shattering, there is no indication anything was not as it seemed.  Until page 507, when she's suddenly kissed by someone else and announces "it was you...". 
I was completely confused, it was who?
What did he do?
Until I read the rest of the explanation of how it wasn't Lucian who had kissed her in the dark at the moment.  That instead someone else had been stalking them, and although he hates Lucian and is trying to warn Haven off of him, chooses that moment of darkness to sweep in and passionately kiss her.  Knowing full well she wouldn't know it was him, and likely think it was Lucian.
Huh?
I won't even begin to go into how out of character this whole act would be for this person you've been blithely following for 511 pages.  Or how his later actions don't even slightly hint that he's had this impassioned moment with Haven.  I was so staggered by this strange turn of events that it's literally all I could think about, whenever I thought about the book, for days after.  And it was irritated thinking, not misty eyed romantic thinking.

So my final word is this.  Illuminate has some intriguing moments, some decent characters and a premise I can see wanting to read more of, but be prepared for some story elements that don't fit and might actually aggravate you.  I can cut a debut some slack, she engrossed me enough that I didn't ditch the book, and it was lengthy, however, I'll be expecting a slightly better showing come book 2.  Give it a try, if for no other reason then so you can come back and dish with me over that totally weird kiss twist.

Illuminate, by Aimee Agresti
Published by Houghton Mifflin, March 6th, 2012
My copy kindly provided by the publishers
Buy Illuminate on Amazon

Save the Pearls- Revealing Eden, by Victoria Foyt- Review

From Goodreads: 
Eden Newman must mate before her 18th birthday in six months or she'll be left outside to die in a burning world. But who will pick up her mate-option when she's cursed with white skin and a tragically low mate-rate of 15%? In a post-apocalyptic, totalitarian, underground world where class and beauty are defined by resistance to an overheated environment, Eden's coloring brands her as a member of the lowest class, a weak and ugly Pearl. If only she can mate with a dark-skinned Coal from the ruling class, she'll be safe. Just maybe one Coal sees the Real Eden and will be her salvation her co-worker Jamal has begun secretly dating her. But when Eden unwittingly compromises her father's secret biological experiment, she finds herself in the eye of a storm and thrown into the last area of rainforest, a strange and dangerous land. Eden must fight to save her father, who may be humanity's last hope, while standing up to a powerful beast-man she believes is her enemy, despite her overwhelming attraction. Eden must change to survive but only if she can redefine her ideas of beauty and of love, along with a little help from her "adopted aunt" Emily Dickinson


It sounds really weird right?  I won't lie, it was.  Really, really, really weird.

For starters, the whole "coating" thing, where Eden and all other white people coat themselves to appear black and to supposedly protect themselves from the destructive sun (although they live underground??), was bizarre.  It may have made some small amount of sense if A- they lived above ground and it was some super duper sun screen that just happened to make them black, or B- when she does end up in the rainforest she was desperately burned from her lack of coating.  Which she is not.  Instead she's flouncing around, blond and pale, but other than that just really hot and sweaty.  Oh, and did I mention she's gorgeous under the coating?  But of course.

Next up is her relationship with Bramford.  Bramford is her boss, she loathes him, but then he's turned into a human/animal hybrid and suddenly she loathes/wants into his pants.  She can't help it, he's just so uber sexy now that he's a monster.  What's considerably worse is how she's turned on every time he scares her. Ugh.  Much has been said about this story trope all over the blogosphere.  I won't deign to add to the diatribe, other than to say- I do not approve.  Scary, is not sexy.  Scary is scary, and yes it can be a front that with character development and reveals, I can see getting over,but scary should never equal sexy with no further explanation.

But wait! There's more!  Eden screams, kicks up a fuss and goes ape shit on and off for the entire story.  She's exhausting, and I'm embarrassed for her most of the time.  Honestly, every time she screams I want to slap her.  But somehow this is supposed to show that she's really tough.  And Bramford keeps commenting on how she'd make one hell of a she-cat, which last time I checked does not mean you freak out about bugs, weird food, and not getting your way all the time.  But feral Bramford obviously enjoys her feistiness, even while bitching about how untrustworthy she is and how he doesn't trust her not to betray them all.  And I've only begone to touch on all the contrariness of this ridiculous story.

The ultimate disaster for me, is how unlikeable all the characters are.  Bramford is obviously lusting over Eden, so I'm never going to like him.  Eden is unbearable, screechy, bitchy and constantly being an ass, so I don't like her, Eden's dad is so flat he might as well not even be in the story line (he calls her Daught as a nickname?! Daught, honestly), and nobody else is developed basically at all.

I can't imagine why anyone would read the rest of this series and I have to admit that the only reason I forced myself through this whole book was because I didn't mind Victoria Foyt's previous book The Virtual Life of Lexie Diamond.  I felt bad not giving it a full read.  So I did, but I have to say I resent every minute I lost too it.

However, though I would not recommend this story, it has apparently done really well critically?  At least according to this article on PRWeb, and I ran across a number of favourable reviews online as well.  So if you're on the fence, don't let me be your deciding voice on the matter.  It may have just not been my taste.

Save the Pearls Part One, Revealing Eden, by Victoria Foyt
Published by Sand Dollar Press, January 10th, 2012
My copy kindly provided by the publisher
Buy Revealing Eden on Amazon

Saturday Link Salad

So it's Saturday.  Many of you have been to the theatres and weeped/cheered your way through the magnificent Hunger Games and are now feeling that deflated feeling of- what next?  Well worry no more, I am here for you!  I have collected the news of the week and I'm ready to get you excited for something new, are you ready?

-Three great book trailer/teasers released this week, first up was the long awaited Bitterblue, which debuted over at Mundie Moms.  The second one you probably saw at the theatre when you went to see Hunger Games (part of a really cool marketing campaign geared towards Hunger Games fans), yup the trailer/teaser to Veronica Roth's follow up Insurgent.  The last one is actually a movie teaser, but it shows so little it might as well be a book trailer, Stephanie Meyer's trailer for The Host.  I promise you no Kristen Steward or Robert Patison.

-Meg Cabots follow up to Abandon hits shelves shortly.  But in the meantime she had a cover reveal this week (very pretty) and excerpts from Chapter 1 and 2!

-Stephen King has two books coming out in the next year that have his fans both excited and worried.  Book 4.5 in his Dark Tower series (that's right, 4.5) releases next month and Stephen has posted his forward to the book as a teaser.  Later this year, the sequel to the Shining is coming out, and this week The Overlook Hotel posted photos of Stanley Kubrick's personal copy of the book, with his notes and highlights!

-Ah drama on the interwebs!  In a week containing days ending in "y" it goes without saying there was some drames.  This week it was the ever popular BBC/BEA topic.  I won't go into particulars, other than a directory was set up, and to sign on to it you had to give stats on your blog.  Sort of like naming how many people you've had sex with while signing your license on your wedding day.  By which I mean, pertinent info to the parties involved but not the sort of thing you shout out in a room of relatives, friends and strangers.
Alas, there was rightful outrage and now a split off con (I just want all of you lovely boys and girls in one place so I can meet you in person, is that so much to ask??!), so now you must choose where you'll be on June 4th.  BEA has since posted an apology with an explanation as to why they originally asked for the stats. 
In other news, I think I'll be cabbing it back and forth that day just so I can meet everyone.

-Speaking of stats, if you're looking for a great post to enlighten you on the topic, check out this great rundown by Stacked Books.  Also well pointed out? Why stats are relatively meaningless.

-The 2012 Dewey Readathon sign up is up!  If you haven't planned to spend 24hours doing what you do best on April 21st then I recommend giving it a thought.  I'm ill prepared and then jealous every time these readathons crop up, so this time I'm in!

-Mo Williams is going to be at Mables Fables in Toronto! Tickets are free but limited in number so make sure to sign up! Also coming to TO? Christopher Moore, and the details were finally released this week.

-Megan Miranda has posted a great, day in the life, post.  If you've ever wondered about a typical Megan Miranda writing day then make sure to check it out.  Also, it is very, very funny.

-Ever wanted to do something crazy in Vegas for a wedding?  How about getting married in the Great Hall at Hogwarts??  And speaking of Harry Potter, how many collectible things do they really have to tempt me with?  Now announced- Harry Potter Wizards Collection and 8 part making-of documentary.  Evil!  Check out one of the clips with Rupert Grint and Alan Rickman on Hypable.

So have I filled the Hunger Games void? No? Well I give up, go re-read the books then (I know I want to!)
Happy Saturday Linking!!

Gregor the Overlander, The Underland Chronicles 1-5, by Suzanne Collins- Review

I've had this lovely box set sitting on my shelves for a bit now, and when Christmas rolled around I decided it was time to dig into Suzanne Collins first series of books.  As millions of others, the Hunger Games rocked my socks off, so it was a natural progression to want to read the rest of her work.  It was ridiculously hard to get your hands on it until the movie buzz started, but now you should be able to find the series loose or in boxed sets almost anywhere.

From Goodreads, Gregor the Overlander-Book 1:
When eleven-year-old Gregor follows his little sister through a grate in the laundry room of their New York apartment, he hurtles into the dark Underland beneath the city. There, humans live uneasily beside giant spiders, bats, cockroaches, and rats—but the fragile peace is about to fall apart.

Gregor wants no part of a conflict between these creepy creatures. He just wants to find his way home. But when he discovers that a strange prophecy foretells a role for him in the Underland's uncertain future, he realizes it might be the only way to solve the biggest mystery of his life. Little does he know his quest will change him and the Underland forever.

The series has a slow start, introductions to the brutal and bizarre Underland are a bit complex and strange.  I suppose this will seem odd, but I found the history of the Underlanders stranger than the giant bugs and rats.  Supposedly they were lead underground by the Earl of Sandwich?  No real explanation why the Earl of Sandwich or why they felt the need to go underground but that's the set up.  Also, the Earl was a bit of prophecy teller, and none of it was positive, which makes me really wonder why he thought this whole relocation was a good idea, however once the story starts to get past the intro and into the adventure proper it does take off.

Gregor is very likable, but it's his little sister Boots that sold the whole series for me.  Especially her affinity with the Cockroaches.  She's funny, lovable and more than anyone else she's what I stuck around for in the first book. 

Boots, who loved any kind of compliment, instinctively knew she was being admired.  She stretched out her chubby arms to the giant insects. "I poop," she said graciously, and they gave an appreciative hiss.
  "Be she princess, Overlander, be she?  Be she queen, be she?" Asked the leader, dipping its head in slavish devotion.


Gregor grows, character wise, quite a bit in the first book but he really doesn't start to hold his own until book two, Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane.

Like many debuts, book one isn't the strongest of the series.  By book two Suzanne starts to dig into the meat of the story and really start to look at war, segregation and prejudices.  Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane is also when I started being more intrigued by her other characters, Ripred was one of my favorites after Boots, but Gregor, the bats and the underlanders all start to have much more depth.

Between the Hunger Games and the Gregor series its obvious war, violence, prejudice and the struggle to live are of major interest to Collins.  It's intriguing to see how she presents it for a middle grade audience versus the young adult audience.  The edge is still there, but there's a softness to it that is definitely lacking in the Hunger Games.  The humor is one of the biggest differences, but the ability to return to the safety of his family at any time is also a big change.  I was the most impressed by the fact she doesn't dumb down the brutality for the younger crowd, she pulls all the same punches of loss, betrayal and the struggle for survival that she does in HG.

By the end of the series I was very attached to all the main players, and I was on the edge of my seat to see the outcome of the violence.  And although the prophecies were a bit of a contrived way to keep dragging Gregor and his family into the Underlanders issues, I was willing to forgive it because the rest of the story was strong.

An adventurous romp through a truly bizarre fantasy world, Gregor the Overlander has a slow build but it's well worth the effort of getting through the first slightly bumpy patch.  It's the sort of story that's not only enjoyable, and often funny, but it also has great things to say about heavy topics not regularly broached in middle grade lit.  If you're one of the die-hard fans whose read the books, are about to see the movies and have been dying to dig into more Suzanne Collins goodness then you won't go wrong grabbing the Gregor series.

Gregor the Overlander (1), by Suzanne Collins
Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane (2), by Suzanne Collins
Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods (3), by Suzanne Collins
Gregor and the Marks of Secret (4), by Suzanne Collins
Gregor and the Code of Claw (5), by Suzanne Collins
Published by Scholastic, May 2005-May 2007
Buy The Underland Chronicles on Amazon

Guest post by Laura Lond, author of My Sparkling Misfortune

Today Laura Lond, author of My Sparkling Misfortune has stopped by to talk about writing fantasy!

From Goodreads:
Lord Arkus of Blackriver Castle readily admits that he is a villain and sees no reason why it should stop him from being the protagonist of this book. After all, Prince Kellemar, an aspiring hero, has defeated him in a rather questionable way.


Bent on revenge, Arkus attempts to capture a powerful evil spirit who would make him nearly invincible, but a last-minute mistake leaves him with a Sparkling instead—“a goody-goody spirit that helps heroes, watches over little children, and messes up villains’ plans.”

Bound to Lord Arkus for five years of service and sworn to act in his best interests, the Sparkling is not easy to get rid of, and of course his understanding of “best interests” is quite different from what Lord Arkus has in mind.
I knew early on as a writer that fantasy was the genre I wanted to work in. I love the creative freedom it offers. You get to invent your own world with its history, traditions, customs, races, and creatures; you can use historical or contemporary settings, and you can incorporate almost any other genre in the story—mystery, romance, comedy, crime, horror.

Of course, just like with any other genre, you can’t please everyone, no matter what you do. For some readers fantasy has to be Tolkien-like: medieval settings with elves, dwarves, and orcs or similar races; others will accuse such a book of being unoriginal and call it a Tolkien rip-off. I think it’s important for a writer to realize this fact, accept it, and find their own niche, their own audience that will appreciate exactly the type of fantasy they write. Simply put, write what you love, and readers who love the same stuff will find you.

For me, fantasy has always meant historical European-like settings with swords and cloaks. It is usually called traditional fantasy or historical fantasy. I also enjoy a good bit of humor. Historical fantasy is not normally perceived as funny, but hey. “Write what you love,” so why not? So in this particular book, My Sparkling Misfortune, I decided to have a field day with funny. We have a snarky villain who wants to capture an evil spirit to serve him but messes up and catches a good, fairy-like spirit instead. Their antics have made all kinds of readers laugh aloud: adults and teens, guys and gals, fantasy fans and those who normally do not read fantasy.

Does that mean I’ve created a book with universal appeal? I don’t think so; I am sure there are plenty of readers who wouldn’t “get” the book. But the overall formula of writing from your heart, being original and striving for the best quality seems to work.

My Sparkling Misfortune, by Laura Lond
Published by Dream Books, April 2010
Buy My Sparkling Misfortune on Amazon
Check out the trailer

Monday Link Salad

Yes I know.  I am a terrible, terrible person!  I have interrupted your regular schedualed Link Salad with TWO days of fabulous giveaways.  Name a character, win a signed book set, win the very hot The Immortal Rules or the terrific Loss.  It's a trial I tell you, I don't know how you put up with me.
HOWEVER!
I have oddles of news to share, and I have it for you today!!  So do whatever you have to do to give the appearence of work to your cubicle and dig in.

-It was a Cassandra Clare kind of week with news pouring in about the movie, the new series and of course all of her usual tid bits and temptations of what's to come.
     -Check out her Hollywood Crush interview about the director announcement.  They'll be filming in New York and Toronto, so if you live here or there you can plan to stalk the sets.  Personally I think i'll make a point to start calling in for dailys again with IATSE in the hopes they need some costume folks one day!
     -Cassie had a fun post on her Tumblr before the meeting with film folks, about being in LA and how excited she was.
      -Hot on the heels of the movie news was the Dark Artifices announcement.  Oh yes, that's right.  More Shadowhunters to feed our frenzy.  She stopped by Hollywood Crush to give a few more details and at tiny teaser.  And Cassie has a bit more to say about the working title of the first book in the series.
      -Mundie Mom's gave a rundown of all the special editions that will be available for the forthcoming City of Lost Souls.
      - And finally, just for good measure, a COLS teaser, and a Clockwork Prince alternate scene.

-Brandon Mulls second book in the Beyonders series released this week.  If you haven't bought The Seeds of Rebellion yet (I am so banned from book shopping for a couple of weeks), then make sure to check out the first couple of chapters online.

-The BEA made their final author breakfast annoucement. Stephen Colbert will be doing the Adult Author Breakfast.  I was only vaguely intrigued until I saw Tessa Gratton twittering about sharing the same air as Stephen Colbert.  And yes, she confirmed (to my undying excitement), that this means she'll be at the BEA!  Much more exciting then Stephen Colbert.

-Speaking of Tessa Gratton, she tweeted a teaser from the Blood Keeper the other day.  Oh Nick! How I love your wardrobe choices!  Oh right, and she also announced the details of The Blood Keeper with a cover reveal.

-Speaking of annoucements, I was proven to either be highly persuasive or psychic when I blogged about Winters Passage and Summers Crossing, and how I would dearly love to see them published together in an anthology mere hours before Julie Kagawa and HarlequinTeen announced that it was a done deal.  Iron Legends will hit shelves Aug 28th and contain a teaser short story to introduce the new series (due out in the fall).  The kitties were so excited they insisted on a small Iron Fey Ode.

-Speaking of Julie Kagawa, if you've been avidly following her foray into raising chicks then make sure to check out the new blog her husband's started about their attempts at homesteading.  It's a lot of fun, and it has pictures of her fuzzy kids.

-Shannon Hale announced a really fun sounding new series on her blog.  Kick-ass girls, go check it out.

-If you follow Maggie Steivfaters twitter feed you'll have noticed she's been hard at work on the Raven Boys trailer (oh and racing her sweet ride, lucky girl).  She posted some lovely stills on her blog if you want a sneek peek.

-The big literary news in TO this week was the Luminato line up for it's literary programming.  None of the authors are big on my list but they are big names, so make sure to check it out if you plan on being in town this summer.

-Speaking of events, George R.R. Martin was in town this week, and if you were like me and couldn't do a 1000 person line up for 4 hours in the cold to see him then I have some goodies for you!  His TIFF interview was filmed in four parts. Here's part one (the other parts line up on the side), that's right, you can sit in the warm cosy comfort of home and watch it! 

-Cherie Priest unveiled the cover art to her newest Clockwork Century story, the inexplicables, which reminded me I'm behind!

-

The Immortal Rules, by Julie Kagawa- Review and Giveaway!

INA FUTURE WORLD,

VAMPIRES REIGN

HUMANS ARE

BLOOD CATTLE.

AND ONE GIRL 

WILL SEARCH 

FOR THE KEY 

TO SAVE 

HUMANITY.

My vampire creator told me this:

"Sometime in your life, Allison Sekemoto,

you will kill a human being.

 The question is not if it will happen, but when.

Do you understand?"

I didn't then,  not really.

I DO NOW

Post-apocalyptic vampires people.  Need I say more?  Because honestly, she had me there.  Well, that and human blood cattle, I really liked that too.  

Much is always said when it comes to vampire tales, about the vast quantities of them out there.  And nowadays there's always the inevitable Twilight reference, usually with a good scoff at sparkly vampires.  But I have to say, although it's a huge genre that ebbs and flows over time, I've always had a soft spot for a good vampire story.  It's a classic genre for a reason, what other monstrous characters can be simultaneously so human?  

It's that inevitable dichotomy that makes Allison's story so good.  A street rat who's spent her life refusing to submit to the vampires, it's a cruel joke that as she lays dying she's offered the chance to continue living- as a vampire.  What other choice would a fighter make? Even if it means becoming the enemy.  Her struggle living within the confines of her new predatory self, and still being as human as possible, is what makes Allison a fascinating and endearing main character.  Even if there's a decided side of monster to her.

However, I fell in love with Allison because she's such a stellar kick-ass heroine.  Street rat or vampire, she's a fierce force to be reckoned with.  I have three ultimate favorite story elements: great epic battle scenes, underdog moments, and tough/powerful girls, but kick-ass girls are probably my top pick of those three.  Sadly it's one of the least used story elements going, especially with the popular romantic element in literature (YA or otherwise), I suppose it always seems more romantic to be rescued then to be the one doing the rescuing.  Julie tosses that theory on its head with Allison, and I loved every minute of it.  I was absolutely cackling with glee when Allie discovers motorbikes and guns off into the sunset with Zeke cringing behind her. 

Which brings me to Zeke.  I loved Julie's version of the star-crossed lovers in The Immortal Rules.  The often difficult and complicated relationship between Zeke and Allie was riveting. All the tables were turned, she's the powerful, dangerous element and he's overwhelmed but constantly surprised by her humanity.  It's addictive in a way that worries me, how am I ever going to read another boy meets girl, boy protects girl, run of the mill YA romance?

Also concerning, how am I going to sit on the mystery of this story until book two, presumably sometime next spring?  Because I'm already dying for more.

If you've been a fan of Kagawa's Iron Fey series then you're in for a surprise.  The Immortal Rules is very different, but delicious in it's own right.  I adored it, and I think, chances are you will too.  Which would be why you probably want to fill in the form below for your chance to win a finished copy!  Shipped to your door, as soon as it releases April 24th.  What are you waiting for?  Trust me, you want to read it.

The Immortal Rules, Book 1 of the Blood of Eden, by Julie Kagawa
Published by HarlequinTeen, April 24th 2012
My copy kindly provided by the HarlequinTeen
Buy The Immortal Rules on Amazon
Check out Julie's Facebook page
Check out Julie's always entertaining Twitter Feed
Follow Julie's blog, there's baby chick pictures!
Follow HarlequinTeen on Facebook for news
Or on Twitter



Finally, did you miss the EW interview with Julie I linked to a couple of weeks ago?  Well HarlequinTeen has kindly sent it along.  It's full of great tidbits about the forthcoming new Iron Fey books and why Julie decided to go with vampires for her new endeavor.

A Q&A with

New York Times Best Selling Author Julie Kagawa

After writing the Iron Fey series for so many years, how difficult was it to immerse yourself in a futuristic world filled with vampires, rabids and an enslaved human race?

It was...very different. I think the hardest thing for me was the fact that this story does take place in the real world -- a futuristic, vampire-infested world, but the real world nonetheless. Things had to make sense, for example: how far can a large group walk in a single day if there were no roads, they were going through thick woods, and there were children in the group? I had to have logical reasons for everything; I couldn't just make something work "because of faery magic," lol.

Just like Meghan Chase in the Iron Fey series, the main character in The Immortal Rules, Allison Sekemoto, is a “take charge and kick butt” kind of girl. Is this intentional? What woman – real or fictional, alive or deceased – do you look up to or admire?

Yes, Allison comes from a very different world than Meghan Chase. Meghan's upbringing was pretty normal; Allison grew up among vampires and monsters, where every day was a fight to live, so she couldn't afford to be weak. While Meghan had to learn to "take charge and kick butt," Allison's first impulse is stab first, talk later.

As for female role models, the first that comes to mind--when it comes to kicking vampire butt, anyway -- is Buffy Summers. Thank you, Joss Whedon, for making me love feisty, snarky, heroines who can dust all sorts of nasties but who also look good in a cheerleading outfit. ;)

You mention in your acknowledgements in The Immortal Rules that at the beginning of your writing career you promised yourself you wouldn’t write a vampire book. What changed your mind?

Well, there were already so many really good books about our favorite bloodsuckers, so many stories and ideas, I thought I didn't have anything new to add to the masses. I was actually toying with a post-apocalyptic YA novel when my agent mentioned I might want to try writing a vampire series. I wasn't intrigued with the idea at first, but then I thought about combining vampires with the post-apocalyptic novel and then rest sort of fell into place.


Allison claims she hates vampires and believes they are monsters yet when faced with a choice of die or become one, she becomes a vampire. Would you have made that same decision?


Me personally? No. I'm like Zeke in the belief that there is something better waiting for me beyond this life, and I just have to do my best until it’s time for me to go. Besides, I love pizza and Mountain Dew too much to give it up.


Who do you think the most complex character is in The Immortal Rules?

Probably Kanin, Allie's sire. He's a vampire who has made his peace about being a monster, yet chooses to live by his own set of moral rules. He warns Allison about getting too close to humans, yet he does not kill unless he absolutely has to. He is tormented about something in his past that he refuses to share with anyone. He is certainly the most mysterious of all the characters, if not the most complex.

How many books will be in the Blood of Eden series? When will the next book be coming out?

At the moment, there are three books planned, with the second coming out sometime next spring, after the release of the new Iron Fey series this fall.

Before you starting writing full time you were a professional dog trainer. Do the professions share any similarities?

Lol, well you have to think on your feet a lot. And some of the small dogs could be compared to tiny snapping goblins, but writing requires less dodging skills, though perhaps the same amount of creativity and problem solving.

When starting a new series, like Blood of Eden, do you have the entire series mapped out in detail or do you let the story develop book by book?

I have a high point that I write toward in each story; I know this and this has to happen, but getting from point A to point B usually develops as I go along.

And for the speed round:
What book have you read and re-read, and read yet again?
Any of the Harry Potter books.

Favorite song to play when writing a fight scene?
My "favorites" change daily. Right now its "Awake and Alive" by Skillet.

Worst job?
Working a kiosk in the mall during Christmas. It sold glass figurines, and the maneuvering space around the hundreds of very breakable merchandise was quite small. I was like a bull in a china shop.

Best vacation spot?
Walt Disney World

Sweets or salty?
Sweet.

One thing most people don’t know about you – and would never guess!
I used to play the flute when I was a kid. I was really good at it too, but my instructor stopped teaching to have a family, and I never went back to it.

Loss Blog Tour, Review, Contest, and Guest Post by Author Jackie Morse Kessler

From Goodreads:
Fifteen-year-old Billy Ballard is the kid that everyone picks on, from the school bullies to the teachers. But things change drastically when Death tells Billy he must stand in as Pestilence, the White Rider of the Apocalypse. Now armed with a Bow that allows him to strike with disease from a distance, Billy lashes out at his tormentors...and accidentally causes an outbreak of meningitis. Horrified by his actions, Billy begs Death to take back the Bow. For that to happen, says Death, Billy must track down the real White Rider—who is lost in his memories. 

I fell in love with this series when Houghton Mifflin randomly sent me the first part, Hunger, shortly after it came out in the fall of 2010.  It was a heavy hitter with heart, and I loved the fantasy element that Jackie brought to the issues.  It was a terrific meshing of story with major teen issues, making it very readable despite tackling serious subject matter.  I was even more impressed when I read Rage, and found myself in tears by the end.  To say I was eagerly awaiting Loss is a bit of an understatement.

In each of the Riders of the Apocalypse books Jackie takes a broken teen and shows them redemption through balancing the bad and the good in the world by making them a rider of something close to their inner turmoil.  The girl battling an eating disorder becomes Famine, the girl who cuts herself becomes War, and the boy who's bullied and desperately trying to deal with his bad home situation becomes Pestilence.  Their struggle as a rider becomes the way they find redemption in their personal life. 

Loss deals with bullying and Alzheimer's,  Billy's life is a disaster at school where he's constantly picked on, but there's no relief at home where he has to help care for his beloved Grandfather who's being ravaged by Alzheimer's.  The story line with his grandfather, like the story about Missy's cat was something I could relate to perfectly, as my own beloved grandfather wasted away similarly.  Even his grandfathers prophetic words, in a moment of lucidity, reminded me of my grandfather, who also had a lucid moment of emotional depth the very last time we spoke before he died.

"You find you way," said his grandfather, shaking a finger at him.  "You find your way, and you come back home."

Unlike the previous two books in the series, Loss also had an intriguing background story of the previous Pestilence.  The mystery surrounding the "Ice Cream Man" was a fascinating addition to the story and made me wonder even more about the other previous Riders.

Jackie's gift for telling a story and making it personal remains her gift in the Riders of the Apocalypse.  Who would think I would have strongly protective feelings for War, Famine, and Pestilence?  And yet I deeply care what happens to these teens.  But I think the best part of this series is not only how touched I am by each of the stories, but that contributions from the sale of each of the books goes to very worthy charities.  Loss makes contributions to the Alzheimer's  Association,  one that's very close to my heart.  I love the idea that the joy of a book can also contribute to a greater good.  As if I need more reasons to buy books.

Loss, By Jackie Morse Kessler
Published by Graphia March 20th, 2012
Pre-order Loss from Amazon
Check out my review of Hunger
Check out my review of Rage

Jackie has kindly agreed to stop by and talk a little about picking the charities for her books.

Give A Little Bit 
By Jackie Morse Kessler
 
I knew from the moment I’d begun writing Hunger, the first book in the Riders of the Apocalypse series, that I would donate a portion of proceeds to the National Eating Disorders Association. Hunger is about an anorexic teenage girl who becomes Famine, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and the book takes a hard-hitting look at eating disorders. I’d planned on donating to NEDA because I’m a former bulimic, and the more we can do to raise awareness of eating disorders—what they are, and what they’re not—the more likely it is that those who are suffering from them can get the help and support that they need.
 
When I was working on Rage, which looked at self-injury, a friend suggested that I consider donating a portion of proceeds to the organization To Write Love On Her Arms. I looked into TWLOHA and loved what I found. They do great work, helping people who are suffering from depression, addition, self-injury, and suicidal thoughts.
 
LOSS was different for me. Even though at its heart, it’s a book about how a bullied teenage boy learns to stand his ground, there’s an important subplot about coping when a loved one has Alzheimer’s. This is a personal issue for me; Alzheimer’s runs in my family, and it’s a horrible, horrible disease that robs people of their dignity and steals their minds. Its effects on those who are caregivers for their loved ones are almost unthinkable. 
 
The positive news is that researchers are working toward a cure. And that’s why I’m proud to donate a portion of LOSS proceeds to the Alzheimer’s Association . Maybe there won’t be a cure in my lifetime—but I hope there will be one for my kids and their kids.
 
A portion of proceeds of Breath, the final book in the Riders series, will also go to a specific charity. Which one? Stay tuned. :)
 
To all of you who have purchased a copy of any of my books: thank you for helping to make a difference.
 

Jackie will be awarding one random commenter a Loss cover Poster (please leave a blog link, email address, or twitter handle so I can contact the winner)! But even better yet each of the poster winners from the Blog Tour will be entered into a giveaway to win all three of the Riders of the Apocalypse books, signed, AND a character named after them in Breath, the last book of the series!  So make sure to say something nice!

Make sure to stop at all the other Tour Stops for more chances to win.

Also, I'll be giving out one finished copy of Loss to one lucky winner in either the US or Canada.  Just fill in the form below to enter.

YA Highway

Chapter by Chapter

Book Nerds Across America

Total Bookaholic 

Mundie Moms

Lauren's Crammed Bookshelf

The Teen Bookworm

Literary Escapism

The Book Monsters

The Compulsive Reader

Paperback Dolls

Books Make Me Happy

The Book Smugglers

I Swim for Oceans

Presenting Lenore

The Story Siren

A Backwards Story

The Book Faery

Wicked Awesome Books

Tynga's Reviews

Bitten by Books

The Book Cellar

Feline Fridays goes Iron Fey

That's right, Iron Fey love spread far and wide this week.  Even the fuzzy kids wanted in.  So here's there fuzzy Ode to Julie Kagawa's Iron Fey series.

"Ah, no.  That's not how the joke goes," Called Rob. "I say 'knock, knock,' and you're supposed to answer with 'who's there?"

"Fuck off!"

"Nope, that's still wrong." Robbie seemed unperturbed..."Here," Continued Rob in an amiable voice, "I'll go through the whole thing, so you'll know how to answer next time."  He cleared his throat and pounded the door again.  

"Knock, Knock!" he bellowed.  "Who's there? Puck! Puck who? Puck, who will turn you into a squealing pig and stuff you in the oven if you don't get out of our way!"  And with that, he banged open the door...

Robbie shook his head. "Amateurs."

My Name is Meghan Chase.

In less than twenty-four hours, I'll be sixteen years old.  

Sweet Sixteen.  It has a magical ring to it.  Sixteen is supposed to be the age when girls become princesses and fall in love and got to dances and proms and such.  Countless stories, songs, and poems have been written about this wonderful age, when a girl finds true love and the stars shine for her and the handsome prince carries her off into the sunset.

I didn't think it would be that way for me.

"I thought I was immune to iron." I sniffed.  Ash sighed.

"You are,"  he murmured, moving me away from the fence and its glamour-drining qualities.  His expression teetered between amusement and exasperation.  "However, grabbing superchilled metal is still very unpleasant for Summer fey, no matter who you are."

"Oh."

He shook his head, examining the wound again.  "It's not frostbitten," he muttered.  "It'll blister, but you should be fine.  You might only lose a couple fingers."

I glanced at him sharply, but he was smirking.  For a moment I was speechless. Good God, the Ice Prince was making jokes now; the world must be ending.

"Human," he said, and if a cat could sound patronizing, this one nailed it, "think about the absurdity of that question.  I am resting in my tree, minding my own business and wondering if I should hunt today, when you come flying in like a bean sidhe and scare off every bird for miles around.  Then, you have the audacity to ask what I want."  He sniffed and gave me a very catlike stare of disdain.  "I am aware that mortals are rude and barbaric, but still."

Happy Friday!

Winters Passage, and Summer's Crossing, by Julie Kagawa- Review

I'm a big fat e-reader hold out.  There's something super sad to me about reading something and not being able to put it on my bookshelf, or thumb through it at will, reading my favourite chapters or paragraphs when I need a pick me up.  And since I'm not made of money I'm unlikely to buy an e-book (for convenience) and the actual hard copy (for the library), thus, although it has it's advantages (I will grudgingly admit) I still don't have an e-reader.  Which also means all those novella add on's that have been cropping up (Hare Moon, by Carrie Ryan, from The Forest of Hands and Teeth series, Hanna by Lauren Oliver from the Delirium series), have been lost on me.  Until reading Julie's Iron Fey series.  There was no way I wasn't reading every single word she'd written about these characters.  Even if it meant I was sitting in bed reading off of my laptop.
I told you it was love.

However, since I don't have an e-reader, I decided to save the two short stories for the end so I wasn't stuck at work without something to read.  I didn't relish trying to read on my Ipod after all.  I had no issue reading them out of their order but if that bugs you then you want to read the series like this: Iron Daughter, Winter's Passage, Iron King, Iron Queen, Summer's Crossing, Iron Knight (and don't forget to wrap up with Julie's recent valentines story).

Winter's Passage follows Meghan and Ash on a small detour while fulfilling their contract to bring her to Mab.

I loved two things about it.  Firstly, it introduces the Big Bad Wolf, who is a great character in Iron Knight, and I really dug the foreshadowing.  But I also loved that it showed a bit more background to issues that become a big deal in the second book, Iron King.  It shows Ash going cold towards Meghan and him struggling with it, which gives him a little more depth.  Grims got his little paws all over it of course.  Ah Grim!  How fun you are.

There are a couple of great passionate moments for Ash and Meghan, which doesn't hurt at all either.

Summer's Crossing was my favourite of the two though.

Puck is without a doubt my favourite in everything he crops up in.  Honestly, The Sisters Grimm, this series, his classic Midsummer's Night Dream, Puck rocks in every one of them.  He's such a little shit but in the most lovable way.  It's funny because personally I have such a type when it comes to boys, I like them tall, dark, handsome and angsty, so you would think I would be 100% an Ash girl, but I'm sorry, Puck's the man.  Which is not to say I don't love how Julie has written the story, or that I don't adore the romance, just that my heart has Puck's name on it.

So obviously a story told from his view point is exactly what I'd been craving from The Iron Fey series.

A great little romp, Ash has had his rather large favour from The Iron Queen called in, and it will take Puck's devious nature to pull it off, especially since it involves storming the Summer Court.

I loved this look into Puck's thoughts.  His turmoil over Ash and Meghan, his regrets, his disappointment behind the prankster, sarcastic front, made him that much more lovable to me.  The glimpses of this in the actual series were very rewarding but in Summer's Crossing it gives an insight that adds a lot to the Iron Knight.

Neither of these novellas are necessary to the hard copy series, but they're great add on's well worth the read.  If you love the Iron Fey series then make sure not to pass them up.  Summer's Crossing is free on Amazon.com and Winter's Passage is a mere 2.51$.  My only disappointment is that they won't grace my shelf with the rest of the series, hopefully one day they'll release the two in hard copy, maybe as two sided story? With one on the front and one on the back? If only. Sigh, ebooks!  You can't see me but I'm shaking my head sadly.

BREAKING NEWS!!! It's as if the interwebs have heard my shelves crying and capitulated.  Julie Kagawa announced on Twitter today:

Julie Kagawa ‏ @Jkagawa

So, for everyone who wondered if the Iron Fey novellas would ever be made into print, the answer is now YES. :D#IronLegendsAnthology
WOO! August 28 will be the release of Iron Legends, which has WINTER'S PASSAGE, SUMMER'S CROSSING, and the new novella IRON'S PROPHECY. RT!

Winters Passage, by Julie Kagawa
Ebook, Published by Harlequin Teen, May 20, 2010
Buy Winter's Passage on Amazon

Summer's Crossing, by Julie Kagawa
Ebook, Published by Harlequin Teen, June 1 2011
Download Summer's Crossing on Amazon

Iron Knight, by Julie Kagawa- Review

After the ending of Iron Queen I could not dig into Iron Knight fast enough. I came home, riding a euphoric high from Iron Queen, announced I was not cooking, and after bubbling effusively to the hubby, and then my dad when he called about my Oma's birthday, and after crowing over the timely arrival of my ARC for the Immortal Rules (see my prophetic tweet from earlier that same day:
Rhiannon Ryder ‏ @BookwormsDiary
Also, I'm such an ass, but after this insane Iron Fey obsession, there is NO way I won't dump everything when my copy of Immortal Rules shows) I plopped myself down on the couch and dug in.  Seriously, I couldn't stop talking/tweeting peoples ears off about this series.  It was love, pure and simple.

A classic quest story, written in a very tragic fairy tale vein, Julie has given her fans a beautiful treat to end what was supposed to be a three part story.  Dedicated to Team Ash, which I think is one of the sweetest dedications I've ever seen, Iron Knight is Ash's story of his trials to fulfil his last vow to Meghan as she lay dying.

If Iron Queen was the heart racing conclusion to the story arc, Iron Knight is the cathartic conclusion to the love story Julie's fans are obviously insane for.  It was heart breaking, surprising and just plain fantastic.  I may have sobbed so much that I spilled coffee on myself repeatedly, thank god I was home alone.  This was the happy sob though, not the Dumbledore is dead sob which was not cathartic.  Every moment of this book felt like it was a gift written for the Iron Fey fandom.  She managed to fulfil everyone of my desires for a final story and I would guess that would be the case for most fans of the series.

It was delightful to actually see things from Ash's perspective, to get a feel for how he thinks and why he does what he does.  To see snapshots of his long history, and to see why he fell for Meghan, even when serious competition crops up.  I'm talking about you shocking page 81!

As an enormous Puck fan I have to say this was as much a gift to Team Puck as Team Ash.  Puck was a shinning light of humour and had his own profound moments.  He made me laugh easily three times as much as he did in any of the previous three books, and I loved seeing more of his relationship with Ash.  I may be struck down by some of the blogosphere for saying so, but the Ash/Puck relationship is my favourite in this series, even more so then the Ash/Meghan relationship.  

The spiders' numbers were increasing; I'd cut one down only to have four others come at me from all sides.  They were everywhere now, crawling over the railing and skittering across the roof... the Wolf was going berserk, bucking and rolling as spiders crawled all over him like monster ticks.

"Come on prince! Don't tell me you've forgotten!"

I hadn't forgotten.  I knew exactly what he wanted me to do.  It was risky and dangerous and would take a lot out of us both, but if the spiders kept coming, we might not have a choice.

"Ash!"

"All right!" I yelled back. "Let's do it...Everyone else, take cover now!"

I stopped fighting for an instant, feeling several of the creatures land on me, their slender legs scuttling up my clothes.  Ignoring them, I knelt and drove the point of my sword into the wooden floor.

There was a flash of blue, and ice spread out from my blade, covering everything.  In an instant, it had coated the deck, the railings, the benches, even some of the spider things, freezing them in place.  It covered the branches of the thorns around us and spread a thin sheet of ice over the water around the boat.  Though the spider things continued to pour out of the brambles, dropping onto the deck, for a moment, there was absolute, frozen silence.

"Now," Puck muttered, and I pulled up my blade.

The Ice shattered.  With the sound of breaking glass, it fractured into thousands of razor-sharp edges, glinting in the darkness.  And at that instant, Puck unleashed the whirl wind.

With a roar of Sumer glamour, Puck's cyclone whipped through the thorns and surrounded the boat, shrieking and causing the small craft to lurch sideways.  It picked up debris in its wake, branches, spider bodies and thousands of fractured ice shards, spinning them through the air with the force of a tornado...

When the winds finally ceased, we were surrounded by twigs, branches, melting ice and spider parts, oozing over everything...

"Yes!" Puck cheered as I sat down on the floor leaning against the railing.  "Home team, one- spiders, zero!"...

The Wolf shook himself, spraying ichor and spider parts everywhere, making Grimalkin lay back his ears.  "Magic and parlor tricks," the Wolf snorted, wrinkling his muzzle, "will not get us to the End of the World."

"Well, duh," Puck shot back. "That's why we're on a boat."

Ah the bromance.

Even better yet was the addition of the Big Bad Wolf to this tale.  Because like Puck and Ash, Grim and  the Wolf have an endlessly amusing rivalry of rather epic proportions.  And since I love Grim, how could I not love his frenemy?

If I had to sum this book up in just a few words, it would be: it has it all.  Julie has shot directly onto my list of favourites on my bookshelves, reserved for a surprising few.  If you haven't read this series you are missing out.  So go forth, read it, then pretty please, come back and rhapsodize with me.  Because there is only so much gushing my husband can lovingly tolerate.

Julie Kagawa, thanks for making my week!

The Iron Knight, by Julie Kagawa
Published by Harlequin Teen,  October 25th 2011
Buy The Iron Knight on Amazon

The Iron Queen, by Julie Kagawa- Review

Gah!!!! How did anyone survive the wait for Iron Knight??!  I was tearing my hair out when I finished Iron Queen at work and had to work through a few hours before getting home to my beautiful copy of Iron Knight (why oh why did I leave it at home??!).  And I resented every second I had to sit there and work as if I hadn't just read the most spectacular ending of a hugely emotionally charged book.
Impossible, I tell you.

Meghan and Ash are exhiled, and it should theoretically be happily ever after right?  Sort of, well, at least they're together.  But suddenly there is a new and greater Iron Fey threat and Meghan is the only one who can fix it.  Will she give up everything all over again to once again save the Nevernever?

This book was darker, funnier, and more of ALL THE THINGS, then the previous two books.  I could barely tear myself away.  The romantic moments were heartbreaking, the choices were unbelievable, the action was epic.  I got weepy at work I tell you! Do not read this ending on your lunch or coffee break!

If you loved Ash, Puck, Meghan and Grim before, be ready to fall even harder.  Every one of them has a spectacular moment of insight, a moment of grief, a moment of passion, a moment of selflessness.  I couldn't possibly pick a favorite.  Even Oberon and Mab have shinning moments where you just want to jump up and shout.

Puck took my hand, gripping it as if he could keep me here just by holding on.  I looked into his green eyes, shining with emotion, and saw all his years as Fey, all his triumphs and failures, loves and losses.  I saw him as Puck, the devilish, legendary troublemaker, and as Robin Goodfellow, a being as ancient as time, with his own scars and wounds gathered in his immortal life.  Puck squeezed my hand, tears running unabashedly down his face, and shook his head...
"I make it a point of never saying goodbye, princess.  Makes it sound like you're never coming back."...
Glamour rippled through the air, and Puck disintegrated into a flock of screaming ravens, flapping wildly as they scattered to all corners of the room.  The knights ducked as the birds swooped over their heads, cawing in their harsh, mocking voices.  Then the birds vanished into the darkness, the sound of wings disappeared, and Puck was gone.


Ok, I lied, I can pick a favourite.  As if I didn't already love Puck.

I can't even describe what an emotional rollercoaster this story was.  The battle scene was huge and had my adrenline pumping.  I love, love, love, a solid battle scene and Julie has written one to go down as one of the top 10.  It was so thrilling I could barely sit still to read it.  I felt like running around and cheering (no good at work on your lunch break), and it made my life feel very dissapointingly mundane after I closed the book and went back to work.

Then the end, yea gads!!  The entire thing came together in such a momentus way, I could barely stand it.  The Iron Queen was such a masterpiece I can't imagine how she'll top it with Iron Knight.  Thank god I don't have to wait any longer to find out!!

PS- there was a lot of Cosmic Love by Florence and the Machine playing on repeat by the final scenes of this book, and Fear by One Republic.  I'm not sure either of those songs will ever stop reminding me of those scenes now.

The Iron Queen, By Julie Kagawa
Published by Harlequin Teen, January 25th 2011
Buy The Iron Queen on Amazon