Colette Iselin is
excited to go to Paris on a class trip. She’ll get to soak up the beauty
and culture, and maybe even learn something about her family’s French
roots.
But a series of gruesome murders are taking place across
the city, putting everyone on edge. And as she tours museums and
palaces, Colette keeps seeing a strange vision: a pale woman in a ball
gown and powdered wig, who looks suspiciously like Marie Antoinette.
Colette
knows her popular, status-obsessed friends won’t believe her, so she
seeks out the help of a charming French boy. Together, they uncover a
shocking secret involving a dark, hidden history. When Colette realizes
she herself may hold the key to the mystery, her own life is suddenly in
danger . . .
Acclaimed author Katie Alender brings
heart-stopping suspense to this story of revenge, betrayal, intrigue —
and one killer queen.
Best Bits: I have absolutely loved the books by Katie Alender that I've read in the past. Talk about creepy...and somehow I always find myself reading them right before I attempt to sleep (this eventually turns into sleeping with a Disney movie playing). This book is a bit different than her past series, but she still has the ability to write great suspense. I think that these books are a little less intense, but no less fun to read. Things aren't easy for Colette, aside from your typical teen issues she's got some intense family drama...she just didn't realize this drama was connected to Marie Antoinette. Still, I liked the supporting characters a bit more than the main character. I think that's because Colette really didn't seem to grasp what was given to her (i.e. a trip to Paris with her class). We get some pay off for that in the end, but I couldn't help but wondering how long it would last (shame on me, I'm so negative and it's Christmas).
Nit Picks: I think my main issue with this one is probably because I'm old and cranky now. Over the course of the book we see how selfish Colette's friends are. With all this talk lately of "affluenza", all I could think about was how these girls had no idea about what life is like. So, I found it kind of frustrating that Colette worked so hard to maintain these relationships. Sure, there were bright points, but I was still just like "argh, can't you see there are others who would actually support you?!".
Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer
By Katie Alender
Published by Scholastic
296 Pages
Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga at Tynga's Reviews! It's a way to highlight the books that everyone got throughout the week.
Won from MacTeen Books (a huge thanks!)
Cress by Marissa Meyer
Rapunzel’s tower is a satellite. She can’t let down her hair—or her guard.
In
this third book in the bestselling Lunar Chronicles series, Cinder and
Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, with Scarlet and Wolf in tow.
Together, they’re plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army.
Their
best hope lies with Cress, who has been trapped on a satellite since
childhood with only her netscreens as company. All that screen time has
made Cress an excellent hacker—unfortunately, she’s just received orders
from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice.
When
a daring rescue goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has
her freedom, but it comes at a high price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will
let nothing stop her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder
may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only ones
who can.
Published by Feiwel & Friends
Release Date: February 4, 2014
Purchased
Another Little Piece by Kate Karyus Quinn
The spine-tingling
horror of Stephen King meets an eerie mystery worthy of Sara Shepard's
Pretty Little Liars series in Kate Karyus Quinn's haunting debut.
On
a cool autumn night, Annaliese Rose Gordon stumbled out of the woods
and into a high school party. She was screaming. Drenched in blood. Then
she vanished.
A year later, Annaliese is found wandering down a
road hundreds of miles away. She doesn't know who she is. She doesn't
know how she got there. She only knows one thing: She is not the real
Annaliese Rose Gordon.
Now Annaliese is haunted by strange
visions and broken memories. Memories of a reckless, desperate wish . . .
a bloody razor . . . and the faces of other girls who disappeared.
Piece by piece, Annaliese's fractured memories come together to reveal a
violent, endless cycle that she will never escape—unless she can unlock
the twisted secrets of her past.
Midnight in Austenland by Shannon Hale
When Charlotte Kinder
treats herself to a two-week vacation at Austenland, she happily leaves
behind her ex-husband and his delightful new wife, her ever-grateful
children, and all the rest of her real life in America. She dons a
bonnet and stays at a country manor house that provides an immersive
Austen experience, complete with gentleman actors who cater to the
guests' Austen fantasies.
Everyone at Pembrook Park is playing a
role, but increasingly, Charlotte isn't sure where roles end and reality
begins. And as the parlor games turn a little bit menacing, she finds
she needs more than a good corset to keep herself safe. Is the brooding
Mr. Mallery as sinister as he seems? What is Miss Gardenside's
mysterious ailment? Was that an actual dead body in the secret attic
room? And-perhaps of the most lasting importance-could the stirrings in
Charlotte's heart be a sign of real-life love?
The follow-up to reader favorite Austenland provides
the same perfectly plotted pleasures, with a feisty new heroine, plenty
of fresh and frightening twists, and the possibility of a romance that
might just go beyond the proper bounds of Austen's world. How could it
not turn out right in the end?
The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Seventeen-year-old
Cassie is a natural at reading people. Piecing together the tiniest
details, she can tell you who you are and what you want. But it’s not a
skill that she’s ever taken seriously. That is, until the FBI come
knocking: they’ve begun a classified program that uses exceptional
teenagers to crack infamous cold cases, and they need Cassie.
What
Cassie doesn’t realize is that there’s more at risk than a few unsolved
homicides— especially when she’s sent to live with a group of teens
whose gifts are as unusual as her own.
Sarcastic, privileged
Michael has a knack for reading emotions, which he uses to get inside
Cassie’s head—and under her skin. Brooding Dean shares Cassie’s gift for
profiling, but keeps her at arm’s length.
Soon, it becomes clear
that no one in the Naturals program is what they seem. And when a new
killer strikes, danger looms closer than Cassie could ever have
imagined. Caught in a lethal game of cat and mouse with a killer, the
Naturals are going to have to use all of their gifts just to survive.
Waiting on Wednesday was started by Jill at Breaking the Spine. This weekly meme shares the upcoming books that I'm most excited about.
After the End by Amy Plum
She’s searching for answers to her past. They’re hunting her to save their future.
World
War III has left the world ravaged by nuclear radiation. A lucky few
escaped to the Alaskan wilderness. They've survived for the last thirty
years by living off the land, being one with nature, and hiding from
whoever else might still be out there.
At least, this is what Juneau has been told her entire life.
When
Juneau returns from a hunting trip to discover that everyone in her
clan has vanished, she sets off to find them. Leaving the boundaries of
their land for the very first time, she learns something horrifying:
There never was a war. Cities were never destroyed. The world is intact.
Everything was a lie.
Now Juneau is adrift in a modern-day world
she never knew existed. But while she's trying to find a way to rescue
her friends and family, someone else is looking for her. Someone who
knows the extraordinary truth about the secrets of her past.
Published by Harper Children's
Release Date: May 6, 2014
This e-short prequel to
The False Princess will appeal to fans of Shannon Hale and Tamora
Pierce, giving them a new author to love and a new fantasy world to
enter, a world filled with wizardry, mystery, and just the right touch
of romance.
This prequel introduces the court of Thorvaldor,
Nalia, its princess, who has reached the magical age of sixteen, and her
best friend, Kiernan, the earl's son who loves her but feels he is too
far below her in rank to dream of making a match with her.
The
novel on which this e-short is based has received glowing reviews, been
named a YALSA 2012 Best Fiction for Young Adults, and made numerous
state master lists (Georgia, Rhode Island, Utah, and Maryland)
I really enjoyed The False Princess (you can check out my review here), and I can't wait to read this prequel! It's on sale for 1.99 on Amazon right now. A happy birthday to this short! You can check out more awesome shorts from the publisher (EgmontUSA) on their Facebook page.
They have graciously offered to let me give away a copy of The False Princess, and if you haven't read it, enter away! The contest is US/CA only.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
What is teaser tuesday?
It's a meme hosted by Should Be Reading and here are the rules:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants
can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
"So a little misstep is all right. What matters is who shows up when you need them the most."
-Going Rogue, Page 95 (ARC edition), By Robin Benway
I thought I'd try a Top Ten Tuesday every now and again. They always have great topics, but I'm not always prepared enough to actually write things up! Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by
The Broke and the Bookish and this week's topic is...
The Top Ten Books on my Winter TBR -
1.
Cress (The Lunar Chronicles 3) by Marissa Meyer. Talk about impatient, I cannot wait to read this book. I absolutely devoured the first two in the series, and they are amazing re-tellings with diverse settings and fabulous heronies. SO good!
Published by Feiwel and Friends
Release Date: February 4, 2014
2.
The Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen. Her books always leave me feeling light and satisfied. It's the way that she winds small bits of magic throughout her plots. It adds this extra dimension that I never knew that I wanted (until I read
Garden Spells, that is), and I love how it changes the characters. Do they embrace the magic, reject it? How does that impact their life? I'm definitely going to cozy up with the cat and some tea for this one.
Published by St. Martin's Press
Release Date: January 21, 2014
3. Uninvited by Sophie Jordan. I'm going to start off by saying that it has a gorgeous cover. The plot sounds like it will keep me on the edge of my seat, and I'm totally here for that. Basically, the main character is told that eventually she will kill...ooh, you're interested, right? I first saw this book on Epic Read's weekly video chat, Tea time. If they are interested, the chances of it being a great read are quite high.
Published by HarperTeen
Release Date: January 28, 2014
4. It Felt Like A Kiss by Sarra Manning. Another fabulous cover! I think this one falls under the New Adult (or Chick Lit) category. I haven't read any NA books yet, but this one sounds so good I can't pass it up. Plus, it sounds like her YA books have a great following. Bring it on!
Published by Corgi (is this not the best name...and also most adorable dog breed?!)
Release Date: February 13, 2014
5. Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge. A re-telling of Beauty and the Beast that has a lot of action thrown in. Nyx is our heroine, but instead of meeting the beast after her father trespasses, she has known for years that she is going to marry him...so she's been training to kill him! I can't wait!
Published by Balzer and Bray
Release Date: January 28, 2014
6. Elusion by Claudia Gabel and Cheryl Klam. This one involves a computer program that allows people to feel as if they're immersed in another world. One where they can go on adventures, and live virtually. Of course, there are ethical dilemmas, and some romance thrown in for good measure. It sounds like another book that has the suspense and thrills.
Published by Katherine Tegen Books
Release Date: March 18, 2014
7. Nearly Gone by Elle Cosimano. This one is a supernatural mystery with the possibility of a romance thrown in. The main character can read people's emotions when she touches them, and the guy in the story is undercover in her school to observe her. Ooo sounds good to me.
Published by Kathy Dawson Books
Release Date: March 25, 2014
8. Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins. So, this one is technically a spring release, but I'm so excited about it that I'm going to put it on this list. The previous two books in this series were great reads, and I'm so impatient for this. What Perkins does well is to create fun and interesting romances. As I get older, I've been getting a bit more skeptical with some YA romance stories (omg am I a romance Scrooge?!), but her books can still hold my attention. Plus, the characters are just so interesting. They're flawed, and it's all about accepting and embracing what makes them imperfect.
Published by Dutton
Release Date: May 13, 2014
9. Panic by Lauren Oliver. I will read any and all things by this author. She is amazing. This one is based around a game that is played each year by high school seniors. It seems like they partake in this dangerous game for money, but the book blurb doesn't say that explicitly. It also looks like it will be told from two alternating perspectives, which seems like it will add a whole different view of the competition.
Published by HarperCollins
Release Date: March 4, 2014
10. To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han. So, this is another spring release...but I'm counting it. This book is about a girl who is unable to tell boys how she feels about them, and expresses it in letter form. Well, they accidentally get mailed, and suddenly she's being confronted by the guys in her past. It sounds like a good read for anyone who's ever wondered whether speaking up is the right choice.
Published by Simon and Schuster
Release Date: April 22, 2014
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