Mini-Reviews

 Vanish (Firelight 2) by Sophie Jordan

This was an interesting follow-up to Firelight, although quite a long time had passed between when I read the first book and when I picked this one up. What I really enjoyed was how it altered my perceptions of characters. In the first book we see Cassian as a jerk who Jacinda needs to escape. In Vanish, however, I began to sympathize. Jacinda, I'm sorry to say, became a bit more annoying to me. I still felt for her character, but  Lots of action and excitement, and I couldn't wait to grab the final book in the trilogy, Hidden.

Published by HarperTeen
Rating: B

Hidden (Firelight 3) by Sophie Jordan

I read this directly after finishing Vanish, and I flew through it. I was fairly certain I knew what was going to happen, but Jordan still had quite a few twists thrown in. The love triangle wraps up in a predictable way, but the rest of the story wraps up nicely. I wasn't sure how things could work out (would Jacina stay/leave, what about Cassian, hello...the hunters are stalking them), but everything left me satisfied as a reader.

Published by HarperTeen
Rating: B

Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler

I've had Bittersweet on my shelf for quite a long time, and now that the winter weather has started in I thought it would be a fun read. I enjoyed the cupcake titles/descriptions at the start of each chapter (although it made me crave sweets) but the story didn't quite live up to my expectations after Twenty Boy Summer. There was a lot going on story-wise that I don't think necessarily needed to be there and being pulled between them made the main character seem self-centered when I should have empathized with having to make tough decisions about where to spend her time. Still, I enjoyed the story and look forward to reading more from Ockler.
Published by Simon Pulse
Rating: C

Teaser Tuesday (November 27)

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 teaser sentences from somewhere on the page
Don't include spoilers.

"I reached into the backseat and grabbed the ridiculously tall, absurdly colorful hat I was forced to wear as part of my Hot Dog Kebob uniform. Sadly, my recent fall from grace and subsequent mandated employment had coincided with a lack of decent part-time jobs." 

-Tempestuous, 1% on Kindle, by Kim Askew and Amy Helmes

2013 Debut Author Challenge

It's that time again...time to sign up for the Debut Author Challenge! I didn't participate this year due to my time away from blogging, but I think I need to do it again in 2013. This year it's hosted by Hobbitsies, and if you click the link it will take you directly to the information page for the challenge.

Here are my 2013 picks:

Level 2 by Lenore Appelhans - January 15
City of A Thousand Dolls by Miriam Forster - February 5
Mila 2.0 by Debra Driza - March 12
Taken by Erin Bowman - April 16
Chantress by Amy Butler Greenfield - May 7
Linked by Imogen Howson - June 11
Since You Asked by Maurene Goo - July (Date TBD)
Prophesy of Oz by Megan Shan - August 5

I'll be adding my entries for September through December as more book information gets released!

Waiting on Wednesday (November 21)

Waiting on Wednesday was started by Jill at Breaking the Spine. This weekly meme shares the upcoming books that I'm most excited about.

That Time I Joined the Circus by J.J. Howard

A music-obsessed, slightly snarky New York City girl, Lexi is on her own. After making a huge mistake—and facing a terrible tragedy— Lexi has no choice but to track down her long-absent mother. Rumor has it that Lexi’s mom is somewhere in Florida with a traveling circus.

When Lexi arrives at her new, three-ring reality, her mom isn’t there…but her destiny might be. Surrounded by tigers, elephants, and trapeze artists, Lexi finds some surprising friends and an even more surprising chance at true love. She even lucks into a spot as the circus’s fortune teller, reading tarot cards and making predictions.

But then Lexi’s ex-best friend from home shows up, and suddenly it’s Lexi’s own future that’s thrown into question… 

With humor, wisdom, and a dazzlingly fresh voice, this debut reminds us of the magic of circus tents, city lights, first kisses, last heartaches, and the importance of an excellent playlist. (From Goodreads)

Published by Scholastic Point
Release Date: April 2013

I love all things circus, so I'm really excited about this one!

Teaser Tuesday (November 20)

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 teaser sentences from somewhere on the page
Don't include spoilers.

"She's always joked about leaving me the family business, but I never took it seriously. How could I? All this time, as long as I was just baking, my destiny could be separate from hers."

-Bittersweet, Page 63, by Sarah Ockler

Book Review: Halifax by Leigh Dunlap

When the Halifax siblings arrive at Lexham Academy, they don't seem any more or less odd than any other students. They have more important things to do, however, than take exams or find dates for the prom. They have aliens to kill. With the help of his sister Izzy and brother Rom, Farrell Halifax has to stop an escaped alien and save the Earth --- though that's hard to do when the captain of the basketball team is after you and you're falling in love with his cheerleader girlfriend --- who may or may not be an alien herself. Halifax is a teen Torchwood meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer --- with a little bit of The Breakfast Club thrown into the mix. (From Goodreads)

Best Bits: What an action packed read! The reader is thrown right into the swing of things as the first scene depicts Farrell chasing an alien. It must be a stressful job, but at least it's helped the siblings master the art of snark. I wasn't expecting a suspenseful read, but there were quite a few surprises and twists as the story went on. Some of them involved the alien on the loose, and some involving the siblings themselves. I was itching to know more about them, since Dunlap left little clues that something about them was different...aside from the whole alien hunter thing. 

It's rare that a YA book doesn't focus too heavily on romance, and I'm happy to say that this one didn't. It was a great story without any of the tiny hints of attraction getting out of hand and taking over the whole plot. Huzzah. Can you tell I'm a little tired with love triangles? I really appreciated the fact that Dunlap allowed it to take a backseat...but I suppose if the world could potentially end it probably wouldn't be the first thing on their minds. 

Nit Picks: This one was short, and it left a lot open at the end. Yes, the immediate threat of an alien destroying the earth is resolved, but there's a lot I still don't know about Farrell, Rom, and Izzy (and I want to know it!). 

Halifax
By Leigh Dunlap
Self-published
136 Pages
Received for Review
Rating: B

Gratitude Giveaway Hop

Well, it's contest central here at Cornucopia of Reviews, and I thought I would participate in one more hop before the holiday season. It's the third annual Gratitude Giveaway and it's hosted by Kathy at I Am A Reader, Not A Writer. This contest is open internationally as long as The Book Depository ships to your country. What is the prize, you ask? Any book (or books) totaling no more than 15 USD. Fill out the Rafflecopter below to enter.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Teaser Tuesday (November 13)

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 teaser sentences from somewhere on the page 
Don't include spoilers.

"Most of the time I felt like an actor in my own life, walking a path that my family had designed, saying my lines, and following my blocking instructions. But the path I wanted to take, one of my own making, hadn't been paved yet.

-Saving Juliet, Page 16, by Suzanne Selfors

Manhattan meets Verona in this time-bending twist on Shakespeare.

When Mimi is magically thrust into the middle of Shakespeare’s Verona, she must find a way to help Juliet fight for her future happiness. Will she be able to give this classic tragedy a happy ending?

Author Interview: Janci Patterson

A big thanks to Janci Patterson for stopping by to answer a couple of questions about her debut novel, Chasing the Skip. You can check Janci out at her website, Facebook, or Twitter. You can find information about Chasing the Skip on Goodreads.  


1. Tell us a little bit about your book, Chasing the Skip.

Here's the cover copy: 

Ricki’s dad has never been there for her. He’s a bounty hunter who spends his time chasing parole evaders—also known as “skips”—all over the country. Ever since Ricki’s mom ran off, Ricki finds herself an unwilling passenger in a front-row seat to her father’s dangerous lifestyle. Ricki’s feelings get even more confused when her dad starts tracking seventeen-year-old Ian Burnham. She finds herself unavoidably attracted to the dark-eyed felon who seems eager to get acquainted. Ricki thinks she’s ever in control—the perfect accomplice, the Bonnie to his Clyde. Little does she know that Ian isn’t playing the game by her rules.

2. Can you describe your road to getting published? 

In a word, it was long.  I wrote nine novels over twelve years.  I racked up in excess of a hundred rejections.  Somewhere along the line I learned to revise, and started getting much nicer rejections.  I started working with an agent, and compiled those rejections faster than ever.  

In seriousness, I started writing books because it was what I wanted to do, and I sent them out because I didn't want to reject myself, even though my early work was far from publishable.  But I kept writing, and once my skills were where they needed to be, CHASING THE SKIP sold rather quickly.

3. What qualities do you like most in Ricki?  

Ricki's having a hard time, but she wants very much to make things better, even though she has no idea how.  That doesn't keep her from trying (and failing, and trying again.)  Her persistence is probably my favorite thing about her.

4. What's your favorite book of all time, and has it had any impact on your writing? 

I can't pick just one.  But my favorite book in the contemporary YA genre is SPEAK, by Laurie Halse Anderson.  That book is pure brilliance.  I'd like to say it's had an impact on my writing, but I wouldn't dare suggest that my work even leans toward something as beautiful as SPEAK. Maybe someday.  It's good to always have things to aspire to.

5. Do you have anything new in the works? 

Always.  As a writer, the only thing I can control is whether or not I'm working on the next book.  I have several more books finished, but nothing under contract yet.  And, of course, I'm writing a new one.  The future is always uncertain, but hopefully you'll get to read them all in the not-so-distant future.

Book Review: Velvet by Mary Hooper

Velvet is a laundress in a Victorian steam laundry. With both her mother and father dead, she is an orphan and has to rely upon her own wits to make a living. The laundry's work is back-breaking and Velvet is desperate to create a better life for herself. Then Velvet is noticed by Madame Savoya, a famed medium, who asks Velvet to come to work for her. Velvet is dazzled at first by the young yet beautifully dressed and bejewelled Madame. But soon Velvet realises that Madame Savoya is not all that she says she is, and Velvet's very life is in danger ...A romantic and thrillingly exciting new novel from an acclaimed and much loved historical writer for teens. (From Goodreads)

Best Bits: Fall is my favorite time to read historical fiction. I'm not really sure if it's the setting, description, or characters...but there's something extremely satisfying about being transported into another time as the weather changes around me. Velvet begins her story working in a steam laundry, and eventually finds her way into the home of a medium. There she experiences things that she never believed she would, and the reader gets a taste of what life was like for both the very poor and the very wealthy. I also loved the medium subject matter. This is actually historically accurate, in the late 1800's and early 1900's mediums were increasingly popular (you can see some pretty freaky photos of mediums and ectoplasm from this time period if you look around online). It just added another layer to the story, because the reader is privy to information that allows us to understand the motivations of Madame before Velvet does. Plus, woo there is quite a twist at the end. 

Nit Picks: I wish we could have seen a bit more of her childhood friend, and neighbor, Charlie. He kind of gets brushed off throughout the book, but ends up with a significant part to play. So, I think I would have felt more for him had I gotten to know him a little more. There's also quite a bit of time between finding out the nature of Madame and Velvet realizing it. It got a little frustrating at times, even though I sympathized because this woman essentially saved Velvet from poverty. 

Velvet 
By Mary Hooper
Published by Bloomsbury USA
336 Pages
Received from NetGalley
Rating: B

Waiting on Wednesday (November 7)

Waiting on Wednesday was started by Jill at Breaking the Spine. This weekly meme shares the upcoming books that I'm most excited about.

Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger

t's one thing to learn to curtsy properly. It's quite another to learn to curtsy and throw a knife at the same time. Welcome to finishing school.

Fourteen-year-old Sophronia is the bane of her mother's existence. Sophronia is more interested in dismantling clocks and climbing trees than proper etiquette at tea--and god forbid anyone see her atrocious curtsy. Mrs. Temminnick is desperate for her daughter to become a proper lady. She enrolls Sophronia in Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality.

But little do Sophronia or her mother know that this is a school where ingenious young girls learn to finish, all right--but it's a different kind of finishing. Mademoiselle Geraldine's certainly trains young ladies in the finer arts of dance, dress, and etiquette, but also in the other kinds of finishing: the fine arts of death, diversion, deceit, espionage, and the modern weaponries. Sophronia and her friends are going to have a rousing first year at school.

First in a four book YA series set 25 years before the Parasol Protectorate but in the same universe.


 

   

     
   
 
 
 

Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Release Date: February 5, 2013

How could I not be excited about this?! I may be hopelessly behind in the Parasol Protectorate series, but that doesn't mean I love it any less. My only issue is the cover. Did they photoshop the models head onto the silhouette because it's both a weird angle and she's so thin! Nevertheless, I can't wait. 

Teaser Tuesday (November 6)

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 teaser sentences from somewhere on the page Don't include spoilers.

"My eyes start to burn from staring so hard at my soon-to-be prison and I blink swiftly. This is my choice, I remind myself." 

-Hidden, Page 1, by Sophie Jordan

Giveaway: Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm by Philip Pullman

Two hundred years ago, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm published the first volume of Children’s and Household Tales. Now, at a veritable fairy-tale moment—witness the popular television shows Grimm and Once Upon a Time and this year’s two movie adaptations of “Snow White”—Philip Pullman, one of the most popular authors of our time, makes us fall in love all over again with the immortal tales of the Brothers Grimm.

From much-loved stories like “Cinderella” and “Rumpelstiltskin,” “Rapunzel” and “Hansel and Gretel” to lesser-known treasures like “Briar-Rose,” “Thousandfurs,” and “The Girl with No Hands,” Pullman retells his fifty favorites, paying homage to the tales that inspired his unique creative vision—and that continue to cast their spell on the Western imagination. (From Goodreads)

Enter below! Must be 13 to enter, and you must be a US resident. If you're an international reader you can enter to win $25 to the book depository by completing the rafflecopter form HERE. You could choose this book from The Book Depository as a portion of your prize. If you enter that contest, please ensure you enter the correct form on that page.  



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Stacking the Shelves (November 3)

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.

These books I've gotten over the past couple of weeks

Purchased

The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

The Victorian language of flowers was used to convey romantic expressions: honeysuckle for devotion, asters for patience, and red roses for love. But for Victoria Jones, it’s been more useful in communicating mistrust and solitude. After a childhood spent in the foster-care system, she is unable to get close to anybody, and her only connection to the world is through flowers and their meanings. Now eighteen and emancipated from the system with nowhere to go, Victoria realizes she has a gift for helping others through the flowers she chooses for them. But an unexpected encounter with a mysterious stranger has her questioning what’s been missing in her life. And when she’s forced to confront a painful secret from her past, she must decide whether it’s worth risking everything for a second chance at happiness. (From Goodreads)

The Assassin's Curse by Cassandra Rose Clarke

Ananna of the Tanarau abandons ship when her parents try to marry her off to an allying pirate clan: she wants to captain her own boat, not serve as second-in-command to her handsome yet clueless fiance. But her escape has dire consequences when she learns the scorned clan has sent an assassin after her. 

And when the assassin, Naji, finally catches up with her, things get even worse. Ananna inadvertently triggers a nasty curse — with a life-altering result. Now Ananna and Naji are forced to become uneasy allies as they work together to break the curse and return their lives back to normal. Or at least as normal as the lives of a pirate and an assassin can be. (From Goodreads)



Darkest Hour (Mediator 4) by Meg Cabot

When the nineteenth--century ghost of Maria de Silva wakes her up in the middle of the night, Suze knows this is no ordinary visitation -- and not just from the knife at her throat, either. In life, Maria was the fiancee of Jesse -- the same Jesse who was murdered a hundred and fifty years before. The same Jesse Suze is in love with.

Maria threatens Suze: The backyard construction must cease. Suze has a pretty good idea what -- or rather, who -- Maria doesn't want found. But in solving Jesse's murder, will Suze end up losing him forever? (For Goodreads)




For Review: 

Doomed by Tracy Deebs

Beat the game. Save the world.

Pandora’s just your average teen, glued to her cell phone and laptop, surfing Facebook and e-mailing with her friends, until the day her long-lost father sends her a link to a mysterious site featuring twelve photos of her as a child. Unable to contain her curiosity, Pandora enters the site, where she is prompted to play her favorite virtual-reality game, Zero Day. This unleashes a global computer virus that plunges the whole world into panic: suddenly, there is no Internet. No cell phones. No utilities, traffic lights, hospitals, law enforcement. Pandora teams up with handsome stepbrothers Eli and Theo to enter the virtual world of Zero Day. Simultaneously, she continues to follow the photographs from her childhood in an attempt to beat the game and track down her father, her one key to saving the world as we know it. Part The Matrix, part retelling of the Pandora myth, Doomed has something for gaming fans, dystopian fans, and romance fans alike. (From Goodreads)

Published by Walker Books
Release Date: January 8, 2013

Velvet by Mary Hooper

Velvet is a laundress in a Victorian steam laundry. With both her mother and father dead, she is an orphan and has to rely upon her own wits to make a living. The laundry's work is back-breaking and Velvet is desperate to create a better life for herself. Then Velvet is noticed by Madame Savoya, a famed medium, who asks Velvet to come to work for her. Velvet is dazzled at first by the young yet beautifully dressed and bejewelled Madame. But soon Velvet realises that Madame Savoya is not all that she says she is, and Velvet's very life is in danger ...A romantic and thrillingly exciting new novel from an acclaimed and much loved historical writer for teens. (From Goodreads)

Published by Bloomsbury USA

Tempestuous by Kim Askew and Amy Helmes

Recently banished, unfairly, by the school’s popular crowd, former “it girl,” Miranda Prospero, finds herself in a brave new world: holding dominion amongst a rag-tag crew of geeks and misfits where she works at the Hot-Dog Kabob in the food court of her local mall. When the worst winter storm of the season causes mall workers and last-minute shoppers to be snowed-in for the night, Miranda seizes the opportunity to get revenge against the catty clique behind her social exile. With help from her delightfully dweeby coworker, Ariel, and a sullen loner named Caleb who works at the mall’s nearby gaming and magic shop, Miranda uses charm and trickery to set things to right during this spirited take on Shakespeare’s The Tempest.

Published by Merit Press
Release Date: December 18, 2013

Halifax by Leigh Dunlap

When the Halifax siblings arrive at Lexham Academy, they don't seem any more or less odd than any other students. They have more important things to do, however, than take exams or find dates for the prom. They have aliens to kill. With the help of his sister Izzy and brother Rom, Farrell Halifax has to stop an escaped alien and save the Earth --- though that's hard to do when the captain of the basketball team is after you and you're falling in love with his cheerleader girlfriend --- who may or may not be an alien herself. Halifax is a teen Torchwood meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer --- with a little bit of The Breakfast Club thrown into the mix. (From Goodreads)

Out now as an e-book

Chasing the Skip by Janci Patterson

Ricki’s dad has never been there for her. He’s a bounty hunter who spends his time chasing parole evaders—also known as “skips”—all over the country. But now since Ricki’s mom ran off, Ricki finds herself an unwilling passenger in a front-row seat to her father’s dangerous lifestyle.

Ricki’s feelings get even more confused when her dad starts chasing seventeen-year-old Ian Burnham. She finds herself unavoidably attracted to the dark-eyed felon who seems eager to get acquainted. But Ricki thinks she’s ever in control—the perfect manipulator. Little does she know that Ian isn’t playing their game by her rules. (From Goodreads)

Best Bits: Ricki's had it rough. Her father hasn't been a part of her life, and now her mom has gone off to meet some guy she met online. If that's not the setup for abandonment issues I don't know what is. I enjoyed watching the buildup of tension between Ricki and her father, and the confrontation where Ricki finally gets the answers she's looking for. It's clearly difficult for both of them to be in this new situation...and to add skips (people who've missed their court dates) into the mix adds to the trouble. I would say that this book is less about romance, as the synopsis makes it seem, and is more of a contemporary family drama. So, go into it without expectations of true and undying love. 

Nit Picks: There were a lot of ends left open, and I wanted more resolution. This doesn't mean that I found the end of the book unsatisfying, I actually enjoyed it. It just felt like many of the different portions of Ricki's story had a little more to explore than the reader gets to see. Patterson is definitely one to watch, but I feel like this book needed a couple more chapters just to round the story out. 

Chasing the Skip
By Janci Patterson
240 Pages
Published by Henry Holt and Co. 
Received for Review
Rating: C

Book Review: Fairy Tales From the Brothers Grimm by Philip Pullman

Two hundred years ago, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm published the first volume of Children’s and Household Tales. Now, at a veritable fairy-tale moment—witness the popular television shows Grimm and Once Upon a Time and this year’s two movie adaptations of “Snow White”—Philip Pullman, one of the most popular authors of our time, makes us fall in love all over again with the immortal tales of the Brothers Grimm.

From much-loved stories like “Cinderella” and “Rumpelstiltskin,” “Rapunzel” and “Hansel and Gretel” to lesser-known treasures like “Briar-Rose,” “Thousandfurs,” and “The Girl with No Hands,” Pullman retells his fifty favorites, paying homage to the tales that inspired his unique creative vision—and that continue to cast their spell on the Western imagination. (From Goodreads)

Best Bits: I loved the variety of Grimm stories in this compilation. It had all my favorites, and a few that I have a feeling my parents purposely omitted from my childhood bedtime stories. It was great to have them in the form they were intended...they're scary! Pullman also includes some notes at the end of each story sharing how he might have tweaked them, information on alternate versions, and providing some general information that I was unaware of. The book is an extremely quick read because each story is relatively short (average 5-10 pages). I can't complain about being entertained for a couple of hours without being bogged down. 

Nit Picks: There's not much new in this version of the Grimm fairy tales. Pullman does his own twist in some stories, and his writing is fabulous, but he doesn't stray too far from the source material (this is not a nit pick personally, but I know that some people will pick it up expecting things to differ a bit more than they do). 

Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm
By Philip Pullman
400 Pages
Published by Viking
Rating: A