JACE IS NOW CAST!!!

Jace Wayland, the wonderful (AND HOT!) character of the Mortal Instruments Series has been cast is is being played by none other than....

...this dude. His name is Jamie Campbell. He played a Volturi in New Moon/Eclipse and he also, I think, plays King Arthur in the show Camelot. Um...I was expecting Alex Pettyfer, or some other blonde person we've never heard of...um...*completely speechless*

What are you thoughts???

Release: Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini

How do you defy destiny?

Helen Hamilton has spent her entire sixteen years trying to hide how different she is—no easy task on an island as small and sheltered as Nantucket. And it's getting harder. Nightmares of a desperate desert journey have Helen waking parched, only to find her sheets damaged by dirt and dust. At school she's haunted by hallucinations of three women weeping tears of blood . . . and when Helen first crosses paths with Lucas Delos, she has no way of knowing they're destined to play the leading roles in a tragedy the Fates insist on repeating throughout history.

As Helen unlocks the secrets of her ancestry, she realizes that some myths are more than just legend. But even demigod powers might not be enough to defy the forces that are both drawing her and Lucas together—and trying to tear them apart.

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Another book that has to do with Greek mythology, although I'm not complaining. The uniqueness of all of the different portrayals is stunning, considering that with other themes (like vampires and werewolves) I find that authors repeat some of the same ideas. Can't wait to read this one!

Daily Dose (23)

Daily Dose is a weekly meme hosted by Good Golly Miss Holly where we share inspirational photos we've found on the web. I missed last week's...and I didn't know about that until this week. Excuse me if you were waiting for that.

Cover Reveal: Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare

I was just looking around and then I saw this, and then I freaked out! I've been waiting forever for this cover! But I was a little disappointed with it because the face is showing and they don't have the pretty clockwork angel under THE INFERNAL DEVICES. I double checked to make sure that this was the legit cover, and it was. Not saying its a terrible cover--I do like the darkness that all of Cassandra Clare's novels have. And guess who's on this cover?? JEM! Oh, I love the fictional-boys-that-I-can't-have!

Goddess Boot Camp by Tera Lynn Childs

Genre: teen fantasy
Series and Book #: Phoebe Castro #2
Pages: 264
Synopsis: It's not easy being a goddess....

Seventeen-year-old Phoebe has recently learned that she's a descendant of Nike (the goddess, not the shoe). Now, in order to learn to control her newfound—and very strong—powers, she's being forced to attend Goddess Boot Camp. The only problem is, none of the other campers is over the age of ten! It's not going to be easy to survive camp, train for the Pythian Games, and keep her romance with Griffin going strong, but goddess help her, Phoebe is determined to make it work!

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Much much much better than the first book. Phoebe had a more grown up voice and there was a dash of mystery, suspense, and heartbreak included in the story.

I loved the characters! Xander, Stella, Adara, Griffin--they all were very dynamic and were all required to make the story flow like it did. Nola and Cesca, Phoebe's normal friends, were present in this book as much as in the other. They came up, and they were fun when they did, but they were pretty much unimportant. Phoebe was pretty stressed in this book, and that made you realize more about her family life before she found out she was a goddess.

Overall, I liked this book better than Oh. My. Gods. I thought Phoebe's voice was more mature and the story was more than just her dealing with Damian and the change in environment. The mystery of Phoebe's dad mixed with the stress of the coming Pythian Games and her powers test added a nice edge to the story. Even though I struggled through the immaturity of the first novel, this one's definitely worth it.

The Cover: Again, its very cute. I love the elements of military camp mixed with pink and Greek landmarks.

Releases: Beauty Queens by Libba Bray and The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross

From bestselling, Printz Award-winning author Libba Bray, the story of a plane of beauty pageant contestants that crashes on a desert island.

 

Teen beauty queens. A "Lost"-like island. Mysteries and dangers. No access to emall. And the spirit of fierce, feral competition that lives underground in girls, a savage brutality that can only be revealed by a journey into the heart of non-exfoliated darkness. Oh, the horror, the horror! Only funnier. With evening gowns. And a body count.




In 1897 England, sixteen-year-old Finley Jayne has no one…except the "thing" inside her.
When a young lord tries to take advantage of Finley, she fights back. And wins. But no normal Victorian girl has a darker side that makes her capable of knocking out a full-grown man with one punch….
 
Only Griffin King sees the magical darkness inside her that says she's special, says she's one of them. The orphaned duke takes her in from the gaslit streets against the wishes of his band of misfits: Emily, who has her own special abilities and an unrequited love for Sam, who is part robot; and Jasper, an American cowboy with a shadowy secret.
 
Griffin's investigating a criminal called The Machinist, the mastermind behind several recent crimes by automatons. Finley thinks she can help—and finally be a part of something, finally fit in.
 
But The Machinist wants to tear Griff's little company of strays apart, and it isn't long before trust is tested on all sides. At least Finley knows whose side she's on—even if it seems no one believes her.

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These are two awesome sounding books! Having never read a Libba Bray novel (I know, I'm deprived) and with Kady Cross being a 2011 debut author, these really caught my interest. I loved Cassandra Clare's Clockwork Angel, a steampunk novel, and Beauty Queens sounds so funny and interesting. I can't wait to read them!

Preview: Sweet Venom by Tera Lynn Childs

Grace just moved to San Francisco and is excited to start over at a new school. The change is full of fresh possibilities, but it’s also a tiny bit scary. It gets scarier when a minotaur walks in the door. And even more shocking when a girl who looks just like her shows up to fight the monster.

Gretchen is tired of monsters pulling her out into the wee hours, especially on a school night, but what can she do? Sending the minotaur back to his bleak home is just another notch on her combat belt. She never expected to run into this girl who could be her double, though.

Greer has her life pretty well put together, thank you very much. But that all tilts sideways when two girls who look eerily like her appear on her doorstep and claim they're triplets, supernatural descendants of some hideous creature from Greek myth, destined to spend their lives hunting monsters.

These three teenage descendants of Medusa, the once-beautiful gorgon maligned by myth, must reunite and embrace their fates in this unique paranormal world where monsters lurk in plain sight.

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Having just read Tera's cute novel Oh. My. Gods., I was curious as to what Sweet Venom was about, since the summary I was given was very vague. And the summary on Tera's web page sounds so awesome! Three descendants of Medusa that must fight monsters? Sounds like fun! This comes out October 4, 2011

Oh. My. Gods. by Tera Lynn Childs

Genre: teen fantasy
Series and Book #: Phoebe Castro #2
Pages: 264
Synopsis: Phoebe's life is about to get ungodly....

All Phoebe Castro has to do is keep her grades up and have another stellar cross-country season and her dream of attending USC with her friends on a track scholarship is a reality. So it's a complete shock when her mom announces that she's marrying a near-stranger and moving them to Greece.

Before Phoebe knows it, she's stuck on a secret island in the Aegean and attending the superexclusive Academy, where her new stepfather is the headmaster and the kids are anything but your average students--they're descendants of the Greek gods, superpowers included. If a regular high school wasn't bad enough, this is mortal misery.

Phoebe's only chance of reclaiming her old life lies in securing that scholarship. But managing that may be an ungodly challenge, considering she's got a sabotaging stepsister from Hades and a gorgeous guy--what a god!--in her way....

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First, how many Greek gods books are there out? Not that I'm complaining--I love Greek mythology. But there are a lot, aren't there? Percy Jackson, Oh. My. Gods, The Goddess Test, Abandon, and more, I'm sure. The funny thing about them all is that they have a different take on the gods. And having only read the Percy Jackson series, the take on the gods in this book was way different.

The gods weren't present in this book. And their descendants were down lines, so you could be the great-great-great-great-great-GREAT grandchild of Zeus and still be considered his descendant. It was much different than Percy Jackson. It was cool, though, the way Childs split up the cliques at the Academy. Like the Hades harem, typical Goths but dangerous, and the Zeus set, rich and powerful who would also make "Paris Hilton look like a Vestal Virgin".

I didn't really like Phoebe as a MC. She was dense, even though she swore she wasn't. Like they had to explain things to her to get her to understand simple things. But I when she wasn't being so clueless, she was funny, skeptical, and nice.

Overall, this was a funny novel. The characters were brushed upon, not dwelling deeper than some of the basic questions. We don't get to know Stella or Adara other than that they're the usual mean girls. And that Griffin's a total hottie. I hope with the sequel, we get to know the characters more than what was said in Oh. My. Gods.

The Cover: I love the incorporation of Herme's sandals with Phoebe's cross-country dreams. Very cute!

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Genre: teen social issues
Series and Book #: none
Pages: 470
Synopsis: What if you had only one day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life?

Samantha Kingston has it all: the world's most crush-worthy boyfriend, three amazing best friends, and first pick of everything at Thomas Jefferson High—from the best table in the cafeteria to the choicest parking spot. Friday, February 12, should be just another day in her charmed life.
 
Instead, it turns out to be her last.
 
Then she gets a second chance. Seven chances, in fact. Reliving her last day during one miraculous week, she will untangle the mystery surrounding her death—and discover the true value of everything she is in danger of losing.

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One of the best books I've ever read. Ever. Oliver's writing is lyrical but easy to understand. She's realistic in her view of high school and doesn't skim over the provocative conversations and suggestions.

Samantha was a very real character. At first, she was stuck up and worried about her social standpoint in in life. She was nervous about her big night with her boyfriend, and annoyed with her used-to-be friend Kent. She agreed with her best friend Lindsay on everything, and was included into chants of Psycho with a girl, Juliet Sykes, whom Lindsay hates. But when she dies, and relives her day seven times, she changes dramatically. I love how Oliver makes her changes subtly at first, and then towards the end more noticeable. It gives let's you say, "Wow. She has changed."

Overall, I loved this book. Lauren Oliver is definitely an author that I'm going to read more from. Her writing was amazing and understandable, and her characterisation was spot on. The books progression was perfect and the climax was amazing. Friends who had read the book said I'd hate the ending, but actually, I liked it. I thought it was exactly the type of thing Samantha would do after her experiences. This was a wonderful book. Definitely add it to your MRL and TBR piles.

The Cover: Not one of my favorites, but I still like it. I think it captures the falling with the model lying in the grass, but I don't like the close up of the face.

Let's Talk Covers: 2011 Releases

A wonderful story should include a cover that speaks for it. Beautiful covers always catch my eye and make me want to read the book. Here's a list of covers that make me anxious to pick up the book and just read, read, read!

Title: The Girl in the Steel Corset   Author: Kady Cross   Release Date: May 24
I love this cover! Although it looks like an adult novel, the corset showing from the back of the dress really catches the title of the novel. And I love the amazing red dress and steel elements added.

Title: The Day Before   Author: Lisa Shroeder   Release Date: June 28
The model is gorgeous and I love the mysterious vibe the cover's giving. The grass covering her face and her hair mixed into the grass is wonderful, and it reminds me of Anna Jarzab's All Unquiet Things cover.

Title: Supernaturally   Author: Kiersten White   Release Date: July 26
The first cover was amazing, and the second makes another wonderful installment. I love the way the words are backed by an orange glow and red flowers. Honestly, you don't see much red on covers that have to with werewolves/vampries/shapeshifters. I think its a nice change.

Title: Lola and the Boy Next Door   Author: Stephanie Perkins  Release Date: September 29
I've never read Perkins first book, Anna and the French Kiss, but I heard it was hilarious. The covers also speak for the books: they're fun, flirty, and creative. I love this cover, because the model has short purple hair! So cute!

What do you think? What covers are your favorite?

Release: Cryptic Cravings (Vampire Kisses #8) by Ellen Shreiber

The morbidly monotonous Dullsville has finally become the most exciting place on earth now that Raven is madly in love with her hot vampire boyfriend, Alexander, and a crew of vampires has taken residence in Dullsville's old mill. Raven discovers Jagger's plan to open a new club, the Crypt, right here in Dullsville. But is it her dream come true or her worst nightmare? Raven and Alexander have to figure out what the nefarious vampire has in store for Dullsville's teen and vampire population. Can Raven convince Jagger to listen to her plans to make the Crypt the morbidly magnificent dance club it could be? Will it be safe for mortals and vampires alike?
 
And as Sebastian and Luna's relationship heats up, Raven wonders about her own amorous fate: Will Alexander ever turn her? Does he crave her and does he want to spend eternity together? And what does she really want?

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I never finished this series! I read the first book (Vampire Kisses) but I never got around to finishing them. I remember that the first was very funny and creative, and that I was looking forward to reading the sequels. I have the first three books on my shelf and I put them on my Must Read List, so hopefully I'll get to them sometime this year. Something to look forward to!

Daily Dose (22)

Daily Dose is a weekly meme hosted by Good Golly Miss Holly where we share beautiful or inspirational photos that we've found.



Red Riding Hood by Sarah Blakley-Cartwright and David Leslie Johnson

Genre: teen fantasy
Series and Book #: none
Pages: 329
Synopsis: The blacksmith would marry her. The woodcutter would run away with her. The werewolf would turn her into one of its own.

Valerie's sister was beautiful, kind, and sweet. Now she is dead. Henry, the handsome son of the blacksmith, tried to console Valerie, but her wild heart beats fast for another: the outcast woodcutter, Peter, who offers Valerie another life far from home.

After her sister's violet death, Valerie's world begins to spiral out of control. For generation, the Wolf has been kept at bay with a monthly sacrifice. But now no one is safe. When an expert Wolf hunter arrives, the villagers learn that the creature lives among them--it could be anyone in town.

It soon becomes clear that Valerie is the only one who can hear the voice of the creature. The Wolf says she must surrender herself before the blood moon wanes...or everyone she loves will die.

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I LOVED this story! I never managed to see the movie when it was out in theaters, but the book was wonderful. Blakley-Cartwright strung her words together in lovely sentences that were beautiful to read.

Red Riding Hood is a excellent spin off of the classic fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood. Blakley-Cartwright included all the important characters: Little Red, the grandmother, and the wolf. And the item for which the book is named: the red riding hood. The town of Daggerhorn was, in my opinion, perfectly crafted with the townspeople and the layout of the village and all the side characters each had a place in the story, and weren't just pointlessly present throughout the novel.

Overall, this was a magnificent and action-filled novel that grabbed my attention from the opening: Once upon a time...there was a girl...and there was a Wolf. Doesn't it just give you the shivers?! I'm hoping to see the movie soon and see how they adapted the story. The ending was shocking, and my opinion changed so often that I never quite guessed who the Wolf was (and honestly, you'll never figure out who the actual Wolf is until you read the bonus chapter at http://www.redridinghoodbook.com/). This was a fantastic story! I'd highly recommend it!

The Cover: Perfect. I loved the Wolf's shadow and Valerie running off into the woods. And the little writing in the upper corner was so cool: Good girls don't talk to werewolves. I could live without the small black circle in the corner, though.

Release: Kiss of Death by Lauren Henderson

Scarlett thought Dan McAndrew's murder was long behind her, but when she and her classmates arrive in Edinburgh for a week long field trip, she's startled to be joined by her old St. Tabby's cohorts--and enemies--who are visiting the area on a field trip as well. Even more startling, Callum, Dan's surviving twin, is in the area--and his cold treatment leaves Scarlett wondering what's changed, especially when a series of attacks makes her believe that someones out to get her for her past mistakes. Would Callum ever hurt her, though? And what's Scarlett to make of her conflicting feelings for Callum, now that Jase isn't around? Even more upsetting, why is her most trusted confidante, Taylor, acting distant and dismissive?

This actually came out yesterday, but I was busy and didn't have time to post.

I read the first book in this series (Kiss Me, Kill Me) and I didn't really enjoy the book. This is the fourth book in the series, and I don't think that I'm ever going to finish this series. The first book went by to fast and didn't have enough plot to give is a great mystery novel.

Daily Dose (21)

Daily Dose is a weekly meme hosted by Good Golly Miss Holly where we share inspirational photos we've found. Usually, I have a meme before this one, but I think I'm going to give that up, because I just feel that I have no purpose for it. Anyway, comments can be sent to me through my email (left sidebar) or you can comment down below.

The Body Finder (Body Finder #1) by Kimberly Derting

Genre: teen mystery
Series and Book #: Body Finder, book 1
Pages: 336
Synopsis: Violet Ambrose is grappling with two major issues: Jay Heaton and her morbid secret ability. While the sixteen-year-old is confused by her new feeling for her best friend since childhood, she is more disturbed by her "power" to sense dead bodies--or at least those that have been murdered. Since she was a little girl, she has felt the echoes the dead leave behind in the world...and the imprints that attach to their killers.

Violet never considered her strange talent to be a gift; it mostly just led her to find dead birds her cat left for her. But now that a serial killer is terrorizing her small town, and the echoes of the local girls he's claimed haunt her daily, Violet realizes she might be the only person who can stop him.

Despite his fierce protectiveness over her, Jay reluctantly agrees to help Violet find the murderer--and Violet is unnerved by her hope that Jay's intentions are much more than friendly. But even as she's falling intensely in love, Violet is getting closer and closer to discovering a killer...and becoming his prey herself.

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Although everyone said that The Body Finder was a fantastic read, I didn't quite agree. Although I loved the plot line, and the concept, I didn't like Derting's writing. I felt it was drawn out and that there was too much enunciation in the words. I also felt she should have focused more on the murders than Jay and Violet's relationship.

The Body Finder was a very creative book. A girl that could sense echoes of the dead? I was hooked. But when it turned out to be more of a love story than a mystery novel, I quickly lost interest. Although towards the end, when the climax finally started to peak, I found myself wanting to read it more and more.

Overall, I thought that The Body Finder didn't quite live up to my expectations. I expected more action, with a awesome romance tied in. The side characters were cute, funny, and very interesting. I found myself enjoying Violet's interactions with her friends more than her moments alone or with Jay. Not one of my favorites, but I may pick up the sequel.

The Cover: I think it catches the novel perfectly. The flower blooming makes it seem like it's an echo of a dead body. I think the eerie blue against the black was perfect.

Academy 7 by Anne Osterlund

Genre: teen science fiction
Series and Book #: none
Pages: 272
Synopsis: Secrets stand in their way, danger lurks in her hearts.

Aerin Renning is a scarred fugitive, Dane Madousin a rebellious son of privilege. On the surface, they have nothing in common. But the two most competitive freshmen at Academy 7 share an undiscovered bond. Both harbor a dangerous secret that threatens their own destruction. And while their safety depends upon their staying apart, the two are inexplicably drawn to each other. Even as unknown forces conspire to separate them, their competition turns to friendship, and their friendship to romance. Now not only their lives--but their hearts--are at stake. To survive, the two must unite all their knowledge, skills, and gifts to uncover a secret bigger than either could have imagined. A secret as big as the entire universe....

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Unannounced to me, this novel was not set in the present day, but in the future in space. I got quite a shock when I realized that it wasn't a novel set in a dystopian world but instead a novel set in a futuristic space that has a different branches of governments and different planets and technology. But that just added to the interesting plot of this story.

The secrets and lives of Aerin and Dane draw you in. Aerin is so unlike Dane, and knows nothing about where she came from or who she is, while Dane would rather not know what his family's like. The two connected, and I loved their relationship, as they both didn't want to open up to each other but found that they did as they grew closer. There wasn't much mystery, nor as much romance, as the summary suggests, but I did find the mystery of Aerin's past and Dane's family life interesting.

Overall, this book was very different from others. It gives you the feel that you're reading a regular setting, but it's really not, and I found myself fascinated with the world Aerin and Dane knew. Osterlund did an amazing job with this novel, as she set it up so that we learn about Aerin and Dane with them. This would be an OK standalone novel, but I'm hoping for a sequel.

The Cover: I like how it sets the stage for Aerin and Dane's relationship with each other, and also the dark background and the girl's expression. Very nice cover.

Releases: Illusions by Aprilynne Pike and Bite Club by Rachel Caine

Laurel hasn't seen Tamani since she begged him to let her go last year. Though her heart still aches, Laurel is confident that David was the right choice.
But just as life returns to normal, Laurel realizes that a hidden enemy lies in wait. Once again, Laurel must turn to Tamani to protect and guide her, for the danger that now threatens Avalon is one that no faerie thought would ever be possible. And for the first time, Laurel cannot be sure that her side will prevail.

After discovering that vampires populate her town, college student Claire Danvers knows that the undead just want to live their lives. But someone else wants them to get ready to rumble. There's a new extreme sport getting picked up on the Internet: bare- knuckle fights pitting captured vampires against each other-or humans. Tracking the remote signal leads Claire- accompanied by her friends and frenemies-to discover that what started as an online brawl will soon threaten everyone in Morganville...

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Ugh, I haven't read both of these series! I'm hoping to read Wings pretty soon (the predecessor of Illusions) and The Morganville Vampires series is on my MRL! From everything I've seen researching these two books, their worth the read.

Daily Dose (20)

Daily Dose is a meme hosted by Good Golly Miss Holly where we share inspirational photos that we've found around the World Wide Web.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (20)

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Book Journey where we share what books we've read, what we're currently reading, and what we're hoping to read. Through the business I managed to finish two books!

Read:

The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting

Academy 7 by Anne Osterlund

Reading:

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer

To Read:

Boys that Bite by Mari Mancusi

Stake That! by Mari Mancusi

In My Mailbox: April (3)

In My Mailbox is a meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren where we share what books we've purchased, borrowed, recieved, etc. etc. I don't buy/borrow/recieve enough books for a weekly IMM, but I do one every month. Here's March's.

Library Finds:

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Pathfinder by Orsen Scott Card

Boys that Bite by Mari Mancusi

Stake That! by Mari Mancusi

Girls that Growl by Mari Mancusi

Bad Blood by Mari Mancusi

Academy 7 by Anne Osterlund

The Body Finder by Kimbely Derting

All Unquiet Things by Anna Jarzab

The Seven Rules of Maybe by Deb Caletti

Kiss Me, Kill Me by Lauren Henderson

Bought:

A Kiss in Time by Alex Flinn

Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

Forget You by Jennifer Echols

Gift:

Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson